Africa-Press – South-Africa. Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition Ebrahim Patel says the government “should do everything possible” to retain its special trade relationship with the US in light of the strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.
SA enjoys preference to the US market through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of 2000, allowing African countries to export some of their products tariff-free. But the US has in the past punished countries – such as Cameroon – for behaving in a way considered counter to US interests.
The US has raised concerns that SA is too close to Russia and has said it suspects that SA busted Russian sanctions late last year when it loaded cargo, believed to be weapons, on to a visiting Russian ship late last year.
Patel, who spoke to journalists ahead of his budget vote in the National Assembly on Wednesday, said:
He said that he and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana were actively lobbying Washington to ensure that SA is not excluded from AGOA.
Patel also announced that he had published several government gazettes on policy and regulatory matters in the past week.
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