Hon members! Dr Delport and Mr Gaum, please leave the House for some time. Go and attend to your business outside. The speed with which you passed here really scared me. [Laughter.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, esteemed hon members, I rise to ask you to ratify the Free Trade Agreement between the Southern African Customs Union, Sacu, of which South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland are members, and the European Free Trade Association, Efta, that includes Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland.
The agreement is historic because it is the first full free trade agreement that Sacu has negotiated as a single entity. This agreement bears testimony to the ability of Sacu member states to co-ordinate their negotiating positions, overcome differences, and pursue a common set of negotiating objectives.
Under the terms of the agreement, the European Free Trade Association will grant the Southern African Customs Union full and immediate duty-free and quota-free access for industrial products on entry into force of the agreement.
The agreement further offers firm predictability and security that can be a positive inducement for investment decisions in Sacu. Also, with regard to basic agricultural products, Efta has offered Sacu limited but improved market access in several important product lines. This opens opportunities in agricultural trade, which is particularly important for Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. Sacu also reached an agreement with Efta to co-operate on the so-called new generation trade issues, that is trade in services, intellectual property, investment, competition and government procurement.
The Sacu-Efta agreement will establish a legal and institutional framework to conduct and manage trade relations between the parties. The agreement, containing the main text, a series of bilateral agricultural texts and several technical annexes, is currently subject to ratification procedures in all nine of the signatory countries with a view to its implementation on 1 January 2007. The agreement will thereafter be phased in over a period of up to nine years. Once fully implemented, substantially all trade between the parties will be duty-free.
Finally, and with respect, I request the National Assembly's support for the ratification of the Sacu-Efta agreement. I thank you. [Applause.]
Are there any objections to the approval of the agreement? No objections.
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) approved.
Consideration of Request for Approval by Parliament IN TERMS OF SECTION 231(2) OF THE CONSTITUTION - CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF