Staff Reporter
South Africa will press the US to reduce or withdraw a new 12.5 per cent tariff on its exports, as Pretoria prepares regulations aimed at strengthening its prohibition on goods produced using forced or child labour.
Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) Minister Parks Tau said the government would continue discussions with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) after Washington imposed the levy following a Section 301 investigation into the enforcement of forced-labour import restrictions.
“Government will continue to engage with the USTR on the Section 301 tariffs with a view to either eliminate or reduce the current tariff imposed on our country,” the dtic cited Tau saying on Saturday.
The tariff places South Africa among 41 economies that the USTR concluded did not impose and effectively enforce adequate prohibitions on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
A further 19 economies were found to have
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