An organisation representing South African business leaders has cited the South African motor industry as a prime example of why the country needs a bilateral trade deal with the United States instead of crippling new tariffs.
Busiswe Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, said in a newsletterthat South Africa’s automotive industry was the industrial backbone of its economy. It was responsible for 60% of the country’s manufactured goods exports and was the single largest domestic manufacturing sector.
“The US is the fastest-growing region for our vehicle exports and the Trump administration’s tariffs will have a significant impact on particular models that are exported there,” she wrote.
The tariffs would in some cases deal major blows to the factories and towns where particular models were produced, with ripple effects throughout the value chains that link to them.
“If we are to forestall the impact of tariffs on our industrial base, we must act by trying to engage US leaders to shift course and we must also reassess the SA Automotive Industry Masterplan tabled in 2018.”
By ensuring the US is an important market for South Africa’s products, the US had ensured it was a strategic priority for the South African government.
“If the US were closed to SA goods, South Africa’s wider geopolitical interests would shift to other strategic relationships, to the cost of US influence.
“The Trump administration has said it wants to negotiate. We must take it up and aim to clear trade barriers for the benefit of both our economies,” she stated.
Image: BMW Plant Rosslyn
