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TRADE
REMEDIES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA CUSTOMS UNION: CERTAIN ANTI-DUMPING DUTY
PROVISIONS LIKELY TO EXPIRE IN 2018
The
Bulletin of 9 June 2017 (Bulletin 478) dealt with “Anti-dumping duties,
countervailing duties and safeguard duties” (trade remedies) in South
Africa.
Anti-dumping duties need to be reviewed every five years after imposition.
The introductory paragraph of the International Trade Administration
Commission of South Africa (ITAC) Sunset Review notices states: “ In
accordance with the provisions in Article 53.1 of the Anti-Dumping
Regulations (ADR) of the International Trade Administration Commission of
South Africa (the Commission), any definitive anti-dumping duty shall be
terminated on a date not later than five years from the date of imposition,
unless the authorities determine, in a review initiated before that date on
their own initiative or upon a duly substantiated request made by or on
behalf of the domestic industry, that the expiry of the duty would be likely
to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury”.
ITAC
therefore notifies all interested parties in Government Gazette Notices that
substantiated requests must be made on behalf of the Southern African
Customs Union (SACU) industry indicating the expiry of certain anti-dumping
duty provisions which are about to expire (with a period of six months to a
year from the date of publication).
ITAC gave
notice of anti-dumping duty provisions that will expire in 2018 in Notice
546 of 2017 which was published in Government Gazette 40998 of
21 July 2017.
|
Anti-dumping provision |
Product |
Country |
Rate of anti-dumping duty |
Date of imposition |
Date of expiry |
|
206.04/3207.40/01.06 |
Glass frit |
Brazil |
24,65% |
15/02/2013 |
14/02/2018 |
|
206.04/3207.40/02.06 |
Glass frit |
Brazil |
50% |
15/02/2013 |
14/02/2018 |
|
213.03/7009.91/03.06 |
Unframed glass mirrors |
China |
40,22% |
26/07/2013 |
25/07/2018 |
|
207.01/3920.49/01.06 |
PVC Rigid |
China |
32,7% |
10/05/2013 |
09/05/2018 |
|
207.01/3920.49/02.06 |
PVC Rigid |
Chinese Taipei |
22,6% |
10/05/2013 |
09/05/2018 |
|
215.11/8201.10.10/01.08 |
Spades and shovels |
China |
158,1c/kg |
18/10/2013 |
17/10/2018 |
|
215.11/8201.30.03/01.08 |
Picks |
China |
262,7c/kg |
18/10/2013 |
17/10/2018 |
|
215.11/8201.30.90/01.08 |
Rakes with more than 8 prongs |
China |
369,2c/kg |
18/10/2013 |
17/10/2018 |
|
215.11/8201.90.20/01.08 |
Forks |
China |
480c/kg |
18/10/2013 |
17/10/2018 |
ITAC will
conduct its investigation in accordance with the relevant provisions of the
International Trade Administration Act No. 71 of 2002 and the Anti-dumping
Regulations, in compliance with the World Trade Organization Agreement on
Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement).
