Parks Tau confirms SA flagged in US trade investigation

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) Minister Parks Tau has confirmed South Africa has been flagged in a sweeping United States trade investigation, raising the risk of new tariffs.

He told reporters during a briefing that Washington has formally notified Pretoria as part of a probe into about 60 countries. 

The investigation, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, spans across 60 countries on suspicion of unfair trade practices and the use of forced labour. 

Tau said the scope and implications of the investigation remain unclear at this stage. 

This comes as his department continues negotiations with the US for a reciprocal tariff agreement after Washington imposed a unilateral 30 percent tariff on South Africa’s steel, aluminium and automotive imports into the US. 

Tau has described the situation with the US as fluid. 

"They've said, well, you are one of the countries we'd want to look at. And they still have to send us the terms of reference of what exactly they would want to look at and how that would influence trade relations. So, I'm saying the situation is fluid from that point of view, but the discussions are ongoing."