First things first: ICC stands for ‘International Chamber of Commerce’, the biggest and most representative business organisation in the world, with more than 45-million members in more than 100... 

Whether you are an importer or exporter, or a local manufacturer, have you ever pondered how one, or maybe even a few, of your competitors have been more competitive than you when their goods have... 

In the context of African economies and the phasing out of fossil fuels, the issue is not about stranded assets per se, but stranded economies. This phenomenon is playing out in Europe, where... 

The headline should not be confused with the slang that abbreviates the phrase “oil someone’s palm”, which means to derive a favourable outcome based on providing a monetary incentive; in other... 

I do appreciate that the Government Gazette is not the favoured reading material for many, and its detractors might equate reading it to reading a telephone directory, which someone actually did.... 

A token sum, also known as peppercorn, is a symbolic but important part of a contract showing that ‘some consideration’ has been paid. The amount is not important, as long as it shows that... 

On May 8, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report on South Africa’s Fiscal Transparency Evaluation (FTE) in response to the National... 

In my piece last week, titled ‘Numbing dumping’, you were offered recipes for ‘A Good, Easy Garlic Chicken’ and French fries. The relevance of the recipes was that antidumping duties have been... 

Do you by any chance have a recipe for ‘A Good, Easy Garlic Chicken’ and one for French fries? According to www.allrecipes.com, you simply sprinkle the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder and... 

What were you doing on April 26? Anything nice? Anything memorable? This is the day that is observed yearly as World Intellectual Property Day. It was on this day in 1970 that the convention... 

An alternative headline I had for this week's instalment of this column was ‘Wing it’ but I decided against it, as I am perilously close to exceeding my yearly quota on that topic. What choice, and... 

Where were you 30 years ago, on Friday, April 15, 1994? By the way, if you have been holding on to your old 1994 calendar, you will be able to reuse it in 2033. This is based on the assumption that... 

The Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (dtic) on April 4 released an information notice extending an invitation to submit a substantiated application for its Manufacturing Support... 

Of the three cornerstones in the movement of goods – be they in their final, semi-processed or component forms – across a national border, which is the one for which you need to have access to... 

A nuisance is a minor inconvenience, an annoyance or, quite simply, a bother. A tariff, in the context of this column, is a rate of customs duty. So, what does a nuisance tariff? For this, one... 

What does ‘go fish’ mean to you? Could it be your laconic reply to a question where your full answer might well have been: “No, I do not have it, keep guessing, but leave me alone”?" Or does it... 

It has been a full 147 days since I last wrote about Gallus Domesticus. But then, who is counting? For context, or a refresher, you might want to reread two past instalments of this column. The... 

How many fingers do you have? A hint, when pointing your finger at someone else, you have three pointing back at you, as the adage goes. Want to reconsider your answer once you have finished... 

Corruption is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “illegal, bad or dishonest behaviour, especially by people in positions of power”. Wikipedia describes it as “a form of dishonesty or a criminal... 

‘Actual’ means to exist in fact – in other words, to be real. There are not many occasions, during the course of the year, when I despair at having to write a piece for this column. The State of... 

This is is not a guarantee that The Terminator, aka Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be back. You might recall that “I'll be back” is a catchphrase associated with Mr S (I’m cognisant of my character... 

The World Customs Organisation (WCO) on January 18, announced the publication of the public version of its ‘Interim Report on the Exploratory Study on a Possible Strategic Review of the Harmonised... 

On January 19, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) released its proposed draft amendments to the rules of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, which take into account the effects of transfer... 

Want to make a difference? Well, if you are still looking to fill your New Year’s resolution list, this might be for you. Should you require a bit of motivation, or a tagline to support your quest... 

Ever heard of the acronym OEEC? It stands for Organisation for European Economic Cooperation. Does it ring a bell? Well, what about OECD, the acronym for Organisation for Economic Cooperation and... 

Why do bad movies linger in one’s mind? In two words, the answer is 'negative bias', and in three it’s 'positive-negative asymmetry'. According to the researcher Randy Larsen, negative events and... 

So, a partnership no more? To provide context, the National Treasury’s November 21 media statement is titled ‘Bilateral loan agreements with the World Bank, Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau... 

My mother constantly reminds me that there is nothing new under the sun. When, as a small boy, she first told me this, I was very sceptical, reasoning that there had been no motor vehicles before... 

  “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble…” If you need reminding, these are the opening verses of the song of the three witches in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. What, you... 

One of the most intriguing aspects of life, for me, is the origin of words. In the customs and international trade environment, in particular, words are used mostly devoid of their meaning. This is... 

A trade policy review, or TPR, is a review mandated in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreements, in terms of which its member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated... 

Does Africa’s proposed enhancement of trade efficiency and promotion of economic growth in the Tripartite Free Trade Area – comprising the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, (Comesa),... 

Is there such a thing as white chocolate? I remember, while growing up, my grandmother, who owned a roadhouse and a café, telling me that there was no such thing. She told me that white chocolate... 

What word best rhymes with ‘chicken’? it's ‘sicken’, of course. How appropriate then that this piece is about a ‘sicken’ chicken. Let me apologise in advance if I am sickening you with all the... 

In the Government Gazette of September 29, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) extended an invitation for comment, by October 13, on the proposed introduction... 

Mirror, mirror against the wall, which country has had an investigation for the extension of an antidumping duty launched against it? “Well, the People’s Republic of China, of course”, the mirror... 

Alas, this article is not about the state of the South African economy; if it was, it would have been titled a ‘national disaster’. Instead, it focuses on the customs treatment of natural... 

Earlier this month, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) published its ‘Discussion Paper on Value-Added Tax (VAT) Modernisation’, and those who wish to submit comments should do so by October... 

Why did the person sell yeast? To raise some dough. Well, in the case of Anchor Yeast (this year’s centurion) it appears that it might well not be raising enough dough, prompting it to approach... 

Please – ‘b’, a consonant – ‘r’, a vowel - ‘i’, a consonant – ‘c’, a vowel – ‘s’, a vowel – 'i’, a consonant – ‘s’, a vowel – ‘u’, a vowel – ‘e’, a vowel – ‘a’, and a vowel – ‘e’, which displays as...