By Simon Nare
The South African government has questioned the source and accuracy of the tariffs imposed by the US President Donald Trump on local products exported to the US.
In a joint press conference by the International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola and Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, they argued that the imposed tariffs were not in line with international calculations or South Africa’s balance trade to the US.
Tau said the US government has since confirmed the new tariff was 31% and not 30% as published on Tuesday, and the government was waiting for clarity from the US government on how it arrived at the figure.
The minister said tariffs were traditionally transparent because they are calculated according to international norms and standards.
He said the hike was not in line with the historical figure that both countries had been working on. Further, South Africa was also trading with other several countries around the world using the same calculations which were in line with international norms and standards.
“Everybody is doing calculations and speculating what could be included. The safest thing to do is [get] confirmation from the US as to how did they arrive at the number.
“Right now, we are speculating whether they have calculated balance of trade or they have calculated to consider matters around policy and implications of public policy and a whole range of considerations,” said Tau.
Reading from a joint statement, Lamola said the 31% tariff would be effective from 9 April 2025, and exempted products from the reciprocal tariffs included copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles, certain critical minerals and energy.
The tariffs would not apply to products already facing Section 232 tariffs of 25% such as steel, aluminium, automobiles and auto parts.
Lamola said some of the materials were already key parts of the US sourcing requirements and according to that country’s Geological Survey, 97% of their chrome ore requirements come from South Africa, as well as 6% of fluorspar and 24% of manganese.
The minister said the sweeping tariff measures would affect several sectors of the economy, including automotive, agriculture, processed food and beverage, chemical, metals and other segments of manufacturing.
Lamola warned the US move would have implications for jobs and growth, and the country would have to diversify its trade markets and continue to engage other countries to establish trading opportunities.
“The US represented 7.45% of South Africa’s total exports in 2024, while South Africa accounted for only 0.4% of US total imports. As such, South Africa does not constitute a threat to US, and where there is a trade imbalance in favour of South Africa, it is mainly on agriculture products which are counter-cyclical, and on minerals which are inputs in US industries.
“South Africa will continue building domestic supply resilience, reducing cost of doing business and increasing competitiveness of our economy. Further, South Africa will continue with efforts to diversify export markets as part of its resilience building strategy,” said Lamola.
He said the significant market access opportunities both through trade agreements and through strategic partnerships with countries across the globe presented huge opportunities for the country’s exports.
He added that the recently concluded Africa Continental Free Trade Area remained untapped beyond the Southern Africa Development Community.
However, Lamola acknowledged that the tariffs effectively nullified the preferences that Sub-Saharan Africa countries enjoyed under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
“The government will invest strategically in industries impacted by the tariffs, supporting economic growth through modernisation and targeted infrastructure development. This aligns with the national interest of ensuring the well-being of South African citizens,” said Lamola.
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