A S M A A N
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M O T O R I N D U S TR Y
Nico Vermeulen, CEO of NAAMSA, The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, speaks with Erica Wark 2
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NAAMSA FEATURE
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Programme (MIDP) with the Automotive ave you ever had an experience in Production Development Programme (APDP) business where you’re struggling At present the MIDP focuses on facilitating to make your voice heard on issues and promoting exports of South African that affect you, or where you feel produced autos and components, the key like you’re banging your head against a brick differentiators of APDP are as follows: wall? APDP will support and incentivize: Well, if you’re in the automobile industry in additional localization, improved facilities South Africa then you have an ally on your side and service throughout the automobile that can help - NAAMSA. value chain, better infrastructure, more NAAMSA is the definitive source of employment resulting in higher output for information about the motor industry in subthe component industry Saharan Africa. With 75 years experience in Employment Targets: The target is for this role, it is committed to the principles of significantly higher employment currently free enterprise, and the interest of continually standing at some 32000 personnel, with strengthening and building the South African estimates that it could rise to 50,000. Runs Automobile industry. to 2020, and in component industry the Every month NAAMSA makes the headlines employment ind will go with its release of the up from 60000 – 115000 latest new vehicle sales Export business: figures, which have NAAMSA, established in 1935, will continue to be an become recognised as is an association representing important part of activity significant barometers of vehicle manufacturers and and operations the country’s economic foreign distributors The APDP really raises activity, consumer trends the bar for automobile and general fiscal health. The NAAMSA membership base now includes major importers manufacturers and As Nico Vermeulen stated and distributors of new vehicles distributors. It has “NAAMSA’s compilation as well as local manufacturers been signed off by the of sales statistics is a and assemblers, making it the right people and will be sophisticated operation, on pre-eminent organisation for in force come January a par with similar motor all franchise holders marketing 2013; MIDP will run to industry and marketing vehicles in South Africa the end of 2012. information gathering bodies in the industrialised NAAMSA provides a platform for policy negotiation with So, what will it mean nations of Europe and Government and Private for consumers, and North America” sector parties. Working what will it mean for groups are already in place, Next destination: the industry? tackling each of the major This will broaden South NAAMSA is now going issues facing the industry. As Africa’s component through major changes in some examples this can range supply chain and line with the transformation from; local content, to vehicle manufacturing capacity of the industry. crime, to safety legislation, and will increase It has currently to the introduction of CO2 the value of vehicles approved a new emission taxes at120gs per from 40% to 70% - an programme which is to km, which is a prickly subject incredible result! upgrade the current Motor for manufacturers at present Industry Development
NAMSA TO DATE:
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VISION An institution of excellence in international trade administration, enhancing economic growth and development.
MISSION ITAC aims to create an enabling environment for fair trade through: l efficient and effective administration of its trade instruments, and l Technical advice to the dti and Economic Development Department
COre ValueS The Commission is guided by the following set of values:
Integrity Trust Accountability Commitment info@itac.org.za | www.itac.org.za
NAAMSA FEATURE
NAAMSA’s publications: There are many ways that you can gain access to the most sophisticated vehicle sales reporting dispensation in the world. A good proportion of NAAMSA’s business is its reporting and data facilities. It also offer analytical tools, such as a sophisticated ‘What If’ software application, fueled by their extensive database. Membership is available in a variety of packages, from vehicle manufacturers, importers, full and associate membership. From speaking with Vermeulen it is evident that, as he says, “The figures are far more detailed than the summaries carried in the general media suggest...” But, as a quick dip into NAAMSA’s most recent review – the indication for 2010 as a whole is positive. Even while accounting for some moderation in the second half of the year it is still projected that there will be a 15-18% rise in business overall compared to last year. Undoubtedly the domestic recession has impacted the industry, however November
2009- January 2010 saw a shift in patterns, and there has definitely been an upturn, with exports due to grow by around 40%. A sign of the times is the new NAAMSA Export Division, as the industry reaches for overseas markets. You can find in-depth analysis and graphs in their web pages, or contact NAAMSA directly at the address below, which should, in any case, be your first call if you are new to the South African market and serious about doing business in the motor industry here. Look out for NAAMSA at events such as the Johanesburg Motorshow, which they own and is held every two years, next due October 2011.
