South Africa will have to face a 30% increase in tariffs across the board, Human explained, referring to the tariff changes expected from 1 August. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s in addition to sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminium, which have already doubled from 25% to 50%, and now even include consumer goods like fridges and stoves.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the US has made it clear that these duties are part of a broad, aggressive trade strategy, with South Africa named among 20 countries to be hit first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making things worse is that South Africa could face even harsher penalties because of its alignment with BRICS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human said there is talk of an additional 10% tariff for BRICS members, which would push South Africa\u2019s total tariff burden to 40%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been officially implemented, but it\u2019s being held over our heads as a clear threat. And this is before any punitive measures related to perceived support for Russia, which could also come into play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human also made it clear that the tariff threat is real and imminent. He added that there is no chance that these tariffs won\u2019t be implemented. \u201cPretoria should have no illusions; the US is deadly serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond tariffs, Human pointed out that South Africa faces serious challenges in non-tariff barriers and regulatory or policy hurdles that the US deems unfair trade practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese can include sanitary standards, local content rules, and even black economic empowerment (BEE) policies,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the latest US National Trade Estimate Report, the section on South Africa lists almost exclusively non-tariff barriers. This is not new, and the US has been raising these issues for years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that, despite repeated warnings, South Africa seems unprepared. \u201cHas South Africa done its homework on these non-tariff barriers? I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe public hasn\u2019t been informed. The government keeps saying the US figures are wrong, but that\u2019s not a strategy. That\u2019s denial,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pretoria needs to engage Washington now\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/USA-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAccording to Human, these issues matter because they make South African goods less competitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you have non-tariff barriers that protect your local industry, but your exports face similar or worse barriers overseas, you lose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s critical to develop internationally agreed standards, so that these measures don\u2019t become just another form of protectionism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether there are alternative export markets that could soften the blow, Human was doubtful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think South Africa must sharpen the pencil and engage very actively with the US. There are some issues we can probably fix; others will be harder. But we can\u2019t sit back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that South Africa has sent the wrong message by not prioritising its diplomatic presence in Washington. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur ambassador left shortly after arriving. No replacement has been appointed. That tells Washington we\u2019re not serious about the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also warned that if South Africa doesn\u2019t act now, it will fall behind in the queue as more countries race to strike trade deals with the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrump has said he wants 90 bilateral trade deals in 90 days. He\u2019s already signed with Vietnam and Indonesia. He\u2019s giving them preferential access. We\u2019re sitting on the sidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other countries are already taking action to protect themselves. Human highlighted Canada\u2019s move to introduce a complex system of quotas and extra duties on steel to guard against Chinese dumping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCanada\u2019s not waiting around. They\u2019re moving fast. We need to be asking whether South Africa has the legislative and institutional tools to respond just as quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t act, if we don\u2019t negotiate, and if we don\u2019t address both tariffs and non-tariff issues, we will be priced out of the US market. That\u2019s our biggest market. And the impact on employment in South Africa will be severe,\u201d Human warned. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Africa has been warned that it is dangerously close to being priced out of the world\u2019s largest market unless Pretoria begins to take US objections seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":821718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[853,23118,17026],"class_list":["post-832341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-south-africa","tag-us-tariffs","tag-world-trade-organisation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832341"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":832353,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832341\/revisions\/832353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAccording to Human, these issues matter because they make South African goods less competitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you have non-tariff barriers that protect your local industry, but your exports face similar or worse barriers overseas, you lose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s critical to develop internationally agreed standards, so that these measures don\u2019t become just another form of protectionism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether there are alternative export markets that could soften the blow, Human was doubtful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think South Africa must sharpen the pencil and engage very actively with the US. There are some issues we can probably fix; others will be harder. But we can\u2019t sit back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that South Africa has sent the wrong message by not prioritising its diplomatic presence in Washington. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur ambassador left shortly after arriving. No replacement has been appointed. That tells Washington we\u2019re not serious about the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also warned that if South Africa doesn\u2019t act now, it will fall behind in the queue as more countries race to strike trade deals with the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrump has said he wants 90 bilateral trade deals in 90 days. He\u2019s already signed with Vietnam and Indonesia. He\u2019s giving them preferential access. We\u2019re sitting on the sidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other countries are already taking action to protect themselves. Human highlighted Canada\u2019s move to introduce a complex system of quotas and extra duties on steel to guard against Chinese dumping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCanada\u2019s not waiting around. They\u2019re moving fast. We need to be asking whether South Africa has the legislative and institutional tools to respond just as quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t act, if we don\u2019t negotiate, and if we don\u2019t address both tariffs and non-tariff issues, we will be priced out of the US market. That\u2019s our biggest market. And the impact on employment in South Africa will be severe,\u201d Human warned. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Africa has been warned that it is dangerously close to being priced out of the world\u2019s largest market unless Pretoria begins to take US objections seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":821718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[853,23118,17026],"class_list":["post-832341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-south-africa","tag-us-tariffs","tag-world-trade-organisation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832341"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":832353,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832341\/revisions\/832353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}