Getting less for more

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... 

Dedollarisation

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... 

Face the IMF’s music

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... 

SA not so happy a place

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... 

AEO – oh no!

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... 

Incoterms® centenary

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... 

Greylisted

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... 

No national crime disaster

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... 

Unmitigated disaster

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’... 

Misplaced charity

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... 

Averagely corrupt

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:... 

Birthday unplugged

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... 

They’ll stand by them

“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... 

A year of hope

“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... 

Scrap it – Interrobang

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... 

Customs commercial fraud

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... 

eATA Carnet project

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... 

No spring chicken

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... 

Will State shipping line float?

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... 

Please, Sir

“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... 

Tariff determination process

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... 

Preparing for HS2027

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... 

HS study participation

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... 

Middle-out economics

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... 

Levelling up & trickling down

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... 

Cheerio, here I go

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... 

World Tariff Profiles 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... 

Metal products trade control

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... 

Unexplained wealth ‘targeted’

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... 

Root cause of food inflation

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... 

Citrus fruit dispute

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... 

Chickenomics

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... 

You lost me at . . .

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... 

CPI + 7%

“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... 

Economic freedom

If freedom is “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants”, what does economic freedom mean? Evidently ‘freedom’ and ‘economic freedom’ tend to be expressed in four pillars. The late... 

Shades of greylisting

In case the headline confused you or made you wonder whether ‘shades of grey’ means “the situation does not make it clear what is right and what is wrong”, let me be clear: ‘greylisting’ is bad. In... 

Gold to the future

Doctor Emmett Brown: “No! It cannot be; I just sent you back to the Future!” Marty McFly: “No, I know; you did send me back to the Future. But I am back – I am back from the Future”. Doctor Emmett... 

Calling on small businesses

In 2021, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Trade Centre (ITC) – established by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the UN Conference... 

I owe, I owe – the sequel

Over the 21 years of writing this column, there has been the odd temptation to simply resubmit an earlier instalment because, in South Africa, the more things change, the more they remain the same.... 

Customs matters

It’s not often that a book on customs is published. The last such book of significance that I can recall was published in 2003 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) it’s Customs: Challenges and...