Riaan de Lange

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Riaan de Lange

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 views

Butterfly approach to trade

20th September 2019 Do you recall 'the butterfly approach to trade? Do not judge yourself harshly if you don't; even the most effective of search engines does not recall. But it does recall the effect, 'the butterfly effect'. In chaos theory this effect is a theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of... →

Dream on, National Treasury

13th September 2019 On August 27, the National Treasury released a 59-page economic policy paper titled 'Economic Transformation, Inclusive Growth, and Competitiveness: Towards an Economic Strategy for South Africa'. It invited comment on the document by September, 15. As I scanned the contents of the document, I... →

Nationalise pensions

6th September 2019 To nationalise or to prescribe? In South Africa, a case of ‘potato potato’, as the saying goes, which I appreciate, makes no sense when writing it. Although incorrect, altering it to ‘potato potahto’ brings the point across. Is it also a case of a rose by a different name smelling just as sweet?... →

Brexit – We’re not gonna take it

30th August 2019 October 31 is only 76 days away – well, at the time of writing. It should be close to 62 days away as you read this piece. Although Brexit – that is, Britain exiting the European Union (EU) – is not quite the riveting news in South Africa that it is in Britain, that does not make it less... →

SA’s perpetual Zeigarnik effect

23rd August 2019 “Round and round the circle / Completing the charm / So, the knot be unknotted / the cross be uncrossed / the crooked be made straight / And the curse be ended” wrote TS Eliot in his poem, Family Reunion. In case you were expecting the lines to rhyme, the poem is blank verse poetry – it consists... →

Is it seasons out of time for the SA pie?

16th August 2019 It might well be a case of mixing metaphors, for which Mrs Weston, my much-revered English high school teacher of many years past, would, without a shadow of a doubt, have my guts for garters. So, I am off to a less than auspicious start. But I take solace in the words of Jim George: “It’s not... →

SOEs are growth-negative contributors to SA economy

9th August 2019 Is the South African economy down on its luck, down on its knees, face down, downtrodden, or simply down and out? What is without question is that the South African economy is letting South Africans down. The word down is said to have originated from the fourteenth-century Old English word,... →

Man on the moon

2nd August 2019 “My heart turns my mind into circles / As I lie here all alone in my bed / The moon shines brightly through my window / And I wonder if it's true what they say / That there’s a man... / A man on the moon / If there's a man on the moon / Can you hear me calling you / Please save me from sharing my... →

Let’s try this again, shall we?

26th July 2019 The words in the headline were uttered by Agent H with an appropriate pause and desperate sigh. Agent H is the lead in Men in Black – International, the latest and fourth instalment of the MIB franchise. It is a line that encapsulates the sentiment that one develops when studying President Cyril... →

World Trade Profiles 2019

19th July 2019 The opening verse of The Flying Lizards' song, Money (That's What I Want), remind us: “The best things in life are free.” But the band goes on and spoil it with “But you can give them to the birds and bees”, before breaking out in a chant that turns into a repetitive chorus: “I want money (that's... →

What SA needs to attain economic growth

12th July 2019 “We cannot turn our fortunes around without a relentless focus on economic growth. Price stability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for economic growth. Our Constitution also requires that there should be regular consultation between the Reserve Bank and the Minister of Finance to... →

Sona – so, how you gonna do it?

5th July 2019 When I read President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation on June 20, all 6 741 words of it, the chorus of rock group Nickelback’s song Rockstar – "So how you gonna do it?” – kept reverberating in my mind. Where to start? “As we enter this new administration, we will focus on seven priorities:... →

Let’s face it: economic disaster is looming in SA

28th June 2019 “What is the cost of lies? It is not that we will mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognise the truth at all. What can we do then? What else is left but to abandon even the truth and content ourselves, instead with stories. In these... →

Thumperian Principle

21st June 2019 Now tell me that the headline did not evoke the thought of Donald Trump – even though there is an ‘h’, and not an ‘r’ after the “T”. The principle in question is also known as the Thumper’s Rule. The difference between a principle and a rule is that a principle internally motivates you to do the... →

