South Africa’s International Trade

This chapter uses South Africa’s integration in the global economy as a lens to understand the dynamics behind South Africa’s current economic performance. It first presents the historical context, commencing from the country’s position as a gold exporter pursuing an import substitution industrialization strategy, to its transition to a more open economy with the ending of sanctions and tariff liberalization from the early 1990s. The focus then shifts to a critical assessment of South Africa’s trade performance and trade policy in the post-apartheid period. This covers the impact of government policies, such as the multilateral tariff liberalization from 1994 to 2000, preferential tariff reform from 2000 and sector-driven industrial policy from 2007, as well as the dramatic changes in the global trading order—the rise of China from 2001, and the emergence of global value chains. To illustrate these relationships, the chapter draws on new insights using disaggregated product- and firm-level trade data.

TOWARDS A TRADE POLICY FOR DEVELOPMENT: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SOUTH AFRICA'S EXTERNAL TRADE, 1994-2014

Over the past 20 years of democracy, there has been a strategic reorientation of South Africa's trade policy. In the early 1990s, the post-apartheid state undertook extensive tariff reform, driven by its multilateral and regional commitments, as well as unilateral liberalisation consistent with the austere macro-economic agenda of the time. By the second decade of democracy, an institutionalised industrial policy designed to strengthen and diversify South Africa's productive capabilities had come to determine and shape South Africa's external trade agenda and negotiations. This more strategic trade policy orientation has required the preservation and expansion of policy space in bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements, and more novel approaches to South-South economic cooperation. There was also a fundamental shift in thinking on regional integration away from a conventional market-led model premised on the European Union's experience, to a 'developmental integration' approach that concurrently prioritises market integration, infrastructure development and structural economic transformation. This article critically reviews how South Africa's trade policy and negotiating agenda have been recalibrated as instruments of industrial policy over the two post-apartheid decades. The article concludes with some observations about the future direction of South Africa's trade agenda during the third decade of democracy.

Customs tariff reforms in Mongolia

Mongolia has been pursuing a free trade policy since the transition to a market economy, and today, with a sharp increase in imports and a boom in raw materials exports, domestic production has fallen, and the country became overly dependent on mining products. Therefore, there is an urgent need to review the methods for implementing foreign trade policy, to study their optimal use and update them effectively. This study examines how Mongolia’s import tariff regulations have been reforming since the transition to a market economy, and discusses some potential impacts of the import tariff reform on the Mongolian economy. Монгол Улсын импортын гаалийн тарифын шинэчлэл Хураангуй: Монгол Улс зах зээлийн эдийн засгийн харилцаанд шилжсэн үеэс чөлөөт худалдааны бодлого баримталсаар ирсэн бөгөөд өнөөдөр импортын урсгал эрс нэмэгдэж, түүхий эдийн экспорт хөгжсөнөөр дотоодын үйлдвэрлэл уналтад орсон, уул уурхайн бүтээгдэхүүнээс хэт хамааралтай улс болжээ. Иймд гадаад худалдааны бодлогыг хэрэгжүүлэх арга хэрэгслүүдийг эргэн харах, тэдгээрийг хэрхэн оновчтой хэрэглэх, шинэчлэх зэрэг асуудлыг судлах зайлшгүй шаардлага бий болоод байна. Энэхүү ажлын хүрээнд Монгол Улс зах зээлийн эдийн засгийн харилцаанд шилжсэн үеэс өнөөг хүртэл импортын гаалийн тарифын бодлого зохицуулалтын шинэчлэл хэрхэн хийгдсэн талаар судалж, импортын гаалийн тарифыг шинэчилснээр Монгол Улсын эдийн засагт үзүүлэх зарим үр нөлөөг авч үзсэн. Түлхүүр үгс: гадаад худалдааны бодлого; импортын гаалийн тарифын бодлого, зохицуулалт; нэн тааламжтай тариф; ДХБ-тай тохирсон тарифын дээд хэмжээ; тарифын шинжилгээ.

Expanding Trade

This chapter takes a look at how the expansion of foreign trade was the original impetus for the National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) creation and would remain a critical focus of the organization's activities throughout the twentieth century. NAM's efforts in this area contributed significantly to the development of international capitalism, otherwise known as “globalization.” But it was not smooth sailing. Many NAM members relied on the protective tariff and opposed any kind of reform to it, which they regarded as a “slippery slope” to free trade. Nor was the Republican Party, with which NAM had the most influence, interested in tariff reform. NAM leadership fully supported tariffs, but it also advocated tariff reforms designed to encourage trade, and in this regard it was uncomfortably in alignment with the Democratic Party. So NAM's work in this area was significant less for its influence on government, and more for introducing and acclimating its members to the new norms and values of multinational, internationalist capitalism, thus bringing a largely conservative and parochial clientele into the modern political economy. A forgotten by-product of its efforts was the promotion of and appreciation for cultural diversity and international cooperation.

Choosing Among Pro-Poor Policy Options in the Delivery of Municipal Water Services

The poor are most likely to suffer from a service provider that cannot reliably supply high-quality water through the piped network. Effectively assisting the poor is a key component of a successful tariff reform process. This paper provides practical, up-to-date advice that water utilities, municipalities, central governments, and donors can use to design and implement pro-poor policies for municipal water supply in low- and middle-income countries. After mapping contextual factors for a given situation and outlining the set of pro-poor policy alternatives, we use a simplified typology to diagnose common types of situations a water provider might be facing, provide policy recommendations, highlight potential policy mistakes, and discuss the challenges that policymakers are likely to face.