SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa is extending its anti-dumping duties on frozen bone-in poultry imports from the United States, as reported by the US Department of Agriculture’s Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN).
These duties, which have been in place since 2000, are continuing at their current rates.
However, US poultry imports are not directly affected by these duties due to their entry into South Africa under a tariff rate quota (TRQ) that provides rebates on the anti-dumping duties (ADDs).
Despite the TRQ mitigating the impact of ADDs, the volume of US poultry exports to South Africa has not fully utilized the quota since 2021.
This underutilization is due to increased tariffs, higher domestic production, and various structural challenges associated with the quota system.
Although the TRQ effectively preserves the status quo, it currently prevents US poultry from receiving a general poultry tariff rebate.
The International Trade Commission (ITAC) has clarified that the ADD rebate and the general poultry tariff rebate should not be mutually exclusive.
Nevertheless, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is allowing only one rebate per shipment, making US poultry less competitive compared to imports from other countries eligible for the tariff rebate.
This issue has been raised with ITAC and SARS, with ongoing efforts to create a level playing field.
On April 17, 2024, ITAC announced in the Government Gazette the extension of anti-dumping duties on US frozen bone-in poultry, following the Minister’s approval of the Commission’s recommendation to maintain current duty levels.
Previously, in June 2021, ITAC notified stakeholders that unless a substantiated request demonstrated that removing the duties would lead to continued dumping and harm, the duties were set to expire in November 2022.
Following a full response to ITAC’s sunset review questionnaire from the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) on behalf of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) industry, ITAC found sufficient evidence to initiate a sunset review investigation on December 11, 2022.
After reviewing all submissions, ITAC determined that removing the anti-dumping duties would likely result in continued dumping and material harm to the SACU industry. Consequently, the duties remain in place.
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