ABSTRACT
This chapter charts the EPA negotiation between the EU and the SADC EPA Group. It argues that the SADC countries’ approach to the negotiations were shaped by their divergent political economies and development ideas as well as their interpretations of the choice set on offer under the EPAs. Cleavages within the group were latterly overcome by leadership from South Africa, which used appeals to the integrity of existing regional organisations and the development needs of its smaller partners to extract concessions from the EU. The chapter argues that the legitimacy of embedded national and regional institutional architectures can be a negotiating resource for weaker partners in North–South trade negotiations.
