Trade in Services (TiS), Non-Tarrif Barriers and Trade Facilitation in the Southern African Development Community

The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Trade in Services (TiS) Protocol forms the basis for Trade in Services liberalization in the region. Between 2012 and 2019 liberalisation commitments covering six priority sectors (communication, financial, construction, tourism, transport and energy-related services) were negotiated. The SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade adopted the results and schedules of commitments following the conclusion of the round of negotiations in July 2019. SADC launched a second round of negotiations in 2022, covering all the remaining services sectors - business, distribution, education, health, environmental, recreational, cultural and sporting services. The SADC region is also engaged on TiS negotiations at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Despite this progress, the region still experiences regulatory barriers in some TiS sectors and capacity constraints related to collecting TiS statistics to inform policies; negotiation techniques and technical skills to define binding commitments; and engagement with the private sector on TiS opportunities, especially for women- and youth-led businesses. Therefore, the overall objective of the project is to contribute further TiS liberalization in the SADC region by supporting the negotiation process and implementation of the SADC TiS commitments. This will enable higher integration into regional and global value chains. The activities envisioned in the tender ensures that SADC member states benefit from TiS agreements at SADC, AfCFTA and European Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) levels. The tender further aims to improve regional economic integration in the areas of trade and industrialization in SADC by providing expert pools for advisory and technical services covering aspects of trade facilitation, Non-Tariff Barriers, industrialization, private sector engagement, and on competition policy and investment protocol at the AfCFTA. The project is expected to run until September 2026.