The Southern African Customs Union has five members:

• Botswana
• Lesotho
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Swaziland

It dates back to colonial days (1910). Under its rules, South Africa collects levies from customs, sales, and excise duties for all five members, sharing out proceeds based on each country's portion of imports.

At the end of 2004 it was negotiating a Free Trade deal with the USA.