Newspaper headlines from around the world - Thursday, 31 July 2025
Here are the stories that made headlines on the front pages of newspapers worldwide on Thursday, 31 July 2025. The New York Times front page reported that, with tariffs, Trump tests the global economy. The Washington Post reported that a host of failures were outlined in the crash. The Jerusalem Post's front page reported that Israel rejected Hamas's demand to exchange terrorists for bodies. China Daily's front page reported that the CPC plenum will focus on the next five-year plan. The Daily Mail's front page reported that victims of the October 7 atrocities told Keir Starmer there should be no recognition of a Palestinian state until every hostage is freed. The Guardian's front page reported that Palestine Action wins the right to challenge a ban in court.
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IOL News
17 minutes ago
- IOL News
Decisions, decisions: Can Trump resist the allure of our golf courses and snub our G20?
What does a host do when an important but discourteous guest won't properly RSVP? Should the host continually follow up with polite reminders? Or just proceed with the assumption that the VVIP is not attending, while leaving the door open for a last-minute change of heart? President Cyril Ramaphosa, the host of the Group of 20 leaders meeting in November, has this predicament with US President Donald Trump. Instead of accepting or turning down the invitation, Trump has continued to torment and confuse. This week he said he'd "probably send someone else", repeating the lies he's come to be known for about our country. While Trump simply wants to 'make America wealthy again', Ramaphosa has an even more urgent job of first rescuing our beleaguered economy. Ramaphosa, therefore, needs to leave the door slightly open in case Trump decides on the eleventh hour to pick up his golf bag and come over. South Africa shouldn't be surprised if Trump snubbed our G20, as disappointing as it would be as we would miss an opportunity to bask in the global limelight. But we shouldn't close the door to the chance that the leader of the world's biggest economy might come and even make a real contribution. Being a wanna-be-golfer myself, I would bet that Trump won't be able to resist the allure of Sun City's golf courses and suchlike. So, if we can't get any cooperation or sympathy from global trade's disruptor-in-chief, then let's hope the golf seduction works. But it would be a real pity if he snubbed us.
Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Trump tariffs – D-day for South Africa and its economic relations with the US
With the 1 August deadline upon us and no trade agreement yet, experts agree that relations between South Africa and the US would need a reset and cool heads to negotiate. With hours to go before US President Donald Trump's tariffs are expected to come into effect, South Africa announced 'urgent interventions' to support exporters impacted by the tariffs. 'The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has announced a set of measures in response to the imminent 30% tariff hike on South African exports to the United States, which comes into effect on 1 August 2025. 'These urgent interventions are part of the DTIC's ongoing commitment to protecting jobs, preserving market access to the United States, and promoting export diversification to alternate markets in Africa, the European Union, Asia, Latin America, and other strategic partners,' Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau said in a statement on Thursday night, 31 July. This comes hours after Tau told Radio 702 that South Africa was preparing a last-minute 'enhanced' trade proposal in the hope of avoiding Trump's punishing tariffs. Key among the interventions, Tau said, was the establishment of an export support desk, which would serve as a direct point of contact for companies affected by the US tariff hike. 'The desk will provide updates on developments and tailored advisory services to exporters on alternative destinations, guidance on market entry processes, insights into compliance requirements and linkages to South African Embassies and High Commissions abroad,' said Tau. 'This tariff hike poses a direct threat to our export capacity, particularly in strategic sectors such as automotive, agro-processing, steel and chemicals, amongst others. 'We are working with urgency and resolve to implement real, practical interventions that defend jobs and position South Africa competitively in a shifting global landscape. The stakes are high and we must respond decisively to ensure our export industries remain resilient, competitive and globally integrated into diversified markets,' he said. Tau said exporters were encouraged to visit the DTIC website for updates and also to engage directly with the export support desk. At a White House press briefing on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that on 1 August, the reciprocal tariff rates 'will be going into effect'. She said that foreign leaders of countries that did not have deals would be 'hearing from this administration by the midnight deadline tonight'. Leavitt said that Trump would be 'signing an executive order at some point this afternoon or later this evening' imposing new tariff rates. However, she did not rule out the possibility of the Trump administration making deals with countries that still did not have agreements in place, before midnight on Thursday. 'I will never count out the president… I do know foreign leaders are ringing his phone realising this deadline is a real thing for them tomorrow and they are bringing offers to the table,' she said. South Africa is confronting the most critical moment in its fraught relations with the US, staring at exports worth almost $10-billion being exposed to stiff tariffs that risk making these goods uncompetitive. That is the estimated value of South African exports vulnerable to the 30% 'reciprocal' and sectoral import tariffs threatened by the Trump administration. South Africa has been advised to diversify its export destinations urgently – especially to Africa – to reduce its dependency on the US. Nevertheless, the world's largest economy remains critical for now and South African officials have been working frantically to secure an alternative trade deal with the US to avert President Donald Trump's 1 August deadline for imposing hefty tariffs on most countries. However, said Eckart Naumann, independent economist and associate of the Trade Law Centre (Tralac), 'many dozens of countries are also knocking on the door and US trade officials will likely be run off their feet'. Tralac is a non-profit organisation that builds trade-related capacity in Africa. On Thursday, 31 July, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau told radio station 702: 'We actually spoke to the US last night, both at the level of the embassy and also at the level of the US trade representative. They indicated that even they are unable to confirm what the announcement [on South Africa's tariff rates] would be, and that they would encourage us to resubmit our proposal, possibly an enhanced proposal, to the US government. It would be processed by the White House… At this point, they are unable to say what the final decision would be.' 