South Africa launches initiative to help facilitate exports

By: Xinhua

The South African government yesterday launched an mechanism to help remove barriers for enterprises to export to other countries.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition revealed the Export Barriers Monitoring Mechanism (EBMM), which aims to help companies facing barriers in their quest to export services and goods to other countries.

“From today, the EBMM is open to any firm that encounters an export barrier of any kind, whether locally or in any foreign market. We strongly encourage you to tell us whenever you encounter a challenge, no matter how big or small,” said Lerato Mataboge, deputy director-general for Export Development, Promotion and Outward Investments at the department.

She said that in carrying out an initial pilot project, 28 key export barriers were processed by the EBMM amid the initial phase of the national lockdown.

“While our priority must be to work progressively to smooth these barriers, the experience of trade over the last decade has demonstrated that we need to be prepared to manage this growing complexity. A key component of global competitiveness will be how we manage a constantly changing global trading environment, she said, stressing the need for a close working partnership between the government and the private sector.

Chiboni Evans, chief executive officer of the South African Electrotechnical Export Council, welcomed the initiative, saying that the barriers reduce the region’s competitiveness.

She called for the border efficiency to facilitate trade with other African countries.