SA’s exporters, facing debilitating tariffs from the US, are set to gain a five-year reprieve under a government plan that will allow firms to jointly shoulder shipment costs, intelligence and infrastructure as part of a big push to keep goods competitive and trade diplomacy intact.
Minister of trade, industry & competition Parks Tau on Tuesday outlined measures the government will take to mitigate the “economic impact of the increased tariffs” and to contribute to the “resilience and growth” of SA exports.
Tau gave the public 15 days to comment on the block exemption he intends to usher in for exporters, a short window that signals Pretoria’s pivot towards regulatory flexibility as an urgent counterweight to unilateral trade actions by the US, its second-largest trading partner.
Under Tau’s proposals, exporting companies will be given the green light to co-ordinate funding and share export-related market information. Beyond sharing shipment costs, companies will be allowed to share storage costs and co-ordinate on insurance costs.
Exporters will also be allowed to collectively market SA goods as a brand in the export market, while co-ordinating on joint financing and development of export infrastructure.
In another lifeline for exporters, companies will be allowed to collectively negotiate protocols and compliance with quality specifications or standards.
Tau says in a government notice the proposed exemptions are meant to achieve economies of scale and efficiencies in the export market with the ultimate aim of improving the competitiveness of SA export products.
Door left open
The proposed block exemption will exclude market allocation of goods and services, any merger transactions and price fixing.
The government has left the door open to expand the exemption or curtail it, depending on prevailing conditions. The mooted exemptions appear to gel with the ones Tau announced a few months ago for the rail and ports sector.
Tau in May relaxed competition rules for SA’s port and rail network sector as part of governmentwide efforts to fix SA’s underfunded, underperforming logistics.
In a government notice Tau issued a block exemption for the rail and ports industry from sections of the Competition Act that prohibit agreements between competitors that prevent or lessen competition.
Under the exemption, set to be in place for at least 15 years, entities can co-ordinate on the repair, maintenance and upgrading of port infrastructure, including joint funding of these projects.
The mooted competition reprieve comes as SA continues its push to persuade Washington to reconsider a 30% tariff on SA exports by submitting a revised trade offer and using its role as chair of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) to rally a co-ordinated regional response.
Tau said on Tuesday that SA had submitted a revised trade offer to the US after the new tariffs, which came into effect on August 7.
The revised offer builds on the previous one submitted in May, which included deals in liquefied natural gas, agriculture, mining, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and agri-machinery.
Testimony
“The new offer substantively responds to the issues the US has raised in the ‘2025 national trade estimate report’,” Tau told reporters on Tuesday.
Those included sanitary and phytosanitary measures that had previously restricted US poultry, blueberries and pork. Shipments of the latter two products are due to leave US ports within weeks, “which is testimony that these issues have been resolved”, Tau said.
He said the US had asked SA to lower tariffs on US goods to address what it calls a deficit and “tariff disparity” with the EU. The request, tied to the Sadc-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, is now at the centre of Pretoria’s consultations with local industry and its Sacu partners.
Any unilateral concession by SA risks opening the door for Washington to strike side deals with smaller members, diluting the bloc’s bargaining power.
The government says it will identify potential concessions “in consultation” with its neighbours.
The first meeting under SA’s year-long stewardship will be held on Tuesday, when the tariffs will be considered.
Update: August 12 2025
This story has been updated with more information.
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