DA: Govt tariff support to SA exporters ‘laughable’
The DA has accused Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Parks Tau and International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola of failing to support local exporters affected by the new tariffs introduced by the United States.
This comes after US President Donald Trump's decision to pursue a 30% tariff on South African goods.
The tariff, previously at 10%, effectively rose on Friday morning.
The DA spokesperson on Trade, Industry & Competition, Toby Chance, accused Tau of offering a ‘laughable solution’ for exporters affected by the tariffs.
On Thursday, Tau launched an ‘Export Support Desk’, providing affected companies with direct advisory services, updates on trade developments, and assistance in identifying and accessing alternative markets.
READ MORE: SA launches urgent support measures as US tariffs hit
Chance said while other countries managed to negotiate better deals on the tariffs, Tau’s failure represented negligence, failed diplomacy and ineptitude.
“Facing similar circumstances, the trade negotiators for Mexico secured their country an extension on the U.S. tariffs coming into effect for several months, but Minister Tau failed that test for South Africa.
“And our neighbouring Botswana was to be levied a 37% tariff, but managed to reduce this to 15% in the final executive order. All our SADC neighbouring countries have now been set at just 15%, with half of the tariff to be imposed on South Africa.
“The context of South Africa’s U.S. trade deal failure is that across the globe, Minister Tau is neglecting our country’s trade representatives. Vacancies for SA trade representatives in 30 countries abroad show that Minister Tau is asleep at the wheel.”
Trump unveiled new tariffs on Thursday on nearly 70 countries—including a blistering 35% on neighbour Canada —as he seeks to reshape global trade to benefit the US economy.
However, in a minor reprieve that opens the door to further negotiations, the White House said the measures will take effect in a week for most countries, not Friday as previously expected.
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