NATIONAL NEWS - As South Africa’s 30% duty takes effect today, Thursday, 7 August, President Cyril Ramaphosa has engaged his United States (US) counterpart, Donald Trump, on the sweeping tariffs.
As an executive order signed last week by Trump took effect, US duties rose from 10% to levels between 15% and 41% for a list of trading partners.
Ramaphosa warning
Ramaphosa spokesperson Vincent Mangwenya confirmed the president and Trump discussed the issue in a phone call on Wednesday.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa held a telephone discussion during the morning of 6 August 2025, with US President Donald Trump on bilateral trade matters.
“The two leaders undertook to continue with further engagements, recognising the various trade negotiations the US is currently involved in. Respective trade negotiating teams will take forward more detailed discussions,” Magwenya said.
Impact on SA companies
South African companies are already starting to face the impact, with one losing R750 million in contracts over the weekend.
Trump ordered the reimposition of 30% tariffs on dozens of trading partners, including South Africa — his cornerstone strategy for reshaping global trade to benefit the US economy.
Writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said the decision by the United States to impose a 30% tariff on South African imports “highlights the urgency” with which the country has to adapt to increasingly “turbulent headwinds in international trade”.
SA not alone
Ramaphosa added that South Africa is not alone in facing high tariffs from the US, saying the international trading system is changing.
“Complacency will not serve us, and building resilience is imperative. As government we remain committed to ongoing engagement with the US and building trade resilience,” Ramaphosa said.
The rand fell to its lowest level in three months after Trump’s announcement last week.
The US president also warned of slapping an additional 10% on the BRICS nations and any other economy aligned with the grouping.
No details on the phone call
Meanwhile, during a cabinet briefing on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni could not disclose the exact details of Ramaphosa’s phone call with Trump.
“The President’s call to Trump was part of our call to support our negotiation efforts, and he continues to engage to make sure that there is room for negotiation.
“There cannot be an agreement on the phone call, the technical team must actually do its work, and there is always room for negotiations,” she said.
Ntshavheni said these tariffs would mainly affect the automotive and agricultural sectors.
Ntshavheni said Cabinet had approved some measures that would mitigate the effects of the tariffs on local businesses.
“There will be short-term mitigation to make sure that the production capacity is maintained and jobs are saved,” she said.
Why is Jonas in South Africa?
Meanwhile, Ntshavheni refused to disclose more details about the work that Mcebisi Jonas is doing as a special envoy to the US.
This comes after the DA had criticised Jonas for being in the country and not setting foot in Washington since he was appointed special envoy to the U.S.
“On whether the special envoy Mcebisi Jonas has visited the US, I think we must stick to the word of Minister Lamola as the minister responsible for international relations. He is best placed to articulate on that,” he said.
Will Trump attend G20?
Meanwhile, Ntshavheni said the Trump administration had informed Pretoria that it will be fully participating in the G20 meetings.
It is not clear how this would be possible, since there are reports that US President Donald Trump will not be attending.
However, Ntshavheni said the US should participate because it will be taking over the G20 Presidency from South Africa.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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