As the BRICS alliance gears up for expansion and potentially includes more countries in its upcoming leaders’ summit in South Africa, a crucial aspect may have been overlooked: the potential impact of geopolitics on global commerce and economic relations, particularly involving BRICS nations. The BRICS framework may face new pressures as businesses find themselves compelled […]Continue reading
Trade data spanning several years has shown that the countries that formerly advocated for and vehemently implemented free trade principles and strategies, are now decoupling. Deviation from the free trade system as we know it is causing a number of detrimental consequences for emerging economies. Thus, as powerhouse countries such as the United States and […]Continue reading
Sub-Saharan Africa has formed several crucial alliances in respect of trade and economic development in recent years, however, the geopolitical tension between major trading economies such as China, the United States and European Union has continued to escalate, while developing economies such as sub-Saharan Africa suffer a corresponding decline in economic growth. The potential international […]Continue reading
On 13 April 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published the World Economic Outlook, wherein it discusses geoeconomic fragmentation and foreign direct investment. Geoeconomic fragmentation, for those who are not familiar with this phenomenon, was coined by Aiyar et al as a “policy driven reversal of global economic integration often guided by strategic considerations”. The considerations […]Continue reading
On 13 April 2023, South Africa will be hosting its 5th edition of the South Africa Investment Conference (“SAIC”) in Johannesburg. Following President Ramaphosa’s 2018 commitment to raise ZAR 1.2 trillion in investments over a period of five years, the next SAIC will soon commence on the rather promising premise that President Ramaphosa has attracted […]Continue reading
On 30 March 2023, the South African Chapter of the BRICS Economic chapter hosted the Economic Indaba which delineated the 2023 roadmap, of which South Africa will have chairship. The chairship symbolises a unique and vital opportunity for South Africa to ensure the sustainable advancement of African (and more specifically, South African) economic growth. Minister […]Continue reading
As of 2026, the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) will take effect, in an ostensible effort to reach the EU carbon emissions goal set for 2050. While the CBAM will certainly aid in the decarbonisation of industries and inhibition of carbon leakage in relation to the EU, it may have deleterious effects on […]Continue reading
Early in 2022, the Republic of Korea and Chile (coordinators of the WTO Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (“IFDA”)) announced that they had aimed to conclude the negotiations surrounding the provisions of the Joint Statement Initiative (“JSI”) by 2022. While the deadline for conclusion of the negotiations had to be extended, it […]Continue reading
The Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) is the latest of a number of new developments designed to enhance trade in Africa’s continent-wide free trade zone. It was launched in October 2022 to test meaningful, continuous trade under AfCFTA and aid the development of regional value chains that allow for more sustainable, climate-friendly trade across the continent. […]Continue reading
As the title suggests, the World Customs Organization, with the support of the European Union, recently published a guide to the practical implementation of Annex 2 of the Protocol on Trade in Goods concerning Rules of Origin. The guide is aimed at assisting the private sector in the practical implementation of Annex 2, which has […]Continue reading
