Sustainable development : Missing piece in the Southern African Customs Union's regional trading arrangements?

The study focuses on the actual and potential sustainable development outcomes of the discussed trade deals in terms of the expansion of trade and improvements in market access. [...] Various challenges have undermined the implementation of the Trade Protocol, including the differentiated tariff reduction schedules, restrictive rules of origin, ongoing member state concerns about the costs and risks of intra-regional tariff liberalization, and the slow pace itself of the implementation of the agreed commitments. [...] They will also provide technical assistance to the SACU states in order to assist them in the implementation of the Agreement and will provide assistance to those SACU sectors that will be affected by the process of liberalization and restructuring of the economy of the SACU states. [...] SACU was prepared to grant access to the SACU market on terms and conditions already offered to the EU in the context of the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA). [...] SACU and its member states thus need to link the achievement of Agenda 21 and the JPOI targets to current and future trade negotiations, and integrate development and the environment in national and regional trade policies.