Bilateral TDCA Review with South Africa:
From the very beginning of the EPA negotiations the configuration of negotiating blocks in southern and eastern Africa has been contentious and the position of South Africa (with its membership of SADC, SACU and its TDCA agreement with the EU) has intensified the debate.
Two influential studies have been financed by RTFP which have contributed to debate relating to the review of the TDCA and, in particular, the TDCA's impact on regional integration:
The first study assessed the initial impact of the TDCA on foreign direct investment in South Africa and was carried out by the Centre for Research into Economics & Finance in Southern Africa (CREFSA) of the London School of Economics in partnership with the BusinessMap Foundation.
The second study assessed the likely impacts on South African and EU producers of further liberalizing the TDCA by granting South Africa Duty Free Access to the EU.The study concluded: "We are faced with a situation where: the costs to the EU and to SADC countries of offering South Africa duty free access are minimal; the regional integration benefits of having a single EPA for SADC (based on an enhanced TDCA) are immense." Study arguing for Duty Free Access to the EU by South Africa
RTFP continued to build upon this work by financing a meeting for some of the South African Government's top policy makers to consider the issues.
Comparison of EU Trade Agreements with Sub Saharan Africa:
The concern about the potentially divisive results which could follow the negotiation of EPAs with countries in the region was also the stimulus for a study in 2005 on the comparison of EU Trade Agreements with Sub-Saharan Africa.
This was carried out by the Institute for Development Studies of the University of Sussex, UK, and was prepared for ministers of the SADC countries which had chosen not to join the ESA-EPA group. The study promoted the argument that for the different EPA negotiations to be supportive of economic integration they should be harmonised either de facto or de jure.
The Relationship between Trade and Poverty:
Related studies carried out by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) looked at the relationship between trade and poverty and whether such readily-used expressions as 'the impact of trade liberalisation on poverty in South Africa' actually could be measured.
Through a series of discrete but consistent studies, researchers attempted to describe the relationships between trade reform, prices, consumption, production, and employment. Although it did not provide a complete picture, it will certainly help to identify the likely winners and losers from future trade reform. The SALDRU study was one component of a major investigation which, it is hoped, will inform policy makers so that trade reforms are implemented in a way that maximises the benefits for the poor