LETTER: SA’s tyre investigation is plainly ridiculous
The International Trade Administration Commission is hardly independent and impartial
06 July 2022 - 15:47
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Donald MacKay’s excellent article reads like a combination of Fawlty Towers and the Keystone Cops (“Why the antidumping probe if not all tyres are made locally?” July 5). It is investigations like this that make SA look like a nation of clowns.
It is blatantly obvious that this antidumping probe should never have been initiated. One needs to question why the application was simply not rejected. The International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) is the entity that conducts all trade investigations in SA. It is the final arbiter, whose findings and recommendations end up on trade, industry and competition minister Ebrahim Patel’s desk. It is a government entity and falls under his department.
Itac is hardly independent and impartial. Its aims are “to foster economic growth and development in order to promote investment and employment in SA”. Its budgets are approved by parliament and its goals are co-ordinated with government policy.
Let’s remind ourselves that localisation plays a major role in our current economic philosophies. It’s good in theory, but needs to be sensibly applied and limited to appropriate industries and circumstances, and therefore has had numerous failures and few success stories to boast of. The tyre investigation is nothing less than ridiculous, and as MacKay points out will be damaging, costly and inflationary.
The recent poultry and chips investigations were error strewn. In the case of poultry the products compared were in no way similar and therefore not in compliance with our antidumping regulations. Regarding chips, Itac failed to meet its own deadlines and then initiated a new investigation, incurring unnecessary taxpayer costs as well as wasted expenditure for the entire industry.
Never mind, government knows best. Just look at Eskom and our current economic disaster for proof of that.
David Wolpert Rivonia
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: SA’s tyre investigation is plainly ridiculous
The International Trade Administration Commission is hardly independent and impartial
Donald MacKay’s excellent article reads like a combination of Fawlty Towers and the Keystone Cops (“Why the antidumping probe if not all tyres are made locally?” July 5). It is investigations like this that make SA look like a nation of clowns.
It is blatantly obvious that this antidumping probe should never have been initiated. One needs to question why the application was simply not rejected. The International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) is the entity that conducts all trade investigations in SA. It is the final arbiter, whose findings and recommendations end up on trade, industry and competition minister Ebrahim Patel’s desk. It is a government entity and falls under his department.
Itac is hardly independent and impartial. Its aims are “to foster economic growth and development in order to promote investment and employment in SA”. Its budgets are approved by parliament and its goals are co-ordinated with government policy.
Let’s remind ourselves that localisation plays a major role in our current economic philosophies. It’s good in theory, but needs to be sensibly applied and limited to appropriate industries and circumstances, and therefore has had numerous failures and few success stories to boast of. The tyre investigation is nothing less than ridiculous, and as MacKay points out will be damaging, costly and inflationary.
The recent poultry and chips investigations were error strewn. In the case of poultry the products compared were in no way similar and therefore not in compliance with our antidumping regulations. Regarding chips, Itac failed to meet its own deadlines and then initiated a new investigation, incurring unnecessary taxpayer costs as well as wasted expenditure for the entire industry.
Never mind, government knows best. Just look at Eskom and our current economic disaster for proof of that.
David Wolpert
Rivonia
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
DONALD MACKAY: Why the antidumping probe if not all tyres are made locally?
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