The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) has published “Guidelines for Exporters Wishing to Access the Economic Assistance Package to Cuba”. According to the dti, South Africa is offering Cuba an economic assistance package to the value of R350 million (a combination of grants and credit lines). R210 million will be made available immediately for a period of 12 months following entry into force of the agreement. Of that, R40 million is a grant for the purchase of seeds by Cuba (R5 million of which will be used to purchase seeds in the South African market, with the remaining R35 million to be used for the purchase of seeds from any country). The remaining R170 million will be used to purchase goods from the South African market. The remainder of the package (R140 million) will be made available in two years’ time. As soon as the agreement enters into force, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) will be appointed as Facility Agent, responsible for the day-to-day management of the agreement on behalf of the Republic of South Africa (RSA). The IDC will, on behalf of Cuba, pay exporters upon receipt of invoices and exporters must be South African companies and should not be listed on the National Treasury Restriction Database. All goods and services must be produced in the RSA, with a minimum 50% RSA content. The exporter will be required to complete an RSA content declaration form, which can be obtained from the IDC. Products excluded from the agreement are armaments, tobacco and beverages with an alcohol content exceeding 24% per volume. The nature of the agreement requires ratification by the Parliaments in the respective countries before implementation. The ratification process is expected to be concluded by the end of July 2012. The dti will issue a notice on its website as soon as the agreement has entered into force. Once the ratification process is concluded, a copy of the agreement will be made available to interested parties upon request. All South African exporters are encouraged to obtain information about how the agreement works before concluding any transactions with the Cuban importer. Procedure to Follow Before Exporting Prior to any transaction, the exporter must liaise with the IDC to gain an understanding of how the process works. The exporter must sign an export contract with the Cuban importer, which must be sent to the IDC for approval by the Cuban importer and his government. The exporter has an obligation to ensure that the products sold to Cuba are covered under the credit lines agreement. Required Supporting Documents (All completed supporting documentation must be forwarded to the IDC.) • Form of Funds Reserve Request; • Certificate: products sold fall within the coverage of the Agreement; • Form of Disbursement Request; and • South African Content Declaration.