SANCTIONS THREATS MAY IMPAIR TRADE BENEFITS

EZULWINI – Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Finance Sizakele Dlamini says the increasing threats of economic sanctions may impair trade benefits and market access such as those from AGOA.

Dlamini was delivering her remarks during the 72nd Meeting of the SACU Commission, that was taking place on the eve of the 8th SACU Summit scheduled for the June 29, 2023.
The meeting was held at the Happy Valle y hotel in Ezulwini on Saturday. Dlamini, who is also the Chairperson of the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) Commission said this meeting was taking place when the region was inundated with numerous challenges, which include gloom global economic growth, coupled with increasing levels of inflation and supply chain disruptions, largely due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict that continues to complicate the geopolitical space.

Threats

“There are also real risks including increasing threats of economic sanctions that may impair trade benefits and market access such as those from the AGOA,” said Dlamini. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated sub-Saharan African countries (SSAs). The programme dates from 2000 and has the goal of promoting economic growth through good governance and free markets. Dlamini said it had also been noted from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the economic forecast showed that the global economic outlook for 2023 remained pessimistic.  

Growth

“For instance, the global growth is projected to fall to from 3.4 in 2022 to 2.8 per cent in 2023,” said the PS. She also stated that growth in SACU was projected to mirror the global prospects with the region expected to register an average weighted growth of 1.8 per cent in the current year compared to 2.3 per cent in 2022. Dlamini said what was key for SACU was how to position itself and capitalise on the opportunities these geo-strategic developments present while mitigating the challenges they posed. She said it was critical to reflect and monitor the global economic outlook as this had the potential to impact on the macro-economic policies direction, and the direction, SACU had agreed on as articulated in the SACU Strategic Plan 2022-2027.

Trends

Dlamini mentioned that as the economic trajectory was showing likely positive trends for the coming year, it was important to reflect on how SACU could leverage on this and work towards advancing work that would see developments in the region. She said this, therefore, calls for SACU member States to put more effort in advancing the work on industrialisation, trade facilitation and leveraging on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) amongst others, as the core pillars identified to advance the region’s economic growth. Eswatini in particular is faced with targeted sanction threats issued by members of the United States Legislature. Joint resolution 174 on the Kingdom of Eswatini now enters the third phase the critical one wherein it shall be referred to Senate and House of Representatives for approval. It has been placed on Senate legislative calendar, under General Orders, Calendar No. 92.

Process

If it passes, it goes to President Joe Biden for signature. His signature completes the process to make it a law. That would be followed by the release of a list of Eswatini people to face the sanctions. The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has already approved the resolution tabled by Senator Christopher Coons and supported by three of his colleagues.
Its approval sets in motion a series of actions aimed at holding individuals accountable for alleged violation of human rights in the country. The resolution also demands democratic elections and emphasises the importance of political dialogue and justice for Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko who was assassinated in January this year.

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