South Africa launches initiative to monitor and solve main exports barriers

The South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) as part of a comprehensive programme aimed at addressing the Non-Tariff Barriers to trade, has recently launched the Export Barriers Monitoring Mechanism (EBMM), an initiative for monitoring all those barriers to export that reduce competitiveness of South African businesses.

The EBMM  allows South African companies to receive assistance from the government in resolving all export barriers they encounter both locally and in foreign markets, included barriers to logistics and freight.

The initiative is based on a close partnership between the government and the private sector, where businesses report export barriers through a dedicated email address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and the DTIC appoints a dedicated official to follow up on the matter within three days of receiving the notification of the complaint. Within two weeks, that official will contact the exporter who lodged the complaint to develop an agreed resolution plan, outlining the steps that will be taken to resolve the reported barrier.

The EBMM launch was preceded by a pilot project, where 28 key export barriers were identified and processed by the DTIC. Moreover, during the initial phase of the national lockdown, the EBMM methodology was used to process 76 barriers related to COVID-19.