European Union |
South Africa |
South Africa has strong cultural and historical links to the European Union (EU) (particularly through immigration from Spain and Italy) and the EU is South Africa's biggest investor.[1]
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Since the end of South Africa's apartheid, EU South African relations have flourished and they began a "Strategic Partnership" in 2007. In 1999 the two sides signed a Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) which entered into force in 2004, with some provisions being applied from 2000. The TDCA covered a wide range of issues from political cooperation, development and the establishment of a free trade area (FTA).[1]
South Africa is the EU's largest trading partner in Southern Africa and has a FTA with the EU. South Africa's main exports to the EU are fuels and mining products (27%), machinery and transport equipment (18%) and other semi-manufactured goods (16%). However they are growing and becoming more diverse. European exports to South Africa are primarily machinery & transport equipment (50%), chemicals (15%) and other semi-machinery (10%).[2]
| EU – South Africa trade in 2010[2] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direction of trade | Goods | Services | Investment flow | Investment stocks |
| EU to South Africa | €21.507 million | €5.3 million | €5.9 billion | €70.8 billion |
| South Africa to EU | €17.912 million | €3.8 million | €1.0 billion | €6.2 billion |
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