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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

Brothers in arms?

By: Riaan de Lange 19th May 2023 Are the World Customs Organisation’s (WCO’s) Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) brothers in arms or combatants? They seem to be much of a muchness, but let’s explore their relationship. According to the WCO, the RKC, which... →

Citrus fruit dispute sequel

By: Riaan de Lange 12th May 2023 It’s said there are seven foods that have led to war and that civilisation is a mere 24 hours and two meals away from barbarism. It probably depends on your definition of barbarism, as we might already be experiencing it without being deprived of food. Would you know which foods have led to wars,... →

Logistics Performance Index

By: Riaan de Lange 5th May 2023 On April 20, the World Bank released its ‘2023 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) Report’, subtitled ‘Resilience and Reliability are Crucial in the Performance of Logistics’. The Bretton Woods institution argues that “logistics is the lifeblood of international trade, and trade in turn is a... →

Enabling fair trade

By: Riaan de Lange 28th April 2023 Assuming you are reading this piece on its date of publication, in 34 days’ time, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) will be celebrating its twentieth year of existence. Your initial reaction might be to grab a pen and diarise the date, as next year will be... →

Getting less for more

By: Riaan de Lange 21st April 2023 The phenomenon where you “get less for more”, also known as shrinkflation, is today’s reality. For a quick refresher on the product equivalent, you should reread the piece published in this column on February 1, 2019, which was titled ‘Shrinkflation’. I would argue that there is a services... →

Dedollarisation

By: Riaan de Lange 14th April 2023 So, will South Africa be joining, or should it be following, dedollarisation – arguably because South Africa is a Brics nation? Should you need reminding, Brics is the acronym for the supposed “five leading emerging economies” of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Several countries... →

Face the IMF’s music

By: Riaan de Lange 7th April 2023 To face the music means to accept the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions. The saying originates from an age-old tradition where disgraced officers were ‘drummed’ out of their regiment. In other words, dishonourably dismissed to the sound of the Rogue’s March or a drum. The opening lyric of... →

SA not so happy a place

By: Riaan de Lange 31st March 2023 Aristotle contends that there are things we want for their own sake, while everything else we do is for us to be happy. Happiness is by no mean a simple concept; the ancient Greek philosopher distinguished four different levels of happiness: Level 1 – Laetus (happiness from material objects);... →

AEO – oh no!

By: Riaan de Lange 24th March 2023 On March 10, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) released a notice titled ‘Become an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) and enjoy the benefits’. Strangely, but unsurprisingly, Sars’ AEO landing page is silent on the benefits. Instead, there are these headlines: ‘About AEO’; ‘What is an AEO... →

Incoterms® centenary

By: Riaan de Lange 17th March 2023 According to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), “Incoterms® is the world’s essential terms of trade for the sale of goods”. Incoterms®, a registered trademark, is the abbreviation for International Commercial terms. Consequently, ‘Incoterms’ cannot legally be used by another entity. The... →

Greylisted

By: Riaan de Lange 10th March 2023 It is customary to dedicate this column to the Finance Minister’s Budget speech which it is presented, and this year it was delivered on February 22. It thus speaks volumes when the speech is relegated behind the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) ‘greylisting’ of South Africa on February 24,... →

No national crime disaster

By: Riaan de Lange 3rd March 2023 The headline message of the Third Quarter Crime Statistics, released on February 17, is that more than 83 murders and 138 rapes are recorded daily, making South Africa one of the most violent countries. Oddly, these numbers do not warrant the declaration of a national state of disaster. Could it... →

Unmitigated disaster

By: Riaan de Lange 24th February 2023 As I pondered the title of this week’s piece, there were many candidates: ‘Electric dreams’, ‘Powerless’, ‘Power grab’, ‘Married to the problem’ and ‘When a disaster is born’. And ‘disaster’ reminded me of a school teacher who was famed for his false praise; when students provided an answer that... →

Misplaced charity

By: Riaan de Lange 17th February 2023 Charity starts at home, as the old adage goes. If South Africa Tourism (SAT) needs any reminding, we should deal with the needs of those close to us before thinking about helping others. This definition of charity is according to the Collins Dictionary, while the Cambridge English Dictionary... →

Averagely corrupt

By: Riaan de Lange 10th February 2023 There you have it: South Africa is averagely corrupt. Well, it’s apparently so in comparison with the rest of the world. So, on average, South Africa is seemingly fine. The obvious question is: Just how corrupt is the world? To answer this question, one would need to consider the definition of... →

Birthday unplugged

By: Riaan de Lange 3rd February 2023 As I sat down to write this piece on January 23, it was 37 days before a hundredth birthday. Want to venture a guess as to whose birthday it would be? A hint: quite ironically, you will need to light a candle – not only in celebration, but as a collective effort, for, according to President Cyril... →

They’ll stand by them

By: Riaan de Lange 27th January 2023 “Oh, why you look so sad? Tears are in your eyes. Don't be ashamed to cry …'Cause I've seen the dark side too …”, as The Pretenders would let you have in their 1994 Grammy Award winning song, I’ll Stand by You. It was quite fitting as I sat down to write this piece on January 16, ‘the Blue... →

A year of hope

By: Riaan de Lange 20th January 2023 “No more champagne; And the fireworks are through; Here we are, …; Feeling lost and feeling blue; It's the end of the party; And the morning seems so grey; So, unlike yesterday; Now's the time for us to say; Happy New Year …; Happy New Year; May we all have our hopes, our will to try; If don't we... →

