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The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies and Deputy Minister Mr. Bulelani Magwanishe are in Brussels, Belgium to attend the 20th African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Ministerial Committee and the 15th Joint ACP-European Union (EU) Ministerial Trade Committee meeting (JMTC) on 18-20 October 2017. The ACP consists of 79 countries from the three regions.

The meeting will discuss the upcoming 11th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC11) that is scheduled to take place from 10 – 13 December 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The meeting is expected to adopt a common ACP position for the Group’s participation at MC11.

The Ministers will also discuss the outcome of the WTO Informal Ministerial Gathering that was held in Morocco earlier this month. That meeting provided an opportunity for the exchange of views between the Trade Ministers and for the Ministers to provide guidance to the officials in Geneva on possible outcomes MC11; which is the highest decision making body in the WTO.

In the gathering in Morocco, Minister Davies said that South Africa’s priorities are aligned to those of the African Group and the ACP Group. The priority for these groups are to finish the outstanding work of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) including, in agriculture, to address the trade distorting domestic support subsidies being provided by mainly developed countries.

At the last JMTC meeting, South Africa called upon all WTO members, including the EU, to ensure that the negotiations deliver on all the outstanding issues and that development is at the heart of the discussions.

This week’s JMTC will exchange views on the future of multilateralism in light of recent pronouncements by some major global trade players and bearing in mind the redrawing of international trade partnerships.

Another issue to be discussed at the meetings will be the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and ACP countries. SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC EPA), between the European Union and six countries of the Southern African Development Community, marked the first anniversary this week. The SADC EPA offered SA an opportunity to improve market access provisions to better than the once previously offered under the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA).

The meetings will also discuss the state of play in the Brexit process and the implications of the United Kingdom (UK) exiting the EU. Further issues to be discussed include Non-Tariff Measures and fisheries.

Issued by Department of Trade and Industry