 Thank you chairperson for giving me the floor and good afternoon ladies and gentlemen as the chair said I'm William ones are from the Trade Law Center. I'm presenting on a review on saddix market integration agenda as it supports regional industrial development This is based on a paper that I've co-authored with my executive director Trudy Hartzenberg I have quite a number of slides so I'll try and Go quickly through them, but just to set the context And I think it's as we've been discussing and as we heard in the keynote address on how Industrial development is now given priority focus on the African continent level and prompted especially with developments in the commodity markets Where there's no more focus on the Efficiation of natural resources Minerals and also noting that the traditional approach to market integration isn't really resolving The industrial capacity and diverse diversity constraints that most economies are actually facing and and so this is really on them on the Minds of most policymakers as as most of you will be aware on really how to enhance the capacity of African countries to Competitively produce some tradeable goods and services So even though it's the focus is there the continental level even at the regional level the different regional economic communities actually Trying to address specific industrial development concerns and this is within the context of the 21st century Production and trade networks characterized by global value chains fragmentation and certification of production sourcing and offshoring of Not only in manufacturing, but also in services sectors such as finance and telecoms at the focus of the presentation will be on the saddic REC in particular Having given that contextual background. This is the rest of my presentation. I'll quickly just go through The approach to industrial development that has emerged at the continental level at the TFT level and we see how it is also Reflected at the saddic level when I get there then just map. It's sort of a maze of industrial development policy documents and legal Instruments, so I just really just map that out and focus on the saddic trade protocol as I as I discuss market integration In its link with industrial development and then before I conclude As as the chair has said and I think as also heard in the keynote address. There's a three-pronged approach to industrial development At the continental level Looking at market integration. So the CFTA the next stations of which were launched last month Which is linked to the boosting intra African trade, which is looking at enhancing regional value chains within Africa to enhance intra Africa trade This is linked to the to the aida which is adopted. I think in around 2010 accelerated industrial development of Africa. So there's Programs and a plan of action in select sectors This is then tied to the program for infrastructure development in Africa the PIDA which focuses on those four sectors energy transport water and ICT We see that that three pronged approach is also replicated at the TFT level The TFT agreement as we heard was launched And as market access negotiations are continuing Negotiations on industrial development and infrastructure development are also going to commence Within the saddic Context is three pronged approach has now been seen especially in the revised RIS DP which is adopted in April The initial RIS DP had those four priority areas But we noticed the change especially in priority a where it's gone from a focus on trade and economic liberalization The linear approach to integration from an FTA customs union monetary Monetary union as we've been discussing to more a market integration Linked to industrial development. So it's now especially high on the saddic agenda and within priority B We see infrastructure being tied to the regional infrastructure development master plan, which I'll also come back to later my presentation so now there's a shift within saddic from the linear approach to now consolidating the FTA And also now linking the FTA synchronizing it with the TFTA and and the CFTA But particularly I think I think also for the purpose of this presentation There's a there's a focus especially on the role of a region of valley valley chains Especially as as a leeway to industrial development I'll now just map the architecture of industrial development policy and law Within saddic just starting with the policy framework There are few documents that have been adopted over the years starting with the industrial upgrading and modernization program adopted in 2009 which Highlights a few sectors which countries may want to build the expertise In as the as the seek to move at valley chains. There's the industrial development policy framework which emphasizes industrial upgrading industrial deepening and also industrial diversification and now recently there's a saddic internationalization strategy which was adopted at the head of an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government in April 20 and 2015 which is now an operational document to try and operationalize those two documents Also in addition to the to the RIS DP The legal framework the saddic treaty provides the the underpinning the basis for the the saddic region itself and The treaty then provides for a number of protocols that can then be Concluded in different sectors so as to enhance policy convergence and harmonization of national policies in respective sectors The focus of my presentation is on the protocol and trade which has those six subsections and I'm going to highlight one at most two issues within each each section In the interest of time But then the focus there will really will really be on how