On 29 May 2025, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) extended an invitation to comment (referenced as 03/2025) on the review of a list of materials qualifying as standard materials in terms of the Automotive Production and Development Programme Phase 2 (APDP2) and measures to support battery manufacturing on which comment is due by 26 June 2025.
The application was self-initiated by ITAC, who reasoned that:
- Global manufacturing and energy generation technologies are undergoing a series of structural changes. Largely in response to challenges arising from climate variability. South Africa, in the evolving profile of traction and solid-state battery, energy, and propulsion technologies, observes that these require considerable use and security of supply of several critical minerals and materials;
- These materials and minerals, to the extent that they can be found in viable deposits and reserves in South Africa and Southern Africa, present our country with an opportunity to increase manufacturing capabilities, create new jobs, and advance our socio-economic development goals; and
- Currently, the list of standard materials (meaning locally beneficiated raw materials originating in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) which have been processed to suit automotive specifications) outlined in Note 4.4.1 of the APDP2 Info Doc A contains raw minerals and materials such as aluminium, steel, and platinum group metals. However, several minerals associated with Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) production, including all hybrid derivatives, are not currently contained in the list of standard materials.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments on:
- The following minerals are included as standard material under the APDP2. The following minerals and materials shall, when sourced from the South African Development Community (SADC) region and used in the manufacture of automotive electric: (a) rare earth minerals, (b) iron, (c) lithium, (d) graphite, (e) copper, (f) cobalt sulfate, (g) manganese sulfate, (h) nickel sulfate, (i) polymers, and (j) sodium carbonate (soda ash).
- The possibility of reviewing the percentage of standard materials deemed as local value added under the APDP2 to encourage beneficiation of regionally available materials;
- The possibility of increasing customs duty applicable to New Electric Vehicle (NEV) batteries, to the World Trade Organization (WTO) bound rate of 15% ad valorem, to provide tariff support for all future manufacturers of batteries, which can be accomplished by the creation of an eight-digit tariff subheading that will separate the batteries from cells; and
- Any other measures to advance entry and further participation in the battery manufacturing value chain in South Africa.