South Africa has to cast its trade net wider

After his erratic behaviour since taking office in January – and his failure to carry out his threats, US President Donald Trump is called “Taco” by some of his detractors… meaning “Trump always chickens out”.

If only that were applicable to South Africa… which it clearly is not, because the alleged persecution of white people in this country has become a cause célèbre for him and his right-wing supporters.

Not only that, his bullying this week forced the European Union to agree to an unfavourable trade deal – and if he did that to them, what hope do we have of leniency?

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US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has also said there will be no extensions, for anyone, of the Friday deadline for new trade deals with the US to be finalised.

While there is, undoubtedly, an element of enmity also involved in Washington-Pretoria relations, the truth is that Trump’s tariffs are not solely aimed at us, they are part of a broader assault on the existing norms of global trade.

The bottom line – a phrase Trump the deal-maker would love to use – we are going to be hurt by the US tariffs, so we should start finding new markets… and new friends.

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