Sacu: the oldest of the RTAs

About 132 years ago, the world’s oldest customs union that is still operational was established – and that’s the South African Customs Union, which brought together the Orange River Colony... 

SA’s competitiveness limbo

It is June 17 as I find myself humming Chubby Checker’s Limbo Rock: “All around the limbo clock; Hey, let’s do the limbo rock; Limbo lower now; Limbo lower now; How low can you go . . .” A few... 

Magnificent Seven Plus-1

If you have not been out for a while and need reminding, a ‘plus-1’ is an extra guest allowed on an invitation to a social event. Which begs the question – well, two in fact: Who was the ‘plus-1’,... 

RAF Jekyll and Hyde

The American journalist James Surowiecki avers that, “in the business world, bad news is usually good news – for somebody else”. This is reminiscent of, but perhaps less dramatic than, the Dutch... 

In the mirrel, Cyril

When last did you think about Irvin & Johnson’s Steakhouse Melts? The challenge with ageing, having grown up long before the Internet and Google, is that my memory is just as fragile as the... 

Trade and competition policy

Over the course of two days in May, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) released two policy statements. Now, a policy is “a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by... 

Message in a bottle

There was a time, not so long ago, when people would send messages in bottles, even when in great distress. This is now frowned upon, since bottles constitute waste or litter that can harm the... 

A digital levy

Ever been so bored that you took to contemplating the difference between a duty, a tax or a levy? You might also have pondered whether a tax is a duty that governments levy. Well, “therein lies the... 

New trade barriers database

Did you know that trade policy barriers such as tariffs and other regulations account for at least 14% of total trade costs? Would you be interested in gaining a sense of the degree of... 

When you hear the signal

It would cost you 47.5c. This begs the question: When last did you phone 1026? This should not be confused with 1023, the directory enquiries number you would dial when looking for a telephone... 

Gagarin’s poyekhali moment

Sixty years ago – on April 12, 1961 – Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly into space in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’ (USSR’s) Vostok spacecraft, in a flight lasting 108 minutes,... 

SA’s recyclate ‘national flower’

Since 1976, the King Protea has been this country’s national flower and also appears on the national coat of arms. Previously, it was the humble Suikerbossie. The King Protea was chosen because it... 

Chewing and bubble gum tax

‘Pigovian tax’, ‘externalities’, ‘negative externalities’, ‘elasticity of demand’, ‘awful self-inflicted impetigo’, ‘limitations’, ‘regulations’, ‘ban on the product’, ‘sugar tax’, ’drug’, and... 

Creative destruction

Nearly every episode of the 1966 classic television series, Mission Impossible – yes, it was on television before it became a movie franchise – started with the now iconic lines, “Your mission,... 

Operation Vulindlela

When, on March 15, I saw a piece on the National Treasury’s website that was titled ‘Operation Vulindlela’ and marked ‘Latest News’, my gut feeling was that it was about a covert operation. In both... 

Excise duties and the Laffer curve

Whoever said “what goes up must come down” never visited South Africa nor heard of excise duties nor understood their application in South Africa and the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu)... 

Fairtrade South Africa

When last, while shopping, did you pause to consider the packaging of the product you had selected? Are you one of those shoppers who turn the product around to contemplate the nutritional... 

Whoa, livin’ on a prayer

Just under two weeks after the State of the Nation Address (SoNA), Finance Minister Tito Mboweni tabled the 2021/22 National Budget in the National Assembly – on February 24. At nearly half the... 

The rand’s Valentine’s Day

On February 14, the South African rand celebrated its sixtieth anniversary, having been introduced following the adoption of the recommendations of the Decimal Coinage Commission in 1958 to replace... 

State of the Nation Address

Too often, we read without comprehension. Let’s take the headline of this piece and break it down. A ‘state’ is a condition someone or something is in at a specific time, a ‘nation’ is a large body... 

Reflections on Brexit

On July 11, 2016, then Conservative Party leader and future UK Prime Minister Theresa Mary said in one of her speeches: “Brexit means Brexit, and we’re going to make a success of it.” Brexit is a... 

Nudiustertian

It is a word that I have always wanted to use as the headline of this column. It is a word that, as I type, is glowing in red; not even the spellchecker recogniseS it. It simply means relating to... 

Are we HS 2022 ready?

Without wanting to sound too dramatic, it is not, apologies to James Carville, “the economy, stupid”, but rather “international trade, stupid”. As the French economist Claude-Frédéric Bastiat once... 

SA’s economic policy

Do you consider South Africa’s economic policy to be a puzzle or a mystery? Should you resort to your favourite search engine and search for ‘South Africa’s economic policy’, the eighth result... 

Reflections on the AfCFTA

January 1 saw the introduction of a fifth preferential rates of ordinary customs duty column in Schedule No 1, Part 1, of the South African Customs and Excise Act, 1964. It adds to the European... 

2020 in hindsight

The old adage that hindsight is 20/20 holds that looking back at a situation or event provides a clearer understanding of the situation or event and what could have made it, or could have been,... 

Occupations in high demand

As Thomas Jefferson once said, “it is neither wealth nor splendour but tranquillity and occupation which give you happiness”. That said, do you know whether your occupation is in high demand? If... 

South Africa’s Limbo economy

According to British rock band Queen, “too much love will kill you; just as sure as none at all”, while Cable News Network’s (CNN’s) take is that “too much bad news can make you sick”. If you read... 

A pledge is what exactly?

As my school memories fade, there is one that is stubbornly refusing to go away: the dreaded pledge page. The most memorable thing about the pledge page was its addictive smell. For the benefit of... 

Bloated, unsustainable and unaffordable

These three words could serve as a collective description of the many ills of the South African economy, and are at the very heart of an impending economic disaster, which is attributable to a... 

The abyss also gazes into you

Where to start? In the words of Arthur Ashe, the only black man to ever win Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open singles titles: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”... 

Looking back to look forward

Although it is too early to offer a reflection on this year, as there are still over 55 days left before saying au revoir to 2020, the release of the Economic Stimulus and Recovery Plan made me... 

‘Plans’ to kick-start economy

Of all the articles and opinion pieces that have appeared since President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech of October 15, titled ‘Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan’, not one touched on another of... 

A national danger, a national scandal

This economic and trade focused column is prepared by Riaan de Lange – riaan@tariffandtrade.co.za. The views expressed in this column are the author's personal view. Should you be reading the... 

A Victor, Uniform, or Lima Recovery?

The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used radiotelephone spelling... 

Poverty and inequality

While contemplating last week’s column, ‘The poor and miserable simply cannot be let be’, it dawned on me that the meaning of ‘poverty’ and ‘inequality’ – two of the most misused words in South... 

The poor and miserable simply cannot be let be

South Africa, and more especially its economy, is in deep trouble. When I find myself in similar circumstance, I recall the lyrics of the Beatles song, Let It Be: “When I find myself in times of... 

Knightian uncertainty

The 1980s in South Africa might have been an idyllic time for some, but they were a period of discontentment for others. The mid- to late 1980s were my formative years for me. My most vivid memory... 

Hippopotomonstroses-quippedaliophobia

If “the biggest word you ever heard”, as the song goes, is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, then you are in for a shock, as this piece’s title is longer. It is, in fact, one of the longest words... 

Monitoring export barriers

It has been 81 years since World War Two (WWII) started – on September 1, 1939 – and, as you read this piece, just more than a week since the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC)...