India, South Africa Look At CEPA Talks

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

03 September 2010

The Indian Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, has disclosed that India and South Africa are to look at the possibility of establishing a bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) and an investment protection and promotion agreement (IPPA).

While bilateral trade between the two countries is currently hovering at around USD7.5bn, both countries have targeted a total of USD10bn in 2011-12. It is hoped that the removal of trade barriers from the CEPA could help that target to be exceeded.

With regard to the IPPA, it was also reported that Indian investments in South Africa have already reached USD6.5bn, and South African investments in India are around USD3bn.

Furthermore, both sides are also pushing for an early conclusion to India’s negotiations on a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with the Southern African Customs Union which, in addition to South Africa, encompasses Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland. There have already been four rounds of talks on the PTA, and a further round is planned for this month to discuss the items selected for tariff reductions.

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