Category / WTO

by Mike Poverello

If you thought trade in Africa is bad, consider this!

On January 10 2012 the Argentine tax authorities passed General Resolution 3252/2012, requiring importers to file an advance import affidavit before the definitive import of any type of goods. The affidavit is analysed by the tax authorities and by any other relevant government agency; only once approval has been granted may the import be carried out  The resolution applies to all types of product definitively imported into the country as from February 1 2012.

Under the resolution, importers must file an affidavit (through the tax authority’s website) before issuing a purchase order or similar document. The authority will inform importers (through its online application) of any news regarding the status of their petition and, if applicable, the reasons for any objections made and the government agencies where importers can remedy those objections. Importers must enter the affidavit number in the authority’s María Information System when the goods enter customs clearance. The customs clearance process will be automatically stopped if this number is not entered.

The tax authority has a 72-hour period (from the date on which the affidavit is filed by the importer) to make any comments. This time period may be extended by up to 10 calendar days in “those cases in which the specific activities of the agency in charge so requests”. Once the above periods have elapsed with no comments being made, the import operation may continue. Otherwise, the comments should be dealt with by the importer with the agency that raised them.

Import operations that already have an open irrevocable letter of credit (or similar document) or that have been prepaid (in both cases dating from before February 1 2012) are exempt from the obligation to obtain an affidavit. However, there are some contradictions in the text of the resolution that may create problems at the time of applying this exemption. The following import operations, among others, are exempt from the obligation to obtain an affidavit:

  • imports made under the courier or sample regimes;
  • imports that relate to turnkey projects (provided that they were approved before February 1 2012); or
  • imports that are sent in different shipments (provided that they were approved before February 1 2012).

At present, the foreign trade sector of Argentina is almost paralysed, with no clear sense of direction. Only time will tell whether the affidavit system starts processing requests relatively smoothly, or if the paralysis will result in an increase in litigation by desperate importers. Source: taken from the article: “Argentina’s foreign trade paralysis continues” – International Law Office.

by Mike Poverello

Who Will Be Africa’s Brazil?

Will there ever be an “African Brazil”? Who will that be? Angola? Congo? Ethiopia? Nigeria? South Africa? Flip that question: what will it take for an African country to become a new Brazil? A lot. First, it will take governments that do not spend or borrow too much, and independent central banks that keep inflation low. That is, the first order of business is a stable “macroeconomic framework.” Brazil managed to do that, but only after decades of rampant inflation and financial crises. Many African countries are making progress in that direction, but none is quite there. Read this objective review by Marcelo Giugale, World Bank’s Director of Economic Policy and Poverty Reduction Programs for Africa. Source: The Huffington Post

by Mike Poverello

Global Preferential Trade Agreement Database (GPTAD)

world-bank-logoThe World Bank International Trade Department has just launched it’s Global Preferential Trade Agreement Database (GPTAD). The GPTAD provides information on preferential trade agreements (PTAs) around the world, including agreements that have not been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is designed to help trade policy makers, scholars, and business operators better understand and navigate the world of PTAs.

The GPTAD Database contains the original text of PTAs that have been notified to the WTO as well as agreements that have not yet been notified. The database is updated on a regular basis and currently comprises more than 330 PTAs. Agreements in the database have been indexed using a classification consistent with the WTO criteria. The GPTAD is a unique online tool that allows users to search PTAs around the world by provisions or keywords and to compare provisions across multiple agreements. The database can be searched according to the following categories:

  • Duties and charges on imports
  • Quantitative restrictions on imports
  • Rules of origin
  • Sanitary and phytosanitary measures
  • Agriculture
  • Investment
  • Services
  • Dispute settlement procedures
  • Intellectual property
  • Labor
  • Environment

The Library provides the text of all agreements in their original language and archives them by key criteria. It enables users to sort PTAs by membership, date of signature, in-force status, and other key criteria. It also allows users to download and print PDF files of entire agreements.

