International Trade Policies and the Implications and Opportunities for the Heavy Manufacturing Sector

National Business Initiative (NBI) and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) invite you to join us for our upcoming Thought Leadership Dialogue on International Trade Policies and the Implications and Opportunities for the Heavy Manufacturing Sector.

The rapid expansion, globalisation and increasing complexity of trade has created intricate patterns of interdependencies between production, consumption, and job creation across economies and political boundaries. The World Trade Organisation has been notified of more 4,600 trade-related climate measures over the past decade.

Addressing the nexus between international trade policies is now more urgent as the European Union’s (EU) Fit for 55 Policy, the United States of America’s (USA) Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and other climate-related mechanisms are implemented.

The EU Fit for 55 policy package aims to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050 to deliver on the ambitious climate targets in the European Green Deal. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is one of the key initiatives in this policy package. The EU CBAM covers iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, electricity, and hydrogen. The CBAM will have significant implications for business communities exporting goods to the EU, and particularly for those manufacturing in and exporting from South Africa.

The CBAM presents both a risk to the competitiveness of the South African economy on global markets but also provides the necessary impetus to enhance competitiveness. The Just Transition Pathways project run by the National Business Initiative (NBI) in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) found that 18% of South African exports go to the EU and ZAR226 billion of export value, and at least 353,000 jobs are at risk with the implementation of the CBAM, and similar initiatives in the absence of investment in green technologies or decarbonisation.

Cognisant of this emerging risk and potential opportunities, the NBI, through the Just Transition pathways project, and together with stakeholders in the heavy manufacturing sector, have developed a decarbonisation pathway for the sector, supporting the transition toward greater sustainability and competitiveness on net-zero global markets. We have a real opportunity to work together to fast track and implement a Just Transition in the Heavy Manufacturing sector, in a way that leaves no one behind.

Join us for this important Thought Leadership Dialogue as we engage with industry experts to unpack the implications and opportunities presented by international trade policies and mechanisms, such CBAM, for South Africa and explore what is needed to sustainably unlock the decarbonisation pathway for the South African heavy manufacturing.

Please click here to register for this Zoom event.