Guidelines and Conditions for the Extension of Safeguard Measures – Comment due
On 15 May the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) published its 23-page “Request for Comments from Interested Parties on Guidelines and Conditions Relating to the Extension of Safeguard Measures” on which comment is due by 15 June.
The purpose of the document is to provide a reference and procedural guide for applications for an extension of safeguard measures in terms of Amended Safeguard Regulation.
The scope of this document covers the application process for an extension of safeguard measures in terms of Amended Safeguard Regulation, which provides that a definitive measure may be extended by a period of up to six years where Itac finds that: (a) The lapse of the safeguard measure imposed in terms of subsection 6 is likely to lead to the recurrence of serious injury; and that (b) there is evidence that the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) industry is adjusting.
The extension of a safeguard measure envisaged in the regulations is that Itac shall provide representatives of countries that have a substantial interest in a general safeguard investigation 30 days for consultations prior to the application or extension of a definitive safeguard measure with a view to, inter alia, (a) reviewing the information relating to (i) evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports; (ii) the precise description of the product involved; (iii) the proposed measure; (iv) the proposed date of introduction; (v) the expected duration of the measure; and (vi) the timetable for progressive liberalisation; (b) exchanging views on the measure; and (c) discussing ways to maintain a substantially equivalent level of concessions and other obligations vis-à-vis that country.
As a reminder, a safeguard measure can be introduced to protect a domestic industry against, not necessarily unfair, but nevertheless overwhelming foreign competition. The measures can be introduced against an unforeseen surge in imports that threatens to or causes serious injury to a domestic industry. Safeguard measures are temporary measures with timelines to allow a domestic industry to adjust and improve its competitiveness.
Iron and Steel Bolts with Hexagon Nuts Safeguard Investigation – Comment due
On 15 May the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) initiated a safeguard investigation against increased imports of bolts with hexagon heads of iron or steel, classifiable in tariff subheading 7318.15.43, on which comment is due by 04 June.
The injury analysis relates to information submitted by CBC Fasteners (Pty) Ltd, SA Bolt Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd, Transvaal Pressed Nuts, and Bolts and Rivets (Pty) Ltd representing more than 80% of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) industry by production volumes.
The applicant alleged and submitted prima facie information indicating that it had experienced serious injury in the form of a decline in sales volumes, output, market share, utilisation of capacity, net profit and productivity for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2019.
On this basis Itac found that prima facie information had been submitted to indicate that the Sacu industry was suffering serious injury which could be causally linked to the surge in the volumes of imports of the subject products.
Any interested party may request an oral hearing provided that reasons are given for not relying on written submissions only. Itac will not consider a request for an oral hearing after 15 July.
Swaziland to Eswatini – Retrospective Change
On15 May the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced the retrospective change of Swaziland to Eswatini, effective from 19 April 2018.
The name change relates to the General Notes, and the Schedules to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964:
- General Notes of Schedule No.1 to the Act, 1964 “Ordinary Customs Duty” by the insertion of Note O.
- “O. Any reference to the Kingdom of Swaziland and BLNS in any provision of this Schedule shall, with effect from 19 April 2018, be deemed to be a reference to the Kingdom of Eswatini and BELN, respectively, in terms of the provisions which existed before 19 April 2018.”
- Schedule No.2 to the Act, 1964 “Anti-dumping, Countervailing and Safeguard Duties on Imported Goods” by the insertion of Note 1.
- “1. Any reference to the Kingdom of Swaziland and BLNS in any provision of this Schedule shall, with effect from 19 April 2018, be deemed to be a reference to the Kingdom of Eswatini and BELN, respectively, in terms of the provisions which existed before 19 April 2018.”
- Schedule No.4 to the Act, 1964 “General Rebates of Customs Duties, Fuel Levy and Environmental Levy” by the insertion of Note 6.
- “6. Any reference to the Kingdom of Swaziland and BLNS in any provision of this Schedule shall, with effect from 19 April 2018, be deemed to be a reference to the Kingdom of Eswatini and BELN, respectively, in terms of the provisions which existed before 19 April 2018.”
- Schedule No.6 to the Act, 1964, “Refunds and Rebates of Excise Duties, Fuel Levy and Environmental Levy” by the insertion of Note 3.
