Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The New Southern African Customs Union Agreement: Dependence with Democracy

2006; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 32; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03057070600830557

1465-3893

Richard Gibb,

Transport and Economic Policies

Abstract The history and character of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) make it a remarkable institution. It is the oldest customs union in the world and the most stable, coherent and significant economic grouping on the African continent. Established in 1910, the SACU Agreement was first renegotiated in 1969, following the independence of the High Commission Territories, and again in 2004, following the democratisation of South Africa. The defining characteristic of SACU is the unusually high degree of inequality in the levels of development amongst its member states. South Africa's dominance in the region was ‘hard-wired’ into the geopolitical and regional economic landscape of SACU during the colonial, postcolonial and apartheid periods. This article examines the character of the political and institutional infrastructures of the 1910, 1969 and 2004 SACU Agreements. The article explores in detail the new 2004 Agreement, in the context of the main criticisms levelled at the previous agreements, and examines the extent to which it represents a fundamental break with past practice. Notes *I express my gratitude to Dr Mark Brayshay and Professor Brian Chalkley for their extremely helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article as well as the anonymous reviewers from the Journal of Southern African Studies. I also want to thank the Leverhulme Trust (Grant No. RF&GG/7/RFG/2002/0182) for funding this research. 1 On gaining independence from the Republic of South Africa on 21 March 1990, Namibia became a member of the 1969 Southern African Customs Union Agreement. Namibia has existed as a sovereign member of SACU only since independence. However, South Africa previously treated South West Africa/Namibia as a de facto member of the Customs Union agreement. 2 World Trade Organisation (WTO), Trade Policy Review: Southern African Customs Union, Report by the Secretariat WT/TPR/S/114 (Geneva, WTO, 2003). 3 D. Simon and A. Johnston, ‘The Southern African Development Community’, Royal Institute for International Affairs Briefing Paper, New Series No. 8 (1999). 4 For a review of SACU literature see N. Mwase and G. Maasdorp, ‘The Southern African Customs Union’, in A. Oyejide, I. Elbadawi, and S. Yeo (eds), Regional Integration and Trade Liberalisation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Volume 3: Regional Case-studies (Basingstoke, Macmillian, 1999), pp. 197–250. 5 The World Bank, African Development Indicators (Washington DC, The World Bank, 2004). 6 C. McCarthy, ‘The Southern African Customs Union in Transition’, African Affairs, 109, 409 (October 2003), p. 609. 7 P. Vale and K. Motlasa, ‘Beyond the Nation-State: Rebuilding Southern Africa from Below’, Harvard International Review, 17, 4 (1995) and P. Vale, Security and Politics in South Africa: The Regional Dimension (London, Lynne Rienner, 2003). 8 See, for example, J. Walters, ‘Renegotiating Dependency: The Case of the Southern African Customs Union’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 28, 1 (1989), pp. 29–52: M. Mayer and H. Zarenda, ‘The Southern African Customs Union: A Review of Costs and Benefits’, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Policy Working Paper 19 (Halfway House, Development Bank of Southern Africa, 1994), and N. Mwase and G. Maasdorp, ‘The Southern African Customs Union’. 9 Semi-structured interviews were held with fourteen key actors involved with the SACU renegotiations process. Interviews took place in South Africa, Swaziland and Botswana during 1999–2002. Interviews were recorded and later transcribed and interviewees were assured of confidentiality. In South Africa, interviews took place with officials in the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Foreign Affairs, South African Revenue Service, South African Chamber of Commerce as well as individuals that served on the Board of Tariffs and Trade. In Swaziland and Botswana interviews took place in the Ministry of Finance. 10 M. Lee, The Political Economy of Regionalism in Southern Africa (London, Lynne Rienner, 2003). 11 S. Ettinger, ‘The Economics of the Customs Union Between Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa’ (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Michigan, 1974). 12 Mwase and Maasdorp, ‘The Southern African Customs Union’. 13 Ettinger, ‘The Economics of the Customs Union between Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa’, p. 57. 14 G. Maasdorp, ‘The Southern African Customs Union; an Assessment’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 2, 1 (1982), pp. 81–112 and G. Maasdorp, A Century of Customs Unions in Southern Africa, 1889–1989, (paper presented to the conference of the Economic Society of South Africa, Johannesburg, 6–7 September, 1989). 