South Africa has responded to the 10% tariff threats issues by Donald Trump on all BRICS affiliated nations, claiming that they are not Anti-American and wish to pursue a trade agreement with the United States.
Despite recent tensions between the U.S. and the BRICS group of emerging economies, the country’s trade ministry stated that South Africa is not against the U.S. and remains open to talks, following remarks by former President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose a 10% additional tariff on countries that support BRICS.
Trump, speaking on his social media platform Truth Social, accused the BRICS nations of promoting policies opposed to American interests and warned that any country aligning with them would face extra tariffs.
This statement caused concern, especially since South Africa has been actively negotiating a trade deal with the U.S. government since May.
These talks began after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House to meet with Trump.
South Africa’s trade ministry spokesperson stated that the country is still waiting for official word from the U.S. on the trade agreement.
BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is an informal group of rapidly growing economies that came together to boost cooperation and economic development.
In 2024, the group expanded to include six additional countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.
This expansion has made BRICS an even larger coalition of developing nations with a growing influence on global trade and politics.
These tariff issues might cause a major setback to the growing economies of these countries, but delegates of South Africa have expressed their desire to obtain mutually beneficial trade relations with the United States.