South Africa last week signed the agreement establishing the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) during a meeting of the Tripartite Sectoral Ministers Committee in Kampala, Uganda.
The meeting was attended by the trade Ministers and officials from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Sacu), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community.
South Africa did not sign the agreement when it was initially launched in 2015 owing to outstanding work in some of the annexures to the agreement.
All of the annexures have now been completed and adopted by the Tripartite Sectoral Ministers Committee.
Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said South Africa has been a champion of the tripartite process from the beginning and is committed to the process.
“The conclusion of these negotiations will be another important step forward in the process and will provide commercial benefits to our business people by enabling them to trade products between Sacu and EAC countries at a reduced or zero tariff,” he said.
The TFTA represents an integrated market of 26 countries with a combined population of 625-million people and a total gross domestic product of $1.6-trillion.
Once the agreement enters into force, it will reduce the tariffs on goods traded between the tripartite countries and create new opportunities for exports as well as regional value chains.