Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many parties to the UK-SACU Economic Partnership Agreement they expect to have ratified that Agreement by 1 December.

As of 4^th August 2020, Botswana and South Africa have completed their domestic ratification procedures. Britain completed her own domestic scrutiny procedures, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, on 5^th February 2020. We continue to monitor progress closely in the remaining countries.

Our preference is that all our Southern Africa Customs Union + Mozambique Economic Partnership Agreement partners ratify the agreement, so that it can enter into force at the end of the transition period. Nevertheless, we will consider all possible options to maintain continuity, including provisional application, if not every partner is able to ratify the agreement before the end of the transition period.