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The briefing examines the first EU-South Africa summit since 2013, highlighting the importance of attracting foreign direct investment and leveraging the EU's External Investment Plan. It notes that while the EU is South Africa's largest investment partner and a primary destination for manufactured exports, the partnership has struggled due to internal crises in both regions. The agenda includes economic cooperation, sustainable energy, multilateralism, and climate change.

The report argues that Zimbabwe's economic decline is rooted in the conflation of the state with the ZANU-PF party, leading to state capture, patronage, and corruption. It highlights how government profligacy, excessive borrowing through Treasury Bills, and a protectionist import substitution strategy have fueled inflation and foreign exchange shortages. Despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa's 'open for business' rhetoric, the report finds that investment claims are often unsubstantiated and that the government continues to prioritize prestige projects and party loyalty over market-based principles. The author recommends a transition to a market-oriented, export-led economy with an independent central bank and secure property rights.

The paper analyzes South Africa's role as a major intra-African investor, noting that while it maintains a significant FDI stock, its relative influence is declining due to increased competition from China and other African nations. It highlights South Africa's function as a regional distribution hub and suggests that the country must deepen trade liberalization and improve public-private coordination to maintain its economic footprint on the continent.

The paper explores how African agency manifests in interactions with China, arguing that it is not merely a binary of power but a complex dynamic involving state, institutional, and non-state actors. Through case studies of the AU and the BRI, the authors analyze how structural reforms, debt sustainability, and local realities shape the bargaining power of African nations. While China holds significant structural power, the document suggests that African agency is exercised through proactive affirmation of partnerships, strategic non-compliance, and the influence of on-the-ground realities like security risks and wildlife trafficking.

The policy brief argues that South Africa has experienced premature deindustrialisation, with manufacturing's GDP contribution falling from 21% in 1994 to 13% in 2016. To reverse this, the Institute for Economic Justice recommends strategic interventions in three key areas: the machinery and equipment sector through a regional SADC strategy to create approximately 270,000 total jobs; the fruit industry by addressing phytosanitary constraints and expanding high-value exports (e.g., avocados) to create 130,000 jobs by 2022; and the plastics conversion industry through the establishment of light manufacturing clusters and raw material price regulation to potentially add over 40,000 jobs by 2024.

The document examines how the BRICS nations can better support African development priorities, specifically industrialisation and infrastructure. It highlights the role of South Africa in leveraging the BRICS forum for continental interests and discusses the potential of the New Development Bank (NDB). The briefing identifies critical challenges, including rising external debt, lack of transparency in lending, and unequal trade patterns where Africa primarily exports primary commodities. It recommends the creation of a dedicated BRICS–Africa strategy, a specialized BRICS unit within the African Union Commission (AUC), and improved coordination between bilateral BRICS initiatives and the AU's Agenda 2063.

The document examines the AfCFTA, an agreement aiming to create a single market for goods, services, and investment across 55 African countries. It highlights potential gains such as a 52% increase in intra-African trade and a 4% rise in total exports, while identifying significant hurdles including poor infrastructure, non-tariff barriers, and varying levels of political commitment. The paper specifically discusses the tensions between larger economies and less-developed countries (LDCs) regarding tariff liberalisation and special and differential treatment, as well as the complexities of overlapping memberships in Regional Economic Communities (RECs). It concludes that the success of the AfCFTA depends on domestic implementation and the ability of AU members to align national interests with continental goals.

The EU–SADC EPA, effective October 2016, provides tariff preferences for South Africa and other SADC members, with higher benefits for processed goods. Despite this, South Africa has underutilised its quotas for several processed fruit products due to a lack of awareness, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues, and drought. The document highlights the potential for growth in the canned fruit and juice sectors, noting that while large companies dominate, there are opportunities for SMEs if barriers such as the lack of local testing laboratories and changing EU consumer preferences (e.g., reduced sugar) are addressed. It recommends establishing information portals, improving SPS capacity, and providing technical assistance for niche markets like nuts to better integrate small-scale producers into the EU value chain.

The document examines how South Africa and Lesotho can leverage the SADC EPA to increase agro-processing exports to the EU. While South Africa has established capacity but struggles with quota uptake and SME integration, Lesotho starts from a 'near zero base' with significant infrastructure and standards gaps. The paper emphasizes the need for regional value chains and targeted EU development support to assist SMEs, women, and youth.

In a speech to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan discusses the intersection of trade, sustainability, innovation, and climate change. He warns that protectionism and the potential end of NAFTA would increase costs and emissions, while highlighting the growth of the global green goods and services market. Vaughan emphasizes the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 'Winnipeg PEG' model for community-based sustainability reporting, which IISD aims to replicate globally. He also notes the rise of climate-related financial risk disclosure and the necessity of integrating environmental and economic goals to ensure long-term competitiveness.

