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South Africa Says US Trade Talks Will Continue Despite G20 Rift and 30% Tariff

South Africa Says US Trade Talks Will Continue Despite G20 Rift and 30% Tariff

South African Trade Minister Parks Tau said he expects bilateral trade negotiations with the United States to continue despite a clash at the Johannesburg G20, which the U.S. partly boycotted.

The two tracks—G20 diplomacy and U.S.-South Africa trade talks—were described as separate by Tau, who urged negotiators to press on.

Relations have been strained by political accusations from former President Donald Trump and a 30% U.S. tariff imposed in August that could cost tens of thousands of jobs.

South Africa's Trade Minister Parks Tau said on Sunday he expects negotiations with the United States over a trade agreement to continue, even though the two countries clashed during the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

As host, South Africa pushed a G20 Leaders' Declaration through the summit despite objections from the United States, which chose to boycott parts of the event. Tau emphasized that the multilateral G20 process and the bilateral trade discussions have been treated separately.

"We've compartmentalised these issues and said the G20 is a separate process ... we anticipate that the trade discussions will continue," Tau told reporters at the summit.

The push for a trade deal with Washington faces additional headwinds. Former President Donald Trump's public accusations that South Africa is persecuting its white minority have been widely described as unfounded and have added political friction to the talks. In August, the U.S. imposed a 30% tariff on certain imports from South Africa — a measure that South African officials warn could put tens of thousands of jobs at risk as the country's economy struggles to grow.

Despite those tensions, Tau expressed optimism that negotiators on both sides will keep working on a potential agreement. The outcome and timing of those talks remain uncertain, and much will depend on how political disputes and trade measures are managed in the coming weeks.

Reporting: Alexander Winning and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo.

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