South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in the ruling coalition, says steep U.S. tariffs on the country’s exports will likely remain in place unless the government revises certain domestic race-based policies, including affirmative action.
The government has spent months trying to secure a trade agreement with Washington but failed to reach a deal before former U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline. South African exports now face a 30% tariff – the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“It is very clear that while we’ve been negotiating on a trade track, the issues with the Trump administration are deeper than that,” DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen told Reuters. “These cover things like expropriation without compensation, certain labour laws, and racial legislation.”
Steenhuisen added that South Africa’s membership in the BRICS bloc – alongside Brazil, Russia, India and China – which seeks to challenge U.S. global dominance, was also a sticking point for Washington. Agriculture, one of the sectors he oversees, has been among the hardest hit by the tariffs.