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The document examines the intersection of the AfCFTA and CAADP in promoting intra-African agricultural trade and productivity. It identifies significant barriers to food trade, including high tariffs on sensitive food items, burdensome sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards for small enterprises, and a lack of coordinated strategic food reserves. The brief argues that while food security (access) and food sovereignty (self-sufficiency) often require diverging policies, the AfCFTA provides a framework to balance both through targeted tariff removal, simplified compliance for micro-enterprises, and the protection of indigenous genetic resources.

The report examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can be integrated into trade policies to foster sustainable South-South trade. It identifies key barriers, such as high compliance costs and lack of demand, and provides case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to demonstrate successful integration strategies, including mutual recognition agreements and participatory guarantee systems.

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.