| | The United States-Southern Africa Customs Union free trade agreement (US- SACU FTA) negotiations began in June 2003 to create the first US free trade area with Africa. The Southern Africa Customs Union, which originated in 1889, is one of the oldest formal trading blocks and includes Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. As organizations that have worked for many decades in Southern Africa and in the US on issues that concern this region, we share goals of a more just, sustainable and prosperous human society in the region. In this spirit, we raise serious concerns related to the negotiations of the US-SACU FTA and offer recommendations that are essential to a more just trade relationship between the United States and the nations of Southern Africa. |
