DUTY CALLS

ITAC Turns 10 or it is 92?
The existence of this column
is in large part attributable
to the International Trade
Administration Commission
of South Africa (Itac).
On 01 June 2003 Itac will
celebrate its 10th year of
existence. It was originally
established as an agency of
the Department of Trade and
Industry (the dti) through an
Act of Parliament, replacing
the Board on Tariffs and
Trade (BTT) established
on 24 September 1986, and
its predecessor the Board
of Trade and Industries
(BTI) established on 08 July
1921. It thus has a collective
history of nearly 100 years.
Itac’s vision is to be an
institution of excellence
in international trade
administration, enhancing
economic growth and
development. Its mission
is to create an enabling
environment for fair trade
through the efficient and
effective administration
of its trade instruments
and by providing technical
advice to the Economic
Development Department
(EDD) and the dti. The aim
of Itac, as stated in its Act,
is to foster economic growth
and development in order to
raise incomes and promote
investment and employment
in South Africa and the
Southern African Customs
Union (Sacu) by establishing
an efficient and effective
system for the administration
of international trade subject
to its Act and the Sacu
agreement. In terms of this
agreement, Itac’s current
Sacu role is to be replaced
once a Sacu Tariff Book
has been established. To
date however none of the
other Sacu members have
established their own Itac
equivalents, nor has Sacu
established a Tariff Board.
There is also no indication of
when this will be done.
Itac has three core
functions, namely to conduct
tariff investigations, to
conduct trade remedies
investigations, and to
administer import and
export control. (Of the
approximately 6 650 South
African tariff lines, 276 are
subject to import control and
177 subject to export control.)
What has Itac done
during its existence?
A quick review of the Itac
website (undertaken on 10
May 2013) reveals that the
last report that Itac published
was Report No 424. However
only 400 reports are available
for download. An analysis
of the 400 reports indicates
that 163 (40.75%) were in
respect of anti-dumping
investigations, 96 (24.00%)
in respect of the rebate of
the rate of customs duty,
74 (18.50%) in respect of
the reduction in the rate of
customs duty, and 35 (8.75%)
in respect of the increase in
the rate of customs duty.
The latter Reports (since
Report 400), indicate a recent
tendency for applications
for the increase in the rate
of customs duty, with six of
the reports for this, while
five were for anti-dumping,
four for rebate of the rate of
customs duty, two for the
review of the rate of customs
duty, and one for a reduction
in the rate of customs duty.
The increase in the rate of
customs duty should be
considered in context, as
Itac explains that it is now
placing more emphasis on the
principle of reciprocity when
granting tariff support to
industries, varying from one
sector to another. According
to Itac this means that
tariff amendments will
be conditional on a
commitment by beneficiaries
on how they will perform
against government’s
set policy objectives, in
particular employment and
investment. Itac has advised
that tariff increases will also
be tied to a specific period of
time after which tariffs may
be reviewed.
Happy 10th birthday Itac,
or rather happy 91st (on 08
July 2013 your 92nd).