Just over 20 years ago – on April 15, 1994 – the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements were signed in Marrakesh, Morocco. They were the result of the 1986 to 1994 Uruguay Round negotiations, are the basis for the multilateral trading system in its present form and resulted in the creation of the WTO.

Most of the 123 participating governments signed the agreements, concluding the largest trade negotiation ever and most probably the largest negotiation of any kind in history. The number has now reached 159. The creation of the WTO, on January 1, 1995, marked the biggest reform of international trade since the Second World War. It also brought to reality – in an updated form – the failed attempt in 1948 to create an Inter- national Trade Organisation, the third of the Bretton Woods trilogy, the others being the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

It took seven-and-a-half years, almost twice the original schedule, to create the WTO, and by the end of the process, 123 countries were participating. The negotiation covered almost all trade – from toothbrushes to pleasure boats, banking, telecommunications, the genes of wild rice and HIV/Aids treatments.

The agreements are:

• Annex 1A: multilateral agreements on trade in goods, namely Gatt 1994, agriculture, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, textiles and clothing (this agreement was terminated on January 1, 2005), technical barriers to trade, trade-related investment measures, antidumping measures (Article VI of Gatt 1994), customs valuation (Article VII of Gatt 1994), preshipment inspection, rules of origin, import licensing, subsidies and countervailing measures, and safeguards.
• Annex 1B: General Agreement on Trade in Services.
• Annex 1C: Trade-related aspects of intellec- tual property rights.
• Annex 2: Dispute settlement understanding.
• Annex 3: Trade policy review mechanism.
• Annex 4: Plurilateral trade agreement.
• Annex 4(a): Agreement on trade in civil aircraft.
• Annex 4(b): Agreement on government procurement.
• Annex 4(c): International dairy agreement (this agreement was terminated in 1997).
• Annex 4(d): International bovine meat agreement (this agreement was terminated in 1997).

Proposed Beadwire Customs Duty Increase
Through a Government Gazette notice, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) informed on April 17 of the application for a proposed increase in the ‘general’ rate of customs duty on wire of iron or nonalloy steel, plated or coated with other base metals (known in the industry as beadwire), classifiable under tariff sub- heading 7217.30, from free of customs duty to 10% ad valorem.

The application was lodged by Natstan Wire, based in Uitenhage, which argued that, since import duties on wire products had been removed, the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) industry had lost substantial business owing to the low landed price of imported beadwire products.
Comment is due by May 15.

Road Freight Cargo Manifests
First published on March 31 for comment by April 15 (later extended to April 25), this proposal relates to the insertion of rules to the Customs and Excise Act regarding road freight cargo manifests and the DA187 form.

The explanation offered by the South African Revenue Service is that the proposed amendment provides for road hauliers to electronically submit manifests for cargo imported or exported by road and spells out the timeframes within which the manifests must be submitted. To enhance and streamline the gate process at the border, provision is further made for the road haulier to, in addition to the electronic submissions, produce on arrival at the border post manually completed road freight mani- fests in respect of all the cargo imported or exported on the vehicle.

The amendment will be achieved through the insertion, after rule 8.15, of the following heading and rules: “Special requirements in respect of manifests submitted for cargo imported or exported by road – 8A.01 (a). Notwithstanding rules 8.01(a)(iv) and 8.07(e), for the purposes of section 8, manifests for cargo imported or exported by road must be submitted as provided for in this rule. (b) Manifests for cargo imported by road into the Republic to a destination within or outside the Republic or exported by road from the Republic must be submitted electronically by the road haulier in terms of rule 101A.01A(2)(a)(iii) in respect of all the cargo carried on the vehicle. (c)(i) Manifests for cargo imported by road must be submitted electronically at any time after all the goods that are to cross the border on the vehicle have been entered for customs clearance purposes, but before the arrival of the vehicle for processing at the border post in the Republic. (ii) Manifests for cargo exported by road must be submitted electronically at any time after all the goods that are to cross the border on the vehicle have been entered for customs clearance purposes and loaded onto the vehicle, but not later than one hour before the vehicle is presented for processing at the border post in the Republic. (iii) In addition to the manifests submitted electronically in terms of subparagraphs (i) and (ii), the road haulier must also produce to customs on arrival at the border post in the Republic manually completed road freight manifests referred to in rule 64D.08(4) in respect of all the cargo imported or exported on the vehicle. (d) The customs officer in charge of a border post may on good cause shown reduce the time specified in paragraph (c)(ii).”

The proposal also entails the substitution in rule 64D.08(4) for the heading and paragraphs (a) and (b) of the following heading and paragraphs: “Customs road freight manifest. (a)(i) A customs road manifest, form DA 187, must be used in respect of the carriage of all goods, and must accompany the relevant bills of entry when clearance is made. (ii) Bonded goods and other goods must be identified as indicated on the manifest. (b) The original of the manifest and a copy of each bill of entry for the cargo carried must accompany the driver of the vehicle during the journey and a copy of the manifest and of each bill of entry must be delivered to the controller at the place of exit.”

The amendment will also be achieved through the substitution in rule 101A.01A(2)(a) for subparagraph (iii) of the following subparagraph: “(iii) manifests and empty container lists specified in rule 8.07(b), aircraft prearrival manifests and final manifests specified in rule 8.07(c), rail manifests specified in rule 8.07(d) and road manifests specified in rule 8A, by the carrier, master cargo carrier, cargo carrier, groupage operator, courier, railway authority or road haulier as respectively applicable in terms of those rules.”

Finally, the amendment will be by way of the substitution in item 202.00 of the schedule to the rules of the following form: DA 187 Customs Road Freight Manifest.