Trade and investment between SA and US should be expanded, Pandor says

Dineo Faku Senior Reporter
US secretary of state Antony Blinken.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken.
Image: Andrew Harnik/Reuters/ File photo

The US is seeking a partnership with SA and it does not want an “unbalanced or transactional relationship”.

So said US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Monday as he visited the department of international relations and co-operation in Pretoria.

Blinken, accompanied by a 50-strong delegation, met international relations and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor and officials to strengthen relations in healthcare, climate change and infrastructure, among other things.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Blinken said the US was seeking a “true partnership” with SA.

Delegations from, among others, China, France and Germany, have also visited SA in recent months. 

Blinken said SA was a “powerful and dynamic country” that could help “write the future of the region and world”.

SA was a leading global voice for the mitigation of climate change. Last year, wealthy nations, including the US, France and the UK, pledged $8.5bn (about R142.96bn) for SA to reduce its reliance on coal for power generation.

Blinken's visit to SA forms part of a three African nations tour that also includes the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.  

Pandor said growth in trade between SA and the US jumped from $13.9bn in 2010 to $21bn in 2021. 

“In 2021 the US ranked as the second largest destination for SA’s exports globally.”

Investments from SA in the US were increasing, with the US accounting for 17.4% of total SA foreign direct investment.

Pandor said the objective should be to significantly expand two-way trade and investments in SA and the US.

“A good start in this endeavour would be to speedily resolve the long-standing unresolved trade issues about market access, including the removal of section 232 tariffs on SA steel and aluminium imports into the US”.

The US under president Donald Trump’s administration implemented a 25% duty on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminium in 2018.

Pandor said the US government had, however, made a significant contribution to SA’s efforts to address poverty, inequality and unemployment.

“SA is the largest US trade partner in Africa. The significant presence of US companies operating within our borders, including historic investors such as General Electric and Ford, to name but two, in helping to upskill our youth, creating jobs and incomes, has made the US private sector a key partner in supporting SA’s socioeconomic growth.”

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