‘The ill-informed could be losing out’

Obtaining the benefits requires a thorough understanding THERE ARE clear benefits to be gained from international trade facilitation mechanisms, but obtaining these benefits requires a thorough understanding of the processes and procedures that regulate the dispensations. That’s the view of Safcor Panalpina customs consultant, Johan Marais. South Africa has for decades traded with its neighbours under trade dispensations such as the South African Customs Union agreement (SACU), which includes Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. These countries regulate their international trade affairs in terms of a common customs regime i.e. customs duty rates are uniform while trade between the countries is not subject to customs duties. A trade dispensation similarly exists between South Africa and Zimbabwe and, like the SACU agreement, the rules that regulate the trade are based on the origin of the goods. Country-specific Then there are other country specific dispensations, for example the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act that extends a non-reciprocal benefit from the United States to sub-Saharan countries on the basis of their development status. Further trade dispensations exist in the South African/European Union Free Trade Agreement. Again, there are rules of origin that regulate the trade, which is reciprocal. The reductions in customs duty will be phased in over a period of time - South Africa over a period of 12 years and the European Union over a period of 10 years. The goods covered by this part include most industrial products while agricultural, wine & spirits and fisheries products have been negotiated separately. While these dispensations are manifested in protocols, more general dispensations run concurrently i.e. the Generalised System of Preferences, which is a non-reciprocal dispensation over a wide range of goods and products offered to South Africa by the United States, Switzerland, Norway and the European Union member states. Clearly, if you are not fully informed you could be losing out.