JOHANNESBURG - Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has taken a thinly veiled swipe at countries threatening to impose higher import tariffs on trade partners, labelling the threats as bullying.
Mantashes concerns about the impact of higher tariffs on miners come ahead of an expected 30 duty on South African products shipped to the US set to take effect at the end of the week.
Speaking at an engagement on the G20 critical minerals framework in Sandton on Tuesday, he called on captains of industry to find alternative markets for the countrys critical minerals.
The US relies on South African metals and minerals that are essential for its economy and national security, making them the biggest South African exports to the US.
But for US President Donald Trump, doing business with the superpower means taking a hard stance - youre either with the US or youre against it.
During this years instalment of the BRICS meeting in Brazil in June, Trump threatened BRICS allies with higher tariffs on goods into the US, above the universal baseline on all trading partners.
Mantashe said: "We must not be apologetic for initiatives that take us forward, we must never. If being a member of BRICS attracts tariffs from the US, it tells us that we must diversify our markets more and more aggressively and not focus on where tariffs are imposed on us."