“We are advocating for the reform of the WTO and the need to ensure it can adapt to current realities while also strengthening a multilateral trading system and cross-border transparency,” South African Trade Minister Parks Tau stated to the press.
South Africa, which faces new 30% customs tariffs announced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump, holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, a group comprising the world’s major economies.
These new customs rates will “significantly impact trade as a whole,” he emphasized.
Parks Tau mentioned that the tariffs effectively invalidate the AGOA trade agreement, which offers preferential access to the U.S. market for many African countries and was due for renewal next September.
WTO systems “were not taken into account” in setting the U.S. customs tariffs, highlighting “the necessity to work collectively towards a multilateral trading system where everyone knows the rules,” the South African minister declared.
“It is essential that nations unite to create a common set of rules and work based on these rules,” he added, noting it is not only in the interest of South Africa, a developing economy, “but also in the interest of developed countries, to ensure everyone knows the rules.”
The South African Government seeks clarification from the United States on how the new tariffs were determined, he added.
The tariffs will affect various sectors of the economy, notably the automotive industry and agriculture, “with consequences for employment and growth,” underscored Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola.
The United States accounted for 7.45% of South Africa’s total exports in 2024, while South Africa accounted for only 0.4% of the U.S.’s total imports, Lamola pointed out.
“Thus, South Africa poses no threat” to the United States, he added.
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