Ramaphosa grilled on US tariffs, Postbank, Iran

President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed suggestions from Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema that the government was “grovelling” in an effort to reduce the 30% tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

- Umamah Bakharia

Answering questions in the National Assembly this week, Ramaphosa said the government was adopting a strategy of engagement, not submission.

“Without being supplicant, without going on bended knee, which we have never done, and which we will never do, we will stand as a sovereign country and get the best deal for South Africa,” he told MPs.

Malema accused the government of begging and called for a more aggressive response. Ramaphosa countered that retaliatory measures could backfire: “If one wants to play to the gallery, one could embark on the type of option that honourable Malema is talking about without knowing what outcome that option will have.”

The president said his ministers were “feverishly working on the ground” in the US ahead of the next round of trade negotiations while also broadening South Africa’s export markets in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

Ramaphosa said “we will stand as a sovereign country” and the government was committed to securing favourable trade terms without compromising the country’s dignity.