According to Mining Weekly, South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, will present a support plan for businesses and workers to the cabinet, as the U.S. is set to impose a 30% reciprocal tariff on South African imports starting at 12:00 a.m. Daylight Time on the 8th, which will severely impact them.
While formulating this plan, South Africa is also attempting to negotiate a trade agreement with the U.S. The U.S. accounts for 7.5% of South Africa’s total exports, making it the country’s third-largest export destination after the EU and China.
In 2024, South Africa’s exports to the U.S. amounted to $14.9 billion. Independent studies suggest this figure could decrease by up to $2.3 billion annually.
Despite South Africa proposing a framework agreement in May—including various concessions for U.S. agricultural exports and even an offer to purchase U.S. liquefied natural gas—previous efforts to reach a final agreement have been unsuccessful.
At a briefing jointly hosted with Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola in Ekurhuleni, Parks Tau stated that his department is modeling the potential impact of the 30% U.S. tariffs on industries and businesses and is working with other departments to develop possible support measures.
Preliminary modeling indicates that the reciprocal tariffs will negatively affect 30,000 workers. This assessment already accounts for existing exemptions and confirmed U.S. exclusions for automobiles, steel, and aluminum.
Lamola noted that 35% of South Africa’s exports to the U.S., including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, wood products, certain critical minerals, stainless steel scrap, and energy products, will remain unaffected by the tariffs.
In addition to the already established Export Support Desk—which provides tariff advice to affected businesses and assists them in diversifying exports—Lamola outlined other measures being finalized and incorporated into the so-called "economic package," including:
- Various measures to help businesses absorb tariff costs while protecting jobs and production capacity.
- A Localization Support Fund to openly tender support for affected value-chain businesses, providing targeted assistance to enhance competitiveness and efficiency.
- An Export and Competitiveness Guarantee Program, including an operating capital fund and a plant and equipment fund, to address medium- and short-term challenges across industries.
- Collaboration with the Department of Employment and Labour to leverage existing policies and mitigate potential job losses.
In the coming days, the Competition Commission will announce a block exemption allowing competitors to collaborate on negotiations to enhance export scale and efficiency.
Parks Tau stated, “We will submit a more detailed proposal to the cabinet on Wednesday, finalizing the specifics with sister departments, which will outline the architecture of the support package.” He added that the final plan will be announced by the end of the week.
Both Tau and Lamola emphasized that they have not abandoned efforts to reach an agreement with the U.S., stating that all diplomatic channels will be used to negotiate a "mutually beneficial" deal.
However, Tau described the negotiation process as "unprecedentedly difficult," with South Africa being asked to present final terms without knowing what tariffs it might face or whether the U.S. would respond.
“So, we can only make an offer, sit back, and wait in hope,” he said.
He pointed out, for example, that while the U.S. finalized a template for sub-Saharan Africa and signed a non-disclosure agreement, it also requested a delay in reaching a bilateral agreement—yet never countersigned the agreement itself.
Nevertheless, South Africa has no intention of abandoning diplomatic efforts “until we can reach a conclusion.”
“I believe this is an important statement because I feel that while we could decide not to engage with any government or participate in trade negotiations, doing so would be irresponsible for our country.”
Source: https://geoglobal.mnr.gov.cn/zx/kydt/zhyw/202508/t20250806_9943621.htm
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