24 Sep 2020

Southern African Customs Union (SACU) ministers have committed to finalise a  roadmap and strategy to advance a streamlined work programme with concrete focus on industrialisation, development of regional values chains, trade facilitation and a regional financing mechanism within the next six months.

This was agreed in a virtual fourth SACU council ministerial retreat recently where a number of issues such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Common Revenue Pool and the imminent implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) were discussed. 

A press release from SACU states that other pressing challenges addressed was the SACU’s approach and positioning in relation to the industrialisation and development of regional value chains as well as the need to strengthen its productive capacity. 

The release also says ministers have agreed that while discussions around the Revenue Sharing Formula (RSF) and the architecture for tariff-setting remain at the heart of SACU, they should focus towards more pressing issues where there is overall convergence, including renewed focus on industrialisation, development of regional value chains, trade facilitation and investment promotion.

It also says ministers agreed to build a regional economy that would be more resilient against future external and internal shocks, which also supports industrialisation and resource mobilisation through targeted programmes and interventions.

“In this regard, the ministers agreed that the outcomes of the SACU Ministers of Trade and Industry engagement held on August 28, 2020 would form the basis for cooperation on Regional Industrialization, Investment and Export Promotion,” it says.

In addition, trade ministers underscored the importance of industrialisation in SACU and agreed on the need to adopt a common vision to advance the work on industrialisation, both in SACU and at continental level focusing on regional value chains.

At the same time, ministers acknowledged that regional industrialisation, investment and export promotion would require mobilisation of substantial financial resources while cooperation among national development finance institutions and the private sector will be crucially important to facilitate movement of goods within the region. Ends