GLOSSARY OF TERMS
a) Select Sites Providing Definitions of Trade Terms
b) Select Trade Terms Applicable to Namibia
1. Anti-dumping duties: Article VI of the GATT 1994 permits the imposition of anti-dumping duties against dumped goods, equal to the difference between their export price and their normal value, if dumping causes injury to producers of competing products in the importing country.
2. Change in Tariff Heading (CTH): CTH means production from non-originating materials of any heading, except that of the product.
3. Common External Tariff (CET): a uniform tariff rate adopted by SACU applied to products imported from non-member countries.
4. Countervailing measures: action taken by the importing country, usually in the form of increased duties to offset subsidies given to producers or exporters in the exporting country.
5. Cumulation: a concept in rules of origin which allows importers or exporters under certain circumstances to consider non-originating materials imported from third countries or processing carried out in a non-partner country as originating in the partner country. There are three types of cumulation used in some trade agreements:
6. Bilateral cumulation- applies to two parties: Namibia and a partner country in a trading arrangement, allowing them to use materials originating between them as originating.
7. Diagonal cumulation - allows the use of materials originating in a defined country (as mentioned in a trade agreement) which is different from the partner country from which you import as materials originating in a partner country.
8. Full cumulation - allows the use of materials for cumulation that do not originate in any partner country.
9. Customs Duties: charges levied on goods when they cross international borders, tariffs on imported goods, mostly used to protect local industries or generate revenue for government.
10. De Minimis/Value Tolerance: used in the determination of rules of origin of a good, permitting the use of a lower percentage of non-originating materials, normally between 10 -15%.
11. Dumping: occurs when goods are exported at a price less than their normal value, generally meaning they are exported for less than they are sold in the domestic market or their-country markets, or at less than production cost.
12. Export earnings: the earnings of a firm or country that are generated through the export of goods and services.
13. Generalised System of Preferences: these are programmes by developed countries granting preferential tariffs to imports from developing countries.
14. Harmonised System (HS): an international nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), which is arranged in six-digit codes, allowing all participating countries to classify traded goods on a common basis. Beyond the six-digit level, countries are free to introduce national distinctions for tariffs and many other purposes.
15. Infant Industry: a new industry in its early stages of development and, thus, not yet capable of competing against established industry competitors.
16. Market Access: a company's ability to enter a foreign market by selling its goods and services in another country.
17. Most Favoured Nation (MFN): Members to accord the most favourable tariff and regulatory treatment to the product of any one member at the time of import or export of "like products" to all other members. The MFN principle does not include preferential tariffs under free trade agreement.
18. Rules of Origin: laws, regulations and administrative procedures which determine a product's country of origin.
19. Safeguard measures: action taken to protect a specific industry from an unexpected build-up (surge/increase) of imports.
20. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Regulations: government standards to protect human, animal and plant life and health, to help ensure that food is safe for consumption.
21. Subsidies: There are two general types of subsidies - export and domestic. An export subsidy is a benefit conferred on a firm by the government that is contingent on exports. A domestic subsidy is a benefit not directly linked to exports.
22. Substantial transformation: the good underwent a fundamental change (as a result of processing and manufacturing in the country claiming origin) in form, appearance, nature or character, which adds value.
23. Tariff binding/ bound tariffs: a commitment not to increase a rate of duty beyond an agreed level. Once a rate of duty is bound, it may not be raised without compensating the affected parties.
24. Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs): a two-tiered tariff that combines import quotas and tariffs to regulate import products. In a given period, a TRQ allows a lower tariff on imports of a given product within a specified quantity and a higher tariff on imports exceeding that quantity.
25. Tariffs: Customs duties on merchandise imports. Levied either on an ad valorem basis (percentage value) or on a specific basis (e.g., $7 per 100 kgs). Tariffs give a price advantage to similar locally-produced goods and raise revenue for the government.
26. Tariff Rebate: a customs duty waiver on imported goods meant to be inputs, or intermediate goods for industrial and agricultural production.
27. Trade Remedies: actions taken in response to subsidies (countervailing duties), sales at less than fair value (anti-dumping) and import surges (safeguards).
28. Quantitative restrictions: specific limits on the quantity or value of goods that can be imported (or exported) during a specific time period.