The TDCA: Impacts, Lessons and Perspectives for EU-South and Southern African Relations

On 11 October 1999 South Africa and the EU signed the TDCA. The agreement was only ratified in May 2004 but some aspects were provisionally implemented with immediate effect. This paper deals with the European Union and its structure and what South Africa learned and gained from the negotiations with the EU. The implications of the TDCA with regard to regionalism in trade relations and the economic implications of this agreement is discussed