Tau optimistic as US trade talks heat up: Land reform not the main issue

Cape Town – Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau has expressed cautious optimism over ongoing trade talks with the United States, more than a month after US President Donald Trump imposed 30% tariffs on South African exports.

Tau said South Africa’s land redistribution and affirmative action policies, which Trump has criticised, are “not the primary issues” in the trade discussions, though they remain part of broader talks, Daily Maverick reported.

“In the nature of negotiations these are tough discussions, so it’s very difficult to anticipate what the outcome would be. But I am optimistic because there’s a sense that we’d want to [reach] an agreement – that we’d want to find each other – and that, I think, is a very good starting point,” the report quoted Tau as saying in New York on Sunday.

Tau met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and members of Congress in Washington following intensive discussions by senior officials.

[US]

I held constructive talks with the US Trade Representative, Amb. Greer on our way forward on SA-US Trade relations. Our teams have been in intense negotiations and I will be briefing President Ramaphosa on the outcomes in due course.#UNGA80 pic.twitter.com/LHL9DmHglO

— Parks Tau (@TauParks) September 19, 2025

According to The Citizen, South Africa’s Minister Parks Tau said there is “appetite” in the Trump administration to renew AGOA, which could benefit South African agricultural exporters.

Tensions persist over South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ, with Trump pushing Pretoria to withdraw the charge, though Ramaphosa faces internal resistance, the report said.

Tau, accompanied by a high-level delegation, is laying the groundwork for a potential Ramaphosa-Trump meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.