South Africa’s (SA) Trade Minister Parks Tau said this Sunday that he expected negotiations with the United States (US) over a trade deal would continue, despite differences between the two countries over this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg.
Host nation SA pushed through a G20 Leaders’ Declaration at the summit despite objections from the US, which boycotted the event.
“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.
SA’s efforts to secure a trade agreement with the US have been complicated by issues including President Donald Trump’s unfounded accusations of persecution of SA’s white minority.
Trump imposed a 30% tariff on imports from SA in August, which could cause tens of thousands of job losses at a time Africa’s biggest economy is barely growing.
–Reuters–