- “3. Any reference to the Kingdom of Swaziland and BLNS in any provision of this Schedule shall, with effect from 19 April 2018, be deemed to be a reference to the Kingdom of Eswatini and BELN, respectively, in terms of the provisions which existed before 19 April 2018.”
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Schedule No.10, “Agreements or Protocols or other parts or provisions thereof contemplated in section 49(5)”, by the insertion of Note 1
- “1. Any reference to the Kingdom of Swaziland and BLNS in any provision of this Schedule shall, with effect from 19 April 2018, be deemed to be a reference to the Kingdom of Eswatini and BELN, respectively, in terms of the provisions which existed before 19 April 2018.”
Publication details will be made available later
Reporting of Conveyances and Goods External Policy
On 12 May the South African Revenue Service (Sars) published its updated “Reporting of Conveyances and Goods - External Policy” to clarify that exemptions granted in respect of cargo reports apply to advance container loading notices, advance cargo arrival notices (imports), departure reports (exports) as well as acquitted manifests.
The External Policy can be accessed at:
Partnership for Maritime Digitalisation
The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have recently strengthened their partnership to further facilitate the exchange of information in a harmonised way by updating the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business and mapping it to the WCO Data Model. The updated Compendium, which is a set of standards on the submission of maritime-related data, will enable the integration of Maritime and Customs Single Windows and allow closer coordination between Customs administrations and Maritime authorities.
It is known that when ships enter and leave ports, vital information concerning cargo, dangerous goods, crews, vessel details and other pieces of information have to be exchanged with the authorities ashore. However, under the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL), public authorities are now required to set up systems for this all to happen digitally.
With a view to sustaining the maintenance work of the compendium and to allow more involvement of different stakeholders in the maritime supply chain, within the framework of existing partnerships, the IMO, the WCO, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and the International Standards Organization (ISO) have come together to support this increased maritime digitalisation.
The renewed partnership paves the way for updating the IMO Reference Data Model and for its further development towards the harmonisation of data standards in other areas, beyond the FAL Convention, such as exchanging operational data that could help facilitate the just-in-time operation of ships. Just-in-time operations allow ships to optimise their speed so they arrive at their destination port when their berth is ready for them, thereby saving energy and cutting costs and emissions.
The partners involved have been cooperating to develop the IMO Reference Data Model, which is a key element of the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business and covers the reporting requirements defined in the FAL Convention to support transmission, receipt and response of information required for the arrival, stay, and departure of ships, persons, and cargo via electronic data exchange. This work ensures interoperability between the respective standards of each organisation, such as the WCO Data Model.
The data model is accessible at:
http://www.wcoomd.org/DataModel
Joint WCO-IRU Statement on Responding to the Impacts of Covid-19 on Cross-border Transport
On 12 May the heads of the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) secretariats issued a joint statement calling on Customs administrations worldwide to ensure coordinated cross-border interventions in cooperation with other national border agencies and implement international standards such as the TIR Convention, as appropriate, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and agreed to coordinate efforts.
The text of the joint statement is below.
WCO and IRU joint statement on responding to the impacts of Covid-19 on cross-border transport
The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, while above all a public health crisis, presents the world with unprecedented economic challenges. Trade has dramatically declined, supply chains are disrupted, and the restrictions to cross-border and transit freight transport that have been put in place could aggravate the pandemic’s economic impact.
As each economy depends on the efficiency of transport, including road transport, especially in this critical time, and bearing in mind the gradual lifting of confinement measures, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) jointly call on Customs administrations worldwide to:
- Ensure coordinated cross-border interventions in cooperation with other national border agencies and implement international standards such as the TIR Convention, as appropriate;
- Use the TIR system, and its IT tools, wherever possible, which allow secure transport under Customs control with limited physical checks and less contact between people at borders, thus reducing the risk of spreading the virus and protecting Customs officers and drivers;
- Designate priority (green) lanes for commercial vehicles to reduce border waiting times and introduce other measures to ensure supply chain continuity;
- Avoid closing borders to the international transport of goods, particularly for relief goods and personnel and essential goods; and
- Avoid unnecessary checking of commercial vehicles at borders.
