Statement by Mlondi Mdluli MP – DA Deputy Spokesperson on Trade, Industry & Competition:
Proposed import permits create red tape and grant excessive powers.
The DA calls for reforms that boost competitiveness and protect the economy.
The Democratic Alliance notes with deep concern the government’s decision to dramatically expand its already-sprawling steel tariff review. This move now places an additional R10 billion worth of steel products at risk of new import permit requirements.
The Government Gazette confirms that the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) has added a further R8.9 billion of chapter 72 products and R1.2 billion of chapter 73 products to the contemplated import-control regime. This would extend import controls far beyond matters of safety or standards, giving ITAC the power to decide simply whether South Africans may or may not import essential steel inputs.
South African importers, manufacturers and exporters are rightly up in arms. These proposals are unworkable, economically destructive, and, according to trade experts, likely unlawful.
The DA is particularly alarmed by reports that permit applicants may be forced to justify why they are importing steel and disclose their pricing. If implemented as described, this would amount to a gatekeeping regime that will choke supply chains, raise costs, and undermine South Africa’s already fragile industrial base.
ITAC already battles to issue permits timeously. Adding thousands of new permits each year will create crippling delays, intensify red tape, and place up to 14 000 importers at risk. South Africa cannot afford a politically manufactured backlog that grinds manufacturing to a halt.
We are equally concerned by suggestions that ITAC may invoke Article 21 of the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a national-security provision, to declare a “security emergency” in the steel sector. This would give the executive sweeping and extraordinary powers to bypass normal investigative and consultative processes.
Raising the costs of importing such a large swathe of products through such a hurried process cannot be accepted. Indiscriminate tariff hikes will ultimately increase prices for manufacturers and households. South African industry needs competitive inputs, predictable policy, and government support for innovation, not politically driven protectionism that raises prices and destroys jobs.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau has indicated that he intends to implement parts of this review before the end of the year, even as consultations are still underway. This only deepens concerns about the integrity of the process.
The DA calls on all affected stakeholders to make submissions before the 5 December deadline and urges the government to abandon this reckless and heavy-handed approach. We need trade reforms that drive competitiveness, lower costs, and support genuine industrialisation, not a misguided tariff crusade that threatens our economy, our exporters, and our global standing.