NATIONAL NEWS - The announcement by US President Donald Trump of a 30% tariff on South African goods and produce exported into the United States from 1 August, is deeply concerning and will have devastating consequences for South Africa.

So says the Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen. 

Steenhuysen says whilst not explicit, the announcement would signal the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) which gives South Africa duty-free access to the US for more than 6 000 products, including goods in the automobiles, agriculture and textile industries.

"South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. The starkest impact which concerns the DA deeply is that thousands of farmers, manufacturers and workers jobs are now at risk. Billions of rands will be lost in export revenue, making this a crippling blow to the economy," says Steenhuisen.

"Now, more than ever the ANC needs to accept the fact that South Africa is in need of urgent reforms that will bring about increased economic growth, and try to cushion some of the job losses which will no doubt follow yesterdays announcement by the US president."

Steenhuisen says some of these urgent reforms include:

• Removal of barriers that impede private sector participation in the production and transmission of electricity
• Concessioning of the ports, to improve efficiency and turnaround times of getting products in, and out of the country
• Boosting private participation in freight rail, with appropriate infrastructure investment and improved security to safeguard vital infrastructure
• Amendments to the expropriation act that renew confidence in the protection of private property
• Review of the broad-based black economic empowerment act, to ensure that we focus on poverty, not race
• Intervention in failing local governments to improve service delivery and address corruption and financial mismanagement

He says South African President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to decisively deal with issues of corruption, which are systemic throughout all spheres of government.

The Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen hopes that the tariff will be lowered or reversed. 

"As Minister of Agriculture, I remain committed to strengthening trade relations with our existing international partners, while actively working to expand access to new markets for South African produce. Since taking office, this has been a strategic priority - now more critical than ever in light of the newly proposed tariffs by one of our major trading partners."

He says the ANC has historically aligned itself with policies and countries which the US have perceived as being contrary to their interests. 

"The brief extension from 9 July to 1 August provides the president with a small window of opportunity to make the necessary decisions to improve trade relations. We trust this opportunity will not be squandered," Steenhuisen says.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has disputed the accuracy of the tariff imposed by Trump. “South Africa maintains that the 30% reciprocal tariff is not an accurate representation of available trade data,” he states, adding that a reciprocal tariff should be closer to 7, 6%, according to him the average tariff that South Africa places on imports. 

Ramaphosa says the interpretation of the tariff is still under review and could be modified following successful negotiations.  

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