Interested
parties (manufacturers of the products listed above in Botswana, Lesotho,
Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) who wish to submit a request for the
anti-dumping duty to be reviewed prior to the expiry thereof must do so six
months prior to the expiry date. The due dates for comments are thus as
follows:
|
Anti-dumping provision |
Description |
Due date for comments |
|
206.04/3207.40/01.06 |
Glass frit and other glass, in the form of powder, granules or
flakes manufactured or exported by Smalticeram Do Brazil Ltda |
14
August 2017 |
|
206.04/3207.40/02.06 |
Glass frit and other glass, in the form of powder, granules or
flakes (excluding that manufactured or exported by Smalticeram Do
Brazil Ltda) imported from or originating in Brazil |
14
August 2017 |
|
213.03/7009.91/03.06 |
Unframed glass mirrors, of a thickness of 2 mm or more but not
exceeding 6mm imported from or originating in China |
25
January 2018 |
|
207.01/3920.49/01.06 |
Plates, sheets, film, foil and strip of polymers of vinyl chloride
(PVC), non-cellular and not reinforced, laminated, supported or
similarly combined with other materials and having a plasticizer
content not exceeding 6% (excluding PVC strips with a diameter of 2
mm thickness and a width not exceeding 20 mm) (PVC rigid) imported
from or originating in China |
9
November 2017 |
|
207.01/3920.49/02.06 |
Plates, sheets, film, foil and strip of polymers of vinyl chloride
(PVC), non-cellular and not reinforced, laminated, supported or
similarly combined with other materials and having a plasticizer
content not exceeding 6% (PVC rigid) imported from or originating in
Chinese Taipei (Taiwan, Province of China) |
9
November 2017 |
|
215.11/8201.10.10/01.08 |
Spades and shovels, of a maximum blade width of more than 200 mm but
not exceeding 320 mm imported from or originating in China |
17
April 2018 |
|
215.11/8201.30.03/01.08 |
Picks imported from or originating in China |
17
April 2018 |
|
215.11/8201.30.90/01.08 |
Rakes with more than 8 prongs imported from or originating in China |
17
April 2018 |
|
215.11/8201.90.20/01.08 |
Forks, with a prong length exceeding 150 mm (excluding forks with 8
or more prongs) imported from or originating in China |
17
April 2018 |
It should
be noted that, despite these dates, ITAC stated the following in paragraphs
1 and 2 of page 7 of NOTICE 546 OF 2017: “Manufacturers in the SACU of the
subject products listed above, who wish to submit a request for the duty to
be reviewed prior to the expiry thereof, are requested to do so not later
than close of business on 21 August 2017.
SACU
manufacturers who do submit a request before 21 August 2017, should submit
duly substantiated information, indicating that the expiry of the duty would
be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material
injury, to the Commission.”
If
manufacturers in the Southern African Customs Union do not respond prior to
the expiry date of any anti-dumping duty provision it will be assumed that
dumping no longer takes place and ITAC will recommend the termination of the
anti-dumping duties in terms of that provision.
Anti-dumping duty provisions are reviewed every five years. It will mean
that any information that is submitted will be considered and evaluated in
order to determine whether or not prima facie evidence exist to
justify the initiation of a review. Should there be justification for a
review, notice will be given in a South African Government Gazette and other
parties (importers and exporters of the products in question will be
requested to comment and provide information.
Confidential and non-confidential information will be treated in compliance
with section 33(1) of the International Trade Administration Act No. 71 of
2002 and section 2.3 of the Anti-Dumping Regulations.
The
International Trade Administration Act (ITA) and the Anti-Dumping
Regulations (ADR) are available from the website of the International Trade
Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) –
www.itac.org.za – or from the ITAC Trade
Remedies section at Block E, Uuzajazi Building, the DTI Campus, 77 Meintjies
Street, Sunnyside, PRETORIA.
For more
information contact the Senior Manager: Trade Remedies I, Ms Carina Janse
van Vuuren at tel. (012) 394 3594 or at fax (012) 394 0518. |
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Customs Tariff
Applications and
Outstanding Tariff Amendments
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The International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC)
is responsible for tariff investigations, amendments, and trade
remedies in South Africa and on behalf of SACU.
Tariff
investigations include: Increases in the customs duty rates
in Schedule No. 1 Part 1 of Jacobsens. These applications apply
to all the SACU Countries, and, if amended, thus have the
potential to affect the import duty rates in Botswana, Lesotho,
Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa.
Reductions in
the customs duty rates in Schedule No. 1 Part 1. These
applications apply to all the SACU Countries, and, if amended,
thus have the potential to affect the import duty rates in
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa.
Rebates of duty
on products, available in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU),
for use in the manufacture of goods, as published in Schedule
No. 3 Part 1, and in Schedule No. 4 of Jacobsens. Schedule No. 3
Part 1 and Schedule No. 4, are identical in all the SACU
Countries.
Rebates of
duty on inputs used in the manufacture of goods for export, as
published in Schedule No. 3 Part 2 and in item 470.00. These
provisions apply to all the SACU Countries.
Refunds of
duties and drawbacks of duties as provided for in Schedule No.
5. These provisions are identical in all the SACU Countries.
Trade
remedies include: Anti-dumping duties (in Schedule No. 2
Part 1 of Jacobsens), countervailing duties to counteract
subsidisation in foreign countries (in Schedule No. 2 Part 2),
and safeguard duties (Schedule No. 2 Part 3), which are imposed
as measures when a surge of imports is threatening to overwhelm
a domestic producer, in accordance with domestic law and
regulations and consistent with WTO rules.
