A top South African diplomat said on Tuesday that US demands on domestic affirmative action policies were complicating efforts to secure a trade deal, days before a 30% tariff on South African exports to the US takes effect.

South Africa has tried for months to persuade US President Donald Trump’s administration to lower the tariff rate or exempt key industries to avoid tens of thousands of potential job losses, but has struggled to make headway even as others like Japan and the EU have struck deals.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained by South Africa’s black economic empowerment policies to address the legacy of centuries of racial inequality and its genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel and the US vehemently oppose.

Zane Dangor, director-general at the department of international relations & cooperation, told a seminar in Johannesburg that US counterparts had been clear in meetings “that there’s certain things they expect from South Africa, and BEE was high on the agenda”.

He did not specify what the US was demanding. The country’s BEE laws, which Trump has criticised, offer incentives to companies to hire and promote black people and in some cases require a certain percentage of black shareholders to get a licence.

“Clearly I think what worries us is demanding from us curtailment of sovereignty on certain issues to get this deal,” Dangor said, adding he could not elaborate because of a non-disclosure agreement.

The office of the US trade representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

No firm answer

South Africa’s trade ministry said on Tuesday that it was still hoping to agree a deal with the US.

But it said it had yet to get a firm answer to an offer it had made on buying US liquefied natural gas, simplifying rules for US poultry imports and investing US$3.3-billion in US industries like mining.

South Africa also wants to exempt certain sectors from tariffs like shipbuilding and counterseasonal agricultural trade, the trade ministry said.

Read: Trump tariffs could wreck South Africa’s vehicle manufacturing industry

The US is South Africa’s second-largest bilateral trading partner after China. South Africa’s central bank governor has said the proposed tariff could cause around 100 000 job losses, with the agriculture and automotive sectors hit hardest. — Alexander Winning and Nellie Peyton, with Siyanda Mthethwa, (c) 2025 Reuters

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