South Africa's trade and industry minister on Monday said that the 30 per cent reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States could put tens of thousands of jobs at risk. “We’ve based this on the ongoing consultations that we have with all the sectors of the economy,

South Africa’s government is putting the final touches to an overarching package that aims to shield businesses against the fallout from punitive US trade tariffs and plans to present it to lawmakers later this week.

South Africa poses no trade threat to the U.S. economy nor its national security, its government said on Monday, days before a steep U.S. tariff is due to take effect. Africa's biggest economy faces a 30% tariff on its exports to the U.