The five member states of this Customs Union continue to show substantial differences in levels of economic development and, so far, the only trade policy instruments harmonized are the applied customs tariff, excise duties, duty rebates, refunds and drawbacks, customs valuation, non-preferential rules of origin, and contingency trade remedies.
The report notes that the complete implementation of the 2002 SACU Agreement, which entered into force in July 2004, would result in further harmonization of policies, deeper economic integration and more balanced development that now seem elusive.
While noting that South African economy, the biggest and most advanced of the Union, remains relatively diversified, the report also says that the principal policy imperative faced by the other SACU countries remains diversification away from the current key export products (diamonds and other minerals in Botswana and Namibia, textiles in Lesotho and sugar in Swaziland).
The report, along with policy statements by the Governments of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), will be the basis for the third Trade Policy Review (TPR) of SACU by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 4 and 6 November 2009.#
TRADE POLICY REVIEW
GDP growth has been somewhat erratic in SACU member states
BOTSWANA, LESOTHO, NAMIBIA, SOUTH AFRICA AND SWAZILAND
Special Correspondent - 2009-11-04 16:05
Since the previous review in 2003, SACU members (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland), have collectively expanded at an average annual rate of about 4% in real terms, although this GDP growth has been somewhat erratic mainly reflecting infrastructure and other constraints, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of SACU.