The document argues that Canada's current trade model privileges corporate profits over people and the environment, specifically citing NAFTA's role in exacerbating economic inequality and environmental degradation. The signatories propose a 12-point alternative model for trade negotiations, emphasizing the elimination of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, and the abolition of energy proportionality rules that hinder Canada's ability to reduce fossil fuel production. They assert that for Canada to be a 'climate champion', its trade agreements must be compatible with the Paris Agreement and the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.

The document examines the global landscape of data flow restrictions, specifically comparing the regimes of BRICS nations. It argues that data localisation—requiring data to be stored or processed within a specific jurisdiction—imposes significant costs on productivity, innovation, and GDP. For South Africa, the author recommends maintaining its current conditional flow regime while pursuing further liberalisation at a regional level to become a data processing hub, rather than adopting the strict localisation policies seen in China and Russia.

The Union of Concerned Scientists report 'Betrayal at the USDA' examines the first year of Secretary Sonny Perdue's leadership at the USDA. It argues that the administration has systematically sidelined science and expertise to favor large agribusiness corporations. Key concerns include the appointment of unqualified personnel, the rollback of school nutrition and food safety standards, the disregard for World Health Organization guidelines on antibiotics in livestock, and the promotion of climate change denial. The report also criticizes proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the elimination of protections for small farmers through the dismantling of the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

The document examines Malawi's position regarding four plurilateral trade agreements: the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), the Information Technology Agreement II (ITA-II), and the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA). While government officials suggest that TiSA and ITA-II could boost industrialization and competitiveness, GTAP modelling indicates that overall gains from participating in these negotiations would be very small or non-existent. Malawi currently faces significant challenges, including an undiversified export base dominated by tobacco, high costs of doing business, and limited human and financial capacity within the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism to engage effectively in complex WTO negotiations.

The report examines why developing countries and LDCs often avoid plurilateral trade agreements (PTAs), specifically the TiSA, GPA, EGA, and ITA-II. While quantitative modelling shows small positive aggregate gains in GDP, investment, and welfare for participants, qualitative findings reveal that these are often outweighed by a desire to maintain policy space, a lack of technical capacity, and distrust of agendas set by developed nations. The report argues that the stagnation of the WTO Doha Development Round (DDR), particularly regarding agriculture and non-agricultural market access, further discourages participation.

The document reports on a June 2018 meeting between the Canadian government, academics, and civil society representatives regarding the reform of international investment law. Participants argued that traditional investment treaties often prioritize investor protection over sustainable development and can hinder the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Canadian government expressed commitment to a progressive trade and investment agenda incorporating environment, labour, and gender equality standards. Proposed reforms include conducting cost-benefit and impact analyses before negotiations, shifting treaty focus toward sustainable development, balancing investor rights with obligations regarding corruption and human rights, and reforming or eliminating Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms to protect a state's right to legislate in the public interest, particularly regarding climate change.

The report argues that SADC countries can reduce processed food trade deficits and mitigate climate change risks by shifting from national industrial policies to regional value chains (RVCs). It identifies a significant opportunity for Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique to replace South Africa's deep-sea soya oilcake imports with regional production. However, it notes that the sugar sector is hindered by protectionist policies and the market power of dominant firms, which keep industrial sugar prices high and stifle downstream confectionery processing. The author proposes practical interventions, including a regional transportation information system to solve 'backhaul' constraints and the harmonisation of quality standards to facilitate intra-regional trade.

The report analyzes the aftermath of the ANC's 54th national conference, where Cyril Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. It argues that while Ramaphosa's victory averted a major crisis, the party remains deeply divided between 'reformists' and 'traditionalists,' placing South Africa in a 'muddling along' scenario. Key challenges include the potential recall of Jacob Zuma, avoiding a credit rating downgrade by Moody's, and managing the Tripartite Alliance. The author predicts the ANC will retain national power in 2019 but may lose its majority in Gauteng province, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) emerging as a potential kingmaker there.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the Argentine government for cancelling the accreditation of 61 civil society representatives for the December 2017 WTO meeting in Buenos Aires. The organization argues that WTO policies often hinder climate action, such as the ruling against India's National Solar Mission, and penalize developing countries' food storage programs while allowing subsidies in the EU and US. The statement further criticizes the lack of transparency in trade agreements like RCEP and TTIP, calling for a trade system based on human rights, sustainable environmental policy, and food sovereignty.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the Argentine government for barring them and 60 other civil society members from the December 2017 WTO conference in Buenos Aires. The organization argues that WTO policies often obstruct climate action and food sovereignty, citing the penalization of India's National Solar Mission and public food reserve programs in developing countries. The statement further criticizes the secrecy surrounding trade agreements like RCEP and TTIP, calling for a trade system based on human rights, sustainable environmental policy, and food sovereignty.