New Trump tariffs 'end of AGOA' – Steenhuisen
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen says the latest 30% tariff slapped by the US on South African exports signals the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
The tariff hike US President Donald Trump announced is due to take effect from August 1.
Trump sent letters to trading partners, including South Africa, announcing that duties he had suspended in April would snap back even more steeply in three weeks.
But in a move that will cause fresh uncertainty in a global economy already unsettled by his tariffs, the 79-year-old once again left the countries room to negotiate a deal.
"I would say firm, but not 100 per cent firm," Trump told reporters at a dinner with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when asked if the August 1 deadline was firm.
AGOA is a US law that provides duty-free access to the US market for eligible sub-Saharan African countries.
South Africa exports around $3 billion in agriculture to the US.
Steenhuisen spoke in the National Assembly, where he delivered his department's budget.
"Whilst we can breathe a sigh of relief that this tariff did not come into effect, as it was due to tomorrow, it does give us an opportunity to urgently use the next few weeks to be able to try and negotiate a way forward to prevent this.
"Whilst not explicit, the announcement would signal the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which gives South Africa duty-free access to the US for more than 6000 products, including goods in the automobile, agriculture and textile industries," he said.
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