As South Africa commemorates Youth Day, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has called on young people to take the lead in shaping a future-ready economy.

It has urged the youth to play an active role in building a nation that is inclusive, innovative and globally competitive.

“We encourage today’s youth to seize opportunities in key sectors, including manufacturing, agro-processing, the digital economy, green industries and automotive. Innovate products and produce goods that satisfy both domestic demands and international standards,” DTIC spokesperson Yamkela Fanisi said in a statement.

He said they must aspire to become export-ready entrepreneurs who actively contributed to South Africa’s trade and industrial development, and leverage the available support across the department and its entities, including funding, mentorship, market access and skills development.

Fanisi encouraged young people to champion economic transformation and localisation by fostering resilient industries and creating sustainable jobs.

He said there was a need to continue supporting young South Africans so that they could lead the country’s industrial growth and help create a country that was fair and beneficial to all its people.

The department highlighted the need to pay tribute to the bravery and determination of the 1976 generation whose actions it said helped secure the freedoms enjoyed today.

“The youth of 1976 aspired to political freedom. Today’s youth must strive for economic freedom through ownership, innovation and industrial excellence,” he added.

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A gauge of South African manufacturing sentiment dropped sharply in April, with survey respondents citing uncertainty linked to global trade tensions and local politics.

The seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) sponsored by South African bank Absa declined to 44.7 points in April from 48.7 in March.

It was the sixth straight month that the headline PMI has been below 50, reflecting a contraction in activity.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcement ushered in sweeping duties on most imports to the United States, sparking a trade war with China and uncertainty for companies worldwide.

Trump later paused most of the steepest tariffs for 90 days, but economists say many businesses have been left in a state of paralysis.

In South Africa months of wrangling over the budget culminated in the finance minister scrapping a planned increase in value-added tax (VAT), meaning he will have to present a new budget next month.

“Global tariff developments and local political uncertainty because of the VAT saga and open disagreements within the government likely weighed on sentiment,” Absa said in a statement.

Other local factors dampening the mood included excessive rains and the return of scheduled power cuts.

Reuters

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The National Treasury’s Jobs Fund has launched a new funding round aimed at supporting innovative solutions that address critical employment barriers in the country’s green and informal economies.

This initiative seeks to support creative, scalable interventions that will contribute to sustainable job creation and stimulate inclusive economic growth in high labour absorptive sectors.

Since its inception, the Jobs Fund has disbursed R7.4 billion to its project partners, which has resulted in the creation of 210,719 permanent jobs, 114,534 short-term jobs/internships, and support for more than 63,000 SMMEs and 16,000 emerging farmers.

The Treasury said on Wednesday that the new round was targeting projects within the green economy—such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency, transport, water and waste management.

Focus on the informal economy included sectors like street vending, small-scale manufacturing, care and repair services.

Eligible intermediaries from the public, private, and non-profit sectors were encouraged to apply for grants starting from R5 million.

Proposals will be assessed on their potential to deliver measurable employment outcomes and address critical labour market barriers.

The Treasury said all proposals must include a sustainability plan that demonstrated long-term financial and operational viability. 

The fund is offering matched funding at 1:1 basis for private and public sector partners, and 1:0.5 for non-profit organisations.

The deadline for applications is 5 June 2025.

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President Donald Trump said he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains.

“This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “We’ll effectively be charging a 25% tariff.”

The tariffs, which the White House expects to raise $100 billion in revenue annually, could be complicated as even U.S. automakers source their components from around the world. The tax hike starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States and the end of what he judges to be a “ridiculous” supply chain in which auto parts and finished vehicles are manufactured across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

To underscore his seriousness about the tariffs directive he signed, Trump said, “This is permanent.”

The U.S. president reiterated his willingness to challenge allies by saying Thursday on social media that if the European Union coordinated with Canada, tariffs “far larger than currently planned” would be placed on them in retaliation.

Shares in General Motors fell roughly 3% in Wednesday trading. Ford’s stock was up slightly. Shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler, dropped nearly 3.6%.

Trump has long said that tariffs against auto imports would be a defining policy of his presidency, betting that the costs created by the taxes would cause more production to relocate to the United States while helping narrow the budget deficit. But U.S. and foreign automakers have plants around the world to accommodate global sales while maintaining competitive prices — and it could take years for companies to design, build and open the new factories that Trump is promising.

