By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa has signed a condition precedent document with the office of the US Trade Representative, which lays the groundwork for a final deal.
This comes after South Africa submitted a proposed Framework Deal with the US on 20 May, which outlines measures to enhance mutually beneficial trade and investment relations with the US.
The submission of the Framework Deal was immediately followed by an engagement between President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Donald Trump in Washington on 21 May.
The Framework Deal also aims to resolve long-standing market access issues that both sides are interested in and to promote bilateral investments in a mutually beneficial manner.
South Africa is one of the countries negotiating a trade deal with the US, making it unlikely that they will reach an agreement by the 01 of August, when 30% tariffs kicks-in.
Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Parks Tau says the “condition precedent document” is a precursor to finalisation of the negotiations.
Tau said the collective work of business, organised labour and civil society, in engaging the US Congress is also a key lever in South Africa’s toolkit in its approach to ensuring the continued inclusion of South Africa in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and to respond to the recently proposed US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act.
“Our active engagements with Asia are significantly bearing fruit. We have advanced conversations with China on Green Industrialisation and deepening our industrial supply chains. We have also committed to working with them to beneficiate our critical minerals here at source. This will unlock value in our Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Industrial Parks as we agree that these dynamic strategic nodes in our country are best placed to drive our reindustrialisation agenda.” Tau said.
He said the government was also reinvigorating its relationship with Japan through InvestSA and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).
As the looming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) alone has the potential to create an almost 1% contraction in GDP on the African continent, South Africa remains firm that the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations at their core, must be preserved until all member states are able to reach their developmental goals, he said.
Earlier this week, Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson confirmed that his proposed US–South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 has passed through the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The legislation is now awaiting a full House vote, which is only expected after lawmakers return from recess in September.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that the process was still at a premature stage, adding that South Africa wants to enrich existing relations.
“We’ve heard about what has happened in the House Committee, and that whole process still has a long way to go, and discussions will be ongoing. We don’t know exactly what is driving all this; our bilateral dealings with the US will continue.
“We will talk about all manner of things, including this issue. and many others. We’ve got good diplomatic relations with the United States, and we want to enrich them.”
Relations between Washington and Pretoria have been tense since the start of the Trump administration over South Africa’s positions on global conflicts such as Israel-Palestine and Ukraine.
Ramaphosa says he remains positive that engagements with the US will be comprehensive towards continued good dealings between the two countries.