South Africa will offer US revised trade deal
'Cabinet has approved that South Africa submits a revised offer as a basis for negotiations with the US,' Tau told a press conference.
'The new offer substantively responds to the issues the US has raised in the 2025 National Trade Estimates Report.'
The government of South Africa, Africa's biggest economy, has tried for months to negotiate a trade deal with Washington but failed to reach agreement before US President Donald Trump's deadline.
Its exports to the US were hit with the highest tariff rate in sub-Saharan Africa.
Read more:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
7 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Zelenskyy says Ukraine, allies must resist Russian ‘deception'
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine and its allies must work together to pressure Russia into ending its invasion, ahead of talks in Berlin with European leaders and US leader Donald Trump. 'Pressure must be exerted on Russia for the sake of a fair peace. We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia,' Zelenskyy wrote on social media. 'There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war,' he added. Zelenskyy is due in Berlin on Wednesday for talks with European leaders and Trump ahead of the US president's summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian leader said he and his team had held more than 30 conversations with world leaders and high-ranking officials ahead of the talks. The flurry of diplomatic engagements have been overshadowed by rapid, but so far limited Russian push in the eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia. A member of the Ukrainian delegation travelling with Zelenskyy to Berlin told AFP that the Russian gains around the mining hub of Dobropillia 'did not influence' preparation for Wednesday's talks. Zelenskyy conceded one day earlier that Russian forces had advanced by up to 10 kilometers (six miles), but ruled out swapping territory with Moscow as part of any deal with Russia.
Arab News
37 minutes ago
- Arab News
Iraq defends border security pact with Iran despite US opposition
WASHINGTON: The Iraqi Embassy in Washington reiterated on Wednesday Baghdad's right to independently conclude agreements with any party asserting the country's full sovereignty despite US criticism. The embassy said Iraq 'has the right to enter into agreements in accordance with its constitution and national laws, in a manner consistent with its supreme interests,'according to Iraqi News Agency (INA). It emphasized that Iraq's decisions are rooted in its 'independent national will' and that the country 'is not subordinate to the policies of any other state.' The remarks come in the wake of a new security pact signed between Iraq and Iran in Baghdad earlier this week, aimed at tightening coordination along their shared border. However, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce commented on the memorandum, saying: 'We support genuine Iraqi sovereignty, not legislation that would turn Iraq into a client state of Iran.' The agreement, reached during the visit of Iranian top security official Ali Larijani, builds on a March 2023 deal to enhance security in Iraq's Kurdish region, which Tehran accuses of harboring armed opposition groups. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who oversaw the signing, framed the pact as part of broader cooperation to secure both countries' frontiers and promote regional stability. Iraqi officials say the measures are intended to curb cross-border infiltration by Iranian Kurdish groups accused by Tehran of fomenting unrest. The timing of the agreement underscores the complex balancing act facing Baghdad. While deepening ties with Tehran, the Iraqi government is also under intensifying US pressure to rein in pro-Iran militias.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sisi Steps Up Criticism of Ethiopia, Rejects ‘Pressure' on Egypt Over Nile Dam
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday stepped up his criticism of Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), built on the Nile's main tributary, which Cairo fears will threaten its water supply. He rejected what he described as 'unilateral measures' along the Nile Basin, warning: 'Anyone who thinks Egypt will turn a blind eye to threats to its water security is mistaken.' Speaking at a joint press conference in Cairo with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Sisi said the water issue had become 'part of a broader campaign of pressure on Egypt to achieve other objectives.' 'We will remain vigilant and will take all measures guaranteed under international law to safeguard our people's existential resources,' he vowed. Sisi stressed that Egypt does not oppose development in Nile Basin countries but insisted such projects must not affect the volume of water reaching Egypt. 'The best way to deal with the Nile Basin is to respect everyone's interests,' he said. Negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, under African Union mediation, have been stalled since April 2021, prompting Cairo to appeal to the UN Security Council for pressure on Addis Ababa. Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 98% of its water, receives an annual quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters. It is already below the global water poverty line, with only 500 cubic meters per person annually, according to the Ministry of Irrigation. Sisi noted that Egypt and Sudan together receive just 4% of the Nile Basin's 1,600 billion cubic meters of water, amounting to 85 billion cubic meters. 'This is the only source of life for the two downstream states,' he said, adding that Egypt had never called for 'fair water sharing', which would mean dividing the entire basin's volume. Egypt hopes Uganda's current chairmanship of the Nile Basin Initiative's consultation mechanism can foster consensus among basin states. The two leaders inaugurated the Egypt-Uganda Business Forum in Cairo and witnessed the signing of five agreements on water resources, agricultural cooperation and food security, investment, mutual visa exemptions for official passports, and diplomatic cooperation. The talks come just weeks before Ethiopia plans to inaugurate GERD in September. Former Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs Mohamed Hegazy said Cairo is counting on Kampala's role in dam-related consultations. Relations between Cairo and Kampala have been warming, with Uganda recently hosting a '2+2' dialogue between the foreign and water ministers of both countries. Sisi said Egypt views Uganda as a key partner in the southern Nile Basin and seeks to make it a primary beneficiary of Egypt's development support mechanisms.
