Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) Ratifications On 06 August 2015 Niger became the 12th World Trade Organisation (WTO) member and the first Least Developed Country (LDC) to ratify the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Nicaragua ratified it on 04 August 2015, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) on 30 July 2015, and Trinidad and Tobago on 29 July 2015. South Africa is yet to ratify the FTA. Botswana was the 8th to ratify on 18 June, Australia the 7th on 09 June, Japan the 6th on 01 June, Malaysia the 5th on 26 May, Mauritius the 4th on 05 March, the United States of America the 3rd on 23 January, Singapore the 2nd on 08 January, and Hong Kong, China on 08 December 2014. Investment Bill – Comment due On 28 July 2015 the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) tabled the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill in Parliament following what it termed ‘an extensive public consultation process’. According to Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies, the Bill seeks to promote investments and clarify the level of protection that an investor can expect in South Africa and ensure that the country remains open to foreign investment. He added that the bill also aimed to confirm government’s right to pursue constitutionally driven national development objectives and recognised the right of governments to regulate in the public interest. In addition it promotes a balance between the rights and obligations of investors and ensures equal treatment of foreign and domestic investors. It also provides clarity for the standards of protection applied to investment. The parliamentary committee will now conduct a public process during which interested stakeholders will be able to submit comments on the bill. WTO TBT – Watch List Remember to consult ‘Your Early Warning System to Technical Barriers to Trade’ that appears weekly in Customs Buzz. It details the weekly draft technical regulations in terms of the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement. Last week there were seven proposed TBTs published for South Africa. Duty Calls – Watch List The National Treasury has published the 2015 draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill and the 2015 draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, on which comment is due by 24 August 2015. The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) has published the proposed amendment to the Price Preference System (PPS) Policy Guidelines for ferrous and nonferrous waste metals export control, for which comment is due by 14 August 2015.
