TIPS Working Paper 01-2011: A Re-Examination of SADC Industrial Development Policies & Lessons for SACU

The absence of growth in intra-SADC trade in industrial products since the tariff phase-downs were initiated prompted by the ratification of the SADC Protocol on Trade in 2000 continues to generate interest amongst policymakers and other stakeholders as it appears that removal of market access constraint alone is not a sufficient panacea. While the paper observes that failure to make the factors of production such as labour, capital, enterprises and technology fully mobile across the region has contributed to continued supply side constraints, it is the failure to implement industry specific measures arising from an industrial policy that is the primary reason for poor industrial sector response to market opportunities in the region. Through a review of trade and industrial policies in the EU, ASEAN, NAFTA, MERCOSUR and SADC, the paper makes observations that could be lessons for SACU as it develops its industrial policy.