Where to for South Africa and the Doha Development Agenda?

The document analyzes the impasse of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and proposes a strategic negotiating stance for South Africa. It argues that South Africa should leverage concessions in the services sector to secure greater market access for agriculture and protect its industrial policy space through the NAMA carve-out, particularly considering its obligations within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

• The Doha Development Agenda (DDA) remains in a deadlock due to a lack of balance between developed countries and emerging economies regarding the concessions demanded and made, leading to a failure to deliver on the Doha mandate and the least developed countries (LDC) package.
• South Africa's agricultural strategy is primarily offensive, seeking greater market access in developed countries to counter the effects of developed country subsidies and trade-distortive policies.
• South Africa faces significant risks in Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) negotiations, as proposed tariff reduction formulas could eliminate policy space for domestic industrial growth and negatively impact the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) common revenue pool.
• The author recommends that South Africa adopt a strategy of offering concessions in the services sector—where it has historically been defensive—to gain leverage for agricultural market access and the preservation of the NAMA carve-out.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2012). Where to for South Africa and the Doha Development Agenda? https://saiia.org.za/research/where-to-for-south-africa-and-the-doha-development-agenda/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Where to for South Africa and the Doha Development Agenda? 2012. https://saiia.org.za/research/where-to-for-south-africa-and-the-doha-development-agenda/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Where to for South Africa and the Doha Development Agenda? |date=11 January 2012 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/where-to-for-south-africa-and-the-doha-development-agenda/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2012where, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Where to for South Africa and the Doha Development Agenda?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2012}, month = jan, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/where-to-for-south-africa-and-the-doha-development-agenda/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }