South Africa Revives Tariff Talks as U.S. Duties Stay at 30%

South Africa’s cabinet has approved a revised offer to the United States aimed at restarting negotiations on tariffs that Washington imposed earlier this year, the trade minister said in a media briefing on 12 August. The government will submit the proposal immediately and “do everything possible” to preserve South African access to the U.S. market, he added. The United States, under former President Donald Trump, levied a 30 percent duty on a broad range of South African products after talks on a trade deal stalled before a U.S. deadline. Agriculture has been among the sectors hit hardest, prompting Pretoria to intensify efforts to diversify export destinations in Asia and other regions while it pursues a resolution with Washington. Domestic politics are complicating the dispute: Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen, whose party is the second-largest in the governing coalition, told Reuters he believes the tariff will remain unless South Africa revisits race-based policies such as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. The African National Congress-led government has shown little inclination to roll back those laws, leaving uncertainty over when, or if, the 30 percent levy will be lifted.