South Africa will use the week-long delay in the US’s imposition of 30-percent tariffs to negotiate hard to avoid the penalty and save jobs, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday.
South Africa is among nearly 70 countries facing President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on exports that were due to come into force on Friday but were delayed at the last minute until August 7.
The United States is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner after China and the central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, has estimated the new tariffs could cost the economy around 100,000 jobs.
“Within the window that’s still open, we’re hoping that we will find a way to settle this matter,” Ramaphosa told journalists. “So intensive negotiations are now under way,” he said.