South Africa Abandons Chinese Import Checks Amid Trade Pushback
South Africa abandoned plans to introduce a pre-export verification of conformity programme for certain unregulated Chinese imports following pushback from China, according to a report by BusinessTech. Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau issued a directive in March establishing the programme, which was scheduled to take effect in October before being withdrawn shortly before implementation. The proposed measures aimed to protect consumers and local businesses by ensuring imported products met domestic quality and safety standards before entering the country. Products identified for the checks included aluminium cookware, cooking pots, hair relaxers, sanitary towels, and office chairs. Donald MacKay, CEO of XA Global Trade Advisors, said the original plan required checks to take place in China before goods were shipped. Items failing to comply would have been prevented from leaving. However, MacKay noted that the system appeared to single out China, South Africa’s largest trading partner.
Equal Standards Required Across All Trading Partners
South Africa could legally impose standards on imported products, but regulations must apply equally to all trading partners and domestic producers. That requirement likely contributed to the decision to abandon the plan, although the government has not publicly confirmed the reason, according to MacKay.
“If they did want to implement it, they would have to do it the proper way,” MacKay said, pointing to compulsory standards already applied to products such as cement. Under existing frameworks, every country exporting cement to South Africa must meet the same standard, and domestic producers must comply as well.
The abandoned programme also highlighted South Africa’s trade deficit with China. MacKay stated that restricting imports would do little to address the underlying imbalance because South Africa exports raw minerals while importing higher-value manufactured goods.
“Somewhere around 70% to 75% of what we export to China is simply minerals,” MacKay said.
Structural Failures Behind Manufacturing Decline
South Africa’s trade deficit stems directly from the deterioration of the domestic manufacturing base over the past 15 years, according to MacKay. Poor service delivery, port mismanagement, and crime have discouraged companies from investing in local production.
“This is not even going to put a dent into that sort of situation because South Africa’s whole manufacturing infrastructure has largely collapsed in the last 15 or so years,” MacKay said.
Reversing the trend requires addressing structural problems that make companies reluctant to manufacture locally, including issues at Eskom, dysfunctional ports, and crime. Fixing those fundamentals remains necessary to change the country’s trade position on manufactured goods.
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