The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) extended an invitation to comment on the review of the tariff structure for input material, components and final goods used in the renewable energy value chain, on which comment is due by 16 May, 2025.
The application was lodged by ITAC, who offered the following reasoning:
- Global decarbonisation commitments present new opportunities for the growth of a strong South African supply base of renewable energy components and finished products, battery storage units, as well as green consumer goods.
- The domestic demand trajectory, raw materials resource base, technological capacity and manufacturing experience place South Africa in a potentially strong position to become a key player in regional and international supply chains; and
- When carefully balanced, an improved tariff structure will increase the demand for, as well as the supply-competitiveness of, locally manufactured products and components; this will further enable export market opportunities; and enhance the competitiveness of the local renewable value chain.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the following:
- The possibility of increasing ordinary customs duties on some of the tariff lines listed in Table 1 below to their respective WTO bound rates, to the extent that there is capability or potential to manufacture them locally in order to improve the overall tariff structure and the effective rate of protection;
- The possibility of creating rebate provisions for some of the products on this list to the extent they are input materials to downstream manufacturing activities and they are not manufactured locally;
- The potential discontinuation of Rebate Item 460.16/8541.43/01.06 that makes provision for the duty-free importation of solar PV panels, provided that installed domestic capacity reaches at least 50% of domestic demand, in order to incentivise further investments in the domestic assembly and manufacturing industry;
- Proposals on the identification of additional products in the renewable energy value chain to be subjected to local content requirements. This is to be done in collaboration with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition under the framework of the new Public Procurement Act 28 of 2024 once the regulations for the policy have been developed.
- The potential relaxation of Import Control Regulations for any critical minerals, or any other product, used as input material in downstream manufacturing activities in the renewable energy industry, particularly in battery storage technologies, to the extent that this would incentivise domestic manufacturing and investment; and
- The potential introduction of export control regulations for any critical minerals or any other product used as input material in downstream manufacturing activities in the renewable energy industry, particularly in battery storage technologies, to the extent that this would ensure the security of supply and incentivise domestic manufacturing and investment.
TABLE 1
28.04 Solar PV Value Chain
2804.6 Silicon:
2804.61 -Containing by mass 99,99 per cent or more of silicon
2804.70 -Phosphorus
2804.80 -Arsenic
2804.90 -Selenium
74.08 Copper wire:
7408.1 --Of refined copper:
7408.11 --Of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeds 6 mm
7408.19 --Other
76.04 Aluminium bars, rods and profiles:
7604.10 -Of aluminium, not alloyed:
7604.10.35 --Bars and rods, of a maximum cross-sectional dimension not exceeding 160 mm
7604.10.65 --Profiles, of a maximum cross-sectional dimension not exceeding 370 mm
7604.10.90 --Other
7604.2 -Of aluminium alloys:
7604.21 --Hollow profiles
7604.21.90 ---Other
7604.29 Other:
7604.29.90 --Other
84.79 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this Chapter:
8479.30 -Presses for the manufacture of particle board or fibre building board of wood or other ligneous materials and other machinery for treating wood or cork
8479.40 -Rope or cable-making machines
7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter-pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel:
7318.1 Threaded articles:
7318.12 --Other wood screws
7318.14 --Self-tapping screws
7318.15 Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers:
7318.15.33 ---Bolts (including bolt ends, screw studs and screw studding) identifiable for use on aircraft
7318.15.37 ---Other screws and bolts, fully threaded with hexagon heads, of stainless steel
7318.16 Nuts:
7318.16.10 ---Of stainless steel
7318.16.2 ---Hexagon dome nuts, hexagon nuts with non-metallic inserts, hexagon collared nuts and hexagon self-locking nuts:
7318.16.21 ----Hexagon nuts with nylon inserts
7318.16.23 ----Hexagon nuts with other non-metallic inserts
7318.16.29 ----Other
7318.90 --Other
7318.2 -Non-threaded articles:
7318.21 Spring washers and other lock washers:
7318.21.10 ---Spring washers, split or double-coiled
7318.21.90 ---Other
7318.22 ---Other washers
76.10 Aluminium structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 94.06) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge-sections, towers, lattice masts, roofs roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, balustrades, pillars and columns); aluminium plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures:
7610.10 -Doors, windows and their frames and thresholds for doors
7610.90 -Other
84.79 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this Chapter (Tracker units):
8479.89 --Other
8479.89.90 ---Other
85.01 Electrical motors and generators (excluding generating sets):
8501.3 Other DC motors; DC generators (excluding photovoltaic generators):
8501.31 --Of an output not exceeding 750 W
8536.6 Lamp-holders, plugs and sockets:
8536.61 Lamp-holders:
8536.61.30 ---Other, for fluorescent lamps
8536.61.40 ---Other, for a voltage of less than 500 V
8536.61.90 ---Other
85.37 Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 85.35 or 85.36, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of Chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus (excluding switching apparatus of heading 85.17):
8537.10 -For a voltage not exceeding 1 000 V:
