This archive report was first published on 24 September 2019.
On September 24, 2019, Britain's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced that the country had initialled an Economic Partnership Agreement with the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), comprising South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, eSwatini (formerly Swaziland), and Mozambique.
The agreement, once signed and effective, will allow businesses to trade without additional barriers, mirroring the trade conditions the southern African nations currently enjoy with the EU.
Trade between Britain and the six countries was worth 9.7 billion pounds ($12 billion) last year, with machinery and motor vehicles topping British exports to the region.
Britain has already signed trade continuity agreements with countries accounting for 89 billion pounds of its external trade.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated that Britain must leave the EU on October 31, but parliament has passed a law compelling him to ask Brussels to delay Brexit until 2020 unless he can strike a divorce deal.
Johnson has said he will not request an extension.