The WCO and IRU express their readiness to support their respective members in the implementation of relevant instruments, tools and programmes and will work together to coordinate their respective efforts.
WTO DG Azevêdo announces he will step down on 31 August 2020
On 14 May at a virtual meeting of all the World Trade Organization (WTO) members, the WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo announced that he would step down on 31 August 2020, cutting his second term short by exactly one year.
He said that bringing forward his departure would allow members to select his successor in the coming months, without diverting political energy and attention from preparations for the Twelfth Ministerial Conference, which is set to be held in 2021. “We must give my successor sufficient time to plan, together with you, the path not only for MC12, but for how that Conference fits into your plans for the future of the organisation,” he told members.
“The earlier the new DG takes office the better.” His full statement is below:
Statement by DG Azevêdo
Thank you for joining this meeting on short notice, ahead of tomorrow’s special virtual General Council.
This session is about one very specific administrative arrangement. I have an announcement to make. This August, I will complete 7 years as WTO Director General and I have decided that I will step down from my current position on 31 August, cutting short my second term in office by exactly one year.
Many of you will have seen the news reports about my decision. It was not my intention for you to hear it from the press before you heard it from me – but unfortunately it has worked out that way.
This is a decision that I do not take lightly. Between the lockdown and my recent knee surgery, I have had more time than usual for reflection. And I reached this decision only after long discussions with my family – my wife here in Geneva, and my daughters and my mother in Brasilia. It is a personal decision - a family decision – and I am convinced that this decision serves the best interests of this organisation.
I also want to be clear about what this is not: it is not health-related (thank goodness). Nor am I pursuing any political opportunities. I hope the future holds new challenges in store, but as of right now, I do not know what they will be.
Regardless of how fulfilling these last 7 years have been for me, I must now end this cycle. As members start to shape the WTO's agenda for the new post-Covid realities, they should do so with a new Director-General.
It is not easy for me to say this. The multilateral trading system has been at the centre of my career since I was first posted here in 1997. Since then, I have been working in the system, with the system, and for the system. A big chunk of my life, 23 years, has been dedicated to the system, and I have been grateful for this opportunity. My tenure as WTO Director-General has been the most demanding, exciting, and gratifying period in my professional life. I have learned a great deal. And I believe that I have been able to contribute to maintaining the WTO as a key pillar of global economic governance amid challenging times for multilateral cooperation.
Together, we learned to be creative, innovative, and pragmatic. We delivered the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement, and decisions on food security. We eliminated agricultural export subsidies and enabled more goods and services exports from least developed countries. Groups of like-minded members have found ways to advance discussions on critical issues while protecting the right of other members to opt in or out.
And behind all this work, I want to pay special tribute to the staff of the WTO Secretariat. Working with such a professional and dedicated group of people has been one of the real highlights of my time here.
Yet while we have achieved a great deal, much more remains to be done. We have set ourselves ambitious and transformative goals for MC12 and for WTO reform. And now we must ensure that trade contributes to the global economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
But I will not be the leader with whom you will chart and walk the strategic path ahead.
The challenges facing the work of this organisation will always be formidable - commensurate with its relevance and role as an anchor of predictability and certainty in a fast-changing global economy.
In addition to ongoing work and negotiations, we must also consider what we need to advance the wider discussions around WTO reform. This ongoing process of pragmatic change is something we have discussed often over the years.
We know that the WTO cannot stand frozen while the world around it changes profoundly. Ensuring that the WTO continues to be able to respond to members’ needs and priorities is an imperative, not an option. The “new normal” that emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic will have to be reflected in our work here.
True and meaningful reform is a long-term task. We have had some success in starting to do things differently, but it will take time and commitment from members to keep building paths forward. While I am convinced, we have set out in the right direction, the road ahead will entail consequential choices and deep reflection.
MC12 will be a critical landmark for this exercise.
As I see it, MC12 should be a stepping-stone to the future of the WTO. It should tie together our various ongoing efforts in a coherent approach, and lay the foundations for subsequent reform. This means that MC12 will require careful preparation and execution from you, the members.
My departure in August will give you the time you need to work with my successor – whoever she or he may be – to shape the strategic direction for MC12 and the months and years that follow.
