{"id":838636,"date":"2025-10-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=838636"},"modified":"2025-09-30T16:51:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:51:38","slug":"ramaphosas-message-about-south-africas-ties-with-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/838636\/ramaphosas-message-about-south-africas-ties-with-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramaphosa’s message about South Africa’s ties with the US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa has stressed that South Africa\u2019s business relationship with the United States is not only strong but also growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on his engagements in New York during the recent United Nations General Assembly, Ramaphosa highlighted both the optimism and practical commitments that are shaping the partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast week I addressed a Trade and Investment Dialogue between South African and US businesses on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York,\u201d Ramaphosa said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that this was one of a number of engagements he had with US companies while in the city. Some of these companies already have business operations in South Africa, while others are interested in investing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of the companies commended the reforms being undertaken by the government and the prospects for growth in our economy,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dialogue was convened by the US Chamber of Commerce, the world\u2019s largest business advocacy organisation with a presence in more than 120 countries, including South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gathering brought together government officials, business leaders, and industry representatives from both nations, creating an atmosphere that Ramaphosa described as optimistic and future-focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeyond the headlines and debates around trade policy and political frictions, US and South African businesses are forging ahead,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that he and his delegation also met with members of the US Congress and Senate, while ministers and senior officials engaged with representatives of the US administration to deepen ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kendra Gaither, President of the US-Africa Business Centre of the US Chamber of Commerce, underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that there was no economic relationship more foundational than the ties that the US and South Africa have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She described it as a vital relationship that deserves dedicated attention, a view echoed by the Chamber\u2019s plans to send a high-level delegation to the upcoming B20 Summit, led by its CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 600 US companies operating in South Africa <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ramaphosa pointed to the scale of existing connections as evidence of resilience. \u201cCommercial ties between South Africa and the US have proven to be both durable and resilient,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are more than 600 US companies in South Africa. The country is also the second-largest African destination for US exports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth South African and US businesses can see the clear opportunities and commercial gains of investing in each other\u2019s respective markets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasised that South Africa is positioning itself as an attractive investment hub, particularly in critical minerals, as global demand rises due to the digital transition and the shift towards net zero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opportunities also exist in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe announced the establishment of the South Africa-United States Trade and Investment Forum, which will be inaugurated at next year\u2019s South Africa Investment Conference as a vital bridge between the two countries,\u201d Ramaphosa said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that these business engagements are running in parallel with official talks aimed at a reciprocal trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has been meeting with the US Trade Representative to finalise an agreement that benefits both our countries,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also welcomed support from the US Chamber of Commerce for the reauthorisation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which he called the cornerstone of US-Africa commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPredictable, preferential access to the US market isn\u2019t just vital to South Africa\u2019s own exports, but also to US companies that depend on reliable imports,\u201d Ramaphosa said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also stressed the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area as another instrument to strengthen bilateral trade and investment. Looking ahead, Ramaphosa expressed his desire for reciprocity in trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the presence of US companies on South African soil continues to grow, we want to expand the number of South African companies operating in the US market, thereby creating more jobs for Americans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramaphosa added that the engagements in the US show that South African and US businesses remain deeply connected and are committed to mutually beneficial partnerships well into the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Cyril Ramaphosa has given an update on South Africa\u2019s business relationship with the United States following the recent United Nations General Assembly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":838664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[20265,853,10022],"class_list":["post-838636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-presidency","tag-south-africa","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838636","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=838636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":838724,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838636\/revisions\/838724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}