South Africa will need to seek out alternative markets for its critical minerals exports if the US hits the country with steep tariffs, said mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe on Tuesday.
South Africa is by far the world's leading producer of platinum group metals (PGMs), which are used in car catalytic converters and are among critical minerals subject to a US investigation that could result in new import levies.
Washington launched that probe in part to pressure Beijing. China is a top global producer of 30 of the 50 minerals considered critical by the US Geological Survey and has been curtailing exports.
“If the US imposes high tariffs, we must look for alternative markets,” said Mantashe on the sidelines of a G20 meeting on critical minerals.
South African exports of mineral products and precious metals to the US were valued at R65.3bn ($3.64bn) last year. PGMs, largely produced by miners Valterra Platinum and Impala Platinum, accounted for 76.3% of that total.
Other South African exports to the US — its second-biggest bilateral trading partner after China — include gold, diamonds, iron and manganese ores, and coal.
“We should never be bullied for our own resources. If people want to trade with us, it must be on terms that are mutually beneficial,” Mantashe said.
As President Donald Trump has sought to leverage tariff threats to reshape global trade, South Africa has had a fraught relationship with his administration, which has attacked its domestic race policy and its genocide case against Israel.
South Africa's exports to the US are facing the prospect of a 30% baseline tariff from August 1, though PGMs are currently excluded from those levies.
Pretoria is awaiting a response from Washington to a counterproposal it submitted last month in hopes of avoiding the 30% rate, South African officials said on Monday.
Reuters
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