15 R. Hyam and P. Henshaw, The Lion and the Springbok: Britain and South Africa since the Boer War (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 102. 16 Union of South Africa Act, ‘Act of the British Parliament to Constitute the Union of South Africa’, British and Foreign State Papers, 1908–1909, Vol. 011, part IX (London, His Majesty's Stationary Office, 1909), p. 151. 17 Hyam and Henshaw, The Lion and the Springbok, p. 78. 18 Union of South Africa Act, part X. 19 Union of South Africa Act, part X, Paragraph 2, italics added. 20 Union of South Africa Act, part X, p. 37, italics added. 21 Union of South Africa Act, part X, p. 38. 22 See for example L. Thompson, The Unification of South Africa, 1902–1910 (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1960); L. Thompson, The Oxford History of South Africa, Volume II South Africa 1870–1966 (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1971); D. Torrance, ‘Britain, South Africa and the High Commission Territories: an Old Controversy Revisited’, The Historical Journal, 41 (1988), pp. 751–52 and Hyam and Henshaw, The Lion and the Springbok. 23 Union Gazette, Customs Agreement: Union of South Africa – Territories of Basutoland, Swaziland, and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Pretoria, Government Printer, 1910), pp. 711–12. 24 Union Gazette, Customs Agreement: Union of South Africa – Territories of Basutoland, Swaziland, and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Pretoria, Government Printer, 1910), p. 712. 25 Union Gazette, Customs Agreement: Union of South Africa – Territories of Basutoland, Swaziland, and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Pretoria, Government Printer, 1910), p. 711. 26 Union Gazette, Customs Agreement: Union of South Africa – Territories of Basutoland, Swaziland, and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Pretoria, Government Printer, 1910), Article IV, italics added. 27 Walters, ‘Renegotiating Dependency: The Case of the Southern African Customs Union’. 28 Union Gazette, Customs Agreement: Union of South Africa – Territories of Basutoland, Swaziland, and the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Article VI, p. 712, italics added. 29 R. Gibb, ‘Regional Integration in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa: The Case of Renegotiating the Southern African Customs Union’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 23, 1 (1997), pp. 67–86. 30 Ettinger, ‘The Economics of the Customs Union Between Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa’. 31 Lee, The Political Economy of Regionalism in Southern Africa, p. 75. 32 Hyam and Henshaw, The Lion and the Springbok, p. 107. 33 B. Newman, South African Journey (London, Herbert Jenkins, 1965), p. 119. 34 Ettinger, ‘The Economics of the Customs Union between Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa’, p. 80. 35 Hyam, and Henshaw, The Lion and the Springbok, p. 117. 36 J. Sidaway and R. Gibb, ‘SADC, COMESA, SACU: Contradictory Formats for Regional Integration’, in D. Simon (ed.), South Africa in Southern Africa: Reconfiguring the Region (Oxford, James Currey, 1988), pp. 164–84. 37 Ettinger, ‘The Economics of the Customs Union between Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa’, p. 90. 38 R. Gibb, ‘Southern Africa in Transition: Prospects and Problems Facing Regional Integration’, Journal of Modern African Studies, 36, 2 (1998), pp. 287–306. 39 Ettinger, ‘The Economics of the Customs Union between Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa’, p. 99. 40 Republic of South Africa, ‘Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland’, Government Gazette, No. 1212, Volume 54 (Government Printer, Pretoria, 1969), Preamble. 41 Republic of South Africa, ‘Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland’, Government Gazette, No. 1212, Volume 54 (Government Printer, Pretoria, 1969), Preamble, Article 20 (1), italics added. 42 Republic of South Africa, ‘Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland’, Government Gazette, No. 1212, Volume 54 (Government Printer, Pretoria, 1969), Preamble, p. 3. 43 Republic of South Africa, ‘Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland’, Government Gazette, No. 1212, Volume 54 (Government Printer, Pretoria, 1969), Preamble, Article 5, italics added. 44 R. Kirk and M. Stern, ‘The New Southern African Customs Union Agreement’, Africa Working Paper Series AWPS57 (The World Bank, Washington DC, 2003). 45 Republic of South Africa, Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, The Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland, Article XIV (7). 46 Republic of South Africa, Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, The Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland, Article VII (I). 47 Republic of South Africa, Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, The Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland, Article VI (I). 48 Republic of South Africa, Customs Union Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, The Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland, Article VI (III). 