Politico, 21 July 2025
By Ari Hawkins
Where a zero-tariff deal won’t fly
There is no chance that South Africa would accept a trade deal with the United States that eliminates all tariffs on American goods, like the Trump administration says Vietnam and Indonesia have agreed to do, a top official at the Congress of South African Trade Unions told Morning Trade.
If that’s the best the United States can offer, South Africa will just live with the 30 percent tariff that Trump has threatened to impose effective Aug. 1 and try to develop new markets elsewhere, said Matthew Parks, parliamentary coordinator for the trade union group, after the annual USTR hearing on country eligibility for duty-free treatment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act on Friday.
“There’s no South African company who could compete with a 30 percent tariff,” meaning “thousands” of South African workers could lose their jobs, Parks said. Trump’s earlier decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on autos and auto parts has already caused South Africa’s auto exports to the United States to plummet 85 percent in recent months, he added.
AGOA time running out:
Friday’s AGOA hearing was premised on the idea that the program will continue to exist, despite its pending expiration on Sept. 30. However, with that date less than three months away, there appears to be no chance of Congress passing a full 10- or 15-year renewal, as program supporters would like.
Parks, who said he spent several days meeting with lawmakers last week, expressed hope Congress could at least approve a one- or two-year renewal before the program expires. That would provide a bridge past the 2026 congressional elections, when it might be easier to do more comprehensive reform, he said.
However, spokespeople for Senate Finance and House Ways and Means did not provide any information Friday on that possibility.