FTA agreements focus on four prime markets

ALTHOUGH A number of proposed new free trade agreements (FTAs) have been publicised in the media, the main agreements currently in the pipeline are with the US, the South American Mercosur members, India and Nigeria, according to Riaan de Lange, director of consultants, Tariff and Trade Solutions. On the US front, he said, the FTA is still under negotiation. Although the FTA is reciprocal, and would replace the currently non-reciprocal African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) – De Lange points to a clause in the Agoa contract which dictates eventual reciprocity in that agreement. The present FTA negotiations, he added, are looking at the list of US products which would eventually enter SA duty-free. With the European FTA having taken seven years to finalise, De Lange reckons that it will still be 18 months to two years for the US agreement to reach that stage. Meantime, the original memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mercosur (in which Brazil and Argentine are the driving forces), was signed in 2000. But, said De Lange, earlier this year a list of 1 000 products was published – which are duty-free or will eventually be so in the two-way FTA. “They are presently looking at the next phase of products which will be included in the agreement,” he added, “which means that at least another 6 500 products have still to be added.” The Indian and Nigerian FTAs, according to De Lange, are still very much at the birthing stage.