The Eastern Cape Provincial Government (ECPG) is cautiously optimistic that the ongoing engagement between His Excellency President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, and his United States of America (USA) counterpart, President Donald Trump, will lead to a positive trade and investment agreement between the two countries.
As the provincial government we continue working with the national government to ensure the economic needs and interests of the Eastern Cape Province, that include needs communicated to us by organized labour unions and businesses, continue being at the center of our position in the trade talks with the US government.
The national government has engaged the US government and presented proposals that seek to maintain South Africa’s trade relationship with the US government so that local companies, including those in the Eastern Cape province, continue exporting products to the US economy. In this engagement, the US has also indicated products they wish to import into our country from factories and assembly plants in their country.
Trade deals are regulated by law and are based on the national interests of each partner country and if you thick slice interests of both countries, they are about sustaining and creating jobs, growing investment, as well as growing the economies of both countries.
Our interest is to ensure that workers don’t lose their jobs, businesses contracted to OEMs, and any business exporting to the US market, don’t lose their contracts.
It is one of our key interests and stated objectives to ensure that any investment opportunity that is an outcome of a possible trade agreement with the US, must have opportunities for workers, local businesses and communities.
Because the trade framework that our government has worked on together with our US partners is focusing on a lower tariff rate than what was announced earlier, we are confident that it will benefit South Africans and Americans mutually.
The package presented to the US by our government is aimed at cementing trade relations with businesses that export to the US, explore new export and import opportunities that have potential to grow the value of this trade partnership.
Building strong and resilient economies requires the building of strong and mutually beneficial trade and diplomatic relations. We believe that the leadership of President Ramaphosa in engaging with President Trump is taking us towards that type of a relationship and it will benefit the peoples of both countries.
As the Premier of the province, I will continue working with our social partners in the province to put in place measures to protect our economy.
We will also meet with representatives of workers, businesses and banks to share more information about government interventions aimed at securing a fair and mutually beneficial trade deal with the US that is based on the package we have presented to our partners.
We are alert to the need to diversify markets for products manufactured in our country and as one of the leading provinces in export facing sectors of the economy, we will work with our social partners to find more markets for our products.
Our main interests are in automotive manufacturing and assembly, agriculture, shipbuilding, and agro-processing sectors. The United States of America is a priority market for South African goods and a key source of investment.
The USA is our country’s second largest trading partner, after China, while we are the largest exporter to the US on the African continent. South Africa is also the biggest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the USA from the African continent, and a crucial supplier of raw materials to many US supply-chains.
These are some of the trade and economic diplomacy affinities between our two countries. Both countries have a lot to benefit from a continued fair and mutually beneficial trade deal.
As part of efforts to maintain our trade relations with any partner, we will make use of public finance instruments to ensure that our people continue benefiting from the economic diplomacy agreements we enter into with our trade partners for their benefit.
Enquiries:
Khuselwa Rantjie
Chief Director: Provincial Communication Services / Government Spokesperson
Cell: 081 028 8841
E-mail: Khuselwa.rantjie@ecotp.gov.za
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