India and the five-member Southern African Customs Union (SACU) signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) on Wednesday to start negotiations for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), with an aim to conclude the trade talks within a year.
The agreement will cover eight chapters, including trade in goods, market access, customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade (TBT), rules of origin and dispute settlement. However, both sides agreed that the chapters can further expanded if the negotiations demand.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said India hopes to conclude the negotiations in the next few months, underscoring the need to move quickly while cautioning against rushing the process.
“Speed is necessary for outcomes,” Goyal said, adding that he was not advocating haste. “India will not touch sensitive issues on your side as we would expect reciprocity and your consideration on sensitive issues on the Indian side,” he said.
India is expected to seek duty concessions for sectors like automobiles, especially for auto parts, pharmaceuticals, machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals and textiles, stated the Commerce Ministry. Automobiles and auto parts were India's second-largest export category to SACU after petroleum products, with shipments worth $1.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2026.
The move comes more than two decades after the Union Cabinet had approved the commencement of trade negotiations with SACU, that comprises South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho .
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said this was the first ToR India has signed for a trade agreement in the African region.
India is already the second-largest supplier to the SACU region, and the proposed pact is expected to provide greater market access for Indian businesses in sectors such as healthcare, information technology and automobiles. Goyal said Indian companies operating in these sectors had already established a presence in the region and contributed to local job creation.
