Linda Ensor
7 November 2008
Cape Town — Barack Obama's win could open up the possibility of a free-trade agreement between southern Africa and the US, trade and industry director-general Tshediso Matona said yesterday.
Negotiations on a free-trade agreement between the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and the US were suspended by mutual consent in 2006 after about three years because of disagreement on the scope of the proposed deal.
Since then, Sacu has concluded a trade, investment and development co-operation agreement with the US.
Matona said the US government under Obama would probably give renewed attention to Africa, though there was a danger of it adopting protectionist trade measures, especially in the context of an economic slowdown.
The cabinet congratulated Obama on his election as the first black president of the US, and expressed hope for improved US-SA relations, saying that SA was "looking forward to a fruitful working relationship with the US at bilateral and multilateral level" under his leadership.
"Mr Obama's election is an indication that American society is undergoing transformation. The South African government believes that Mr Obama's election will lay a solid foundation for the redefinition of America's relations with the rest of the world," the cabinet statement said.
Matona said the closest co-operation between SA and the US had been under Democratic president Bill Clinton.
"I am not sure whether there will be any appetite in the US to continue with the bilateral commission, which was a huge operation. I expect that there will be an improvement in line with the policies of the Democratic Party in seeking closer co-operation with SA," Matona said.
"SA has said it would return to the free trade process when conditions allowed it and I suppose the victory of Obama in the US does change conditions to explore again whether we can conclude a mutually beneficial agreement.
"The (US's) Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which facilitated the export of manufactured products from SA into the US, provided a strong foundation for the trade relationship," Matona said.
Later, during a briefing to Parliament's trade and industry committee, Matona highlighted the lack of co-ordination in the government, which was holding back the effective implementation of policies. This had been a problem for the past 15 years.
Discussion about a central planning commission in the government was important to address the issue. Matona said the cluster system was an attempt to grapple with it but had intrinsic weaknesses. A voluntary system would not work - there had to be penalties and incentives to achieve better co-ordination.
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