Washington DC – U.S. business leaders and representatives of numerous nongovernmental organizations gathered today in support of a U.S.-Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Free Trade Agreement at a briefing organized by the U.S.- SACU FTA Coalition and hosted by the United States Trade Representative’s Office. Josette S. Shiner, Associate United States Trade Representative and Chief Negotiator for the U.S.-SACU FTA addressed the gathering, outlining the importance of a SACU FTA to the United States.
Dignitaries from the embassies of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and
Swaziland, the five nations that comprise the Southern African Customs Union, were also in attendance.
“We are committed to working with the USTR and the SACU nations to help promote a successful negotiation of the free trade agreement,” said Will Stephens, US-SACU FTA Coalition co-chair, and Vice President International Government Affairs, Johnson & Johnson.
An FTA will create improved market opportunities for U.S. companies in the five SACU national and will help foster economic growth in the SACU region by eliminating barriers to trade and investment.
“The Administration’s foresight in wanting to move on a FTA with southern Africa represents an unbroken, bipartisan commitment to extending the reach of American business globally, as well as an opportunity for African nations and businesses to see first hand what free and transparent trade means in the world’s largest market,” said Robert L. Mallett, Chairman of the U.S.-South Africa Business Council, Senior Vice President of Pfizer and former Deputy Secretary of Commerce. “It is good for American business and good for Africa, a real win-win.”
The U.S.-South Africa Business Council also announced the appointment of Rosa Whitaker, the former Assistant USTR for Africa, as its new Vice Chair.
Formal negotiations on the US-SACU FTA are expected to commence in April.
The U.S.-SACU FTA Coalition is a broad-based group of U.S. corporations and associations supporting a bilateral free trade agreement between the U.S. and the SACU nations – South Africa and its neighbors Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia. The U.S.-SACU FTA Coalition is coordinated by the U.S.-South Africa Business Council and the National Foreign Trade Council.
