South Africa’s minister of trade, industry and competition Parks Tau confirmed that Cabinet has approved the new proposal, which is now ready for formal submission to Washington.
“We went to Cabinet for approval regarding the revised offer for US. Cabinet has approved that South Africa submits a revised offer as a basis for negotiations with the U.S.,” Parks Tau told a press conference.
“We engaged with the US trade representative on Friday,” he said. “The trick is not to get the US to read about the offer in the newspaper. At least for them to receive and have the time to process the offer.”
After the 30% unilateral tariff imposed by the United States, which came into force on August 7, the government has implemented a response to secure a deal and reduce the tariffs.
A high-level negotiation team, including both the department of trade, industry and competition (dtic) and the department of agriculture has been identified and is ready to engage the US towards a “mutually beneficial agreement.”
Cabinet has approved that South Africa submits a revised offer as a basis for negotiations with the US. The new offer builds on the previous offer submitted in May 2025. The new offer substantively responds to the issues the US has raised in the 2025 National Trade Estimates Report.
South Africa had addressed some sanitary and phytosanitary measures in compliance with the bio-security protocols affecting poultry, blueberries and pork, the department of trade, industry and competition said in a statement. “The USA-Africa Trade Desk has informed us that it will be shipping containers of poultry and pork to South Africa in two weeks’ time, which is testimony that these issues have been resolved.”
The shipments will come from the states of Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama through the Ports of New Orleans in Louisiana, Savanna in Georgia, and Norfolk in Virginia, the dtic reports.
Another significant request from the US, was that South Africa consider reducing tariffs as a way to address the deficit and tariff disparity with the European Union due to the SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.
South Africa continues consultations with industry and in this regard, in consultation with other members of the Southern African Customs Union, will identify specific lines to respond to this request.
“The recent imposition of a 30% unilateral tariff by the United States on our exports is a significant policy shift that necessitates a clear and decisive response,” it said.
South Africa is looking now at Asia, including Japan, Vietnam and Thailand, the Middle East and India. “We are pursuing these markets because we see growing demand, existing negotiations and a positive reception to South African products.”
“While the US is our 3rd largest trading partner after the EU and China, South Africa is the 43rd export destination for the United States and accounts for 0.25% of total US imports and is therefore not a threat to US production,” dtic noted, adding that the US market accounts for about 4% of its total agriculture exports – an increase of 104% from 2018.
The dtic also pointed out that: “The unilateral tariffs imposed by the United States of America do not only apply to South Africa. They also affect over 130 trading partners with whom American consumers and producers interact. In this regard, many of the orders destined for that nation that now face prohibitive restrictions to enter that market, will seek out other ‘outlets’ for such production. Furthermore, chronic overcapacity observed in the world markets for key product markets like steel, glass, subsidized agricultural products, solar and automotive vehicles will make this search incessantly harmful for our domestic industry.”