“We’re looking at much higher vehicle prices,” said economist Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “We’re going to see reduced choice. … These kinds of taxes fall more heavily on the middle and working class.’’

She said more households will be priced out of the new car market — where prices already average about $49,000 — and will have to hang on to aging vehicles.

The tariffs on autos would start being collected on April 3, Trump said. If the taxes are fully passed onto consumers, the average auto price on an imported vehicle could jump by $12,500, a sum that could feed into overall inflation. Trump was voted back into the White House last year because voters believed he could bring down prices.

Foreign leaders were quick to criticize the tariffs, a sign that Trump could be intensifying a broader trade war that could damage growth worldwide.

“This is a very direct attack,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country.”

In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed regret at the U.S. decision to target auto exports from Europe and vowed that the bloc would protect consumers and businesses.

“Tariffs are taxes — bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the U.S. and the European Union,” she said in a statement, adding that the EU’s executive branch would assess the impact of the move, as well as other U.S. tariffs planned for coming days.

As Trump announced the new tariffs, he indicated that he would like to provide a new incentive to help car buyers by allowing them to deduct from their federal income taxes the interest paid on auto loans, so long as their vehicles were made in America. That deduction would eat into some of the revenues that could be generated by the tariffs.

The new tariffs would apply over time to both finished autos and parts used in the vehicles, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the taxes on a call with reporters. The tariffs would be on top of any existing taxes and were legally based on a 2019 Commerce Department investigation that occurred during Trump’s first term on national security grounds.

For autos and parts under the USMCA trade pact applying to the United States, Mexico and Canada, the 25% tariffs would only apply to non-U.S. content.

The administration is reasoning that there is excess capacity at U.S. automakers that will enable them to ramp up production to avoid the tariffs by manufacturing more domestically, with the official noting that automakers have known since the Trump campaign that tariffs were coming.

The auto tariffs are part of a broader reshaping of global relations by Trump, who plans to impose what he calls “reciprocal” taxes on April 2 that would match the tariffs, sales taxes charged by other nations.

Trump has already placed a 20% import tax on all imports from China for its role in the production of fentanyl. He similarly placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products. Parts of the Mexico and Canada tariffs have been suspended, including the taxes on autos, after automakers objected and Trump responded by giving them a 30-day reprieve that is set to expire in April.

The president has also imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, removing the exemptions from his earlier 2018 taxes on the metals. He also plans tariffs on computer chips, pharmaceutical drugs, lumber and copper.

His taxes risk igniting a broader global trade war with escalating retaliations that could crush global trade, potentially hurting economic growth while raising prices for families and businesses as some of the costs of the taxes get passed along by importers. When the European Union retaliated with plans for a 50% tariff on U.S. spirits, Trump responded by planning a 200% tax on alcoholic beverages from the EU.

Trump also intends to place a 25% tariff on countries that import oil from Venezuela, even though the United States also imports oil from that nation.

Trump’s aides maintain that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico are about stopping illegal immigration and drug smuggling. But the administration also wants to use the tariff revenues to lower the budget deficit and assert America’s preeminence as the world’s largest economy.

The president on Monday cited plans by South Korean automaker Hyundai to build a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana as evidence that tariffs would bring back manufacturing jobs.

Slightly more than 1 million people are employed domestically in the manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts, about 320,000 fewer than in 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An additional 2.1 million people work at auto and parts dealerships.

The United States last year imported nearly 8 million cars and light trucks worth $244 billion. Mexico, Japan and South Korea were the top sources of foreign vehicles. Imports of auto parts came to more than $197 billion, led by Mexico, Canada and China, according to the Commerce Department.

AP

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The Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour has welcomed the government’s intervention and engagement with ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) regarding the winding down of its long steel business, which could stop 3500 workers from being retrenched.

The Industrial Development Corporation and the Trade, Industry and Competition Department said this week that AMSA received R380 million in February 2025. This was in addition to the R1 billion working capital facility extended by the IDC in June 2024.

AMSA is facing several challenges related to weak demand, high energy and logistics costs, and competition from low-cost imports.

It wants to close its steel-making operations in Newcastle and Vereeniging.

The closures could lead to over 100,000 job losses due to knock-on effects in the manufacturing sector.

The committee received a briefing from the Department of Employment and Labour on Thursday.

