Trump tariff decision on SA steel imports expected

South Africa will soon know whether it will be exempt from US President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs, which the Department of Trade and Industry has suggested would lead to local job losses. 

The duties, which came into effect in mid-March, include a 10% tariff on the imports of aluminium, and a 25% tariff on imports of steel into the US.

Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies has asked US trade representatives that SA be exempt from the tariffs, arguing that SA makes up only a small part of the US steel and aluminium imports.  

Speaking at a business summit in Sandton on Monday, Davies said: “Later [Monday] afternoon I will have to leave this event and engage in a teleconference to discover if SA will be subject to punitive tariffs to steel and aluminium products to the biggest economy of the world.”