The commencement of 30% tariffs on SA goods and produce exported to the U.S. is a devastating outcome for South Africa, as Ministers Parks Tau and Ronald Lamola have failed to secure a trade deal.
An executive order from the White House last night makes clear that U.S.-imposed tariffs are now a certainty, to be levied on South African goods and produce from 07 August 2025, due to the negligence and ineptitude of two ANC Ministers and their departments.
Both the Departments of Trade, Industry & Competition, and International Relations & Cooperation should hang their heads in profound shame today.
This “no deal” scenario is due to sheer negligence, failed diplomacy and ineptitude. The SA negotiators missed their first deadline to submit trade terms to the United States, and after missing the deadline were forced to ask for an extension.
Today as the devastating tariffs are confirmed, our Minister of Trade has no contingency plans. Last night he offered up a laughable “help desk” for fearful exporters to telephone, instead of any tangible trade solutions.
Facing similar circumstances, the trade negotiators for Mexico secured their country an extension on the U.S. tariffs coming into effect for several months, but Minister Tau failed that test for South Africa. And our neighboring Botswana was to be levied a 37% tariff, but managed to reduce this to 15% in the final executive order. All of our SADC neighboring countries have now been set at just 15%, half of the tariff to be imposed on South Africa.
The context of South Africa’s U.S. trade deal failure is that across the globe Minister Tau is neglecting our country’s trade representatives – Vacancies for SA trade representatives in 30 countries abroad show that Minister Tau is asleep at the wheel.
In the face of this trade crisis, the DA pledges to do everything we can for South African trade and for our nation’s exporters. We will use our role in national and provincial government to negotiate every possible trade alternative, and the might of our DA members of Parliament will bring unrelenting pressure on DTIC and DIRCO to correct their wrongs.
The DA strongly supports the efforts of Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen to seek out and secure diverse alternative markets for SA’s agricultural exporters. His success and agreements in Asian markets is already seeing the diversification we need.
South Africa now needs a new Ambassador to the United States of America, who understands the U.S. position and understands the current administration in the White House. This demands the urgent appointment of a career Diplomat, and certainly not another ANC cadre.
This moment demands a serious approach to the U.S. concerns for matters going wrong in South Africa. Firstly, government must swiftly move economic policy away from BEE towards stronger equity equilivence models so that local communities benefit from investment, not ANC linked cadres.
And ANC attitudes to policing the safety of the people of South Africa must be de-racialised – particularly rural safety.
To the people of South Africa seeing biting tariffs coming into effect, the DA offers hope and an alternative path: It is high time that we work together to move South Africa beyond the ANC altogether.
The ANC’s failure to find a solution despite insisting on controlling trade and foreign relations in the GNU means that they are solely accountable for this sad state of affairs. The DA will continue to lead the fight in the GNU for rational trade and foreign relations that protects South African jobs, even though the ANC will continue to attack us for doing so.