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President Cyril Ramaphosa answers oral questions in the National Assembly on 09 September 2025.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says trade negotiations between the United States administration and the South African government are still ongoing.
The president said this while answering oral questions in the National Assembly.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema wanted to know government’s response to the 30% tariffs increase imposed by the US to the country’s exports.
Ramaphosa says talks between the representatives of the two countries have not stopped.
“We are preparing for the further formal negotiations with the United States government which should be taking place in just a few days. We are meeting a number of stakeholders as they are both in New York and Washington, including the representatives of the administration, legislators, businesspeople and whole number of other people. It should be known that there are many other countries that are doing the same to secure agreements with the United States government.”
Ramaphosa has rejected suggestions that South Africa should have imposed retaliatory tariffs against the US.
The president said government will continue to negotiate in order to get the best deal for the country.
“At times (it) is unpredictable…and without being supplicants, without going on bended knees -which we never done, we will never do. And we have said that we will not be bullied. We will stand as a sovereign country and negotiate and get the best deal for South Africa. That‘s precisely what we are doing.”
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa says a new SA ambassador to be appointed to the US will be a person who understands US market trade relations well.
The president was asked about the character of the person expected to represent the country after former ambassador Ebrahim Rassol was expelled by the US administration early this year.
He says the issue of knowledge about the United States market trade relations will be among other attributes required.
“It will be a person who is capable. A person who is sufficiently well experienced and sufficiently well versed in world views and world politics and who knows the American market extremely well. That is the type of person that we are going to appoint. It’s interesting that they themselves have over some time been mulling over who to deploy to South Africa.”
