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The SADC, established in 1992, is a regional economic comprising 14 member countries with 8

of them being also members of the C!"SA# ne of its primar$ ob%ecti&es is to foster trade

among members#

SADC comprises 1' countries with the common ob%ecti&e of regional integration# The 1'

countries are Angola, (otswana, Democratic )epublic of Congo *D)C+, esotho, !adagascar,

!alawi, !auritius, !o-ambi.ue, /amibia, Se$chelles, South Africa, Swa-iland, 0nited )epublic

of Tan-ania, ambia and imbabwe# Some members ha&e eliminated or reduced their tariff

barriers between the member countries as earl$ as 2# Compared with other regional

economic communities in Africa, the share of intra3SADC trade at 11 of the region5s total trade

is relati&el$ high

The SADC Trade 6rotocol has as main ob%ecti&e the enhancement of intro3regional tradeamong member countries through the implementation of tariff reduction schedules# The 6rotocol

pa&es the wa$ for a 7ree Trade Area within the SADC member countries in $ear 28, whereb$

8' of the total intra3SADC trade will ha&e been liberalised# The remaining 1', constituting

the sensiti&e products, would ha&e tariff barriers remo&ed from 28 to 212

SADC, formerl$ nown as the Southern African De&elopment Coordination Conference

*SADCC+ which was established in 198, aims to strengthen socio3economic cooperation and

integration as well as political and securit$ cooperation of southern African states# !ain

ob%ecti&es of SADC comprise achie&ing de&elopment and economic growth, alle&iating po&ert$,

promoting emplo$ment, enhancing the standard and .ualit$ of life, and supporting the sociall$

disad&antaged through regional integration# To achie&e these ob%ecti&es, SADC shall inter alia

support de&elopment of economic, social and cultural ties across the region, and of policies

aimed at the progressi&e elimination of obstacles to the free mo&ement of capital, labor, goods

and ser&ices.

The purpose of SADC is to create a regional communit$, which would pro&ide peace and

securit$, cooperation in fields of shared interests, and ultimatel$ an integrated econom$# t

pro&ides a forum where regional planning is done with the goal of encouraging self3sustaining

de&elopment in Southern Africa, which is based on collecti&e self3reliance and inter3dependence

of !ember States# t is built on the principle of achie&ing sustainable utilisation of natural

resources and effecti&e protection of the en&ironment

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The SADC Trade 6rotocol taes into account the fact that there are ine.ualities and trade

imbalances in the different economies of the regional grouping# The economic predominance of

South Africa and its trade surplus with most of the other members ha&e led to an agreement

which maes pro&ision for a differentiated offer for South Africa compared to others# The

6rotocol maes pro&ision for a three3fold liberalisation process of tariffs:

The )ules of rigin re.uired for goods to .ualif$ for the SADC Certificate of rigin are:

The$ should be wholl$ produced, or

The$ should ha&e undergone sufficient woring or processing in a SADC member state from

third countr$ materials, or

There is a change in tariff heading after processing#

SADC countries themsel&es are currentl$ highlighting difficulties with similar rules of origin in the

Cotonou Agreement with the aim of re&isiting them in their negotiations of "conomic 6artnership

Agreements *"6As+ with the "0# ndeed, the "0 has accepted that its current rules of origin

ha&e constrained its abilit$ to meet its de&elopment ob%ecti&es through preferential trade

agreements#

!auritius signed the SADC 6rotocol on Trade in 199; and subse.uentl$ ratified it# 0nder this

arrangement the countr$ engaged itself in a tariff reduction programme whereb$ all tariffs were

to be reduced to -ero, with the ei&en the fact that more than 9 of the imports in SADC are

dominated b$ South Africa, trade liberalisation poses a real threat to local manufacturing

companies# This issue has been the main argument during trade negotiations under SADC for

the !auritian tariff reduction process#

!auritius has ne&ertheless made significant progress regarding the implementation of the

SADC trade protocol in terms of trade facilitation measures, especiall$ in the tariff reductions

*though still considered to be high compared to other members+ and at the non3tariff barrier

le&el##

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!auritius became a member of SADC in 199' and has been .uite acti&e on trade issues# The

SADC 6rotocol on Trade was signed in August 199; b$ ele&en !ember States, including

!auritius# t became operational in 2 and in&ol&es a reduction to 8' of the !auritian tariffs

b$ 28 and to 1 b$ 212# n broad terms, the protocol sets the parameters for a 7ree

Trade Area between its members

!auritius has long depended on the preferential status granted to it b$ de&eloped nations for it

to e

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ne of the strong points of the SADC trade protocol is the negotiation with South Africa which is

both a dominant pla$er and a threat to !auritius#