The Steel Tube Export Association of South Africa (STEASA) recently had a meeting with TRADE (an acronym for TRAde and DEvelopment) which is a research and advisory division at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) specialising in international trade and economic development. We discussed an array of issues all related to global trade and specifically their model of identifying realistic export opportunities which could be tailored for steel tubes and pipes.
Their research is geared towards export promotion and economic development. From identifying new and high-potential export opportunities, to uncovering the keys to greater competitiveness and inward investment flows. All areas of great concern to economic policymakers and decision-makers in business.
At the heart of TRADE’s research programmes is its international TRADE-DSM® (Decision Support Model) which is used to identify realistic export opportunities for countries, provinces and industry sectors in the form of high-potential product-market combinations. Complementing the TRADEDSM® is the TRADE-DSM Navigator®, a powerful, interactive computer-based application which interprets the results of the TRADE-DSM® in a user-friendly way.
TRADE is also a chair of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) Chairs Programme. The WTO Chairs Programme (WCP) aims to enhance people’s knowledge and understanding of the multilateral trading system by awarding research Chairs to selected universities and research institutions. In 2014, Prof Wilma Viviers, director of the TRADE, was awarded a WTO Chair (1 of 7 recipients worldwide to receive the honour that year), heralding the start of an international partnership.
STEASA in collaboration with Trade Advisory intend to host a trade and investment seminar in September 2018 that focuses on current global trade developments, with a keen focus on the opportunities in steel tube and pipes and the pitfalls that these trade developments present.
