Page 52 - 40th Summit Brochure 2020

gramme is intended to support the imple-
mentation of the Industrialisation Strategy
and Roadmap. During the period under re-
view, the following major activities were un-
dertaken on customs and trade facilitation:
❖ Finalisation of the development of a
Simplif ed Trade Regime (STR) Frame-
work aimed at reducing barriers to
trade by simplifying the customs pro-
cedures and processes. T e implemen-
tation of the STR concept includes
support to small traders by lowering
transaction costs associated with for-
mal trade. T e list of the qualifying
Impact of COVID-19 products, thresholds in terms of the
T e SADC regional economy which was fore- value of goods as well as permissible
cast to recover in 2020 according to the Octo- cross-border travel frequencies have
ber 2019 World Economic Outlook, has seen been f nalised following extensive con-
signif cant downward revision due to the ad- sultation with relevant stakeholders.
verse impact of COVID-19. T erefore the T e Framework was considered by
2020 economic growth projections for the the Committee of Ministers of Trade
SADC region have been revised downwards (CMT) meeting held in June 2019. T e
to a negative 3 percent. Disruptions of eco- CMT directed the Secretariat to review
nomic activity and the elevated expenditures the proposed SADC Simplif ed Trade
by governments coupled with economic pack- Regime Framework to be voluntary and
ages in response to the pandemic is expected based on bilateral arrangements con-
to af ect the f scal position for SADC Member sidering similar initiatives existing in
States. Consequently, the f scal def cit is fore- Member States and other Regional Eco-
cas to widen to 5.7 percent of GDP compared nomic Communities. T e Secretariat 49
to the previous estimate of 3 percent of GDP. reviewed the framework and the re-
Debt levels are forecast to increase beyond the vised proposal will be considered by
regional threshold of 60 percent of GDP to CMT at its next meeting.
63.6 percent from the earlier projection of 53.6 ❖ T e SADC Electronic Certif cate of
percent. Origin (e-CoO) Framework was
T e estimated regional and global eco- adopted by the CMT in June 2019. T e
nomic contraction and weak demand in com- Framework seeks to enable traders to
modities are expected to result in a apply for the certif cate of origin elec-
deterioration of the SADC external position tronically. T is is expected to reduce
with the current account def cit forecast to the amount of time it takes for the cer-
widen to about 9 percent of GDP from an ini- tif cate to be issued. In addition, the re-
tial estimate of 4.2 percent of GDP. T e dete- gional e-CoO is expected to enhance
rioration of the external position coupled with the integrity of customs and trade op-
the increased importation of medication and erations due to the reduced human in-
medical equipment will put pressure on for- terface. Training and development
eign reserves and exchange rates of SADC programmes for Member States in-
Member States, which may result in the sig- volved in the pilot phase have been con-
nif cant depreciation of currencies across the ducted. T e participating countries are
region. T e longevity of the pandemic will de- Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia,
termine the severity of the economic impact. Tanzania and Zambia.
❖ T e Draf Regional Customs Transit
Guarantee (RCTG) Regulations were
reviewed and will be presented for con-
CUSTOMS AND TRADE FACILITATION
sideration by the CMT in consultation
with the Committee of Ministers of Fi-
Trade Facilitation nance and Investment in June or July
SADC is implementing the SADC Trade Fa- 2020. T e RCTG is a system that en-
cilitation Programme (TFP) approved by the ables the ef cient movement of goods
Ministerial Task Force on Regional Eco- in transit, through the adoption of re-
nomic Integration in July 2016. T e Pro-
gionally accepted customs administra-