In a joint media briefing on Tuesday, 12 August 2025, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen and Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau laid out the government’s five-pronged strategy to address the 30% tariffs unilaterally imposed by the United States. The briefing, a focal point for the agricultural community, revealed a two-track approach: a new, “ambitious” trade offer to the US and a robust plan to diversify export markets.

Negotiation Team Pushes for a Mutually Beneficial Deal

The South African government has assembled a high-level negotiation team to handle the discussions. Minister Tau confirmed that the trade offer was submitted in a manner that preserves regional integration and the Southern African Customs Union ( SACU) common external tariff. SACU, which accounts for 9% of South Africa’s global exports, is a vital economic bloc. Minister Steenhuisen’s team, which includes Department of Agriculture Director-General Mooketsa Ramasodi and agricultural attaché Dr. J.B. Jaftha, is engaging with US officials on the ground to address specific biosecurity issues while also consulting with other SACU member states on a unified approach.

Safeguarding Key Agricultural Exports

Central to the new strategy are concessions made in the agricultural sector to address longstanding US biosecurity concerns. As a “show of goodwill,” South Africa has implemented measures to ensure compliance with biosecurity protocols for poultry, blueberries, and pork.

• Poultry: South Africa has granted market access to the US under a conditional self-ban and self-lifting system, enabling the US to leverage the 72,000-ton Tariff Rate Quota previously agreed upon in 2016.
• Pork: Minister Steenhuisen clarified that the government has maintained its requirement for the removal of certain glands from US pork cuts. This is a critical measure to prevent the entry of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) disease, which could have a “disastrous” impact on South Africa’s domestic pork sector and food security.
• Blueberries: Market access has been granted for US states certified as free of fruit fly, with mitigation measures in place for affected states.

These concessions have already yielded a positive result, with Minister Tau announcing that the USA-Africa Trade Desk will be shipping containers of poultry and pork to South Africa within two weeks, signaling that these specific issues have been resolved.

Diversification: A New “Plan A” for Resilience

The government is not putting all its eggs in the US basket. The diversification of export markets was described as a long-term “Plan A” for economic resilience, not a reactive “Plan B.” The government is aggressively pursuing new markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

The briefing highlighted several newly opened or advanced trade deals for specific agricultural products, including:

• Avocados, maize, and beef in China, Japan, and India.
• Table grapes and citrus in Vietnam.
• Additionally, new stone fruit deals with China for plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and prunes are set to be signed at the upcoming G20 summit.

Support for Affected Farmers and Businesses

To mitigate the immediate economic fallout, the government has endorsed an economic response package for affected firms. Key components of this package include:

• An Export Support Desk to serve as a direct point of contact for businesses. A government press release confirmed that since being operational, 23 companies have utilised the desk for assistance.
• The Localisation Support Fund and Export and Competitiveness Support Programme to assist with mitigation strategies and provide working capital.
• A Block Exemption for Exporters to enable collaboration and coordination among competing companies under competition legislation.
• Collaboration with the Department of Employment and Labour to address potential job losses.

The Political Dimension: Challenges and the “New Normal”

While the focus remains on trade, the ministers acknowledged that the negotiations are complicated by non-trade issues raised by the US, such as empowerment legislation and land policy. Minister Steenhuisen described this as a “new normal” in global trade, where tariffs are being used to influence domestic political matters. The government maintains a firm stance on its sovereignty and has tasked Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola with handling these diplomatic challenges, allowing the trade and agriculture teams to focus on commercial matters.

This situation has also highlighted broader political complexities. Trade union Solidarity has become a key player, proposing its own five-point plan to the US, while sources within the Democratic Alliance have been critical of the government’s handling of the situation, adding a layer of internal political tension to the negotiations.