Efforts by the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) to establish a Tariff Board and a Tribunal are at an advanced stage.
This was said by Tswelopeple Moremi, the executive secretary of SACU, during a workshop held in Windhoek on the Statistical Treatment of SACU Transactions in the Balance of Payments, National Accounts and Government Financial Statistics, facilitated by the International Monetary Fund.

Moremi said an annex on the Tariff Board and National Bodies was adopted by the SACU Council in September 2006.
Officials from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland are currently undergoing training, with a view to establish national bodies by the end of 2007, said Moremi.
“It is anticipated that the Tariff Board will be operational by January 2008. This will ensure joint decision making in the setting of tariffs,” said Moremi.
In an effort to integrate SACU into the global economy, a number of trade agreements have been concluded with third parties. Already SACU has concluded negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as well as MERCOSUR.
It is expected that these negotiations will result in better market access for SACU products and increased investment flows into the SACU region. Negotiations with the EU are being pursued through SADC and a trade and investment development cooperation agreement is being pursued with the United States of America.
“An important development currently being pursued in this area is the drafting of the Common Negotiating Mechanism that will guide the process of negotiations with third parties. It is anticipated that the Common Negotiating Mechanism will be in place by December 2007.
The new SACU Agreement also provides for the development of common policies on industrial, agriculture and competition as well as policies on unfair trade practices. Work has started in all these areas and it is anticipated that policies on unfair trade practices will be in place by December 2007,” Moremi said.
Moremi said in the area of trade facilitation, a programme which entails the establishment of one-stop borders, electronic data interchange, joint border controls and the introduction of a single customs document is being pursued. A single administrative customs document was introduced in the whole of SACU in October 2006.
“Efforts are underway by the different customs administrations to electronise data capture,” said Moremi.