By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday said the US tariffs highlight the need for diversified markets at the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held in Yokohama, Japan.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the summit currently under way in Japan.
The event hosts representatives, including presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers from nearly 50 African nations.
South African goods are currently subject to 30% tariffs by the United States.
“Recent tariff actions by the United States on African goods have highlighted the need to diversify our markets, he said.
“South Africa is a leading exporter of agricultural produce and high quality industrial products such as auto vehicles and components.
“We call on our Japanese counterparts to support tariff cooperation to ease market access for African goods,” Ramaphosa said.
“South Africa seeks to deepen intra-African trade while becoming a continental industrial platform from which Japanese and other global firms can export into Africa,” he said, expressing a desire for partnerships in infrastructure, energy, and digital development through blended finance.
“Africa is not seeking aid. It is seeking partners,” he remarked.
“Africa must not merely react” to the global economic uncertainty and reshaping of trade but “must help to shape them,” Ramaphosa said.
He outlined how South Africa hopes to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to support the country’s reindustrialisation.
“We are actively working with the AfCFTA Secretariat to finalise value-chain protocols in automotive, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and textiles.
“We support Rules of Origin harmonisation to encourage manufacturing in Africa and the upgrading of border infrastruture to enable faster movement of goods,” he said, adding that South Africa’s reindustrialisation agenda was focused on localisation, green energy and regional integration.