South Africa prepares for tariff damage control

South Africa’s Trade Minister Parks Tau said he plans to visit the US, its second-largest trading partner, to discuss the tariffs imposed on the country by the Trump administration.

“We are waiting for the president to confirm the date of our visit to the United States,” Tau told reporters at a conference in Johannesburg on Thursday, referring to Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the African nation.

The visit was delayed to hear what tariffs would be unveiled on April 2, he said.

 “We thought it’s appropriate that we wait for these announcements so that we’re able to assimilate the posture of the US, the issues they are putting on the table, and then be able to present our approach to that engagement,” he said.

South Africa won’t take an “adversarial” approach, he added.

US President Donald Trump imposed the steepest tariffs in a century on friends and foes alike Wednesday, stepping up his campaign to reshape the global economy. 

South Africa will be charged a 30% tariff on products exported to the US because America has assessed that its tariff and non-tariff barriers for its goods amount to 60%.

Tau said his team didn’t understand how the US got to that figure as his own team calculated them at 7.6%.

South Africa’s exports of cars, nut, fruit and wine are likely to be hampered by the tariffs as most of its mineral exports are exempted.

Two-way trade between the nations exceeded $23 billion in 2023 with South Africa benefiting from a $4.2 billion surplus.

A visit led by Tau would be the highest profile yet by South African emissaries since Trump falsely accused the country of seizing White-owned land, offered members of the Afrikaner ethnic minority refugee status, cut off aid and expelled South Africa’s ambassador. 

Lower-level officials from South Africa’s foreign affairs department met counterparts from the US recently, and a delegation of its business and labour leaders travelled to America late last month to meet politicians.

South Africa hasn’t confiscated any land since apartheid ended in 1994.