RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG176/M/1 
12 June 2007 
 (07-2455) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
Forty Sixth Session  
 
 
 
CONSIDERATION OF THE PROTOCOL ON TRADE IN THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN 
DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (SADC), GOODS 
Note on the Meeting of 14-15 May 2007  
Chairman:  Mr J. Metcalfe (United Kingdom) 
 
 
1. The meeting was convened in document WTO/AIR/2993. 
2. Under Agenda Item B.IV. of its 46th Session, the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
(CRTA or the Committee) took up the consid eration of the SADC Trade Protocol. 
3. The Chairman  noted that the Protocol on Trade in the Southern African Development 
Community, goods, had been signed on 24 August 1996 by the Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, 
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Sout h Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and 
Zimbabwe;  it had entered into force on 25 January 2000.  An Amendment Protocol had been adopted 
and had entered into force on 7 A ugust 2000.  Implementation of the provisions of the Protocol and 
the Amendment Protocol had commenced on 1 Se ptember 2000.  The governments of Angola and 
Madagascar had acceded to both Protocols on 26 Se ptember 2003 and 21 February 2006, respectively.  
On 2 August 2004, the Parties had notified the Protocol on Trade in the Southern African Development Community and the Amending Agre ement to the Protocol to the WTO under 
Article XXIV:7(a) of the GATT 1994, as aiming to establish a free trade area (WT/REG176/N/1/Rev.1).  The text of the Protocol and the Amendment Protocol had been circulated 
to WTO Members as documents WT/REG176/1 and WT /REG176/2/Rev.1, and were also available, 
together with their Annexes, on the SADC 's official website (http://www.sadc.int). 
4. On 15 June 2006, the Parties to the SADC Trad e Protocol had requested the Secretariat to 
prepare a Factual Presentation on their behalf in  accordance with the Guid elines on Procedures to 
Improve and Facilitate the Examination Process (document WT/REG/W/15/Add.1).  The Factual 
Presentation (document WT/REG176/4 dated 12 March 2007) had been drawn up by the 
WTO Secretariat on its own responsibility in full cons ultation with the Parties.  In addition, written 
questions and replies on the SADC Trade Protocol had been distributed in document WT/REG176/5 dated 2 May 2007.  He proposed to organize the cons ideration of the SADC Trade Protocol by asking 
first the Parties and then other Members to give  any general comments.  The Committee would then 
turn to the specifics of the Agreement, using th e Factual Presentation to guide the debate.  He 
welcomed the delegation of Lesotho and gave him the floor to speak on behalf of SADC.  
5. The representative of Lesotho
, speaking on behalf of the members of the Southern African 
Development Community, Angola, Botswana, Democr atic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, 
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Sout h Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and 
Zimbabwe, said that these countries had signed the SADC Protocol on Trade which had entered into 
force on 25 January 2000.  He thanked the Ch airman for convening the meeting and the WTO 
Secretariat for preparing the Factual Presentation on the SADC Trade Protocol.  The Southern Africa WT/REG176/M/1 
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  Development Community had evolved from the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination 
Conference (SADCC), which had been established in April 1980 to facilitate the realisation of the 
socio-economic needs of the region for improved livi ng standards.  The experience gained in working 
together had resulted in broader co-operation for economic and social development.  The Southern 
Africa Development Community was born in 1992 wh en the Heads of State and Governments of the 
SADCC realized that the co-ord ination conference had served them  well and had demonstrated the 
need to cooperate in their development efforts, and that time had come to give the Organisation a 
legal and more formal status.  They also reali sed the need to shift fo cus from co-ordination of 
development projects towards greater integrati on between the economies of its member states. 
6. SADC's main objective was to build a regi on with a high degree of harmonization and 
rationalization of social and economic policies.  These would enable the pooling of resources to 
achieve collective self-reli ance, economic growth and developmen t, and alleviate poverty, thereby 
enhancing the standard and quality of life of the pe ople of Southern Africa.  This objective was being 
pursued through the implementation of several Protocols, including the Protocol on Trade.  The objectives of the SADC Protocol on Trade were: to fu rther liberalize intra-regional trade in goods and 
services on the basis of fair, mutually equitable and beneficial trade arrangements, complemented by 
Protocols in other areas;  to ensure efficient production within SADC reflecting the current and 
dynamic comparative advantages of its members;  to contribute to the improvement of the climate for domestic, cross-border and foreign investment;  to enhance the economic development, diversification 
and industrialization of the region;  and to establis h a free trade area in the SADC Region.  The SADC 
Protocol on Trade provided for the liberalization of  trade in goods and services.  With regard to 
goods, this involved the creation of a free trade area th rough the phased elimination of tariffs by 2008 
(2012 for sensitive products).  A mechanism for the monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers 
had been put in place and was expected to be e ndorsed by SADC Trade Ministers at a meeting 
tentatively scheduled for 1 July 2007.  On trade in services, work was ongoing on regional 
harmonization and liberalization.  To complement th is liberalization, SADC was developing common 
policies on industrial strategy and improved competi tiveness.  On customs procedures, the Protocol 
recognized the need for appropriate measures on cu stoms co-operation to facilitate harmonization and 
simplification of trade documentation and procedur es benchmarked to World Customs Organisation 
Conventions.  As a follow up to recommendations fro m the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the Protocol, 
SADC was reviewing its rules of origin which was ex pected to be finalised by the end of June 2007. 
