THE department of trade, industry and competition says it is preparing a support package for SA industries likely to be affected by the tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump.
However, the full scope of its response depends on Washington’s feedback on its proposed trade deal, it said.
“We are working together with the National Treasury and other government departments and this support package would range across the board,” said ministry spokesperson Kaamil Alli.
“We have a support desk which will go live very soon. We are looking at a more comprehensive approach to support. ”
Alli said the department was also looking for alternative markets for SA goods.
He said negotiations were ongoing but “sensitive”, making it difficult to provide further detail at this stage.
“It would be difficult to respond to something that we are not sure of at this point, because we do not know whether the tariffs would be 30%, 20% or 10% – whatever it may be.
“It is difficult to put in place a mechanism and respond to that uncertainty. Once we know what we are dealing with, it is a lot easier for us to respond adequately.”
The trade deal that SA has offered includes importing liquefied natural gas for 10 years, agricultural market access by simplifying US poultry exports under the 2016 tariff rate quota, as well as unlocking about $91m (about R1.6bn) in trade.
In a statement on Tuesday, the department said in addition to these, SA firms committed to investing $3.3bn in US industries such as mining and metals recycling, while both governments agreed to pursue joint investment in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and agri-machinery.
“Exemption of specific sectors from reciprocal tariffs to preserve supply chains, for example, ship building, counter-seasonal agriculture trade, exports from MSMEs [micro, small, and medium enterprises] of less than $1m per annum.”
However, should a deal not be reached, a 30% tariff on SA exports will kick in on Friday.
Speaking to 702’s Breakfast show with Bongani Bingwa, minister of trade Parks Tau said there was no deal yet.
He said they had spoken to the US, the embassy and trade representative on Wednesday night, who said they were unable to confirm what would be announced and also advised SA to resubmit an enhanced proposal.
“We are in a situation where we had to plan for a different scenario and in the worst-case scenario, pivoting to alternative markets is part of the options that we have been working on. We have reached out to various other countries that have different agreements with SA and we had to bring it down to the industry level to say, ‘What can we do if your product is unable to access the US market?’”
He said the support desk will be able to operate by Friday.
The department of agriculture did not respond to specific questions on plans it has to save jobs, but said: “At this critical juncture, the primary objective for minister John Steenhuisen and the department of agriculture is to ensure that SA’s agricultural export markets remain open and viable, despite the possible imposition of a 30% tariff by the United States.
“To this end, the minister has established a high-level negotiation team within the department, led by director-general Mooketsa Ramasodi. He is joined by Dr Mike Modisane, chief director for animal production and health, and Dr Maanda Rambauli, director for plant health, both of whom bring deep technical expertise to the task.”
Trade union the Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) said it had received no official plan or communication from the government on its plans to save jobs or local businesses.
Misa’s media and communication department’s Sonja Carstens said: “We have received nothing from the government to say how we are going to mitigate the devastating impact of the tariff hike.
“We feel like the government has left this for too long.”
Image (Rubbing SA the wrong way. US Pres Donald Trump’s 30% tariff will have dire consequence on the SA economy).
