US President Donald Trump suggested that he would not go below 15% as he sets so-called reciprocal tariff rates ahead of an 1 August deadline, an indication that the floor for the increased levies was rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means that the ‘worst case’ of a 10% tariff<\/strong><\/a> that South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTIC) was aiming for is possibly out of reach, and 15% has now become the best the country could hope for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But even this is likely not on the cards for Pretoria, as its push to cut down the 30% tariff it faces has reportedly been met with silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n South Africa received notice earlier this month that it would be hit with a 30% tariff from 1 August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DTIC has been leading negotiations with Washington to sign a trade agreement that would see this rate cut down. With one week to go, no deal has been communicated by either side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have a straight, simple tariff of anywhere between 15% and 50%,\u201d Trump said Wednesday at an AI summit in Washington. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA couple of \u2014 we have 50% because we haven\u2019t been getting along with those countries too well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s comment declaring that the tariffs would begin at 15% represented the latest twist in his effort to impose duties on nearly every US trading partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the latest indication that Trump was looking to more aggressively impose the levies on exports from countries outside the small group that so far has been able to broker trade frameworks with Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump earlier this month said that more than 150 countries would receive a letter including a tariff rate of \u201cprobably 10 or 15%, we haven\u2019t decided yet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News on Sunday that small countries including \u201cthe Latin American countries, the Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa\u201d would have a baseline tariff of 10%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And at the first announcement of the tariffs in April, Trump unveiled a universal tariff of 10% on nearly every country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Trump and his advisers initially expressed hopes of securing multiple deals, the president has been touting the tariff letters themselves as \u201cdeals\u201d and suggesting that he is uninterested in back-and-forth negotiations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, he has left the door open for countries to make agreements that could lower those rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday, Trump announced he was reducing a threatened 25% tariff on Japan to 15% in exchange for the country removing restrictions on some US products as well as offering to back a $550 billion investment fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The White House has also discussed a\u00a0similar fund<\/a>\u00a0with South Korea, a nation also focused on reaching a 15% rate including on autos, according to people familiar with the matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n