Regional Economic Integration in Southern Africa: Beyond EPAs; Surviving Internal Fragmentation

This report summarizes a high-level regional conference hosted by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the ODI, and ECDPM on November 24-25, 2008. The event focused on the impact of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) on regional integration in southern Africa, the challenges of overlapping memberships in regional economic communities, and the viability of current integration models such as customs unions.

• Regional integration in Africa is hindered by fragmentation caused by overlapping memberships in multiple regional economic communities (RECs) with similar plans. This complexity creates competing commitments and varying rules, which increase the costs of intra-Africa trade and obstruct trade facilitation.
• Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) have generally exacerbated the fragmentation of African regional economic bodies, with the East African Community being a notable exception. While divisive, EPAs have forced a necessary dialogue regarding the efficacy of the current integration path and the issue of overlapping memberships.
• There is a detectable shift in preference away from the linear economic integration model (moving from free trade agreements to customs unions and common markets) toward simpler free trade agreements (FTAs) that focus on the practicalities of easing cross-border trade and infrastructure development. Consequently, the necessity of customs unions for SADC and COMESA has been questioned.
• The Tripartite Alliance between COMESA, SADC, and the East African Community (EAC) was established to resolve challenges from overlapping memberships. While it has political support and trade facilitation goals, some scholars argue that its original focus on an FTA was more viable than its long-term goal of a customs union.
• Intra-Africa trade constitutes just over 10% of total trade, highlighting a need to dismantle regional barriers and build capacity. Many existing customs unions in Africa are considered not to qualify as such due to the presence of internal barriers.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (n.d.). Regional Economic Integration in Southern Africa: Beyond EPAs; Surviving Internal Fragmentation. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_cnf_epa_conference_report_20081124.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Regional Economic Integration in Southern Africa: Beyond EPAs; Surviving Internal Fragmentation. n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_cnf_epa_conference_report_20081124.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Regional Economic Integration in Southern Africa: Beyond EPAs; Surviving Internal Fragmentation |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_cnf_epa_conference_report_20081124.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairsndregional, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Regional Economic Integration in Southern Africa: Beyond EPAs; Surviving Internal Fragmentation}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_cnf_epa_conference_report_20081124.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }