Topics publications: Trade law and regulation
Trade Briefs
Will Trade Remedies be used as part of Trade Governance under the AfCFTA?
Very few African States are active users of trade remedies and safeguards as part of their trade governance and trade policy implementation. Only four African countries – Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia – have properly designed domestic trade remedy and safeguard arrangements and regularly use these measures to defend their domestic producers. They are also the more industrialised African countries; trade remedies are part of their trade governance toolkit. They use these measures primarily in the global trade context, not in respect of intra-African trade.
Does this mean that trade remedies and safeguards are not essential for countries in Africa with low levels of industrialisation? What will these countries do as they become more industrialised, which is one of the requirements for achieving the ambitions behind the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement? And how will the State Parties protect sectors such as agriculture and services providers? How is trade policy made and executed in these countries?
This Trade Brief argues that trade remedies and safeguards are important trade governance tools for African States; for better domestic and regional integration policies and for achieving the goals of the AfCFTA Agreement.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Reports
2021: Review of ITAC Investigations in a Pandemic Environment
The aim of the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC), as mandated by the International Trade Administration Act, 2002 (the ITA Act), is to foster economic growth and development to raise incomes and promote investment and employment in South Africa and within the Common Customs Area by establishing an efficient and effective system for the administration of international trade subject to the ITA Act and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Agreement, 2002.
Over the past seven years, tralac has been monitoring and reporting on investigations and reports prepared by ITAC that fall within its core functions. To date over 170 investigations and reports have been conducted and most applications for tariff support were the result of a fragile global and domestic economic environment and largely in response to relatively low-priced imports mainly from emerging economies. The COVID-19 pandemic has not eased the situation and has led the Commission to change working arrangements to mitigate challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Trade Report aims to understand ITAC’s core functions. We provide a summary of tariff investigations and trade remedies, followed by a review and summary of all the investigations concluded in 2020/21 and the trade remedies, if any, that were implemented during this period. We also undertake a seven-year review of ITAC’s investigations and reports, highlighting sectors where most applications and reviews were undertaken. Subsequently we look at the COVID-19 impact on South Africa’s trade. We conclude by looking at the impact of ITAC’s investigations and to what extent the common external tariff (CET) was affected during this review period.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Reports
The Trade Remedies and Safeguards Regime of the AfCFTA
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement contains detailed provisions on trade remedies and safeguards, modelled on World Trade Organisation (WTO) principles. Since only a small number of African States are active users of trade remedies and safeguards, their wider application could bring about an important trade governance development. Disputes about trade remedy investigations and measures could also become more likely. Disputes will involve domestic judicial review proceedings as well as inter-State disputes. The latter will fall under the jurisdiction of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the AfCFTA.
How will the AfCFTA trade remedies and safeguards arrangement work? This paper addresses this question, mentions the applicable multilateral rules, and discusses the African trade governance context, including whether there might be a more active use of trade remedies and safeguards under the AfCFTA. It starts with the question why international trade agreements provide for trade remedies and safeguards.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Reports
Are WTO Members Misinterpreting or Abandoning the Mandate of S&DT in the WTO?
It is a long-held view of developing countries in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that some restrict-ions imposed by WTO trade rules and trade related agreements tend to hinder the adoption of local development policies that could lead to economic development. Flexibilities in the form of Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) provisions in the implementation of WTO rules were proposed for developing countries. This flexibility is meant to provide policy space to pursue development policies. However, it is the view of developing countries that the application of S&DT provisions in the implementation of WTO rules is not practical. As a result, a WTO mandate to review S&DT provisions with a view to strengthening them and making them more precise, effective and operational was adopted by all WTO members.
This paper provides background on the S&DT mandate that is accorded to developing countries for implementing WTO Agreements. Furthermore, the paper analyses what some members may view as a misinterpretation and possibly the abandoning of the S&DT mandate broadly between developing and developed members. Discussions that evolved over the years resulted in a confusion that caused a stalemate in negotiations and led some members of the WTO to attempt to abandon the S&DT mandate. These members have proposed alternative approaches and a new agenda; however, this is without agreement by all WTO members.
The paper reflects the established positions of WTO members in the S&DT negotiations and provides an analysis of the views including the new agenda and approach on development envisaged by developed members. The study suggests an approach that calls for buy-in from all WTO members to ensure an inclusive outcome in S&DT negotiations that would lead to sustainable economic development for developing countries.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Reports
How will the Trade Remedy Regime of the AfCFTA impact on Trade Governance?
The legal instruments of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provide for a detailed regime to implement Trade Remedy and Safeguard measures. One gets the impression that this aspect of trade governance could be an important new continental development, even though very few African States are active users of these measures. How will the AfCFTA trade remedy regime work and what may change? Will the AfCFTA bring about a dedicated intra-African Trade Remedy and Safeguards arrangement? How may such a development impact on African countries’ ability to use multilateral Trade Remedies and Safeguards?
This Trade Report analyses Trade Remedies and Safeguards in the African trade governance context. It discusses the AfCFTA legal instruments provided for in this regard, which are modelled on World Trade Organisation (WTO) principles and procedures.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Briefs
Dispute Settlement as a Trade Policy Choice
Trade policy is context specific. It is about choices and objectives pursued by a particular State acting unilaterally (the scope of which is limited in respect of reciprocal trade relations), as well as within the joint structures of regional and multilateral trade arrangements. It involves the pursuit of specific benefits and outcomes for domestic producers, importers and consumers, exporters of goods and services, as well as better opportunities for investors. There will be interactions with national, regional, and multilateral stakeholders and arrangements.
In the African context, policymakers face specific challenges, such as small domestic markets, low levels of industrialisation, and poor infrastructure. Economic integration makes sense for African nations and is an important trade policy objective. However, trade policies and policymakers must be flexible, and economies must be able to adjust to technological and political developments.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the author and do not purport to reflect the views of