India, South Africa-led SACU group may ink terms of reference for negotiating trade pact on Aug 12
India and the SACU group will sign terms of reference for trade talks. Negotiations for a preferential trade agreement are expected to begin soon. South Africa is India's largest trading partner within the SACU bloc. Bilateral trade between India and South Africa saw a dip last fiscal year. Other SACU members like Botswana and Namibia show growing trade with India.
India and South Africa, as members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), are expected to sign terms of reference (ToRs) on August 12 for initiating a preferential trade agreement (PTA). This decision was made following a meeting between India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau.
The ToRs would be signed during the BRICS trade and industry ministers' meeting. The ToRs could facilitate duty concessions on goods between the two nations to boost bilateral commerce. In 2008, India and South Africa attempted to negotiate a pact, but the discussions were stalled due to market access disputes.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Economy's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
