South Africa proposed a "generous" trade agreement, hoping the US would lower tariffs by 30%

South Africa will propose a "generous" new trade deal to the United States in an effort to secure a 30% reduction in tariffs imposed on South African goods by the US.

The United States announced last week that it would impose a 30% tariff on some South African exports, which is the highest tariff rate in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa has been negotiating with the United States for a long time, striving to reach a better trade agreement to avoid a large number of job losses.

The South African side has not disclosed the details of the new proposal, but said that previous discussions on increasing imports of US poultry, blueberries and pork have been finalized.

South African Agriculture Minister Steven Hessian said at a press conference on Tuesday (August 12) : "When the document is made public, I think you will see it as a very broad, generous and ambitious trade proposal for the United States."

South African officials previously pointed out that the 30% tariff imposed by the United States might cause the South African economy to lose approximately 30,000 jobs. According to statistics released on Tuesday, the unemployment rate in South Africa has reached 33.2%.

South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tao, said: "Our goal is to prove that South African exports do not pose a threat to the US industry and that our trade relationship is actually complementary."

The United States is South Africa's third largest trading partner after the European Union and China.