South Africa has urged the United States of America to exempt it from a proposed 12.5% tariff linked to the importation of goods produced using forced labour.
This as the South African Government delegation led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) participated in the public hearing on the US Section 301 Investigations on Forced Labour.
Thursday’s session was held in Washington DC, and hosted by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) regarding Section 301 Investigations of Acts, Policies, and Practices of 60 Economies Related to the Failure to Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labour.
“In the Oral Testimony, South Africa emphasised that the country has laws that prohibit forced labour and that the country has ratified the relevant ILO [ International Labour Organization] fundamental Conventions. Further, that South Africa has the legal framework to enforce the prohibition of the importation of goods produced using forced labour.
“South Africa maintained that it has enabling legislation that contains provisions that can be invoked to deal with forced labour and administer and enforce a prohibition on the import of goods made (in whole or part) by forced labour,” said the department in a statement on Saturday.
It further added that the International Trade Administration Act empowers the relevant National Executive to prohibit or control the importation of any class of goods and the Customs and Excise Act empowers the revenue authority to stop, detain and seize prohibited goods at the border. South Africa already prohibits products produced through prison labour through Section 113 of the Customs and Excise Act.
“As a result, South Africa requested that the United States consider exempting the country from the 12.5% tariff proposed for countries that failed to impose and effectively enforce prohibition of importation of goods produced using forced labour,” said the department.
In the alternative, a proposal was made that South Africa’s exports to the United States, such as platinum-group and precious metals, vehicles, catamarans, citrus, seafood, wine and nuts, among others, be exempted from any proposed action as there is no evidence that the inputs are produced using forced labour.
The Office of USTR requested that stakeholders submit post-hearing submissions by 16 July 2026. Information for stakeholders wishing to make submissions on the Investigations is available on the USTR website.
According to Minister Parks Tau, the United States remains an important trade partner and destination for South African exports.
“Government will continue bilateral engagements with the United States on all matters of interest, including on Section 301 investigations, renewal of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Section232 tariffs that affect South African exports of steel and aluminium, and automobiles and auto components,” said the Minister.
The dtic was supported by the Department of Employment and Labour, the International Trade Administration Commission and the Embassy of South Africa in Washington DC. -SAnews.gov.za
