2012 World Trade Report The World Trade Organisation (WTO) released its 2012 World Trade Report during the course of last week. According to the executive summary, this year’s report ventures beyond tariffs to examine other policy measures that can affect trade. As a result of the reduction in the rates of tariffs in recent years, which is in large part attributable to the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the focus has progressively shifted towards Non- Tariff Measures (NTMs), also known as Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). According to the WTO, “the range of NTMs is vast, complex, driven by multiple policy motives, and ever-changing”. The Report is structured into two parts, with Part 2 consisting of six sections. Part 1 is titled “World Trade in 2011”, and Part 2 “Trade and Public Policies: A Closer Look at Non-Tariff Measures in the 21st Century”. Glass Grit Provisional Anti-dumping Duties On 13 July 2012, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties on glass grit, in the form of powder, granules or flakes, classifiable under tariff subheading 3207.40, originating in or imported from Brazil. The rate of the provisional anti-dumping duties is either 41.68% or 100%, depending on the manufacturing or exporting company. Zip-Lock Bags Environmental Duty Sars, on 16 July 2012, invited all interested parties to comment – no later than 30 July 2012 – on its proposed amendments to the tariff subheadings in Chapter 39 relating to plastic bags, which currently have application in the Environmental Duties (Schedule No.1 Part 3A to the Customs and Excise Act – the Act). The proposed amendments are to exclude household bags, and in particular zip-lock bags, from the payment of the environmental levy with retrospective effect from 09 June 2009. Draft Amendments to Schedule No 4 and 5 On 16 July 2012 Sars invited comment from all interested parties – no later than 30 July 2012 – on the proposed amendments to Schedule No 4 to the Act “General Rebates of Customs Duties, Fuel Levy and Environmental Levy” and Schedule No. 5 “Specific Drawbacks and Refunds of Customs Duties, Fuel Levy and Environmental Levy” to the Act. The proposed amendments relate to the insertion of heading descriptions for Rebate Items not having any in order to standardise the structure of these Schedules to the Act as part of the Customs Modernisation process. National Pavilion The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) will have a National Pavilion at the SA Handmade Collection 2012 that will be taking place from 3-7 August 2012, in Johannesburg. For further information contact Faith Marima of the dti on Fmarima@thedti.gov. za. If you have not taken note of the various trade exhibitions and trade shows where the dti will have a presence during the course of 2012/13, you may well want to take the opportunity to do so. The dti offers financial support to qualifying companies, which includes: an air travel allowance of up to R13 000, daily subsistence allowance of R2 000, and much more.