7. The Protocol also provided for development of  a framework for harmonization of sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures, technical regulations, anti-dumping measures, subsidies and countervailing 
measures, safeguard measures and pr otection of infant industries a nd emphasized conformity to and 
compliance with relevant WTO Agreements and other international agreements.  The SADC 
integration programme went beyond the establishmen t of an FTA.  It followed a linear approach to 
integration from an FTA in 2008, to a customs union by 2010, to a common market by 2015 and an 
economic union by 2018.  A roadmap for this process w as being developed.  At the continental level, 
SADC was recognized as one of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), which the African 
Union (AU) had identified as building blocks for a fully integrated African Economic Community.  
To support this programme, which the AU also in tended to fast track, a formal structure for 
cooperation existed in the form of a Tripartite Task  Force comprising the Common Market for Eastern 
and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African  Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa 
Development Community.  The Tripartite Task Fo rce was constituted at the level of heads of 
organization and had two sub-committees on cust oms and trade and infrastructure.  While 
appreciating the challenges associated with the in tegration process, SADC members also recognized 
the long term benefits of  economic integration. 
8.
 He again expressed thanks and appreciation to the WTO Secretariat for the Factual 
Presentation and had some corrections which he w ould submit.  He underscored that SADC presented 
a platform for its members to integrate their economies into the global economy.  The Protocol  WT/REG176/M/1 
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  recognized the results of the Uruguay Round of  Multilateral Trade Negotiations on global trade 
liberalization.  SADC Members were fully committed  to the rules-based multilateral trading system 
and the process leading to the successful c onclusion of the Doha Development Round.   
9. The Chairman  thanked the representative of Lesot ho for his statement and opened the floor 
for general comments. 
10. The representative of the European Communities  (EC) thanked the SADC representative for 
the general overview of the Agreement.  The EC  was pleased that one of SADC's objectives was the 
pursuit of economic growth and elimination of poverty though regional integration.  The EC 
encouraged SADC to continue making steady pr ogress in the regional integration process which 
would act as a lever to push through economic an d regulatory reform.  Th e creation of regional 
markets was one of the main benefits of South- South RTAs where individual markets were often 
small.  Of great importance, particularly for de veloping countries, was the efficiency and stimulus 
which came from bigger regional markets.  In Europe, the economies of scale resulting from a free 
trade area or a customs union had attracted both more trade and more FTAs and with that growth, 
employment and competitiveness.  Implementation of  RTAs was the key to the proper functioning of 
the regional integration process while  the signing of RTAs was of limited value if they were not 
properly implemented.  The EC noted that this wa s a systemic problem with South-South agreements 
and therefore encouraged SADC to set up adequate  monitoring mechanisms to contribute to improved 
adherence to tariff reduction schedules and better functioning of customs. In response, the 
representative of Lesotho  said SADC was currently undertaking a comprehensive audit of the 
implementation of the Protocol, in parallel with an exercise to develop a monitoring mechanism for its 
implementation. 
11. The representative of the United States  also thanked the Parties and the Secretariat for the 
information in the Factual Presentation and the prompt  response to the questions posed.  The Protocol 
on Trade contained an ambitious roadmap for economic  integration to result in a common market by 
December 2012.  The plans to harmonize regulatory regimes including tariff nomenclature, customs 
procedures, SPS and TBT regimes, safeguards, trad e remedies to eliminate non-tariff barriers among 
them and to implement a relatively, rigorous dis pute settlement mechanism modelled after that of the 
WTO were quite impressive and would no doubt e nhance economic development within the SADC 
region.  
