SACU and Trade Facilitation: A Post-Covid Pandemic Legal Analysis for Improved Efficiency

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) prioritizes trade facilitation as one of its primary objectives in its founding Agreement (Article 2 (a)), implementing programmes to increase trade through expedited movement, and release and clearance of goods in the region. The oldest Customs Union in the world anticipated increased trade-flows following the entry into force and implementation of the progressive World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA), and operation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Its aspirations, however, were dampened by the Covid-19 pandemic, which presented supply side challenges and slowed customs processes. Members introduced critical legislative measures to reduce or stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and initiate needed trade-facilitations interventions at a national and regional level. SACU also played a role in this regard, albeit a minimal one, through Council decisions. This raises the question of the SACU’s effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, its relevance in its functions, institutional structural readiness to address pandemics and regional emergencies, and future role it will play in this regard. This article examines trade-facilitation related responses from the institution following the outbreak of the pandemic, and adequacies/inadequacies of the said measures. The article, lastly, proposes trade-facilitation related approaches the SACU could adopt to improve efficiency for future pandemics and other global emergencies. SACU, Trade-Facilitation, Customs, Covid-19, Southern-Africa, Africa, AfCFTA, WTO, WCO, Tariff