US sets sights on improved Agoa

[View in browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( M&G Mornings | Mon 30 Oct   Nowadays it seems as if all we talk about are various overlapping crises. There is the climate crisis, the unemployment crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, the fiscal crisis. At the beginning of this year, the World Economic Forum declared that we are on the brink of a “polycrisis”, a term coined in the 1990s but which has recently been used by economists to describe the current global predicament. Economic historian Adam Tooze has characterised this period as the experience of a number of crises — with no single, clearly-defined logic — piling up on one another to create an overwhelming situation in the minds of policymakers and the public. Perhaps the main feature of the polycrisis is that it is global. Its ripples can be felt at a Tesco in the United Kingdom, in an Amazon warehouse in the US, at the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt and in Fietas, a few kilometres from the Mail & Guardian’s offices. While the repeated use of the word crisis should inspire urgency, it should never create panic. Cool heads must prevail, because the policy choices that are made today will echo throughout history. This brings us to one “crisis” that has become a stubborn feature of South Africa’s public discourse: the fiscal crisis, a concept which the M&G unpacks in the most recent instalment of The Fiscal Cliff. After talking to economists and reading Duma Gqubule’s always-incisive work on the subject, it’s clear that — while our fiscal predicament isn’t a good one — our policymakers still have the privilege of being able to make choices that will benefit, rather than hurt South Africans. And if they are driven by a desire to forge a more equitable future, they will find a way. As always, we hope this monthly series gives you a more nuanced picture of the country’s fiscal position — and encourages you to take keener interest in budget decisions. Sarah Smit | Economics editor [@Sarah____Smit]( ADVERTISEMENT [US sets sights on improved Agoa]( This week’s Agoa forum will discuss ways to get more out of the trade agreement [// Read more]( Premium [eThekwini turnaround team pulls out]( Opposition from the ANC eThekwini region and a lack of clarity from above put paid to the attempt to intervene in the city [// Read more]( [Coffee lovers now have a large range of local roasts to choose from]( [Can coffee help you avoid weight gain? Here’s what the science says]( Is it worth adding another warm cup to shed those last kilogrammes? [// Read more]( Recommended Reads [Red card will be with me forever, says All Blacks skipper Cane]( Head coach Ian Forster was extremely proud of how his New Zealand side had taken it to the wire despite playing one man down for about 50 minutes. [// Read more]( [The Last Afternoon in the Garden | Episode 4 – What about a conviction?]( In this fourth episode of The Last Afternoon in the Garden we go back to the communal garden one last time to reflect on everything that has happened. We seek out experts to try and explain the violence and confront a person from the past who has a different version of events. [// Read more]( [World Bank loan will support South Africa’s energy transition]( The global financier announced that it had approved a $1 billion loan to help the country’s shift to cleaner forms of energy [// Read more]( [Agoa forum: ‘Africa to assert its place in global economy’]( South Africa’s trade, industry and competition minister said member countries are asking that the pact be renewed for another 10 years [// Read more]( [Local researchers exhume oldest brittle stars of Southern Hemisphere]( Ancient brittle stars from the supercontinent of Gondwana unearthed in 410-million-year-old rocks in Eastern Cape [// Read more]( [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa