South Africa has submitted a revised trade offer to the United States in an effort to resolve an ongoing trade impasse. The new offer, approved by the South African Cabinet, addresses concerns raised by the U.S. in its 2025 National Trade Estimates Report. This move comes after the U.S. imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on South African goods, which were initially suspended but then came into effect last week.
Trade Minister Parks Tau stated that South Africa’s new proposal addresses key issues, including sanitary protocols for poultry, market access for blueberries from fruit fly-free states, and biosecurity requirements for pork. As a sign of progress, Tau noted that the U.S. has already informed South Africa that it will ship containers of poultry and pork in two weeks. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen acknowledged the difficulty of these negotiations, explaining that they are complicated by issues beyond simple trade and tariffs.
In addition to negotiating with the U.S., South Africa is actively working to diversify its agricultural export markets by engaging with the European Union for citrus, Japan for maize, China for stone fruit, and other African countries for wine.
