SOUTH Africa trade union Solidarity said on Monday it is prepared to be part of a South African task team that would be able to urgently intervene to broker a trade agreement with the US before the 30% tariff on South African products exported to the US comes into effect from August 1.
In a letter to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, Solidarity proposed that a task team comprising stakeholders other than politicians be appointed urgently to negotiate with the US.
Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann urged Tau: ‘South Africa has a very short window to try and avert severe economic damage; however, swift and decisive action will be needed. Solidarity urges you to handle the matter of brokering a trade deal with the utmost urgency.
‘However, it is clear that the African National Congress-led government alone is not capable of successfully brokering a trade deal with the United States of America.’
The trade union warned that just over two weeks are left before the US imposes the import tariff on South Africa following months during which it says politicians in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government ‘have failed in critical negotiations’.
Solidarity warned: ‘Unless an urgent intervention is provided, South Africa will pay a heavy price, especially in the agricultural and vehicle manufacturing sectors.’
Solidarity says up to 275,000 South Africans could lose their jobs unless action, characterised by wisdom and urgency, is taken immediately.
Last week, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) also said it is deeply concerned about the pending 30% tariff hike on South African exports to the United States (US), the world’s largest economy, announced by US President Donald Trump and fear the devastating impact it may have on an economy that has been languishing at 1% growth since 2008 and a dangerously high unemployment rate of 43.1%.
COSATU said: ‘Sectors most at risk include the automotive and other manufacturing industries, agriculture, clothing, chemicals and jewelry.
‘Depressingly, the pending tariff hike comes in the wake of the Eastern Cape facing 900 jobs on the line at Good Year SA and more with Mercedes Benz “temporarily” shutting down its vehicle production.
‘COSATU is confident that the Presidency and the Departments for Trade, Industry and Competition, International Relations and Cooperation and Agriculture’s engagements with their counterparts in the United States’ government will bear fruit and that a mutually beneficial trade agreement can be secured before the pending 1 August implementation of the proposed 30% tariff hike.
‘The Federation will continue to work closely with the South African government in support of their endeavours on behalf of the nation.
‘We hope the US Congress will simultaneously renew the African Growth and Opportunities Act before the end of September as its tariff free regime for 35 Sub-Saharan countries, including South Africa’s exports to the US have helped nurture key growth sectors and facilitate regional integration across the African continent.
‘COSATU will also be seeking urgent engagements with the Department of Employment and Labour, the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the CCMA at Nedlac on decisive interventions to tackle the UIF’s Temporary Employee Relief Scheme’s administrative challenges to enable them to offer affected companies real time support whilst they put in place plans to manage this potential economic blow.’
Separately, COSATU welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of an independent judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of serious criminal activities and collusion by some of the most senior leaders and officials of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Judiciary and other key organs of state security.
COSATU said: ‘These allegations against some of the most senior leaders and officials of our law enforcement institutions are extremely worrying and threaten to undermine the trust the public has in them. This is something that South Africans, in particular working-class communities who have borne the brunt of our high levels of crime, can ill afford.
‘President Ramaphosa’s appointment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry is the only sober and rational path to deal with these serious matters, to provide a safe environment for witnesses to give testimony, and for those accused to have the opportunity to respond to such accusations. It is critical that all persons with evidence provide it to the commission.
‘The Commission needs to be given the full support and resources it requires to fulfill its mandate. It must move with speed to attend to these extremely concerning matters. It will be equally critical for the executive and law enforcement to act upon the Commission’s recommendations once concluded. South Africans have grown weary of commissions and correctly expect to see decisive action resulting from it.
‘The Federation welcomes the President’s providing the Minister for Police, Mr. Senzo Mchunu, with a leave of absence to enable him to attend to matters affecting him at the Commission, and to provide himself with the opportunity to clear his name.
‘Ultimately, we must emerge with a law enforcement cleansed of such allegations of criminality and one that is given the tools it needs to win the war against crime and corruption.’
SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said: ‘The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) notes the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa of a full Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the serious and far-reaching allegations raised by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi against senior political figures and institutions of the state. We further note the decision to place Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu on special leave.
‘SAFTU is on record calling for a Commission of Inquiry into General Mkhwanazi’s allegations. We did so not out of faith in the current administration – whose track record on implementing recommendations is woefully poor – but based on a principled insistence that both sides must be heard. That is the foundation of any just society. Let the truth be tested, not buried under political spin.
‘SAFTU welcomes the establishment of the Commission with open eyes – not blind hope.
‘South Africans have been burnt too many times. We remember the Zondo Commission, the Nugent Commission, the Mufamadi panel, the Davis Tax Committee – commissions that exposed the rot in the state, only for their recommendations to be ignored, watered down, or cynically used to protect political allies. We will not be duped again.
‘This Commission must not become a stalling tactic, a burial ground for the truth, or a shield for those in high office.
‘SAFTU demands:
- A fully independent, transparent, and time-bound Commission, with powers to subpoena, investigate, and make binding recommendations;
- No political interference, no limitations on scope, and no protection of elites;
- That all whistleblowers and those willing to testify be guaranteed full protection and anonymity, especially in light of past intimidation and political assassinations;
- That the recommendations be acted upon swiftly and transparently, with clear timelines and consequences for inaction.
‘We agree with the decision to place Minister Mchunu on special leave – but insist that this must be the beginning, not the end, of accountability. If the inquiry confirms the misuse of state institutions for political purposes, the entire chain of command must face consequences. That includes the President himself, if implicated.
‘Let us not forget: these are not just allegations between individuals. They pose the question of whether democracy is being hollowed out from within.
‘SAFTU will remain alert, mobilised, and uncompromising in our defence of democracy, justice, and accountability. If this Commission proves to be yet another smoke-and-mirrors exercise, we will expose it – and we will mobilise against it.
‘We called for the Commission. We will fight to ensure it serves the people – not the powerful.
