According to Politico on July 16, U.S. President Donald Trump plans to send letters to 150 small countries to announce the tariffs he’ll impose on them, probably in the range of 15-20%. “It’s all going to be the same for everyone, for that group,” he said, during his meeting with Bahrain’s Crown Prince at the White House July 16. Currently these nations are paying a previously imposed baseline of 10%. It’s unclear whether these tariffs will be imposed on Aug. 1. So far, Taiwan, Switzerland and India have not received tariff letters, and the situation with India is unclear as Trump has made contradictory statements as to whether any agreement is being negotiated. Japan is threatened with a 25% tariff, and Trump has said he doesn’t think a deal with it would be reached.
There is panic in South Africa on the impact of a 30% tariff on the economy, scheduled to start on Aug. 1, as this will cause significant damage to key sectors of the economy. Reuters reports statements from Central Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago, who warned on July 16 that job losses could be as high as 100,000, largely in the agriculture and automotive sectors. Agriculture, which mainly employs low-skilled labor, would be especially hard hit.
Farming groups warn tariffs will impact producers of citrus, macadamia nuts, grapes, wine, fruit juices and ostrich leather. In the citrus sector alone, 35,000 jobs are in jeopardy and could devastate towns such as Citrusdal (Western Cape) that depend heavily on exports to the U.S. Last April, after Trump imposed import tariffs on cars, South African exports of cars plunged by more than 80%. Kganyago warned that “if we do not find alternative measures, the impact on jobs could be around 100,000 “so that is what we actually face.” In the first quarter of this year, South Africa’s unemployment rate stood at 32.9%—one of the highest in the world, but an “expanded definition,” which is closer to the real rate, was 43.1%.