Time for Itac spring-clean and reform

14th June 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa's appointment of former Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel the Minister in charge of the new Department of Trade and Industry , which was merged with the Department of Economic Development not only with questions but provide for opportunities in respect of the... →

SA’s ‘very old’ trade remedies

7th June 2019 In 2003, the International Trade Centre (ITC) published a 290-page book on trade remedies, titled Business Guide to Trade Remedies in South Africa and the Southern African Customs Union – Antidumping, Countervailing and Safeguards Legislation, Practices and Procedures. I know this, as I was its... →

South Africa Tax Freedom Day

31st May 2019 May 18 was Tax Freedom Day in South Africa. Do I hear you asking why this could not be on January 1? Tax Freedom Day in 2019 did not come soon enough. If anything, it should be celebrated on the 138th day of the year - definitely not. I am reminded of the time when I lectured Economics 110 and... →

Buttress SA Employment

24th May 2019 I must admit: I too had to reread the headline. If, like me, you need reminding, a buttress is an architectural exterior support or structure of masonry that is built against, or serves to support or reinforce, a wall. In essence, it serves to support a wall when it shows signs of cracking or... →

New WTO rules for ecommerce

17th May 2019 The World Trade Organisation (WTO) informed on May 6 of a trade dialogue held with senior representatives of consumer organisations, during which they sent a strong message of support for the WTO and the multilateral trading system. The representatives stressed the importance of ensuring that... →

Exporting to the UK post Brexit

10th May 2019 Without a shadow of a doubt, the most overused portmanteau in the world today is ‘Brexit’, derived from ‘British’ and ‘exit’. Its use evokes a range of emotions. Brexit’s origin is attributable to the June 23, 2016, British referendum in which 51.9% of voters supported the UK, including the... →

Marrakesh Agreement: 25 years on

3rd May 2019 April 15, a day steeped in history. Well, you can argue that this is true of every day. What possibly makes April 15 a bit unique is that all the major events that happened on this day are general knowledge, unless you are not from this planet. On this day in 1865, US President Abraham Lincoln... →

The WCO’s fellowship programme

26th April 2019 The World Customs Organisation (WCO), known as the Customs Cooperation Council until 1994, is not as well known as the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This is odd, since the WCO was founded on January 26, 1952, while the WTO founded several decades later – on January 1, 1995. Part of the reason... →

Import licensing website

19th April 2019 There are multiple World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements. The WTO oversees about 60 agreements that have the status of international legal texts. As a member of the WTO, a country must, on accession, sign and ratify all its agreements. The WTO has 164 members, which account for 98% of world... →

International trade in fake goods surges

12th April 2019 You might be well acquainted with ‘fake news’. The buzzword that is. Yes, the two are considered one. It was the 2017 word of the year, no less. But, as to whether we possess the ability to identify ‘real news’ from ‘fake news’, that is quite another matter. It is said to be “one of the greatest... →

Insights into a Post Clearance Audit

5th April 2019 The Revised Kyoto Convention, which is more popularly known by its acronym, RKC, and is the main trade facilitation customs convention, defines postclearance audits (PCA), or audit-based controls, as measures that customs authority rely on to satisfies themselves about the accuracy and... →

Incoterms®2020

29th March 2019 Anyone involved in international is undoubtably familiar with Incoterms, the acronym for International Commercial Terms. But familiarity does not necessary imply in-depth understanding and appreciation. When respondents are pressed to name any of these, two tend to receive regular mention, namely... →

East or West, which is best?

