The industrial policy Master’s class ends (or does it?)
The Danish political economist, Torben Iversen, notes that labour-intensive, low-productivity jobs do not thrive in the context of high social protection and intensive labour-market regulation, and without international trade countries cannot specialise in high value-added services. Lack of international trade and competition, therefore, not the growth of these, is the cause of current employment problems […]
Error correction: Competition Commission steel inquiry
Off to an inauspicious start, my very first Trade Brief, contained an error. I had stated we only had one primary steel producer (ArcelorMittal) benefits from import duties of 10%. This is only true for flat products, although Columbus is apparently starting production of mild steel too and Scaw Metals is setting up a flat […]
Competition Commission steel inquiry
Last week the Competition Commission announced it would be conducting a market inquiry into the steel industry and published a draft terms of reference for comment. This is important because the steel industry is packed choc-a-bloc with trade policies which distort the normal behaviour of the steel market. We have one primary steel producer who […]
The century old embrace of the South African government and the steel industry
A hundred years ago, the Union of South Africa government formulated its first industrial policies to help develop the then infant steel industry. The link between government support and South Africa’s primary steel industry has waxed and waned over the last century but has never entirely disappeared. In 1923, at the AGM of The Union […]