 On March 17, 2016, the Federal Register published Proclamation 9406 of March 14, 2016 – To Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act which revokes Proclamation 9388 of January 11, 2016, and restores the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country for purposes of section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 , as added by section 111(a) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (title…
 On 23 February 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that South Africa deposited its instrument of acceptance for the 2005 protocol amending the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 23 February 2016, becoming the fourth WTO member to do so in 2016. The announcement stated: Thailand (on 28 January), Mali (on 20 January) and Lesotho (on 4 January) are the other three members that have accepted the amendment this…
 On January 14, 2016, the Federal Register published Proclamation 9388 of January 11, 2016 – To Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The proclamation: Suspends the application of duty-free treatment for all AGOA-eligible goods in the agricultural sector from South Africa effective on March 15, 2016. Modifies the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) as set forth in the Annex to the proclamation in order to reflect in…
On November 6, 2015, the U.S. Trade Representative announced that the President sent notifications to Congress and to South Africa indicating that he intends to suspend benefits to South African agricultural products under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for failure to meet the eligibility requirements of the Act. Specifically, the President determined that South Africa is not making continual progress towards eliminating barriers to U.S. trade and investment. The President intends to take…
On June 5, 2015, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a press release which said that the Governments of the United States and South Africa had issued the following Joint Statement: U.S. and South Africa industry and government officials met in Paris for two days of talks on agricultural and broader trade matters. U.S. and South African government officials and industries met in Paris on June 4 and 5 to address outstanding agricultural trade issues…
On April 16, 2015, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a notice [Public Notice: 9095] that outlines the U.S. Government (USG) actions taken to extend certain sanctions relief under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA) as part of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), that halts progress on Iran’s nuclear program and rolls it back in key respects in exchange limited, temporary, and targeted sanctions relief to Iran…
On December 4, 2014, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a notice [Public Notice 8963] informing the public that the Secretary of State determined on November 20, 2014, pursuant to Section 1245(d)(4)(D) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA) (Pub. L. 112– 81), as amended, that as of November 20, 2014, each of the following purchasers of oil from Iran has qualified for the 180-day exception outlined in…
On June 3, 2014, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a notice [Public Notice 8753] to inform the public that the Secretary of State determined on May 27, 2014, pursuant to Section 1245(d)(4)(D) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA) (Pub. L. 112–81), as amended by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (Pub. L. 112–158), that as of May 27, 2014, each of the following…
Three pieces of major legislation have been introduced in the National Assembly to revise the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 to replace all the Customs-related provisions with new legislation and rename the Act. On 24 October 2013, the 95 page Customs Duty Bill, 2013 (Bill 43 of 2013), the 32 page Customs and Excise Amendment Bill, 2013 (Bill 44 of 2013), and the 349 page Customs Control Bill (Bill 45 of 2013) (Government Gazette…