It said on Friday it was appreciative of the cooperation between the departments of Employment and Labour and Trade, Industry and Competition and other role-players to secure the possible return of AMSA.

In a cautionary announcement to the market, AMSA said it was engaging with stakeholders to defer the wind down of the Longs Business.

It has warned through that without a deal on funding and related matters, the deferral is not feasible.

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South Africa’s official unemployment rate fell slightly in the fourth quarter of last year, helped by job gains in the finance and manufacturing sectors.

The second quarterly decline in a row took unemployment to 31.9% in October-December from 32.1% in July-September, data from Statistics South Africa showed.

South Africa’s coalition government, formed last year after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority, has made job creation one of its priorities.

But it will take time to gauge its success at lowering one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.

Reflecting the scale of the problem, an expanded unemployment rate, which includes those discouraged from seeking work, remained unchanged at 41.9% in the final three months of 2024.

“Despite some positive movement in job creation, the large gap between official and expanded unemployment rates suggests persistent structural challenges,” Shaun Murison, senior market analyst at IG, said in a research note.

Black women continue to be the most vulnerable to unemployment, and joblessness among the youth is also a big problem.

On Wednesday Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will present this year’s national budget, laying out the government’s spending priorities, revenue collection measures and updated economic forecasts.

Reuters

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Gauteng aims to attract R800 billion in investment pledges over the next three years, according to finance and economic development MEC Lebogang Maile.

He was speaking the pre-launch of the Gauteng Investment Conference at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Thursday. The conference will take place in April.

Maile emphasised that Gauteng remained a prime global investment destination, solidifying its status through continuous engagement with international stakeholders.

“The Gauteng Investment Conference has various linked objectives that are all geared towards the developmental agenda not only of the province but of the region,” he said.

Recently, the MEC led a delegation from the province to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he reaffirmed Gauteng’s role in the global economic and geopolitical landscape.

The province’s selection as the host of the G20 Summit in November 2025 further underscored its importance as an economic powerhouse, marking the first time the intergovernmental forum would convene on African soil.

Maile said investment conference was designed to advance the province’s developmental agenda by attracting large-scale investments and driving economic transformation.

While it aimed to attract R800 billion in investment pledges over the next three years, the initial target was R300 billion.

“While this might sound like an insurmountable target, we are confident in the investment potential of the province, as well as the existence and further development of the infrastructure that is necessary to convince the global investor community of our capacity,” he said.

The conference is structured around seven core objectives to drive economic momentum.

They include highlighting investment opportunities in advanced manufacturing, the digital economy and other key growth sectors, and providing a platform for public-private partnerships, networking opportunities and regional collaborations that drive economic expansion.

It will also address barriers to doing business in Gauteng, enhance investor confidence and attract both new ventures and business expansions.

Maile emphasised the importance of expanding Gauteng’s global investment reach while ensuring economic growth benefited the broader region and continent.

“We look forward to welcoming local, regional and global businesses who are keen to develop a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership anchored on values of inclusivity and sustainable development,” he said.

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South African manufacturing activity fell for the second month in a row in December, a local purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey showed, as demand declined.

The seasonally-adjusted PMI sponsored by South African bank Absa slipped to 46.2 points in December 2024 from 48.1 points in November, remaining below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction of manufacturing output in Africa’s most industrialised economy.

“The manufacturing sector experienced a volatile 2024, with this second consecutive monthly decline in December reversing the upward momentum seen in September and October,” Absa said in a statement.

The business activity index fell 8.7 points to 40.3, and the new sales orders sub-index also fell.

“Worryingly, some respondents noted that conditions in December 2024 were worse than usually seen in December,” Absa added.

But the bank said the sub-index which measures expected business conditions in six months’ time rose in December, showing that manufacturers remain positive about future business conditions.

Export sales figures fell to levels seen in the first half of 2024, while the supplier deliveries index moved above 50 points for the first time in three months.

Reuters

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Labour has vowed to do everything in its power to prevent 3500 workers from being retrenched following ArcelorMittal SA’s (AMSA) announcement that it will shut down its long steel mills in South Africa.

Not only would the closures impact jobs and families who relied on steel workers for income, it was bound to have a devastating impact on the economy, it said.

The closure of the operations has been on the cards since November 2023 amid prolonged weak economic conditions, logistics and energy challenges and competition from low-cost imports though it kept the Vereeniging and Newcastle factories operational after widespread stakeholder concerns. 

