The Eldest: The Southern African Customs Union

Abstract

The world’s oldest surviving customs union—the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)—located in the southern tip of Africa, has received little attention in the comparative integration literature. Celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2010, the SACU began with plutocratic structures and then switched to intergovernmental in 2004. Until 1994, all five conditions were met. From its 1910 birth and to this day, South Africa is the clear regional plutocrat. From 1910 to 1969, it was Britain that delegated policy making to South Africa, on behalf of its three Territories. Although Britain was not undergoing an economic crisis, the Liberal Party that came to power in London in 1906 had campaigned strongly on the position that Britain should leave its colonies. The Territories would thus have faced economic collapse had Britain not found a way to fund their governments. Having South Africa set policy in exchange for administering the customs union seemed a good deal for Britain. The customs union offered easily obtained tariffs. As in the Prussian accords, this was the immediate and chief way of assessing if the member states were gaining from the customs union.