Tau confirms revised trade offer made to US
Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau said the new offer substantively responds to the issues the US has raised in the 2025 national trade estimates report.
Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, addressed a joint press briefing with DIRCO at the Germiston Civic Centre, Johannesburg on 4 August 2025 on South Africa’s response measures to the US tariffs. Picture: @GovernmentZA/X
JOHANNESBURG - Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau said that a revised trade offer has been tabled to the US, as South African officials make concessions to Washington’s calls to balance trade.
The resolution was made at a Cabinet meeting last week.
Tau said the new offer substantively responds to the issues the US has raised in the 2025 national trade estimates report.
In a shake-up to address trade deficits, the US imposed 30% tariffs on imports from South Africa, the highest duty charged on goods from any sub-Saharan nation.
The new offer submitted to US trade officials on Tuesday builds on the previous offer submitted in May.
The previous offer included a commitment to investing $3.3 billion in US industries such as mining and metals recycling, agricultural market access by simplifying US poultry exports under the 2016 tariff rate quota and a readiness to open market access for blueberries subject to necessary protocols.
Minister Tau said that he could not give too much away about how the new deal had been modified.
"The trick is not to get the US to read about the offer in the newspapers, so please excuse me, until such a time that at least they’ve received and processed the offer that we’ve made but because the work has been done, that’s why I took you through it."
It’s unclear how long it will be until the US responds to the latest proposal.