It is still projected that there will be a 15-18% rise in business overall compared to last year
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Why wait that long to speak with them? Please visit www.naamsa.co.za for more information on membership, analysis tools or services. END
The International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) was established through an Act of Parliament, the International Trade Administration Act (Act 71 of 2002), which came into force on June 1, 2003.
VISION
An institution of excellence in international trade administration, enhancing economic growth and development.
TMISSION
he aim of ITAC, as stated in the Act, is to foster economic growth and development in order to raise incomes and promote investment and employment in South Africa and within the Common ITAC aimsUnion to create an enabling environment fair trade through: Customs Area. This is done by for establishing an l efficient and effective administration of its trade instruments, and efficient and advice effective system for the administration l Technical to the dti and Economic Development Department of international trade subject to this Act and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Agreement. The core functions are: customs tariff investigations; trade remedies; and import and export control.
COre ValueS
The Commission is guided by the following set of values:
TariffIntegrity Investigations
The objectives Trust of the Tariff Investigations Unit are to promote, in a complementary manner, Accountability domestic production, job retention and creation, and Commitment international competitiveness. info@itac.org.za | www.itac.org.za
Increases in customs duties are considered for the purpose of granting relief for domestic producers that may be experiencing threatening import pressures to adjust and restructure so that in the medium to long term these industries could become internationally competitive without any support in the form of customs duties. This is made possible by the fact that there is a difference between the applied rates and the WTO bound rates. The WTO bound rates act as a ceiling beyond which customs duty increases cannot go. Tariff support is tied to conditions related to economic performance over time and is reviewed after a specified period. Apart from industrial policy considerations, in terms of which tariffs on upstream industries will be reviewed to lower input costs into labour-intensive downstream industries, a reduction or removal of duties is considered on a case-by-case basis, in instances where goods, (consumption goods, intermediate or capital goods) are not manufactured domestically or unlikely to be manufactured domestically. Linked to customs duties as a trade policy instrument are duty rebate and drawback provisions for products for which detailed separate tariff lines are impracticable for tariff administration purposes. The primary aim of these provisions is to provide a customs duty waiver and therefore an availability at world competitive prices of products that attract duties but are not produced or insufficiently produced domestically as an industrial or agricultural input for certain critical applications, as a capital item, or as an agricultural product for consumption. Rebates
and drawbacks form a key pillar of certain industrial development programmes, such as those for motor vehicles and textiles and clothing.
Trade Remedies
ITAC is responsible for conducting investigations of anti-dumping actions, countervailing duties to counteract subsidisation in foreign countries, and safeguard measures when a surge of imports is threatening to overwhelm a domestic producer, in accordance with domestic law and regulations, and consistent with WTO rules. These instruments are a critical government intervention to retain jobs and promote investments. Relative to the other two trade remedies, applications to ITAC, in the main, are for anti-dumping protection. In the context of international trade, dumping is defined as a situation where imported goods are being sold in our market at prices lower than in the country of origin. If such discriminatory pricing is causing material injury to domestic producers of like goods, ITAC may recommend the imposition of additional duties on imports, duties that are equivalent to the dumping margin (or to the margin of injury, if this margin is lower). ITAC carries out its investigations speedily and with rigour. It revised its timelines for finalising its investigations which has resulted in significantly shorter completion periods, on average within 10 months of the date of initiation.
Import and Export Control
Import and export control measures are applied to enforce health, environmental, safety, and technical standards that arise from domestic laws and international agreements, such as the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, and the 1988 UN Convention Against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
For more information – Email: info@itac.org.za
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