By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa will submit a revised offer for a trade deal to the United States on Tuesday, Minister of Trade and Industry Parks Tau said.
Tau and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen hosted a briefing on Tuesday.
Tau confirmed that the revised offer had been approved by Cabinet on August 6, while Steenhuisen described it as a “broad, generous and open offer” that sought to meet the ambition criteria set by the US and which he argued would be good for both South Africa and the US if adopted.
South African exports to the U.S. were hit with the 30% tariff rate, the highest in the sub-Saharan Africa.
The new offer substantively responds to the issues the US has raised in the 2025 National Trade Estimates Report,” Tau said, indicating that it built on the previous offer submitted in May. He did not provide further details on the offer.
He also confirmed that there had been engagements with the US subsequent to the imposition of the 30% tariffs and that Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’ Chief director for bilateral trade relations Malose Anthony Letsoalo had been stationed in Washington DC to ensure ongoing contact and discussions.
“If one was to look at this through the trade and tariff perspective, I think this offer represents something that would be good for the United States and also good for South Africa,” Steenhuisen said.
Steenhuisen acknowledged that non-trade policy issues had been raised with South Africa and other countries by the Trump administration, describing it as a “new normal”. These included concerns in relation to farm murders, South Africa’s black empowerment and affirmative action policies and the country’s land exploration legislation.
However Tau confirmed that, notwithstanding the ongoing negotiations, South Africa had already taken various proactive steps to address longstanding concerns raised by the US as a show of “goodwill”.
Tau also announced that consultations were under way with industry and members of the Southern African Customs Union regarding ways to respond to a request from the US for South Africa to consider reducing tariffs as a way to address the deficit and tariff disparity with the EU due to the SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.
The US is South Africa’s third-largest trading partner after the EU and China, and accounts for about 4%, or R9.8-billion, of the country’s total yearly agriculture exports.