Scrap it – Interrobang

By: Riaan de Lange 16th December 2022 This year has been one of repeat performances. So, unlike the infamous sitcom catchphrase from Allo 'Allo!, it was never a case of “Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once”. In this, the last column of the year, prepare for a repeat performance, which the Collins Dictionary describes as... →

Customs commercial fraud

By: Riaan de Lange 9th December 2022 On November 24, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) published its first ‘Global Trendspotter Report on Customs-Related Commercial Fraud’, which was compiled by customs experts and WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) and European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) representatives with... →

eATA Carnet project

By: Riaan de Lange 2nd December 2022 Did you know that about 190 000 ATA Carnets covering merchandise valued at R449.87-billion are issued by 80 countries or customs territories each year? More importantly, do you know what an ATA Carnet is? The acronym ‘ATA’ is a combination of the initial letters of the French phrase ‘Admission... →

No spring chicken

By: Riaan de Lange 25th November 2022 The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) has published a notice in the Government Gazette about the initiation of a sunset review of the antidumping duties on imports of frozen bone-in portions of fowls of the species Gallus Domesticus originating in or imported... →

Will State shipping line float?

By: Riaan de Lange 18th November 2022 Whatever floats your boat! That’s what I thought when I saw the predraft South African Shipping Company (Sasco) Bill, 2022, which was published on November 1 “to provide for the establishment of Sasco, to develop and promote efficient international and domestic shipping services provided by... →

Please, Sir

By: Riaan de Lange 11th November 2022 “I want some more,” requested Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens’ 1837 novel, Parish Boy's Progress. Just how nicely the South African Revenue Service (Sars) is going to ask the South African taxpayer to pay more money remains to be seen. Did you know that, while Twist’s infamous phrase in the... →

Tariff determination process

By: Riaan de Lange 4th November 2022 The South African Revenue Service (Sars) on October 27 presented what it called “a comprehensive tariff determination webinar” to educate traders and travellers and increase their compliance with customs and excise procedures. The revenue service said the aim of the webinar was to provide clarity... →

Preparing for HS2027

By: Riaan de Lange 28th October 2022 Well, this is something of a first – two consecutive columns on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS). This is quite significant, considering that the next iteration of the HS is due only on January 1, 2027. But then again, in the words of Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty... →

HS study participation

By: Riaan de Lange 21st October 2022 The World Customs Organisation (WCO) announced on October 7 that, just over a month ago, on September 5, it had formally established a small project team for a two-year period to conduct an exploratory study on a possible strategic review of the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System.... →

Middle-out economics

By: Riaan de Lange 14th October 2022 While last week’s column was all about levelling up and trickling down, this week’s is all about a glaring omission – the most glaring omission, I would argue. Can I give you a clue? Well, as the old adage goes, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The most neglected constituents in an economy... →

Levelling up & trickling down

By: Riaan de Lange 7th October 2022 There was a time when we were overrun by a tsunami of acronyms. Now our world is abuzz and aflood with terms whose meanings are rarely, if ever, explained. These terms tend to morph into buzzwords that are quite casually introduced into everyday conversation. Take the two buzzwords: levelling up... →

Cheerio, here I go

By: Riaan de Lange 30th September 2022 What is the difference between a migrant and an emigrant? Well, a not-so-helpful start would be to state that there is no internationally accepted legal definition of ‘migrant’. That said, a migrant is generally described as a person who has moved from one place to another. There are two... →

World Tariff Profiles 2022

By: Riaan de Lange 23rd September 2022 If you thought you needed to fork out money for world-class international tariff profiles, you might be in for a pleasant surprise. The World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) recently released,... →

Metal products trade control

By: Riaan de Lange 16th September 2022 It is important for me to pay homage to the origin of this column, which came into being when a fairly youthful me approached the Creamers, proposing the initiation of a weekly column about proposed changes in the Southern African Customs Union tariff and trade environment. Then, as now, the... →

Unexplained wealth ‘targeted’

By: Riaan de Lange 9th September 2022 Isn’t it curious how interrelated the financial news in South Africa has become of late, without attention being drawn to this fact? Take the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), for instance. On August 30, South African Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Edward Kieswetter issued a joint... →

Root cause of food inflation

By: Riaan de Lange 2nd September 2022 Days after I had submitted the piece titled ‘Chickenomics’, published on August 19, I had a sinking feeling that it was not quite complete. It was not incomplete as far as chicken meat was concerned, but was incomplete with respect to food inflation. When author and satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys was... →

Citrus fruit dispute

By: Riaan de Lange 26th August 2022 There is a first time for everything, as the adage goes. On July 27, the South African government initiated its first-ever World Trade Organisation (WTO) request for dispute consultations by challenging the 27-member European Union (EU) on phytosanitary requirements for the importation of South... →

Chickenomics

By: Riaan de Lange 19th August 2022 Did you know that chickens account for 23-billion of the 30-billion land animals living on farms? If you are doing the math, chickens outnumber humans three to one. On Monday, August 1, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) released an inconspicuous Government... →

You lost me at . . .

By: Riaan de Lange 12th August 2022 Blah, blah, blah. On July 27, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a 3 177-word address on South Africa's energy crisis, in which he proposed “implementing additional measures to achieve long-term energy security and end load-shedding for good”. A crisis “is either an event or period that will... →

CPI + 7%

By: Riaan de Lange 5th August 2022 “I'll have what she’s having” is from the memorable restaurant scene in the 1989 comedy, When Harry Met Sally. Although reminiscent of, it is no laughing matter when reading the column’s headline in the “Media Statement on negotiations between SARS and Organised Labour”, released on May 20. Sars... →

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