Why isn’t South Africa more proactive in international services negotiations?

Services are increasingly central to economic activity across the developing world, and South Africa is no exception. By African standards, the South African economy is quite diversified and has a robust services sector that in some areas exports competitively, to developing countries and to developed markets. One would therefore expect to find the South African government assertively advancing these export interests through international trade negotiations, while selectively liberalizing access to its domestic services markets in order to ensure their long-term competitiveness and to promote economywide benefits. While there has been some movement in the latter direction, largely through unilateral reforms, in recent years this has not translated into a proactive services trade negotiating strategy.