The former Speaker of the British Parliament John Bercow, who resigned at the end of October, called Brexit Britain’s biggest mistake since World War II. That may ultimately prove true in terms of the repercussions for the British economy, but how it affects us in South Africa is not necessarily negative.
There was a sigh of relief after Minister for Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel confirmed the new agreement between South Africa and the UK, which will roll over and replicate the terms of trade present in the existing European Partnership Agreement. That means that South Africa’s trade with the UK should not necessarily be affected by Brexit, as our terms of trade have already been agreed on.
The UK is currently the biggest foreign investor in South Africa, with one third of foreign investment into our country coming from the UK. This has created 175 000 jobs, and brought 400 000 British tourists to our shores. British High Commissioner to South Africa Nigel Casey is confident that Brexit will not affect the strong demand in the UK for South African products. He contends that there is enormous demand in UK supermarkets for South African fruit, vegetables, avocados, nuts, and juices.
There could also be significant advantages for South Africa in a new Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Southern African Customs Union . An example is that when Eswatini currently cans peaches for export to the EU, it sources the peaches from Greece because South African peaches do not enjoy the same full duty-free, quota-free access to the EU markets as do fruits from other Southern African countries.
Britain is intent on using its trade policy to drive development in Africa, and aims to become the biggest investor of the G7 on the continent in 2020, overtaking the US. It will present its roadmap in this regard at the Africa Investment Summit in London early next year, to which President Cyril Ramaphosa has been invited.
Source: Financial Digest (financialdigest.net)
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