49 See R. Davies, ‘The Southern African Customs Union: Background and Possible Negotiating Issues Facing a Democratic Government’ (Cape Town, Centre for Southern African Studies, University of the Western Cape, 1994); M. Meyer and H. Zarenda, ‘The Southern African Customs Union: A Review of Costs and Benefits’; and Kirk, and Stern, ‘The New Southern African Customs Union Agreement’. 50 D. Simon, ‘Regional Development–Environment Discourses, Policies and Practices in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa’, in J. Grant. and F. Söderbaum (eds), The New Regionalism in Africa (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2003), pp. 67–89; and Lee, The Political Economy of Regionalism in Southern Africa. 51 Mayer, and Zarenda ‘The Southern African Customs Union’. 52 Mayer, and Zarenda ‘The Southern African Customs Union: A Review of costs and benefits’ p. 8. 53 Republic of South Africa, Customs Union Agreement Between the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, The Republic of Botswana, The Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland, Preamble. 54 Gibb, ‘Southern Africa in Transition’. 55 P.J. McGowan, South Africa in SADC (paper presented to a conference ‘New directions in the Southern African Development Community’, sponsored by United States of America State Department, Meridian International Center, Washington DC, 10th December 1999), p. 4. 56 Lee, The Political Economy of Regionalism in Southern Africa and Mwase and Maasdorp, ‘The Southern African Customs Union’. 57 C. McCarthy, ‘The Southern African Customs Union in Transition’, African Affairs, 102 (2003), pp. 605–30. 58 G. Hattingh, ‘The New Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Draft Agreement (unpublished paper, Department of Trade and Industry, Pretoria, 2002). 59 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002 (Windhoek, Southern African Customs Union Secretariat, 2003). 61 World Trade Organisation (WTO), Trade Policy Review: Southern African Customs Union, Report by the Governments, WT/TPR/S/114 (Geneva, WTO, 2003), p. 7. 60 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002 (Windhoek, Southern African Customs Union Secretariat, 2003), Article 8b. 62 J. Peterson and E. Bomberg, Decision-making in the European Union (Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1999). 63 Gibb, ‘Regional Integration in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa’. 64 Gibb, ‘Regional Integration in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa: The Case of Renegotiating the Southern African Customs Union’, p. 83. 65 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002, Articles 16 and 17. 66 Oxford English Dictionary, The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1933), p. 851. 67 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002, Articles 31.3 and 31.2, respectively. 68 G. Erasmus, ‘New SACU Institutions: Prospects for Regional Integration’, Working Paper of the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (Stellenbosch, Trade Law Centre (TRELAC), 2004), p. 9. 69 A. Hurrell, ‘International Society and the Study of Regimes: A Reflective Approach’, in V. Rittberger (ed.), Regime Theory and International Relations (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993), pp. 49–72 and J. Peterson and E. Bomberg, Decision-making in the European Union (Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1999). 70 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002, Article 13.1. 71 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002, Article 13.1, italics added. 72 F. Hayes-Renshaw and H. Wallace, The Council of Ministers (Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1997). 73 McCarthy, ‘The Southern African Customs Union in Transition’, p. 622. 74 R. Gibb, ‘Globalisation and Africa's Economic Recovery: A Case Study of the European Union–South Africa Post-Apartheid Trading Regime’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 29, 4 (2003), pp. 885–901. 75 A. Lemon and R. Gibb, ‘Trade, Aid and Foreign Investment: Southern Africa and the European Union’, in A. Lemon and C. Rogerson (eds), Geography and Economy in South Africa and its Neighbours (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2002), pp. 292–314. 76 R. Gibb, ‘Regional Economic Integration’, in A. Lemon and C. Rogerson (eds), Geography and Economy in South Africa and its Neighbours (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2002), pp. 273–91. 77 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002, Articles 21.1 and 21.1, bold added. 78 Oxford English Dictionary, The Oxford English Dictionary, p. 885. 79 McCarthy, ‘The Southern African Customs Union in Transition’, p. 629. 80 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002, Article 2b. 81 Erasmus, ‘New SACU Institutions: Prospects for Regional Integration’. 82 SACU Secretariat, Southern African Customs Union Agreement 2002. 83 McCarthy, ‘The Southern African Customs Union in Transition’. 84 R. Gibb, T. Hughes, G. Mills and T. Vaahtoranta (eds), Charting a New Course: Globalisation, African Recovery and the New Africa Initiative (Johannesburg, South African Institute of International Affairs, 2002).