Sawt Falasteen - S. African president eyes better US tariff deal 'soon'

The South African government has been seeking to negotiate a better tariff deal with the United States, after US President Donald Trump's administration hit the country with a 30-percent import tax in August -- the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.

Speaking at a press conference in the Swiss capital Bern, Ramaphosa said the negotiations with Washington were "ongoing".

"They are now fortunately based on text. And once you get to that level, with any government you are said to have made tremendous progress," he told reporters.

"We are looking forward to concluding an agreement fairly soon."

He stressed though that "timeframes when you deal with governments are always things that shift, and so ... soon could be tomorrow; next week; next month".

Ramaphosa was speaking during a state visit to Switzerland, which is itself striving to negotiate a better tariff deal with Washington than the 39 percent it has been hit with.

- 'Opportunity opener' -

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter sounded less optimistic than her South African counterpart when asked how those talks were going.

The Swiss economic affairs ministry "is following up on talks with the US authorities", she said.

"But in the end, the president of the United States will decide upon the result, and this is why we might need some patience here."

Ramaphosa, whose delegation signed five memorandums of understanding with Switzerland on issues including economic cooperation, suggested that the tariff crunch had an upside.

"What this tariff imposition has done is to make us want to diversify our trade reach, and we as South Africa have been looking at spreading our trade wings more effectively to other markets," he said.

With bilateral trade in goods worth 3.6 billion Swiss francs ($4.5 billion) in 2024, South Africa is Switzerland's second-largest trading partner on the continent.

Switzerland meanwhile regularly ranks among the 10 largest foreign investors in South Africa.

Ramaphosa said he expected "we will be able to raise the trade dealings with Switzerland to a higher level".

"In many ways, whilst imposition of tariffs is quite negative... it also opens up opportunities," he said.

"We should look at it as an opportunity opener."

E.Aziz--SF-PST