WHAT CAN HONG KONG DELIVER TO SOUTH AND SOUTHERN AFRICA?

The report outlines the divergent trade priorities of South Africa and other Southern African nations ahead of the 2005 WTO Hong Kong Ministerial. South Africa focuses on agricultural liberalisation, specific non-agricultural market access (NAMA) gains in developing economies, and defensive positions on services. In contrast, Southern African countries are more concerned with the impact of domestic support and export subsidies on world prices and the potential erosion of preferential market access. The document argues that Southern African nations should leverage South Africa's negotiating capacity and the G90 coalition to achieve developmental outcomes while avoiding a total impasse in the WTO process.

• South Africa's trade strategy for the Hong Kong Ministerial prioritizes the "rapid and effective liberalisation of agricul ural trade," as it is the most distorted sector globally. While South Africa seeks the elimination of export subsidies and reduced domestic support through the G20, it also has "emerging defensive agricultural concerns" related to black farmers in its land reform process.
• Regarding Non-agricultural market access (NAMA), South Africa has defensive interests in autos, textiles, and clothing, but offensive interests in basic iron, steel, and heavy chemicals. It views large developing economies like Brazil and India as the primary targets for market access gains, though it notes that applied tariffs in these countries are often already lower than their bound tariffs.
• South Africa is primarily defensive on services trade, partly because its financial services market is already "more or less entirely open." However, it sees the WTO as its only current mechanism for opening services markets in Africa, as these are not covered by the Southern African Customs Union or the SADC Trade Protocol.
• For Southern African countries, the primary agricultural concern is not market access—due to existing preferential access from the US and EU—but rather domestic support and export subsidies that "depress world prices." There is a risk that cutting these subsidies could raise world prices, benefiting farmers but harming poor consumers and net-food importing countries.
• Southern African nations generally hold protectionist or ill-defined positions on services trade due to a "lack of bureaucratic capacity." The document suggests these countries would benefit from liberalising core infrastructure and commercial activities, such as construction and financial services, to aid development.
• The document argues that Southern African countries should leverage South Africa's negotiating strength and the G90 coalition to ensure developmental outcomes. It emphasizes that a deal is necessary to keep the WTO process on track, noting that the process could be halted if the US Trade Promotion Authority expires in 2007.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2005). WHAT CAN HONG KONG DELIVER TO SOUTH AND SOUTHERN AFRICA? https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/1st-Pre-Hong-Kong-Roundtable-Notes.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. WHAT CAN HONG KONG DELIVER TO SOUTH AND SOUTHERN AFRICA? 2005. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/1st-Pre-Hong-Kong-Roundtable-Notes.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=WHAT CAN HONG KONG DELIVER TO SOUTH AND SOUTHERN AFRICA? |date=2005 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/1st-Pre-Hong-Kong-Roundtable-Notes.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2005what, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{WHAT CAN HONG KONG DELIVER TO SOUTH AND SOUTHERN AFRICA?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2005}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/1st-Pre-Hong-Kong-Roundtable-Notes.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }