South Africa Engages in Negotiations With US Over Tariff Disputes, Declares Ramaphosa
South Africa finds itself among nearly 70 nations confronting President Donald Trump’s newly proposed tariffs on exports, which were initially slated for implementation.
South Africa intends to leverage the week-long postponement of the US’s imposition of 30-percent tariffs to engage in rigorous negotiations aimed at circumventing these penalties and safeguarding employment, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Friday.
South Africa is counted among nearly 70 countries contending with President Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs on exports, originally scheduled to take effect on Friday but postponed at the eleventh hour until August 7.
The United States ranks as South Africa’s second-largest trading partner following China, and the central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, has projected that the new tariffs may jeopardize approximately 100,000 jobs in the economy.
“In the interim period afforded to us, we remain hopeful of reaching an amicable resolution to this issue,” Ramaphosa conveyed to reporters. “Hence, intensive negotiations are currently in progress,” he stated.
“Our mandate is to engage in robust and determined negotiations with the United States,” he asserted. “Our primary goal is to preserve jobs.”
South Africa’s agriculture and automotive sectors stand to suffer significantly from the 30-percent tariffs, exacerbating the already high unemployment rate exceeding 30 percent in the continent’s most industrialized nation.
While negotiating with Washington, Pretoria is also striving to diversify its export markets, as “relying solely on one market is fraught with risk,” Ramaphosa remarked.
South Africa’s proposal to the United States encompasses the importation of its liquefied natural gas and select US agricultural products, the trade ministry disclosed this week.
South African enterprises have also pledged to invest in US mining and metals-recycling industries and to explore joint ventures in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, and agri-machinery, it reported.
