South Africa will offer the US a revised trade deal in an effort to lower the 30% tariff imposed last week on its exports to the US, trade minister Parks Tau said on Tuesday.
"Cabinet has approved that South Africa submits a revised offer as a basis for negotiations with the US," Tau told a press conference.
"The new offer substantively responds to the issues the US has raised in the 2025 National Trade Estimates Report."
The government of South Africa, Africa's biggest economy, has tried for months to negotiate a trade deal with Washington but failed to reach agreement before US President Donald Trump's deadline.
Pursuing new markets
Its exports to the US were hit with the highest tariff rate in sub-Saharan Africa.
Department of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau says the government is consolidating partnerships with other countries in a bid to enhance South African trade and investment relations, state broadcaster SABC reports.
Tau says South Africa is pursuing markets in Asia, the Middle East, and India as there are growing demands, existing negotiations, and a positive reception to South African products.
The Minister says this is a move directly linked to job protection, adding that engagements with the US remain ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, says South African trade with the US poses no threat to American production.
Steenhuisen adds that the world is experiencing a new era in which tariffs are being used to deal with issues outside of what would be generally trade concerns.
