A free-trade deal between the United States and five Southern African countries remains deadlocked over key issues following a day of talks in Pretoria, a top US official said on Tuesday.
US Deputy Trade Representative Karan Bhatia concluded a day-long meeting with his Southern African Customs Union (SACU) counterparts in Pretoria aimed at reviving stalled negotiations, in the pipeline since June 2003.
”We had very good and productive conversations with our SACU counterparts,” Bhatia told reporters after the talks, which touched on cooperation in the areas of customs and agriculture.
”But it didn’t get to the hardest issues out there which will need to be accomplished for a FTA [free-trade agreement] but perhaps weren’t right to be accomplished this month or the next,” he added.
A free-trade agreement between the US and SACU, comprised of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, was first mooted in 2002 and the deal was expected to be in place by December 2004.
But talks are stalled around issues including intellectual property, government procurement and investment.
The United States exported goods worth around $4,1-billion to SACU countries last year while imports topped $6,8-billion during the same period, according to US government figures.
South Africa made up the bulk of SACU’s economy, accounting for 91% of the bloc’s 2003 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $175-billion. – Sapa-AFP