Friday marked the start of trade for South African firms under two new trade agreements, the trade and industry and competition department (dtic) said.
These agreements are with countries ready to trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA); and with the United Kingdom following Brexit, the dtic said in a statement.
South Africa had put in place the legal and administrative processes for the start of trade under the AfCFTA on January 1, 2021 following a decision by the 13th extraordinary session of the assembly on the AfCFTA on December 5, 2020 to start trading under the AfCFTA on the basis of legally implementable and reciprocal tariff schedules and concessions with agreed rules of origin, the department said.
The AfCFTA agreement had been signed by 54 of the 55 African Union (AU) member states and 34 countries had already deposited their instruments of ratification to the AU Commission and became state parties. Read More.
