Investment Opportunities For those firms seeking assistance in export market penetration, several government programs now offer support at levels previously unavailable. The support ranges from financial grants, to subsidy of plant and manufacturing facilities, to facilitation of business processes. The services offered by national government to South African companies who are approaching export readiness are generally delivered through provinicial agents - such as TIKZN in KwaZulu-Natal. Exporters are offered assistance and close support in prerequisites to successful export, such as company registration, customs procedures, export registration and process - as well as access to incentives for which they qualify. International trading protocols such as Incoterms are explained, and consultants with strategic experience in exporting provide their services without costs. Details of various export facilitation services such as logistics, are also made available. To expose South African products and services to the global community, TIKZN leads outgoing trade missions to potential export destinations, hosts an online trade faciliation service, conducts workshops - and provides market intelligence so that exporters can assess the likelihood of success of their planned exports.  Trading opportunities
Long, traditional ties have been developed with South Africa's top trading partners and other important focus areas, with double taxation agreements and memoranda of understanding signed with various countries. Growing increasingly important as a trading partner of the European Union, South Africa is additionally a full member of the World Trade Organisation, while strong political and economic links within the African continent and membership of the Southern African Development Community offer trading opportunities within southern Africa. Companies locating in South Africa not only have the opportunity to source their inputs at very competitive prices but often have a domestic market for their products and services. Investors can use South Africa and particularly KwaZulu-Natal with its excellent infrastructure and logistics mechanisms as a gateway to take products and services to the rest of Africa. South Africa's increasing international presence has led to several trade agreements being negotiated with other countries. Facilitating the growth of the country's export markets, these favourable agreements have opened up innumerable opportunities for companies based here to increase their international trade: - The African Growth and Opportunity Act provides potentially huge opportunities for a variety of the country's economic sectors, from manufacturing to agriculture, to access the enormous US consumer market on a duty and quota-free basis on approved products, for a period until 2008.
- The Trade Development and Customs Agreement with the European Union sees a positive trend in trade flows developing between South Africa and the EU, with the aim of zero duty.
- Negotiations are in progress between the five-nation Southern African Customs Union and the four-country European Free Trade Association. A proposed US/Sacu agreement was also finalised in 2004, with both of these covering the entire range of trade and trade-related issues (including market access, tariff and non-tariff barriers, intellectual property rights, investment, competition and government procurement).
The comprehensive US/Sacu free trade agreement is the second most significant trade relationship exercise after Agoa between the US and African countries, increasing the number of products that Sacu members can export to the US market. With a more balanced and equitable Sacu pact having already been signed by leaders of member states towards the end of 2002, the International Trade Administration Commission now oversees implementation of the Sacu agreement as well as other multilateral and bilateral trade agreements. Exporting a range of products and services to a diversity of markets, South African trade has weathered adverse international conditions fairly well. (Services currently make up 65 percent of this critical trade.) With specific trade and investment requirements being met, the country has fast become one of the most popular trade destinations.
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