market integration and the commitments by member states How they're being upheld how they're designed and how they can actually promote or potentially undermine industrial development efforts So the protocol on trade is the basis But then there are also some directly related protocols to the protocol on trade some of those are the protocol on finance and investment or Also known as a static fit the protocol on trade and services and the new protocol on the tribunal Which I'll also talk on on the institution and dispute settlement section There are the protocols which can be seen as covering enablers of industrial development education and training employment and labor Energy environment Facetation of movement of persons transport science and technology and innovation But there are also sector public protocols which actually seek to develop individual sectors such as fisheries forestry mining Shared water courses tourism wildlife. So definitely a vast League on policy framework, which would need to be implemented in quite a coherent way I've sort of just limited the scope of our study to focus on the protocol and trade Because that's where market integration is really supposed to is really supposed to happen So also just to emphasize that industrial development isn't a new issue within the market integration Agenda one of the objectives of the protocol and trade actually is the diversification and industrialization of the region So it's not a new thing But then I think over the years as we've been reflecting we now see it coming to to the top of the agenda are Going to section a On on trade in goods where I think most of the focus has been Which is on tariff liberalization. There's a clear article which says that member states will will phase out and Eventually eliminate import duties and this was supposed to have been completed in 2012 And they're currently 12 out of the 15 member states that are participating in the FTA Say shows has just submitted an offer which has been approved and most of these countries have completed their phase downs Or will be completing by this year So we really see that tariffs are not so much an issue anymore in the market integration agenda But then as tariffs have been coming down we've seen an increase in non-tariff barriers Replacing these tariffs as barriers to trade. So this is in contravention to article six six one which is clear on on the elimination of of existing NTB's and Calling on member states to refrain from imposing new NTB's According to a World Bank study in 2011 NTB's are were affecting at that time about one-fifth of saddx saddx trade There are a number of NTB's that have been reported on the tripartite online reporting mechanism and I will be highlighting Some of these in trade trade facilitation, especially in SPS and restrictions and prohibitions on Import and export especially affecting agriculture But I think at the outset just to say that it's mostly because of a lack of regulatory reform at the national level as countries are actually Pursuing their own national industrial development objectives that they're actually contravening the the commitments within the static trade protocol So a good example would be in the import and export restrictions which are Provided for an article seven and eight Which say that member states we cannot apply quantitative restrictions Except where where we're provided for in the protocol and article nine provides the exception that you can only implement these Restrictions if they're for the protection of human and animal and plant health or life You know protection of public morals or to relieve shortages of foodstuffs There's a paper that Trudy Hudson Berg and poca lenga have just done it's actually in Collaboration with UNU Ida as well as a working paper which is looking at the national policies which are being implemented In some in some other static member states and you actually see some of the measures that have been being implemented For example in Botswana where there's a ban. There's there's been a ban on fresh on imports of fresh pork restrictions on poultry The beef export sector being a state monopoly restrictions in different Imports of maize wheat and other agricultural and horticultural products Namibia import levies on fresh fruit restrictions on maize and wheat Government control of buying and selling of maize and wheat in Zimbabwe permits for fertilizer, etc If you look at some of these measures you see that they're not at the outset. They don't really fall under the exceptions allowed for under article 9 of the static trade protocol So this is an example where as countries are pursuing their national industrial development motives This is actually clashing with the market integration commitments and undermining the development of regional value chains especially in the agro processing sector I'll come back to to this issue when I talk about dispute resolution because Enforcement of the commitments is is a vital aspect of the integration agenda Rules of origin in in customs procedures I think annex Annex one to the protocol actually provides all these rules of origin, but they've been a contentious area Created to encourage forward and backward linkages, but then they're actually having the adverse effect the rules of origin in static products specific and quite complex with all the descriptions that are required and We actually see that these are running counter to industrial development efforts in the areas of textile and clothing for example Wheat and and we actually feel that they're out of tune And I think it's been discussed in a number of fora with 21st century realities of production and trade And this is an example of not just member