In our previous post, we explored South Africa’s initial diplomatic posture following Trump’s so-called “letter” tariffs. Since then (and following the implementation of the 30% tariffs on 1 August 2025), the South African government has released a comprehensive Joint Statement outlining a five-point response plan, and President Cyril Ramaphosa has, more recently, made a strong appeal for the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which is set to expire on 30 September…
On October 7th, a global panel of Baker McKenzie’s trade and customs practitioners host a webinar sharing their insights on the global state of India trade relations, as well as the trends we’re seeing with respect to India trade and opportunities these present. Topics to be covered include: The webinar will take place at 4:00 PM India Standard Time / 12:30 PM CET and is scheduled to run for 1 hour. For further information and to register,…
In a move that has shifted global attention back to tariffs, U.S. President Donald Trump recently proposed a flat tariff increase on all imports from several countries, including 30% on South African exports to the U.S.. These U.S. actions were reported on our blog earlier this week here and here. This blog post focuses on the South African government’s response. A Rebuttal President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly opposed the tariffs, describing them as “unilateral” and based on a…
Our speakers provided a global overview of the hot topics and key trends across customs law and policy. A diverse range of regional trends were spotlighted across the US, EU, UK, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East. This included the ‘new era’ of digitisation and data sharing between customs authorities in the EU, the focus on trade facilitation across Latin America and Africa to promote regional economic growth, the convergence with the Russia…
The President of South Africa has recently assented to the Expropriation Bill (Bill), which is set to replace the Expropriation Act, 1975. This Bill outlines the specific procedures and conditions under which government bodies can expropriate land for public purposes. The aim is to ensure that land expropriation is conducted in a manner that serves the public interest. The Bill has sparked significant international attention, particularly after the new President of the United States (US…
On Thursday 12 December, we hosted the webinar “Trump and Tariffs: A Global Perspective of What Lies Ahead”. The session focused on the potential tariff impacts of President-Elect Trump’s second term in office, giving a global perspective on what to look out for, and how best to prepare. Speakers from across the globe discussed the potential impacts in their respective jurisdictions, the key takeaways of which can be found here. Highlights from our Africa speaker…
On Thursday 12 December, we hosted the webinar “Trump and Tariffs: A Global Perspective of What Lies Ahead”. The session focused on the potential tariff impacts of President-Elect Trump’s second term in office, giving a global perspective on what to look out for, and how best to prepare. Highlights from our speakers are set out below. To listen to the full webinar, please click here. US Canada Mexico Latin America EU / UK Africa Middle…
Before 1 September 2024, imports valued at ZAR500 or less (c. EUR26) were subject to a flat rate of 20% in lieu of customs duties and no value added tax (low value consignment relief). This relief was apparently introduced under a 2007 concession list published by the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The concession presented various benefits to multinational companies as they gained access to the South African market through the retention of low costs…
For the third week, we continued our Annual Compliance Conference with key customs developments impacting on businesses today. Specifically, we discussed the reform of the Union Customs Code in the EU, key trending customs developments in EMEA, and different methods of driving significant financial savings in global supply chains. EU customs reform: biggest overhaul since 1968 Tuesday 14 May SPEAKERS: Nicole Looks (Partner, Amsterdam), Thomas Kukanza (Senior Trade Advisor, Brussels), Sylvain Guelton (Senior Associate, Brussels),…
In brief Proposed amendments to the Customs Rules (Rules) under sections 40(3), 41(4), and 120 of the Customs and Excise Act were published for public comment by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in January 2024. The proposed Rules are intended to formalise the process for reporting transfer pricing adjustments impacting customs values declared to SARS at the time of importation. Public comments on the proposed rules close on 9 February 2024. In more detail…