As things stand today, our next Ministerial Conference will take place either in the middle of 2021 or at the end of that year. We have an offer from Kazakhstan to host a June meeting, and there is a real possibility that this scenario will prevail.
In our normal calendar, the selection process for the next WTO DG would start this December, with the nomination of candidates. The selection process would then dominate the first trimester of 2021 – and maybe longer. I do not have to remind you how intense that process is.
This timing would clearly impair preparatory work for MC12, irrespective of whether it is held in the northern summer or at the end of the year.
In either case, the selection process would be a distraction from – or worse, a disruption to – our desired outcomes. Instead of focusing all efforts on the search for compromise – on finding flexibility and making concessions – we would be spending valuable time on a politically charged process that has proved divisive in the past.
For a mid-year ministerial, the selection process would overlap with the most intensive phase of pre-ministerial preparations, making it highly prone to compromise the planning and execution of MC12.
Even if MC12 is held at the end of 2021, staying on through the end of my term would leave my successor mere weeks to prepare. I faced this situation when I first took office and I can tell you, first hand, that this is far from ideal. It might work if we are having a tightly focused ministerial centred on a small number of issues, such as trade facilitation and public stockholding in 2013. But given the far-reaching implications of the choices you will make at MC12, and the wide range of issues likely to be before you there, I believe you and your stakeholders deserve more ambition.
We must decouple these two processes: the DG succession process and the preparation of MC12. Doing both would inevitably compromise MC12 and the reform impetus. I care too much for this Organization to allow this to happen.
These considerations on timing were on my mind as I considered my decision to step down. And my conclusion is that the sooner I allow you to proceed with the selection process, the better off we will be.
As we have seen, I think we must give my successor sufficient time to plan, together with you, the path not only for MC12, but for how that Conference fits into your plans for the future of the Organization. This is not a minor task by any standard. This requires careful deliberation – and sufficient time to advance such discussions. The earlier the new DG takes office the better.
Second, the pandemic has significantly slowed down many of our activities. Physical meetings remain suspended. Many of you have also advised against trying to advance negotiations for the time being. Even if conditions in Geneva improve, it is quite likely that many capitals and governments would be under duress in the months to come.
This offers us a window to launch the selection process with less impact than usual on our work. Members should seize this moment to start deliberating on how to effect the change in leadership at the WTO.
Again, my decision was reached after long and hard reflection, and much discussion with my family.
For the reasons I have outlined, I believe that it would be best if members promptly move ahead with the process for selecting the next Director-General.
The procedures for the DG selection process adopted by members in 2002 state that in the event of a vacancy, "the Chair of the General Council shall initiate, as soon as possible, a process for appointment of a new Director-General." I am and will continue to be in close contact with the Chairman of the General Council and with all of you to facilitate this process however you deem necessary.
I urge you not to treat the process of selecting the next DG as business as usual. This Organization must start 2021 with a focus on the real challenges: ensuring that the multilateral trading system responds to new economic realities, above all the post-COVID recovery. It cannot afford to be distracted by a protracted search for a new DG.
I will be with you, working to improve and strengthen this Organization until my last day in office - and beyond, for wherever I am, like my predecessors, I will always be advocating for this system, for the WTO.
The WTO may not be perfect, but it is indispensable all the same. It is what keeps us from a world where the law of the jungle prevails, at least as far as trade is concerned.
I am proud of our work and it has been a true privilege working with each and every one of you: both those who are here today and your predecessors as well.
It is not my intention to have a proper discussion today. I just wanted to share this information with you. And let me be clear that tomorrow’s General Council is also not at all about this. We will be having a very important discussion about the COVID-related issues identified by the Chair, and you should use every second of your allotted five minutes for this purpose.
As I have said, I will still be with you for the next few months. It is time to roll up our sleeves and set out to find a leader worthy of you, our stakeholders, and the multilateral trading system.
I will now open the floor in case anyone wishes to say something. As I have said, I do not expect a proper discussion today – we will have plenty of time for this. The General Council Chair will be reaching out to you very soon to consult on the way forward. So, if you do ask for the floor, please be very brief.
Thank you.