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President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, just a day before the United States was set to impose a 30-percent tariff on South African exports—the highest rate applied to any sub-Saharan African nation.
The South African government, which has been engaged in intense negotiations to avoid the steep duties, has warned the tariffs could result in the loss of up to 30,000 jobs.
According to a statement from Ramaphosa’s office, the call focused on trade relations between the two countries. “The two leaders undertook to continue with further engagements recognising the various trade negotiations the US is currently involved in,” the statement read.
It added that “respective trade negotiating teams will take forward more detailed discussions.”
In a separate statement, the Ministry of the Presidency said Ramaphosa had “reached out through a phone call to President Trump yesterday morning as part of bolstering South Africa’s negotiation efforts on the trade agreements.”
The United States is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner after China. While the new tariffs are expected to hit key industries such as agriculture, automotive, and textiles, around 35 percent of South African exports remain exempt, including copper, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, lumber articles, and certain critical minerals.
