Masters Degrees (Economics)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Economics) by Subject "Africa, Southern -- Commercial policy"

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    The possible interaction between competition and anti-dumping policy suitable for the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Denner, Willemien; Jafta, Rachel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Recently countries have become more aware of the potential anti-competitive effects of anti-dumping measures. This is mostly due to the view that anti-dumping measures, as trade policy instruments, are at odds with the objectives of competition policy. According to many economic writers the only rational economic justification for anti-dumping measures is predatory dumping as an extreme form of price discrimination. Apart from the dramatic change in the economic justification for the use of anti-dumping measures over the last decades, there has also been a significant change in the countries that implement these measures. Since the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations there has been a shift from developed countries to developing countries being the main users of these policy tools. In the last couple of years the member countries of the Southern African Customs Union have been under increased pressure by private firms to enable the use of anti-dumping measures on intra-regional goods trade. However, the appropriateness of utilising these measures on intra-regional trade in the context of a custom union has been a contentious issue in recent economic debate. These measures erect trade barriers among the member states which are against the basic premise of a customs union. This has resulted in most economists calling for the prohibition and replacement of anti-dumping measure with either coordinated domestic or harmonised regional competition policies. In developing the regional and national policies on anti-dumping the SACU member states can follow two main stream approaches. The first is the incorporation of various competition principles into anti-dumping rules to limit the negative welfare and anti-competitive effects of utilising anti-dumping measures, while the second is the abolition of anti-dumping measures in the region which is then replaced by competition policy. The option best suited for SACU depends on the differing viewpoints on implementing anti-dumping measures in a customs union. However, irrespective of which policy combination is chosen, regional and national polices and authorities will have to be created, adapted and/or amended in order to have an effective interaction between anti-dumping and competition policies applicable to intra-regional trade.