South African Customs Union (SACU)

About the South African Customs Union (SACU)

• It is the world’s oldest customs union which was established in 1910.
• Member countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland).
• Head Quarter: Windhoek (Namibia)
• It was administered by South Africa through the 1910 and 1969 Agreements.
• The customs union collected duties on local production and customs duties on members’ imports from outside SACU, and the resulting revenue was allocated to member countries in quarterly instalments utilising a revenue-sharing formula.
• Negotiations to reform the 1969 Agreement started in 1994, and a new agreement was signed in 2002. The new arrangement was ratified by SACU Heads of State.
• The Economic structure of the Union links the Member states by a single tariff and no customs duties between them.
• The Member States form a single customs territory in which tariffs and other barriers are eliminated on substantially all the trade between the Member States for products originating in these countries, and there is a common external tariff that applies to nonmembers of SACU.