states not upholding commitments, but the actual instrument within the protocol that actually runs counter to industrial development Trade facilitation, I think I'll leave this to Brian because I know that he's he's going to talk a lot on this But I think this is where the infrastructure arm. I think really comes in trade facilitation mainly being about soft infrastructure But at least a positive development being the development of hard infrastructure the region infrastructure development master plan Which we feel that should go Should should be implemented hand-in-hand with the with the trade facilitation agenda Section three on trade laws Just that those are the different Provisions in this section on trade laws, but I'll just highlight SPS and a case that we've been following a tralloc on imports of organic honey from Zambia into South Africa being restricted access because of South Africa's Rule that or importation or imported honey should actually be irradiated and once you irradiate the honey It actually ceases to be organic So this is a case that was lodged on the on the Tripartite online mechanism back in 2011, but still hasn't been resolved But it actually I think this actually highlights and or the critical thing being that South Africa was Zambia's Request an exemption from the rule Especially because of tests that were done by the South African Department of Agriculture But in spite of that the rule is still in place. It hasn't been resolved and it actually highlights the implications of Of the dispute settlement mechanism in in SADIC Firstly the inability of the online mechanism to actually enforce removal of this because it's been it's been there for four years But then also when you come down to the institution within SADIC itself the one responsible for dispute settlement the tribunal Where now disputes have been limited to Disputes between partner states meaning that private traders cannot come to the tribunal to contest such a matter Would they then would they then rely on Zambia to perhaps take the case to the debate you it's an unlikely scenario But then there's actually an annex six of the SADIC trade protocol a panel procedure that is provided for and it hasn't been utilized by member states But we're actually encouraging that I think it's time that this panel procedure is explored especially to Resolve some of the more technical Issues such as those covered in the trade laws Trade related investment matters Obviously International investment being a dynamic gain of region region integration and and pivoted to the industrial development process Article 22 of the protocol provides for cooperation and investment and the SADIC FIP then provide then gives provisions I think what what would highlight there is International arbitration that is provided for within the SADIC FIP There's a possibility for the tribunal exit and ansi trial as I've just said Disputes within the tribunal are limited to partner states So investors only have exit and ansi trial But we believe that there is a gap in the ability of the framework to actually protect the rights of individual Citizens especially when we're now looking at issues of beneficiation of natural resources resources which actually come with Health and environmental concerns, whether it's through emissions or it's disposal of waste etc So the article 14 of the FIP actually grants governments the right to regulate in the public interest But due to the reasons that I've stated governments can only have recourse to national courts. They cannot Bring a case for example against an investor to the SADIC tribunal because it's limited to partner states And they can't take it to the exit or ansi trial because those forums only allow for Petitions by investors and not by governments and also individual citizens civil society organizations would also for the same reasons be limited to To their national courts I'll skip These issues there's a section on other trade related issues and there's developments in services and in competition policy Which are which are pertinent for the governance framework, but I think just to also then just emphasize On on the sixth section of the SADIC trade protocol on institutional arrangements and dispute settlement that the the limit of the jurisdiction to inter-party or interstate disputes actually has a Big implication on the possibility for Protection of the rights of private parties who are actually the ones were involved in the trade and in the investment and I think Even in terms of enforcement of commitments by member states This is an area where SADIC the SADIC legal framework would actually be seen to be lacking as opposed to the situation for example in commissar and the EAC So just to conclude Definitely the market integration agenda Plays I think a pivotal role in the industrial development agenda and we're seeing a few issues coming up There's some clear provisions that member that place obligations on member states but then these are actually being a contravened as member states pursue their national industrial development policies and Provisions there are some provisions like the rules of origin with instruments that actually undermine the development of regional value chains There's some important governance issues in investment services and competition policy and the dispute settlement mechanism Has an important role to play in enforcement But it's currently limited in the extent to which it can play this role All in all definitely industrial development can be attained through effective implementation of the market integration agenda But would have to really be focusing on some of the issues that I've highlighted in the presentation. Thank you