'SA must seek new markets'

WATERSHED: US SOFT POWER DRAMATICALLY WEAKER

- Ina Opperman

It is time for South Africa to find new markets as the US risks ceding African influence to China, which has announced duty-free access for all African nations, says Busi Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA).

South Africa must aggressively pursue alternative trade partnerships through Brics and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, she says.

Writing in her weekly newsletter, Mavuso says the expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) at the end of September marked a watershed moment in the US-South Africa relationship.

"While Agoa was effectively undermined by the Trump tariffs imposed earlier this year, it nevertheless provided a backstop for our trade relationship, a framework and a reason to work hard towards agreement on new trade terms," she says.

"The Trump administration indicated a desire to extend Agoa by one year shortly before its expiry, but Congress has been unable to act on that ambition due to the government shutdown.