Luanda – The secretary of State for Commerce, Amadeu Nunes, assured this Monday that the Angolan government is still working to conclude, anytime this year, the process of negotiations for the country to join the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) of Southern African Development Community (SADC).
According to the official, the country is at an advanced stage of readiness to join the SADC's Free Trade Zone, having already presented its tariff offer which will be submitted for approval and adoption by the Committee of Ministers of Trade of the region.
Speaking to the press, on the sidelines of the opening of consultative meetings with the Executive Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), within the framework of Angola's accession to the SADC Protocol on Trade, he referred that after the presentation of the tariff offer proposal for the country, as well as interaction with member states, the negotiation process will be smoother, more practical and objective.
Amadeu Nunes recalls that the country already has its tariffs offer presented, with three thousand tariff lines already at zero rate.
"What we did was increase it to 85%, but this is phased, it does not mean that when we enter immediately, other countries can come and put the products at zero", explained Amadeu Nunes.
According to him, the country's tariffs chart may be zero for a product, but, if in commercial terms another country wants to supply the same product in better conditions, anyone can import from that country.
The idea, according to the secretary of State, is to take advantage of the market in other countries, reinforcing the need for the private sector to take advantage of being in a Free Trade Area and being able to place its products “also in other countries with advantages, because the national industry is already starting to produce, it is evolving and we have products to place in other countries as well”.
Secretariat Supports Angola
On his turn, the senior manager of the customs programme at the SADC Secretariat, Alcides Monteiro, explained that the mission follows on from the work of the SADC Secretariat to support Angola's accession to the zone.
Alcides Monteiro recognized the steps already taken by Angola to adhere to the trade protocol and implement the FTZ, pointing to the liberalization of 50% of tariff lines with zero tariff compared to the most favoured nation.
What is missing is the other 50% that will be part of the tariff offer for Angola to start implementing the FTZ, he explained. He went on to say that Looking at categories A, B, C, Angola is expected to reach 85% of its tariff lines so that it starts to implement the SADC FTZ.
Having already crossed out 50% of tariff lines, according to the most favoured nation principle, Angola will only need 35%, which is subject to negotiation, according to a senior staff member of the SADC secretariat.
In this process, he said it is important to count on the contribution of businesspeople so that they feel comfortable when the country starts to implement the FTZ.
The objective of the region's technical mission is to closely follow the tariffs chart offer review process, concluding with an understanding and a common approach on different issues, in order to facilitate the negotiation process and the harmonious implementation of the roadmap.
In 2018 it was estimated that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had an estimated population of 307 million inhabitants and a US$707 billion GDP.