8537.10.30 Equipped with apparatus of subheading 8536.20.15 or 8536.50.50
8537.10.90 Other
85.41 Semi-conductor devices (for example, diodes, transistors, semiconductor-based transducers); photosensitive semi-conductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes (LED), whether or not assembled with other light-emitting diodes; mounted piezo-electric crystals:
8541.10 Diodes (excluding photosensitive or light-emitting diodes)
8541.4 Photosensitive semi-conductor devices, including photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes (LED):
8541.41 --Light-emitting diodes (LED)
8541.42 --Photovoltaic cells not assembled in modules or made up on to panels
8541.49 --Other
Wind Energy Value Chain
72.06 Iron and non-alloy steel in ingots or other primary forms (excluding iron of heading 72.03):
7206.10 -Ingot
7206.90 -Other
76.10 Aluminium structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 94.06) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge-sections, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, balustrades, pillars and columns); aluminium plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures:
7610.90 -Other
7610.90.10 -- For electric power lines (including transmission towers or pylons) and power substations
85.02 Electric generating sets and rotary converters:
8502.1 -Generating sets with compression-ignition internal combustion piston engines (diesel or semi-diesel engines):
8502.20 - Generating sets with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engines
8502.3 - Other generating sets
8502.31 -- Wind-powered
8502.39 --Other
85.04 Electrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors:
8504.10 -Ballasts for discharge lamps or tubes
8504.2 -Liquid dielectric transformers:
8504.21 --- Having a power-handling capacity not exceeding 650 kVA
8504.21 --Having a power-handling capacity exceeding 650 kVA but not exceeding 10 000 kVA
8504.23 --Having a power-handling capacity exceeding 10 000 kVA
8504.3 -Other transformers:
8504.31 --Having a power-handling capacity not exceeding 1 kVA
8504.32 --Having a power-handling capacity exceeding 1 kVA but not exceeding16 kVA
8504.33 --Having a power-handling capacity exceeding 16 kVA but not exceeding 500 kVA
8504.34 --Having a power-handling capacity exceeding 500 kVA
8504.40 -Static converters
8504.50 -Other inductors
8504.90 -Other
85.44 Insulated (including enamelled or anodised) wire, cable (including co-axial cable) and other insulated electric conductors, whether or not fitted with connectors; optical fibre cables, made up of individually sheathed fibres, whether or not assembled with electric conductors or fitted with connectors:
8544.20 -Co-axial cable and other co-axial electric conductors:
8544.20.15 --Cable, single-core, with a centre conductor of copper plated with silver or gold, of a length exceeding 400 m and a cross-sectional dimension not exceeding 4,5 mm, not sheathed in aluminium
8544.30 --Ignition wiring sets and other wiring sets of a kind used in vehicles, aircraft or ships
68.10 Articles of cement, of concrete or of artificial stone, whether or not reinforced:
6810.9 Other articles:
6810.91 --Prefabricated structural components for building or civil engineering
73.08 Structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 94.06) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge-sections, lock-gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns), of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures, of iron or steel:
7308.40 -Equipment for scaffolding, shuttering, propping or pit-propping:
7308.40.90 --Other
7316.00 Anchors, grapnels and parts thereof, of iron or steel
84.12 Other engines and motors:
8412.80 -Other:
8412.80.10 --Generators for wind turbines
85.04 Electrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors:
8504.3 -Other transformers:
8504.40 -Statis converters
8504.90 -Parts
Battery Energy Storage Value Chain
38.01 Artificial graphite; colloidal or semi-colloidal graphite; preparations based on graphite or other carbon in the form of pastes, blocks, plates or other semi-manufactures:
3801.10 - Artificial graphite:
3801.10.10 - - Unmachined electrodes
3801.10.90 - - Other
3801.20 - Colloidal or semi-colloidal graphite
3801.30 - Carbonaceous pastes for electrodes and similar pastes for furnace Linings
3801.90 - Other
75.02 Unwrought nickel:
7502.10 Nickel, not alloyed
7502.20 Nickel alloys
78.01 Unwrought lead:
7801.10 - Refined lead
7801.9 - Other:
7801.91 - - Containing by mass antimony as the principal other element
7801.99 - - Other
85.07 Electric accumulators, including separators therefor, whether or not rectangular (including square):
8507.10 - Lead-acid, of a kind used for starting piston engines:
8507.10.1 - - With dimensions not exceeding 185 mm (length) x 125 mm (width) x 195 mm (height):
8507.10.11 - - - Used
8507.10.19 - - - Other
8507.10.9 - - Other:
8507.20 - Other lead-acid accumulators
8507.30 Nickel-cadmium
8507.50 Nickel-metal hydride
8507.60 Lithium-ion
8507.80 Other accumulators
8507.90 Parts
28.25 Hydrazine and hydroxylamine and their inorganic salts; other inorganic bases; other metal oxides, hydroxides and peroxides:
2825.30 - Vanadium oxides and hydroxides
39.20 Other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics, non-cellular and not reinforced, laminated, supported or similarly combined with other materials:
3920.10 - Of polymers of ethylene:
3920.10.10 - - Printed
3920.10.90 - - Other
7402.00 Unrefined copper; copper anodes for electrolytic refining
84.15 Air-conditioning machines, comprising a motor-driven fan and elements for changing the temperature and humidity, including those machines in which the humidity cannot be separately regulated:
8415.90 - Parts:
8415.90.90 - - Other
85.07 Electric accumulators, including separators therefor, whether or not rectangular (including square):
8507.10 - Lead-acid, of a kind used for starting piston engines:
8507.10.1 - - With dimensions not exceeding 185 mm (length) x 125 mm (width) x 195 mm (height):
8507.10.11 - - - Used
8507.10.19 - - - Other
8507.10.9 - - Other:
8507.20 - Other lead-acid accumulators
8507.60 - Lithium-ion
8507.80 - Other accumulators