On 25 November Sars advised of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the member states of the Mercosur and the member states of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).
The Mercosur member states consist of the Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. The PTA has been concluded between the member states of the Common Market of Sacu.
The PTA has been enacted into South African law in terms of the Act 1964 by publication in the Government Gazette of 21 October 2016 and came into effect on the same day.
PTA between Mercosur and Sacu contains the following documentation:
(i) Annex III - Concerning the definition of the concept of “Originating Products” and methods of Administrative cooperation - (a) Appendix I to Annex III - Introductory Notes to the List in Appendix II; (b) Appendix II to Annex III - List of working or processing required to be ca1Tied out on non-originating materials in order that the product manufactured can obtain originating status; (c) Appendix III to Annex III - Specimens of Sacu-Mercosur certificate of origin and application for a Sacu-Mercosur certificate of origin; and (d) Appendix IV to Annex III - Understanding on Free Zones on conclusion of the Sacu-Mercosur PTA.
(ii) Annex IV - Safeguard Measures.
(iii) Annex V - Dispute Settlement Procedure.
(iv) Annex VI - Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
(v) Annex VII - Annex on Mutual Administrative Assistance between the Customs Administrations of Mercosur and the Sacu regarding customs cooperation matters.