What unexpected weather changes should South Africans brace for this week?
Coastal KwaZulu-Natal may see up to 30% chance of rain, with cloudy skies and brisk winds pushing inland. The Northern Cape and Free State enjoy more sunshine, but the clear skies do little to ease the morning bite.
The Western Cape will be cool and mostly dry, with some cloud cover creeping in from the west and winds freshening along the coast.
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Daily News Egypt
4 hours ago
- Daily News Egypt
South African Minister Urges Review of Racial Empowerment Policies to Ease US Tariffs
South Africa's Minister of Agriculture and leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen, has called on the government to reconsider aspects of its Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy and other race-based legislation, arguing that such changes could help mend relations with the United States and lead to the removal of steep tariffs on South African exports. In an interview with Reuters, Steenhuisen said the 30% tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this year will likely remain in place unless Pretoria sends a clear signal of willingness to adjust policies Washington views as discriminatory. He noted that talks with the Trump administration have moved beyond purely trade-related issues and now touch on politically sensitive matters, including the law allowing land expropriation without compensation, certain labor regulations, and South Africa's alignment with the BRICS bloc — which the US sees as a strategic rival. For months, the South African government — which presides over the continent's most industrialized economy — has been trying to secure a trade agreement with Washington but failed to do so before the deadline set by Trump. As a result, South Africa now faces the highest tariff rates of any country in sub-Saharan Africa, dealing a significant blow to key export sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's second-largest party and part of the current governing coalition, has long opposed BEE and other race-based economic measures introduced after the end of apartheid in 1994. While acknowledging the country's deeply entrenched racial inequalities, the party favors what it describes as race-neutral policies to stimulate growth, attract investment, and create jobs — such as reducing bureaucracy and streamlining business licensing processes. Steenhuisen stressed that constitutional or legislative changes to these policies cannot be made overnight, as they require lengthy parliamentary debate and consensus-building. However, he argued that even a symbolic indication of intent could help improve Washington's stance and possibly open the door to tariff relief. 'What worries me,' he said, 'is that we'll keep negotiating over tariffs and trade while the 30% rate remains in place.' President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) maintain that BEE and similar policies are non-negotiable, seeing them as vital to correcting the economic imbalances created by decades of white minority rule. While white South Africans remain the wealthiest demographic group, the vast majority of the country's Black population continues to suffer from poverty. The ANC has also downplayed US concerns over the new land expropriation law, which allows — in limited cases — for land to be seized and redistributed without compensation. The government points out that no land has yet been taken under the law and insists it is designed to address historic injustices in a measured way. With the agricultural sector among the hardest hit by Trump's tariffs, pressure is mounting on the government to find a compromise that safeguards South Africa's economic interests without abandoning its core policy commitments. For now, however, the political and ideological divide between the ANC and its coalition partners appears to be slowing any significant policy shift, leaving trade relations with Washington in a precarious state.
Daily Maverick
5 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Parks Tau's ‘Plan A' turns to new markets to outrun Trump's trade war
SA dangles blueberries and pork in a bid to avert the US tariff blow. South Africa has offered easier market access for American blueberries, poultry and pork in a revised trade offer to the US Trade Representative on Tuesday, 12 August. In a fortnight, container-loads of the exports will hit the waters from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama from three American ports. This is the cornerstone of a multi-pronged revised offer that SA hopes will stave off punitive tariffs of 30% that are steadily being implemented, and which have already cost jobs and contracts. Will it be enough to see off the trade war from truculent US President Donald Trump? It's unlikely, although a sharpened talks team will go to the US to walk through the revised offer. Trade Minister Parks Tau and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, along with new trade attachés and negotiating teams, will jet off to Asia and the Middle East to bolster new markets primarily for SA's fruit exports and motor cars – the casualties of the sky-high US tariffs. South Africa is now exporting apples to Thailand after a 16-year hiatus, an example of what new trade routes may look like. Steenhuisen said a beachhead had been opened with China, open to negotiations on access for five kinds of stone fruit, avocados and citrus once the black spot restriction is solved. The avo industry in Limpopo is so resilient, Steenhuisen revealed, that it believes it can still be competitive even at a 30% US export tariff. He also said SA was in negotiations for biofuels and wine exports. Market access talks are open in Vietnam and Japan (for wine, citrus and possibly ship-building exports). The Middle East is a key target with state visits to and from Qatar, the UAE and a wider number of Gulf countries scheduled for later this year. 