Johannesburg - South Africa has narrowly averted having billions of rands worth of its agricultural products slapped with import tariffs by the US after the two countries mounted a last ditch effort to ensure Pretoria’s continued participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
South African and US negotiators struck a late night deal on Wednesday that will see the resumption of US duty-free meat exports to South Africa, following a 15-year hiatus.
The deal comes after a deadline to resolve the last remaining issues around animal health and safety passed on Monday, raising the risk of South Africa losing some of the Agoa benefits for its agricultural exports to the US.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told the media yesterday that
the deal would now allow South Africa to get all the trade benefits in Agoa and save the country billions of rands in export revenue.
The US had threatened to exclude South Africa from the preferential trade deal if it did not meet certain requirements on meat products.
Davies said South Africa had stitched up all the outstanding issues. All the documents were signed yesterday and the US was expected to okay the deal.
US Ambassador to South Africa, Patrick Gaspard, said in a tweet on Wednesday that South Africa and the US made “tremendous progress” on talks to resolve their trade dispute.
“Looking forward to the first shipment of chickens,” Gaspard added.
The fact that the deal had been struck meant that the South African market was open to 65 000 tons of poultry imports per annum from the US, said Davies.
Without problem
“We are expecting that South Africa will participate in Agoa for free trade flows without any problem,” said Davies.
However, South Africa would monitor pork, beef and poultry from the US to ensure it was not contaminated. All the meat products from the US would have to be certified as safe.
But that did not mean that this process would have to interrupt the free flow of trade between the two countries, said Davies.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi reiterated that under health and safety regulations the government would have to monitor outside products.
Davies said the deal struck with the US was a balanced outcome.
US President Barack Obama had issued a note on November 5 that South Africa would be suspended from Agoa unless it finalised outstanding issues within 60 days.
Davies said South Africa had done everything that had been required to ensure that it was admitted back into the Agoa fold.
This would save the country thousands of jobs in the sectors that beneffited from the deal.
Davies said the government had overcome a major hurdle in June last year in the Paris talks with the US when South Africa agreed on a quota of 65 000 tons of poultry from the US.
He
said there were thousands of workers whose jobs had been protected due to the agreement with the US.
The government was relieved that the country would not be paying tariffs for failing to resolve the disputes with the US, he said. The Agoa benefits would come into effect immediately.
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