The US is South Africas second biggest trading partner. Trump in August imposed a 30 tariff on imports from South Africa after Ramaphosas government made several unsuccessful attempts to secure a trade agreement.
We want tariffs that President Trump is seeking to levy on us and has already started, to be reduced," Ramaphosa told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Ramaphosa likened trade to a weapon earlier in the day, in remarks delivered at the UN General Assembly .
Geopolitical shocks and unprecedented trade policy volatility are destabilising the global economy and jeopardising a critical source of development finance, he said. In fact, trade is now being used as a weapon against a number of countries in the world.