'This is not a Plan B; it is a Plan A for long-term resilience and competitiveness,' said Tau at a briefing on the new trade offer. While Asia and the Middle East offer bigger markets, the obvious trading partners are on our doorstep. With the African continent forecast to grow at above 5% this year (albeit off a low base), the most significant opportunities are through the African Continental Free Trade Area and with the EU, still SA's largest trading partner, and China. The government also wants South Africans to buy cars, clothes and other manufactured goods made locally to grow domestic demand. The enhanced trade offer to the US was made as part of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) bloc of SA, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia. 'The imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the US has created substantial obstacles for Sacu member countries, pressure on vital industries and employment. Although there are ongoing efforts to secure exemptions and expand trade relations, this situation highlights the susceptibility of smaller economies to global policy shifts,' said the Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies think-tank. Non-disclosure agreements govern trade talks, so the South African team may not have disclosed details, but key deals are missing from the revised offer made public. In July, Tau included the import of 750-1,000 petajoules of LNG for 10 years; SA foreign direct investment into the US of $3.3-billion in mining and metals recycling, and the exemption of specific sectors from reciprocal tariffs, including ship-building and counter-seasonal agricultural trade in citrus and other fruit. DM
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Business Standard
6 hours ago
- Business Standard
M&M expands capacity at South African plant as US tariffs hit auto sector
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is boosting capacity at its South African plant by two-thirds as India's largest automaker by value seeks to capitalize on demand for budget vehicles in the continent's biggest economy. The company, which makes the Mahindra Pik-Up brand at its assembly plant near the port city of Durban, will boost capacity to 1,500 vehicles a month from 900, said Rajesh Gupta, chief executive officer of the local unit. It's also considering assembling other models, including the Bolero and the Veero pick-up, he said. Sluggish growth in the continent's most-industrialized nation has led South Africans to demand more economical cars. Sales of Mahindra, Suzuki Motor Corp. and China's Chery Automobile Co. vehicles have jumped, while those of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG have plunged or stagnated. The average selling price of cars has dropped 2.3 per cent in the past two years to 490,478 rand ($27,600), according to Toyota Motor Corp., South Africa's most popular auto brand. Annual inflation averaged about 4.5 per cent over the same period. That's compounding difficulties that Mercedes is facing in South Africa, where it produces vehicles that are shipped to the US. US President Donald Trump's 30 per cent tariff on the nation's exports to America will hit Mercedes hard. The German company, which last year produced 70,000 cars at its plant in East London — about 650 kilometers (404 miles) south of Durban — cut a shift and announced it would fire 700 workers last year, even before Trump's levies decimated US demand. While global supply chains take years to create, 'it takes one stroke of a pen to kill everything,' Gupta said in an interview. Still, tariffs may come as a 'blessing in disguise' for trade between South Africa and India, he said. Trump levied a 25 per cent tariff on exports from India to the US, which can increase to 50 per cent. Mahindra's vehicles are among the top four pick-ups in South Africa, with compound annual growth of 22 per cent since 2019, while the broader market shrank 3.1 per cent., Gupta said. 'This will become a case study, I'm pretty confident, how one can start nimble, stay authentic and responsible, create sustainability and keep growing step-by-step,' Gupta said. 'No matter what happens in the world environment.' The pick-ups assembled at Mahindra's Durban plant, which opened in 2018 and is the company's biggest outside India, have become popular with local farmers. They're also used by the police in neighboring Mozambique. Mahindra's expansion is a rare bit of good news for President Cyril Ramaphosa as his government struggles to reduce the fallout from Trump's tariffs. Agricultural exports are also exposed to the levies. The rise in the mid-market segment has even lured Tata Motors Ltd. India's largest automaker by sales has tied up with Motus Holdings Ltd. to distribute its vehicles in the African nation, according to the South African car retailer. More than a third of the vehicles sold in South Africa are exported from India or China, according to Toyota. The government wants to change that. 'With regards to Chinese and Indian auto, it is a discussion,' Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said on Tuesday. The government is 'taking a more of a proactive approach of getting some of those products manufactured in the country.' Mahindra — the owner of Automobili Pininfarina, the handcrafter of €2.2 million ($2.4 million) electric hypercars — also plans to bring EVs to South Africa, according to Gupta. 'We are extremely sure of bringing them sooner than later,' he said, without providing a timeline. The company will offer both the BE 6 & XEV 9e EV lines to South Africa, he said. The Mumbai-based company is considering upgrading its plant to assemble vehicles using completely-knocked down parts from a semi-knocked assembly plant, Gupta said. The expansion has created about 100 direct jobs.
