SADC, EU launch implementation of trade projects

the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU) have formally launched the implementation of projects valued at 31.6 million Euros.

The projects were launched under the Trade Related Facility (TRF), which was established through a contribution agreement between the EU and SADC in 2014.

The objective of the TRF is to improve the participation of SADC member states in regional and international trade to contribute to sustainable development within the region.

Projects supported by the TRF mainly focus on customs cooperation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, rules of origin, trade facilitation, industrial development, trade promotion and development, and trade in services. In addition, there are specific areas that relate to the EPA Window, namely trade defence instruments, trade-related adjustment and competition policy.

SADC member states that have signed and ratified the SADC Protocol on Trade and are benefitting from the TRF are Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.