File: US President Donald Trump greets the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, at the North Portico of the White House in Washington DC, USA, on May 21, 2025.
JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa called President Donald Trump ahead of the US imposition of 30-percent tariffs on South African exports on Thursday and the leaders agreed to "further engagements", the government said.
The South African government has been negotiating hard to avoid the tariffs, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, which it says could cost around 30,000 jobs.
The presidents' telephone call on Wednesday was about bilateral trade matters, Ramaphosa's office said.
"The two leaders undertook to continue with further engagements recognising the various trade negotiations the US is currently involved in," it said in a statement.
"Respective trade negotiating teams will take forward more detailed discussions."
Ramaphosa "reached out through a phone call to President Trump yesterday morning as part of bolstering South Africa’s negotiation efforts on the trade agreements," the ministry of the presidency said separately.
The United States is South Africa's second-largest trading partner by country after China.
The tariffs will in particular hit South Africa's agriculture, automotive and textiles sectors, although 35 percent of exports are exempted, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles and certain critical minerals.