Luanda - Angola presented Monday the proposal to waive 5,408 tariff lines corresponding to 90% of the country's customs tariffs to fully adhere to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Trade Exchange Protocol.
The proposal was submitted during the 2nd forum on the country's accession to the aforementioned protocol of this regional organization of the continent taking place in Luanda, until the 21st.
Speaking at the event, the national director for Integration and Economic Development, Anatólio Domingos, considered Angola's proposal optimistic, clarifying that the organization establishes an exemption of 85% of customs tariffs, 15% in three years, and the SADC harmonized system includes 6,007 tariff lines.
The remaining 10% of tariffs, he stressed, will be integrated over the next five years, after Angola's approval and accession to the African Free Trade Area (FTA).
These, he said, are category C, corresponding to sensitive products, provided for in the Support Programme for Production, Export Diversification and Import Substitution (PRODESI). For the official, this “offer” of 90% exemption liberalises most products, from the lowest to the highest customs tariff, and he therefore hopes that this specialist technical meeting will approve in a report Angola's accession to the SADC Trade Exchange Protocol.
In the director's view, given the “ambitious” proposal, with an offer higher than that recommended by the organisation, there should be a consensus on the country's accession at the end of the work. In turn, the Industrial Development and Trade of the SADC Secretariat director, Dhunraj Kassee, said that “the forum represents another step towards strengthening trade relations and eliminating barriers to regional integration”.
He stated that inter-regional trade in the community is low and not very diversified, which is why the need to develop the industrial sector in the region is on the agenda of the SADC Industry and Trade Ministers' Committee. Dhunraj Kassee reported that 13 countries are part of the Free Trade Area.
He stressed that Angola is not yet included, but is the second largest economy in the region and, for this reason, he hopes that the discussions and analyses of his proposal will be given due importance during the forum.
He guaranteed the full implementation of the Protocol on Trade in the SADC Free Trade Area (SADC-FTA) in the short term, and that he will continue to monitor Angola's process. The SADC-FTA consolidation process initially foresees the inclusion of countries that are not yet full members, such as Angola.
With this, the country will benefit from the simplification of rules of origin, reduction of customs tariffs and other trade advantages.
One of the largest markets in SADC, Angola has the potential to strengthen intra-regional trade and boost its economy.
The SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) has been in force since 2008, with 13 (out of 16) member states of the organization actively participating in trade transactions. The SADC Protocol on Trade is a legal instrument that regulates trade relations between member countries of the community and aims, among other objectives, to liberalize trade between member countries, increase production and improve the business climate. OPF/VC/TED/DOJ