The GPTAD is designed to be a valuable resource on PTAs for trade policy makers, scholars, and business operators around the world. To that end, the World Bank International Trade Department welcomes your input. If you are aware of bilateral or regional PTAs that are not included in the library or database, please contact us. The GPTAD is work in progress and we actively welcome and solicit your views and suggestions on how the site might be further improved and made more useful. Source: World Bank

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by Mike Poverello

EU ‘green tax’ will hit South African exporters

At the expense of coming across a bit cynical – what exactly is the aim of the ‘carbon emission’ movement? We know it’s a United Nations initiative; that many politicians, ex presidents, scientists and climatologists warn against the use traditional energy sources and preach of cataclysmic consequences if we do not need heed their call; that it has become the latest excuse for more government imposed taxes; that the very mention of CO2 conjours up animosity between the rich and poor nations in much the same way as the mention of the WTO. Lets not forget there’s even a ‘Green Customs Initiative’ just so that we can all feel mutually inclusive.

An article just published by IFW-net.com suggests that exporting from South Africa could become even more expensive if the country’s free-trade deal with the European Union (EU) is brought to an end and replaced by a shipping tax next year. The current trade deal removes tariffs on 98% of South Africa’s exported goods. Trade between the two regions creates around R400 billion (US$48bn) a year. Seems like taxation is the West’s latest answer to the failing WTO overtures on free trade!

At the United Nations conference on climate change in Durban, the EC will announce plans to tackle emissions. The proposed shipping tax, aimed at lowering carbon emissions, is expected to dramatically increase the cost of imports into the EU.

The EU’s envoy to South Africa, said shipping and aviation was a main contributor to carbon emissions.“That is why we are quite persistent that a shipping and aviation tax must be included in any deal that hopes to limit carbon emissions.” he said.

The EU has also sparked controversy over its plan for Emissions Trading Scheme that will apply to all airlines flying through its airspace from 1 January 2012.

One way or the other, SARS gets the monopoly on collecting the tax, regardless of its form.

For an alternative view on ‘green stuff’ read “The Recession Hits the Green Movement“. It’s perhaps a lot closer to the truth than all the ‘saving-the-planet’ stuff being dished up by the mainstream media.

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by Mike Poverello

Is what’s good for China, good for everyone else?

Given current developments in the international supply chain, the following article would seem to advocate measures that would certainly pave the way for information exchange in the Customs environment. Somehow, I think this is a pipe dream –

The United States and the European Union have proposed to the WTO a set of principles that would remove barriers to cross-border data flows. Under principles, for instance, WTO member states would not prevent foreign service providers or their customers from “electronically transferring information internally or across borders, accessing publicly available information stored in other countries.” Governments would have to refrain from requiring information and communications technology (ICT) service providers to establish a local presence or use a local infrastructure. And, they would have to allow “full foreign participation” in their ICT sectors. The principles are apparently aimed at curbing Chinese censorship and protectionist measures. But they would also seem consistent with, among other things, the EU’s own restrictions on the transfer of personal data outside of the EU, occasional US decisions to restrict or impose conditions on foreign ownership of communications companies, and the FBI’s periodic proposals require communications providers to establish a point-of-presence in the United States in order to ease the Bureau’s access to communications. Source: Lexology.com

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by Mike Poverello

Managing the Challenges of WTO Participation

The article and analysis might be a few years old now, but still relevant to economists and trade specialists concerned with South Africa’s future economic viability. I think that the author of this case study, Neil Joubert, Researcher at Trade and Law Centre of Southern Africa (Tralac), has done a fine job in giving historic context to our country’s approach to trade law and the effect of its obligations under the WTO GATT agreement. Titled – The Reform of South Africa’s Anti-Dumping Regime – it examines the factors that necessitated the reform of the South African anti-dumping regime, and briefly discusses the impact of the change in regional dynamics on the anti-dumping process in South Africa.