SA steel importers warn of 'national security' clause misuse in ITAC review

THE International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) has come under fire from the steel import industry after proposing the use of national security provisions to tighten controls on steel imports.

- BANELE GININDZA

Industry players fear that ITAC's move to invoke Article 21 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) traditionally reserved for situations of war or terrorism could be used as a blanket restriction on imports, even where no genuine security concerns exist.

Presenting XA International Trade Advisors' seventh Import Duty Investigation Report on Tuesday, CEO Donald Mackay warned that "import control is creeping in under the guise of national security," raising suspicions that government may be attempting to bypass its GATT obligations. "By invoking the national security concern, government is hoping to bypass the obligations under GATT, which say you can't impose import control unless it is to safeguard human, animal, and plant health," Mackay said.