Import and Export
Since certificates of authenticity are easy
to counterfeit it is hard to know whether
a product has actually been tested or
not, and the quality standards deemed
acceptable in China may not be on par
with local compliance requirements.
The unfortunate truth is that South African
manufacturers are competing on an unfair playing field. Countries such as China are not subject
to the same laws as local producers, and are
able to mass produce goods quickly without
the same restrictions. The policing of imported
products is fundamental to the safety of all South
Africans. The National Regulator for Compulsory
Specifications (NRCS), a part of the Department of Trade and
The government should also encourage the manufacture of
Industry (DTI), has undertaken to do this in conjunction with
electrical goods in South Africa by offering to test locally pro-
Customs and Excise. However, there are still products that
duced goods for free and by increasing the import charges
manage to ‘slip through’.
on any product that can be made locally.
The balance between what our country exports
and what it imports is increasingly tipping in favour
of China.
There is no added value to our exports, since
we send out raw materials and it returns to our
shores as a finished product.