Publication

Against the background of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) negotiations and drawing on a 2014 report on mega-regional trade agreements, this paper assesses the implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) for South Africa. It argues that, among other issues, the trade agreements imply that 1) South Africa and the region must accelerate governance reform to advance their own negotiations, both regionally with the TFTA and internationally with the EU; 2) South Africa must preserve and possibly extend access conditions to the US; and 3) South Africa should grant the same market access conditions to all TFTA members.