12. On Section II.B.1, "National Treatment and Ma rket Access Provisions of the Agreement, 
Import duties and charges and quantitative restricti ons", the representative of the United States noted 
with respect to import duties and charges, and qu antitative restrictions, that the general provisions 
seemed to encourage trade among th e Parties and she hoped that the Pa rties did not become too reliant 
on quotas or other restrictive measur es to undermine the other market opening efforts.  With respect to 
the liberalization of tariffs and trade by SADC members towards ot her SADC members she thanked the 
Parties for providing the charts from UNCTAD.  But ev en with this data in which the original tariff 
offers and trade data matched, the United States c ontinued to have concerns about Zimbabwe's tariff 
elimination.   Zimbabwe had eliminated tariffs or had committed to eliminate tariffs on just 86.7 per cent 
of tariff lines to other SADC members exclusive of South Africa, and tariffs on only 90.3 per cent of 
tariff lines for South Africa.  She hoped Zimbabwe wo uld work with other SADC members to extend its 
tariff elimination to bring it more in line with the su bstantially all trade requirement of Article XXIV. In 
response, the representative of Lesotho  said that Zimbabwe had complied with its obligations under 
the Protocol on Trade. 
13. With regard to Section II.C.2, "Safeguard Mech anism", the representative of the United States 
was concerned about the vagueness of the safeguard pr ovision for the protection of infant industries, 
although comforted that any such safeguard had to be consistent with WTO obligations.  WT/REG176/M/1 
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  Nevertheless, she hoped that this provision would not be used to delay the liberalization objectives of 
the Protocol and become an easy tool to protect unviable industries. 
14. With regard to the Annex, "Indicators of  trade liberalization under the SADC Trade 
Protocol", the representative of Canada
 said that in Table A.1. there s eemed to be a discrepancy in the 
data.  To give an example, the data referring to imports to Zimbabwe from South Africa showed that 
in 2011, 90.1 per cent of all tariff lines would be du ty-free.  This was difficult to reconcile with the 
other two columns which showed 100 per cent for agricultural products and 92.6 per cent for 
industrial products.  Mathematically , one would expect the number for all products to be between 92.6 
and 100 per cent.  This was also the case for a few other lines. He had noted the responses to 
questions on data discrepancy from the United St ates but would be grateful if the Parties could 
explain where those discrepancies came from.  In response, the representative of Lesotho  said that this 
was due to an input error and would be corrected. 
15. The Chairman  then moved on to consideration of th e responses provided by the Parties in 
document WT/REG176/5.  The representative of the European Communities  thanked the Parties for 
their prompt and comprehensive replies and also  the WTO Secretariat for a very comprehensive 
Factual Presentation.  The EC welcomed the reply provided by the Parties to question 10 in document 
WT/REG176/5.  The EC understood that Members c ould not impose export restrictions on products 
destined to another member (Articles 5 and 8), wh ile Article 9 provided for general exceptions to the 
rule and had been applied for food  security purposes.  However the EC was still interested to learn 
whether any of the Parties had applied or current ly applied any export duties or restrictions on 
products destined to other members of SADC.  In response, the representative of Lesotho  said that 
some SADC member states did apply export duties and restrictions to trade with other 
SADC members for local benefits, food security  and other reasons.  The measures were not 
inconsistent with the provisions of the Protocol.   
16. The representative of Japan  thanked the Parties for notifying the Protocol under 
GATT Article XXIV and the Secretariat for the Factual Presentation.  Japan had a question on the 
Southern African Customs Union (SACU) but understood that the SACU was being notified and 
would therefore wait until a consideration of the SACU. 
17. The representative of the European Communities  asked which SADC members were applying 
export restrictions and on which pr oducts and to confirm that they were applied for food security 
reasons and to promote local adjustment.  The representative of Lesotho  said he would need to consult 
with other members of SADC before giving a response to the follow up question. 
18. The Chairman  noted that the consideration of the goods aspects of the SADC Trade Protocol 
had allowed Members to clarify a number of qu estions, but a few were pending.  He invited 
delegations wishing to ask questions to forwar d them in writing to the Secretariat by 29 May  and 
Parties to submit replies  in writing by not later than 25 June.  The consideration of the SADC Trade 
Protocol could then be deemed to have been achiev ed.  He suggested that th e minutes of the meeting, 
the Factual Presentation, questions and replies and an y related documents form the basis of the report 
which would be issu ed as appropriate. 
19. The representative of Lesotho  sought clarification on the questions for which further 
responses were required.  The Chairman  indicated that the EC would contact SADC with written 
questions. 
20. The representative of th e European Communities  suggested that if replies to questions could 
be received in the current Session of the CRTA, it ma y avoid the written exchange after the Session.     WT/REG176/M/1 
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  21. The Chairman  believed the most sensible way forwar d was for the EC and SADC to try and 
reach some common understanding on a bilateral basis.   He thanked the Parties for their cooperation 
and their efforts in addressing practically all the outstanding issues. 
22. The Committee took note  of the comments made. 
 
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