The TDCA: Impacts, Lessons and Perspectives for EU–South and Southern African Relations

This report, based on a 2004 conference hosted by the South African Institute of International Affairs, examines the impacts of the Trade, Development, and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA) between South Africa and the European Union. It analyzes the TDCA as a potential benchmark for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being negotiated between the EU and other Southern African states, while highlighting the systemic challenges posed by overlapping regional memberships (the 'Spaghetti Bowl') and the legal complexities of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

• The Trade, Development, and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA), signed on 11 October 1999 and ratified in May 2004, serves as the primary framework for EU-South Africa relations, though it focuses primarily on trade in goods and excludes services and 'Singapore issues'.
• South African negotiators derived several strategic lessons from the TDCA process, emphasizing the need to be proactive, understand the internal non-unified dynamics of EU member states, and recognize that trade negotiations are largely driven by technocrats rather than popular mandates.
• The 'Spaghetti Bowl' of overlapping memberships in Southern Africa—including SACU, SADC, COMESA, EAC, IOC, and ECCAS—creates significant transaction costs and legal conflicts, particularly when countries attempt to establish customs unions with different common external tariffs.
• The EU's 2004 enlargement to 25 members has made the organization more cumbersome and diverse, complicating its decision-making processes and creating internal tensions over the redistribution of financial resources, particularly regarding agricultural support under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
• Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) risk undermining regional integration in Southern Africa because the membership of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland (BLNS) in both the TDCA and potential EPAs could necessitate restrictive rules of origin and customs controls to prevent trade leakage.
• The EU is shifting its development aid strategy toward 'performance-based partnership,' where additional resources are rewarded to countries that implement Cotonou Agreement objectives, while those that do not perform well face decreased aid allocations.
• The EU's development assistance to South Africa differs from its approach to other Southern African countries; while the former focuses on promoting sustainable economic growth and employment, the latter has traditionally focused on basic social services and infrastructure.
• The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) faces a legal conundrum where individual member states may enter into preferential trade agreements with third parties, potentially eroding the common external tariff and jeopardizing SACU's status as a customs union under GATT Article XXIV.

APA

Bertelsman-Scott, T., & Draper, P. (2005). The TDCA: Impacts, Lessons and Perspectives for EU–South and Southern African Relations. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/7-Trade-Report-No.-7_reduced.pdf

Chicago

Bertelsman-Scott, Talitha, and Peter Draper. The TDCA: Impacts, Lessons and Perspectives for EU–South and Southern African Relations. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2005. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/7-Trade-Report-No.-7_reduced.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bertelsman-Scott |first1=Talitha |last2=Draper |first2=Peter |title=The TDCA: Impacts, Lessons and Perspectives for EU–South and Southern African Relations |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2005 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/7-Trade-Report-No.-7_reduced.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bertelsmanscott2005tdca, author = {Bertelsman-Scott, Talitha and Draper, Peter}, title = {{The TDCA: Impacts, Lessons and Perspectives for EU–South and Southern African Relations}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2005}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/7-Trade-Report-No.-7_reduced.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }