On 10 May 1994 the European Union offeredSouth Africa a package of measures to ... send a strong political signal to the incoming govemment and to the South African population, thus proving its firm determination to support the transition towards democracy and its willingness to contribute to the reconstruction and economic development of South Africa after the elections. This package consisted of two parts: 1. A series of short term implementations to take place with immediate effect to help South Africa's development and transition, and 2. An offer to negotiate a comprehensive long-term relationship with South Africa should the new government so request. South Africa accepted the European Union's offer to negotiate a long-term relationship, and in response requested membership of the structure governing the Union's relations with the rest of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in the Caribbean and Pacific, namely the LomeĢ Convention. Due to various incompatibilities South Africa was not allowed to join this organisation. In its place the European Union offered to negotiate an agreement with South Africa that would lead to a Free Trade Area. This agreement was in keeping with the rules as laid down by the World Trade Organisation. It envisaged the lowering of tariffs and trade barriers between the Union and South Africa over a period not exceeding 12 years, allowing for asymmetry in terms of time constraints in implementation only. South Africa saw this type of agreement as inconsistent with the desire expressed by the European Union to support the countries development and the integration of the Southern African region. In its place South Africa proposed a new concept in trade agreement, this concept, known as the Trade and Development Agreement, embodied both trade liberalisation and support for development. This agreement would introduce a new paradigm of thought to govern trade between developed countries and developing countries within the World Trade Organisation's rules. This paper explores the events that unfolded in these negotiations. It attempts to discover whether, in the current global environment, it is possible, or beneficial, for the developed world to act in an altruistic manner towards another state in order to assist its development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:2768 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Cross, Peter John |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | 173 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Cross, Peter John |
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