Department of Trade, Industry and Competition

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (also known as the dtic; before June 2019 the Department of Trade and Industry or the dti) is the department of the South African government with responsibility for commercial policy and industrial policy. The dtic and its subsidiary agencies are involved in promoting economic development, Black Economic Empowerment, implementing commercial law (including companies law and intellectual property law), promoting and regulating international trade, and consumer protection.

The political head of the department is the Minister of Trade and Industry, who is assisted by a Deputy Minister. , the minister is Ebrahim Patel and the deputy ministers are Nomalungelo Gina and Fikile Majola. The executive head of the department is the Director-General of Trade and Industry.

In the 2010 national budget, the department received an appropriation of 6,150.1 million rand, and had 1,140 employees.

Subsidiary agencies
The dtic Group includes various subordinate agencies which perform specific functions. These agencies are classified in three "clusters", as follows.

Development Finance and Small Business Development Institutions

 * Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC)
 * National Empowerment Fund (NEF)
 * Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)

Regulatory Institutions

 * Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)
 * Companies Tribunal (CT)
 * National Consumer Tribunal (NCT)
 * National Credit Regulator (NCR)
 * National Gambling Board (NGB)
 * National Lotteries Commission (NLC)
 * National Consumer Commission (NCC)

Standardisation, Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Metrology Institutions

 * National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS)
 * South African National Accreditation Systems (SANAS)
 * South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
 * National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA)