Tariff turmoil: South Africa opts for diplomacy over quick retaliation in trade dispute

A day after US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs, with South Africa facing a 30% import tariff, the government said it would not impose tariffs yet, warning that responding without understanding how the US set the rate and without first talking to the US could be counterproductive.   

Trade and industry minister Parks Tau and International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola made the remarks on Friday, 4 April 2025, during a joint media briefing in Midrand, Johannesburg.   

This comes after the Trump administration on 2 April 2025 introduced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, with South African goods facing a specific rate of 30%. This decision is expected to have a negative impact on various South African exports, such as vehicles, precious metals, machinery, and citrus fruits.   



While trade experts have already warned that the tariff increase will affect ordinary South Africans, causing an increase in export prices, inflation, jobs, and interest rates, the government says the right thing to do is to engage the US administration. 

“I think it’s a risky thing to do, to simply decide that we’re now going to impose reciprocal tariffs. I think it would be ill considered to simply just make a decision to impose reciprocal tariffs.  

“Our mandate is to engage, to find solutions and to resolve problems,” Tau said.      

The tariff has effectively negated South Africa’s lucrative duty-free exports into the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).

Daily Maverick reported that South Africa is, in any case, likely to be booted out of the Agoa programme soon because of the Trump administration’s hostility to many of its domestic and foreign policies.   

Read more: Trump’s tariff teardown, the broken maths behind it and the global fallout 

Agoa itself is due to expire in September and it seems unlikely to be renewed, given Trump’s extreme dislike of non-reciprocal or any free trade. Tau, when quizzed by journalists, confirmed that the tariff had nullified the Agoa benefits.   

Lamola said: “The new tariff regime arising from the decision by the United States of America, which has been directed not only at South Africa but at the entire world, necessitates strategic responses to maintain and grow our industrial base as a crucial avenue to pursue inclusive growth. In response to the US government’s imposition of tariffs, South Africa will continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities these measures present with resilience and innovation.”  

Efforts to diversify export destinations would be intensified, the ministers said. 

Despite the urgency of the situation, both Tau and Lamola would not provide a definitive timeline for when President Cyril Ramaphosa would send a delegation to the US, but simply said  he would do so “at the right time”.    

Relations between the two countries have been strained over issues including the Expropriation Act and South Africa’s legal actions against Israel, to name a couple. 

Last month, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Rasool as a “race-baiting politician” with hostile views toward both America and Trump. He declared Rasool “persona non grata”, effectively removing him from the US.   

Read more: Process to replace Ebrahim Rasool yet to begin but Ramaphosa ‘inundated’ with volunteers for US ambassador job 

His expulsion came after he made comments during a webinar hosted by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, in which he accused Trump of pushing policies aimed at addressing the changing demographics of the US, which he argued were part of a wider supremacist agenda.  

Now Ramaphosa, who has received a report on the events leading to Rasool’s expulsion, is applying his mind on who to appoint, given the strained diplomatic relations with Washington.

Lamola said that while the president would not rush the process, he planned to appoint a special envoy for now to help ease tensions and improve relations. DM

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