The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement is the single most important trade policy instrument for Latvian companies exporting to Southern Africa. It eliminates tariffs on most goods entering six SADC countries. And yet, most Latvian exporters I've spoken with either don't know it exists or confuse it with general EU trade preferences.
Here is what the agreement actually covers and, just as importantly, what it does not.
The Basics
The EU-SADC EPA entered into force on 10 October 2016. It covers six countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), South Africa, and Mozambique. Mozambique provisionally joined the agreement after the initial five BLNS countries and South Africa.
Under the EPA, EU exports enter these markets duty-free and quota-free across most product categories. The same applies in reverse: goods from EPA countries enter the EU without tariffs.
Source: European Commission — EU-SADC EPA
What Latvian Exporters Can Ship Duty-Free
For Latvian companies, the practical implications cover several product categories already flowing through the corridor:
Grain and wheat. LATRAPS, Latvia's largest grain cooperative, exports to Southern Africa. Under the EPA, wheat and cereal products enter Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa without import duties.
Networking equipment. MikroTik routers and wireless hardware (HS 8517) enter EPA countries tariff-free. Cumulative Latvian telecom exports to SA alone exceed €130M since 2010.
Wood products. Latvijas Finieris birch plywood (Riga Wood brand) ships to SA construction markets under zero-tariff terms. Cumulative wood product exports (HS 44) to SADC exceed €22M.
Pharmaceuticals. Grindeks and Olainfarm products can enter EPA markets without duties, though pharmaceutical trade requires separate regulatory approvals beyond tariff treatment.
What the EPA Does NOT Cover
This is where confusion arises. The EU-SADC EPA covers only six of SADC's 16 member states. The following SADC countries are not part of the agreement:
Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, DRC, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, and Seychelles.
These countries trade with the EU under different regimes. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Madagascar, and Mozambique are eligible for the EU's Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, which provides duty-free access for their exports to the EU. For EU exports going to these countries, the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) applies, with varying tariff reductions depending on the product.
In practice, this means a Latvian company exporting MikroTik equipment to South Africa pays zero tariff under the EPA, but the same shipment to Tanzania or Zimbabwe faces different duty treatment.
The Clean Trade Partnership Add-On
In November 2025, the EU and South Africa signed the Clean Trade Partnership (CTP), adding a cooperation framework on green supply chains on top of the existing EPA. The CTP covers critical minerals, renewable energy components, and sustainable manufacturing.
For Latvian companies in the cleantech space, this opens a structured cooperation channel with South Africa specifically. The CTP is not a separate trade agreement — it layers on top of the EPA.
Practical Advice
Three things Latvian exporters should know:
Check the country, not the region. "Exporting to SADC" is meaningless from a tariff perspective. You need to know whether your specific destination country is an EPA signatory. Botswana, yes. Zambia, no.
Get a EUR.1 certificate. To claim duty-free treatment under the EPA, goods need a EUR.1 movement certificate proving EU origin. Latvian customs offices issue these. Without the certificate, the importing country can charge the standard tariff.
The EPA covers goods, not services. Financial services, consulting, software licensing — these are not covered by EPA tariff provisions. Service exports face different regulatory barriers in each country.
The EU-SADC EPA is an underused advantage. Latvian companies already exporting to the six EPA countries are likely benefiting from it. Those considering Southern African markets should start their planning with these six countries, where the tariff barrier is already zero.