Experts urge South Africa to diversify its trade partners to reduce reliance on the US. Pictured is the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau.
The United States has appointed itself judge, jury, and enforcer. It decides what counts as a foreign wrong, decides the penalty, and collects it; and this is a wake-up call for South Africa to diversify and deepen economic ties with other partners to reduce vulnerability, according to experts.
The economists and international relations experts were speaking after the United States implemented new Section 301 tariffs under its Trade Act of 1974 against various nations for inadequate enforcement of forced-labour import bans.
South Africa faces a 12.5% duty on affected exports to the United States, as it has been placed in the upper tariff tier, alongside major economies such as China, Japan, and South Korea.
Professor Adrian Saville, an economics, finance and strategy expert at the University of Pretoria, said SA holds very few cards because the United States buys roughly 7% of what South Africa sells abroad.
