Amid heightened tensions between the countries that saw Washington impose 30% tariffs on South African exports, Mr Ramaphosa said that “The Government is [therefore] in continued engagement with the United States to secure a mutually beneficial trade and investment deal.”

According to Mr Ramaphosa, “The Presidency and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition have sent representatives to the United States who are preparing for further formal negotiations with the US government…[and]…are meeting a number of stakeholders, including representatives in the administration, legislators, businesspeople, and others.” Ramaphosa further indicated that South African negotiators had submitted a new trade and investment package to the Americans as the basis of those negotiations.

South Africa’s economy has languished on the bottom rungs of emerging market economic growth rankings for the past decade as a consequence of attracting very low levels of fixed investment. Low rates of economic growth have, in turn, delivered an unemployment rate that exceeds 30%.

Mr Ramaphosa told Parliament that, “the US is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner. Our economic relations are strong and go back many decades. Trade between our countries has historically been complementary in nature. We buy many goods and services from the US, such as petroleum, aircraft and parts, medical instruments, soya beans, motor vehicles, poultry, and pharmaceuticals. South Africa exports to the US include minerals, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, and medical isotopes. South Africa is the biggest investor from the African continent into the US.”

Earlier this week, The Common Sense reported that South Africa’s negotiators might strike a trade and investment deal with the US by the end of this month. While such a deal might initially be modest in its scope, any agreement reached would provide an opportunity for the two countries to reset relations and would serve as a boost to investor sentiment towards South Africa. In a small nod to South Africa, the American retail giant Walmart yesterday announced an expansion of its operations in the country.

Amid the US talks, South Africa’s diplomats and the Presidency itself have taken steps to position South Africa closer to the BRICS grouping to mitigate the risk of dependency on the West. In remarks made to a BRICS seminar on Monday, Mr Ramaphosa said that US tariff actions threatened South Africa’s economic prospects and called for closer trade and related cooperation between non-Western economies.

Opinions in Washington on how to handle South Africa are split. Hardliners favour forcing South Africa into domestic and foreign policy concessions before striking any trade deal. Other foreign policy and political actors fear that American demands may drive South Africa deeper into the orbit of Russia and China.