tralac – trade law centre for South Africa:
- is a not-for-profit organisation, building trade law capacity in the southern Africa region; in governments, the private sector and civil society;
- was established in February 2002, with the financial support of seco, the Swiss Department of Economic Development, and consists of a core of trade lawyers and economists with high-level expertise in a range of trade and trade-related areas. In-house expertise is complemented by specialist expertise of the network of tralac Associates. tralac is distinguished by its focus on trade law, and its inter-disciplinary approach to trade and trade-related matters;
- prides itself on good corporate governance; the tralac Board provides governance oversight and strategic guidance to the organisation.
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About 2/2: Vision: tralac’s vision is to be a centre of excellence building trade law capacity in the Southern African region to develop a critical mass of trade law expertise which is essential if the countries in the region are to integrate effectively into the international economy, and to realise the benefits of international trade, in an increasingly competitive trading environment governed by complex trade rules.
Mission: tralac’s mission is to build trade law capacity in southern Africa so that these countries can participate effectively in the global economy; to negotiate trade agreements that will support their development objectives, and so that they can implement the agreements to ensure that they realise the potential benefits of international trade. In brief, tralac’s mission is to build the capacity to trade better, for countries in southern Africa.
Background: Trade law capacity has become essential for effective participation in the global economy, with the increasing technical sophistication of the rules-based trading system. With the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995, and the rise in the number of bilateral and regional trade agreements, technical, legal capacity and an inter-disciplinary approach to the analysis of trade matters are prerequisites for all trading nations. The capacity asymmetry’s in this regard marks the new divide between developed and developing countries, such as those in southern Africa. A number of organisations exist to build trade policy capacity in the region, but not on trade law. The establishment of tralac is a response to the serious capacity lacuna that exists in this region in the field of trade law.
What does tralac do?: … (full long text).