Company CEO Kobus Versterhas confirmed that a Section 189 consultation process would begin, impacting workers at its Newcastle Works, Vereeniging Works and the Vanderbijlpark plant, along with other divisions.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions has described the closures as a catastrophe, especially given SA’s soaring unemployment rate of 41.9%. 

“We simply cannot afford to lose another 3,500 jobs, plunging workers into instant poverty,” said Cosatu national spokesperson Zanele Sabela.

The federation called on the government to abandon its “neoliberal approach” and accelerate investments in Eskom, Transnet and other critical infrastructure to address the challenges cited by the company.

“Protective measures for mass employment industries are imperative,” Sabela said, emphasising the need for urgent action to prevent further economic devastation in the affected communities.

Numsa, SA’s largest metalworkers’ union, has vowed to resist the closures. 

General secretary Irvin Jim criticised AMSA’s reliance on imported steel and called for a comprehensive dialogue involving the government, unions and other stakeholders.

“As a union, we will fight these proposed retrenchments because it is our duty to do everything possible to save jobs,” said Jim. 

He called for state intervention to protect South Africa’s manufacturing capacity and warned of a broader economic collapse if AMSA’s closures proceeded.

Jim demanded transparency from the government, particularly the Presidency, regarding the breakdown in negotiations with AMSA. 

“We need to understand the bigger picture so that we can act to protect this capacity, which cannot be destroyed,” he said.

The SA Federation of Trade Unions condemned the closures as a symptom of failed neoliberal policies dating back to the privatisation of ISCOR in 1989. 

“The sale of ISCOR to ArcelorMittal turned a national asset into a corporate cash cow,” said Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. 

“Instead of strengthening domestic steel production, ArcelorMittal hollowed it out, leaving South Africa reliant on imports for over 70% of its steel needs.”

The federation warned of dire consequences for the Vaal Triangle, which has already suffered significant economic decline. 

“The loss of… jobs in Vanderbijlpark will deepen the region’s crisis, exacerbate poverty and accelerate de-industrialisation,” Vavi warned.

Labour has collectively called for urgent government intervention to address the crisis, outlining a series of demands aimed at safeguarding jobs and rebuilding South Africa’s industrial capacity. 

Numsa and Cosatu stressed the need for comprehensive industrial policies, and urged the government to invest in steel production, manufacturing and infrastructure to reduce reliance on imports and restore competitiveness. 

All three emphasised the importance of protecting workers’ livelihoods through measures such as subsidies, alternative employment programmes and meaningful retrenchment consultations. 

Additionally, Saftu has called for accountability from AMSA, demanding a thorough investigation into the company’s practices, including its reliance on imported steel and its failure to invest in local production.

“This is not just a corporate decision, it is a national crisis,” Vavi said. 

“We cannot allow short-term profits to dictate the destruction of our economy.”

Jim echoed these sentiments, warning of catastrophic consequences for industries such as construction, automotive and mining. 

“The collapse of local steel production would devastate value chains and destroy thousands more jobs,” he said.

Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal economic development MEC Musa Zondi, has also called for urgent national government intervention to prevent AMSA from closing its long steel business in Newcastle and Vereeniging.

“If not urgently addressed, the effects will stand beyond Newcastle posing a serious threat to the broader economy of KwaZulu-Natal. We are therefore calling on the national government to intervene and find solutions that protect jobs and sustain economic growth in the region,” he said.

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Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa’s shares fell more than 15% on Monday after the company said it would proceed with the closure of its loss-making long steel business.

The closure of the operations has been on the cards since November 2023 amid prolonged weak economic conditions, logistics and energy challenges and competition from low-cost imports.

The company said shutting the plant, which produces fencing material, rail, rods and bars used in the construction, mining and manufacturing sectors, could affect about 3,500 direct and indirect jobs.

“The company is at a point where any further delay could affect the sustainability of the company and therefore, a decision cannot be pushed back any further,” Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA’s division said in a statement.

Last July, the company shelved plans to close the long steel operations as it pursued initiatives to restore profitability. Initial signs of recovery in international steel prices following Chinese stimulus measures were short-lived, it said.

The company expects a headline loss per share of between R4.06 ($0.2164) and R4.41 for the year ended Dec. 31, from a R1.70 loss one year earlier.

Reuters

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