South Africa introduces COVID-19 export control regulations

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has gazetted regulations restricting the export of certain goods from South Africa as part of their COVID-19 strategy.

Restrictions have been put in place to ensure South Africa is well-equipped for its battle with COVID-19.

COVID-19 export regulations clarified

Any person or entity who intends to export goods included on the gazetted lists will have to apply for an export permit. These goods include but are not limited to face masks, hand sanitiser and selected medicines.  

The anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine has been added to the list of export-restricted goods after it was touted as a potential treatment for COVID-19 infection. It must be stressed that there is no clinical basis for such claims. Since US President Donald Trump claimed that the drug could be a game-changer for medicine, there have been shortages in the availability of the drug used to treat Malaria and Lupus.

Vaccines for a string of other diseases including Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Haemophilus and Rotavirus have also made the departments updated list.

The amended Paragraph (I)(a) of the Regulations reads: “Goods described in Schedules 1, 2, 3 and 4 shall not be exported from the Republic of South Africa except by virtue of an export permit issued in terms of Section 6 of the said International Trade Administration Act, 2002, and in which export permit such goods are specifically described.”

In his address at the ‘Inter-ministerial Lockdown Status Update’ on Friday 27 March 2020, DTIC Minister Ebrahim Patel said that this was not a total export ban.

The wording of the regulations confirms that the DTIC will have to be consulted before the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) grant export permits for the scheduled goods.

“The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition as well as any other department (Line Department) as determined by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition must be consulted by the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) upon receipt of an application and the DTIC and /or the Line Department must provide a recommendation to ITAC before a determination on an application for an export permit can be considered by ITAC.

“If no recommendation is received from the DTIC and /or the Line Department within a period of ten (10) working days, or such an extended time period as requested, from the date of the request, it will be deemed that a recommendation will have been made that there is no objection to the issuing of an export permit.”

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