22nd March 2019 It is March 8. No, not as you read, but as I write this piece. And this bring me to the question: Do you believe in chance or luck? Do you believe in coincidence? Maybe Laura Pedersen’s assertion that “coincidence is God's way of being anonymous” is quite accurate. I ask as I pick up my copy of... →

The OECD’s work on trade

15th March 2019 Adam Smith, the father of economics, famously said that that “every person lives by exchanging”. Truth be told, he he actually said ‘man’, which I have replaced with ‘person’. If Smith were with us today – he died on July 17, 1790 – he would probably say that “every person lives by trading and... →

Customs and excise proposals in the Budget

8th March 2019 It is just before 14:00 on the afternoon of February 20 as I wait for the National Budget Review 2019 to be published in its electronic form. While doing so, I am reminded of a time, not so long ago, when it was released in hard copy. At that time, the review being released in soft copy would be... →

South Africa . . . like . . . needs investment

1st March 2019 There are two words that invoke the same emotion when I hear them: ‘like’ and ‘investment’. ‘Like’ is considered a filler word, also known as a pause filler or hesitation form, as it is so eloquently articulated in Fillers, Pauses and Placeholders. A filler word is an apparently meaningless word,... →

Rules of origin facilitator

22nd February 2019 Talk about a powerful international trade trilogy alliance. You simply do not get a more powerful alliance than the World Customs Organisation (WCO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), which have banded together to develop and launch the Rules of Origin... →

Where did it originate?

15th February 2019 Have you ever attended a a rock concert that celebrated a single album FROM a single band? To be clear: the music tracks of a singular album, with no bonus tracks. Yes, there is such an album and such a concert. Just before Christmas, I attended just that. In an era of music streaming, which,... →

Establish the value of your imports

8th February 2019 Eighteen years ago to the day, on February 2, 2001, this column appeared in print for the very first time. That particular Friday must have been a slow news day in South Africa. South African History Online’s 'This day in history' offers no entry on this day. Nothing. This is most disappointing,... →

Shrinkflation

1st February 2019 Isn’t it curious how, daily, we see and hear words, without really seeing and hearing the words, with the meaning and definition of the words, rightly or wrongly, set and formalised in our minds. We no longer even give the words a second thought or even a second glance. In addition to not paying... →

Reflections on the Harmonised System

25th January 2019 It is ‘harmonized' with a 'z', and not an 's', as it is 'organization' with a 'z', and not an 's'. But I am getting a bit ahead of myself – well, with the organization, that is. In last week’s instament of this column, I alluded to the three things that any business involved in international... →

And so it begins

18th January 2019 The title of this piece is a phrase used by King Théoden, South African-born JRR Tolkien's fictional character in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, just before the major battle at Helms Deep, as depicted in the movie The Two Towers. And here we are at the start of 2019, mulling South Africa’s own... →

Only time will tell

14th December 2018 At first glance, Ibiwisi appears to be a word from one of South Africa’s many indigenous languages – but, alas, it is not. The origin of the word itself is a mystery, which on the present-day reflection simply means that its origin even stumped Google. Ibiwisi is actually an acronym for 'I'll... →

All money is a matter of belief

7th December 2018 If you have a few pounds to spare (that is, British pounds, the currency), will have some time to spare on December 12, would be in London on that day and have an interest in economics or philosophy, then you are in for a treat. On offer is a book, but not just any book. It is not the age of the... →

With great power comes great responsibility

23rd November 2018 The words in the headline are attributable to Uncle Ben, Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben. And you might know Peter Parker who you might know better as Spiderman. This iconic phrase, however, was not spoken by Uncle Ben, but appears in a narrative caption of Marvels’ Amazing Fantasy #15: “. . . with... →

The more things change . . .

16th November 2018 As the age-old adage goes, the more things change, the more they remain the same. What this means is that turbulent changes do not affect reality on a deeper level and serve to cement the status quo. If anything, there is arguably no more a succinct adage of what has become to personify present... →

Investment – counting the chickens

9th November 2018 It is not too difficult to get carried away by one’s emotions. Only minutes before I sat down to write this article, my beloved Sharks had beaten Western Province in the Currie Cup final. That said, I quite possibly have not done their sponsors any service, by not prefixing their names. Truth be... →

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