By Martin Rushmere Zimbabwe and South Africa are again at loggerheads over trade. But this time it concerns the 12-member Southern African Development Community.
South Africa wants the time period for reducing tariffs to agreed levels to last 10 years, while Zimbabwe and most other members want five. Hennie Erasmus, economic counsellor at the high commission in Harare, says that sensitive industries - those that would be affected by low tariffs - should be treated differently from non-sensitive ones. He cites sensitive industries in South Africa as being textiles, clothing, and agricultural processing.
An impasse has already been reached on the issue, although there has been an undertaking by all states that an agreement has to be ready for signing at the next heads of state meeting in Maseru on August 24.
