Overseas Trade: Eswatini

(asked on 27th February 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps he has taken to promote free trade with Swaziland after the UK leaves the EU.


Answered by
George Hollingbery Portrait
George Hollingbery
This question was answered on 7th March 2019

As the UK exits the EU, we are seeking to replicate the effects of the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique (SACU+M), which includes Eswatini (Swaziland), as soon as possible. EPAs aim to promote increased trade and investment, supporting sustainable growth and poverty reduction.

As the Prime Minister set out during her visit to Africa last Summer, the Government is committed to seeing a step change in our relationship with Africa in order to drive forward trade and investment.

The Prime Minister also announced that the UK will launch a new Prosperity Fund programme of up to £8 million that will support implementation of the transitioned EPA.

The funding will aim to increase trade with and within Southern Africa by helping to remove barriers to trade, and in doing so expand import and export opportunities for UK and African businesses. Officials are consulting with the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and other countries in the region about the design of the programme.

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