To remedy such
unfair pricing, ITAC may, at times, recommend the imposition of
substantial duties on imports or duties that are equivalent to
the dumping margin (or to the margin of injury, if this margin
is lower).
Countervailing investigations are conducted to determine
whether to impose countervailing duties to protect a domestic
industry against the unfair trade practice of proven subsidised
imports from foreign competitors that cause material injury to a
domestic producer.
Safeguard
measures, can be introduced to protect a domestic industry
against unforeseen and overwhelming foreign competition and not
necessarily against unfair trade, like the previous two
instruments.
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Dumping is
defined as a situation where imported goods are being sold at
prices lower than in the country of origin, and also causing
financial injury to domestic producers of such goods. In other
words, there should be a demonstrated causal link between the
dumping and the injury experienced.
The International Trade Commission of South Africa (ITAC) also
publishes Sunset Review Applications in relation to anti-dumping
duty in terms of which any definitive anti-dumping duty will be
terminated on a date not later than five years from the date of
imposition, unless the International Trade Administration
Commission determines, in a review initiated before that date on
its own initiative or upon a duly substantiated request made by
or on behalf of the domestic industry, that the expiry of the
duty would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping
and material injury.
The
International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC)
published two notices regarding the review of anti-dumping duty
provisions in the Common External Tariff (CET) of the Southern
African Customs Union (SACU) which could lead to the expiry or
amendment of certain anti-dumping duty provisions in Part 1 of
Schedule No. 2 to the Customs and Excise Act (Jacobsens).
The notices
were published in Government Gazette No. 40998 of 21 July
2017.
The Notice
numbers were Notice 546 of 2017 and Notice 547 of 2017.
Refer to the
feature article for more information on Notice 546 of 2017.
Notice 547 of
2017 relates to the initiation of the sunset review on clear
float glass originating in or imported from Indonesia in
anti-duty items in 213.03/7005.29.17/02.08,
213.03/7005.29.23/02.08, 213.03/7005.29.25/01.08 and
213.03/7005.29.35/02.08.
Contact Ms
Selma Takacs at 012 394 3596 or Mr Thabelo Tshikomba at (012)
394 3638 for more information.
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Customs Tariff Amendments
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With the exception of
certain parts of Schedule No. 1, such as Schedule No. 1 Part 2 (excise
duties), Schedule No. 1 Part 3 (environmental levies), Schedule No. 1
Part 5 (fuel and road accident fund levies), the other parts of the
tariff is amended by SARS based on recommendations made by ITAC
resulting from the investigations relating to Customs Tariff
Applications received by them. The ITAC then investigates and makes
recommendations to the Minister of Trade and Industry, who requests the
Minister of Finance to amend the Tariff in line with the ITAC's
recommendations. SARS is responsible for drafting the notices to amend
the tariff, as well as for arranging for the publication of the notices
in Government Gazettes.
During the annual budget
speech by the Minister of Finance in February, it was determined that
parts of the tariff that are not amended resulting from ITAC
recommendations, must be amended through proposals that are tabled by
the Minister of Finance.
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Once a year, big tariff
amendments are published by SARS, which is in line with the commitments
of South Africa and SACU under international trade agreements.
Under these
amendments, which are either published in November or early in December,
the import duties on goods are reduced under South Africa's
international trade commitments under existing trade agreements.
A Correction Notice
was published to reflect the correct rate of Anti-dumping duty on item
215.02/7312.10.90/04.08 as 93% instead of 96% in the English version as
published in Notice 728 of 17 June 2016.
The correction notice
was published in Government Gazette 40993 of 21 July 2017.
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Customs Rule Amendments
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The Customs and
Excise Act is amended by the Minister of Finance. Certain provisions of
the Act are supported by Customs and Excise Rules, which are prescribed
by the Commission of SARS. These provisions are numbered in accordance
with the sections of the Act. The rules are more user-friendly than the
Act, and help to define provisions which would otherwise be unclear and
difficult to interpret.
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Forms are also
prescribed by rule, and are published in the Schedule to the Rules.
There
were no amendments to the Rules to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964
at time of publication. The last Rule amendment (DAR/168) was published
in Government Gazette 40486 of 19 May 2017.
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