Africa-Press – Angola. The Secretary of State for Commerce, Amadeu Nunes, assured, this Monday, that the Angolan Government continues to work to conclude, later this year, the process of negotiations for the country to integrate the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) of Southern African Development Community (SADC).
According to the official, the country is at an advanced stage of preparation to join the SADC FTA, having already presented its tariff offer which will be submitted for approval and adoption by the Committee of Ministers of Trade in 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 and interaction with member states, the negotiation process will be smoother, more practical and objective.
Amadeu Nunes recalled that the country already has the tariff 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 products at zero”, he explained.
According to the source, the country’s tariff may be at zero for a product, but, if in commercial terms, another country wants to supply the same product in better conditions, it imports from that country.
The idea, he said, 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 in other countries with advantages, as the national industry is already beginning to produce and evolve it”..
Secretariat supports Angola
In turn, the senior manager of the customs program 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 FTA, pointing to the liberalization of 50% of tariff lines with zero tariff in relation to that of the most favored nation.
“What is missing is the other 50% that will be part of your tariff offer for Angola to start implementing the FTA. Looking at categories A, B, C, it is expected that Angola reaches 85% of its tariff lines so that it starts to implement the SADC FTA”, he advanced.
Having already liberalized 50% of tariff lines, according to the most favored 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 was important to count on the contribution of businessmen so that they feel comfortable when the country starts to implement the FTA.
The objective of the region’s technical mission is to accompany the tariff 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.
By 2018, it was estimated that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had an estimated population of 307 million inhabitants and a GDP of US$707 billion.
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