The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) remains confident that the South African government will secure a positive and mutually beneficial trade agreement with the United States (US).  We are heartened by the progress being made in negotiations between the two governments and the tireless efforts of the Presidency and the Departments of Trade, Industry and Competition; International Relations and Cooperation; and Agriculture to ensure that any new trade agreement defends and boosts South African jobs and industries and affirms our constitutionally mandated transformation journey.

We appreciate that these negotiations are ongoing and cover a large amount of issues that will take further time to resolve and conclude.  Complex and often contradictory issues must be balanced to ensure that South African jobs, value chains and interests are protected.  Short cuts must be avoided, and South Africa’s long-term economic and trading interests must be secured. 

COSATU remains deeply concerned about the painful impact that the expiry of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and the imposition of a 30% tariff on South African exports to the US will have on jobs.  This uncertainty is a matter of great concern and anxiety for thousands of affected workers and their families.  We simply cannot afford any further job losses in an economy battling a 42.9% unemployment rate and that has barely been growing at 1% per annum for the last two decades.  We cannot afford to see citrus farms in Limpopo and the Western Cape, clothing factories in Cape Town or motor manufacturing plants in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng or KwaZulu-Natal close and their workers condemned to unemployment and poverty.

It is critical that government expedite interventions to put in place measures to cushion affected workers, businesses and sectors from the painful consequences of the expiry of AGOA and the coming into effect of the 30% tariff on South African exports to the US.  This package of support needs to include tax relief, industrial incentives and subsidies, as well as fixing the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Temporary Employment Relief Scheme.  Government must move with speed to ensure that this relief flows with speed to workers and companies impacted by this trade turmoil.  Workers and businesses need money, not PowerPoints.

It is equally important that government continue its progressive efforts to expand markets for South African exports, particularly with major economies in Europe, Asia and especially the Southern African region and the African continent through the African Continental Free Trade Area. 

COSATU will continue to offer its full support to government’s critical work in this regard and work closely with Organised Business to ensure that South African jobs, businesses and value chains are secured. 

Issued by COSATU

Matthew Parks (COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)

Mobile: 082 785 0687

Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za