By Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a clear and urgent call for South Africa to adapt swiftly to the shifting tides of international trade, following the United States’ recent imposition of 30% tariffs on South African imports.
Writing in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa stressed the severity of the new tariffs and outlined some of the government’s immediate and long-term strategies to protect the economy and workers.
“The decision by the United States to impose a 30% tariff on South African imports highlights the urgency with which we have to adapt to increasingly turbulent headwinds in international trade,” Ramaphosa wrote on Monday.
The US is South Africa’s second largest trading partner, and these new trade barriers threaten key domestic industries such as agriculture, automotive manufacturing and textiles, all of which have long benefited from duty-free access to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
The president warned
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