We are advising the South African Department of Economic Development on a High Court application brought by the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) in two parts. The first part seeks to interdict the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) from approaching the Trade and Development Commission (TDC) under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to impose a safeguard on imported frozen chicken. The second is to declare the DTI’s decision to continue the safeguard investigation under the EPA, when it had begun under the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA), as unlawful. The applicant seeks an order for respondents to formulate and publish proper guidelines for applications for safeguards under EPA, and then to ensure such approach is followed before approaching the TDC for a safeguard.
