22 July 2004

The United States has lifted a ban against South African defence weapons firms Armscor, Fuchs Electronics and Denel that was instituted in 1994 as a result of the companies' sanctions-busting activities in the US during the apartheid era.

The decision removes the final impediment to normalised defence trade relations between South Africa and the US.

The ban was provisionally suspended in 1998 after then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki and former US Vice President Al Gore agreed to a framework establishing export compliance programmes for each company.

In a joint statement, the two leaders said South African companies would henceforth "be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with foreign policy and national security criteria."

The US State Department said in a statement this week that the South African government had instituted "concrete and far-reaching measures to establish a comprehensive and effective national export control regime".

Source: BuaNews

	SA trade with North America Mbeki, Bush cement relations

	Department of Foreign Affairs  Dept of Trade & Industry  Denel  Fuchs Electronics  Armscor

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