Cape Town – Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has called on South Africa to explore new markets following the United States’ decision to impose a 30% tariff on the country’s exports.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Steenhuisen said the tariffs, announced by US President Donald Trump, nullify the benefits South Africa previously enjoyed under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
He warned that the country must prepare for a future outside of Agoa, as the tariffs will significantly impact key sectors such as agriculture and the automotive industry.
“I am deeply concerned about the imposition of those tariffs, I think that the method used to calculate them is incorrect. We are querying that. Government itself has had high-level meetings last week with a variety of ministers. Minister (Parks) Tau and Minister (Ronald) Lamola issued a statement about how we intend to proceed.
“It is very, very clear, South Africa needs to prepare itself for a post-Agoa world,” said Steenhuisen.
He also rejected Trump’s claims of property expropriation and genocide in South Africa, calling them inaccurate.
Instead, he attributed the tariffs to years of poor policy decisions and missteps in international relations.
“Well, I think that certainly what is happening in South Africa does not (have) resemblance to what Mr Trump may think is happening. Let me be clear, there is no widespread expropriation of property in South Africa, there is no genocide in South Africa.
“I think what we are seeing is a response to a number of years of poor policy decisions, bad legislation and bad positioning publicly which has got us into the crosshairs of the Trump administration. We can’t change who sits in the White House, that is beyond our control, but we can manage how we navigate these next four years,” said Steenhuisen.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