'Reckless statements' In his statement, Tau said the DA, 'instead of providing constructive support to the efforts made by government', continued to release 'reckless statements which undermine the progress' the department has been making towards the 1 August deadline. 'In a trying moment for South Africa, there still remain those who would seek to sabotage our efforts to resolve this impasse. Despite our tireless efforts, which we have, where possible, communicated consistently on, some segments of our country refuse to be part of the solution. 'Instead of providing constructive support to the efforts made by government, the Democratic Alliance continues to release reckless statements which undermine the progress we have been making towards the 1 August deadline. This is downright irresponsible for a party in the Government of National Unity, and an integral part of the process,' said Tau. Earlier on Thursday, Business Day reported that South Africa was offering the automotive and agricultural sectors alternative markets and possible Treasury-backed tax incentives, part of a two-part contingency plan to keep production lines going if SA was faced with a 30% tariff from Friday. In response, DA spokesperson on finance Mark Burke said this 'new deflection' by Tau is meant 'to make up for his and his party's failed foreign policy pageantry'. 'Instead of securing a trade deal, Tau now expects our Treasury to borrow or tax South Africans more to pay for the costs of the ANC's association of our state with rogue nations like Iran,' said Burke. The chances of South Africa averting or extending the deadline seemed to dim this week when Trump told reporters that he would probably not be attending the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November 'because I've had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies.' He also posted on his social media site Truth Social: 'The August 1 deadline is the August first deadline – it stands strong and will not be extended. A big day for America!' South Africa has offered a package of concessions, including lowering tariff barriers to US food imports, buying US gas and committing local companies to investing in US mining and recycling. But many analysts fear it will not be enough because it's not so much about economics as it is about politics. Zane Dangor, director-general of the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, told the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation's winter seminar this week that there was a risk of SA being punished for its domestic policies – particularly black economic empowerment (BEE) – no matter what economic deal it put on the table. Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said earlier this month that Trump's tariffs could cause about 100,000 job losses, with the agriculture and automotive sectors hardest hit. Naumann said the US imported goods worth $14.6-billion from South Africa in 2024, according to its own data. However, he noted that about 36% of these exports were exempt from the new tariffs because they were natural resources (mainly platinum group metals, rhodium and gold) that the US needed. This would leave South African exports to the US worth $9.344-billion vulnerable to the potential new tariff rates. Naumann said South Africa's exposure to the US as an export market was relatively limited, with about 7.5% of its total exports going to the US. 'However, in some sectors, South Africa's exposure to the US is quite high,' he said. 'For example, last year, 29% of our boat exports went to the US duty-free under Agoa [the African Growth and Opportunity Act]; 25% of aluminium and articles thereof were exported to the US and are now subject to 50% tariffs; 11% of our auto exports were shipped duty-free to the US and, along with much of the rest of the world, now face a 25% sectoral tariff. 'In contrast, key competitors like the EU, UK and Japan, and indeed Mexico under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, have negotiated far more preferential access to the US for their motor vehicle exports.' Naumann noted that the tariffs SA faced were differentiated: there were the 30% 'reciprocal' tariffs, but also sectoral tariffs of 25% on autos and parts; 50% sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminium; an existing 10% general tariff (to be replaced by the reciprocal tariff) and a threatened extra 10% tariff on all BRICS member countries. 'The days of preferential access to the US market are definitely over,' Naumann added. For now, under Agoa, the US was still waiving standard 'most favoured nation' duties – though not the additional ones the Trump administation has added. He thought it doubtful that South Africa – perhaps any country – would remain in Agoa in its current guise after its scheduled expiry on 30 September. 'The intersection of geopolitical, domestic and trade issues best defines the current impasse between South Africa and the US, and a reset is unavoidable,' Tau said in a statement this week. He said SA had decided not to retaliate in terms of the tariffs and awaited the US's response to its proposed framework deal. The deal included South Africa importing 75-100 petajoules of US liquified natural gas for a 10-year period, unlocking $12-billion; giving the US more agricultural market access by simplifying US poultry imports, unlocking about $91-million in trade; being ready to open the South African market for US blueberries; local firms committing to invest $3.3-billion in US industries such as mining and metals recycling; and both governments agreeing to pursue joint investment in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and agri-machinery. Tralac CEO Trudi Hartzenberg, however, thought pork and poultry seemed a 'tricky' part of the negotiations. Donald MacKay, director of XA Global Trade Advisors, said although the state of the SA-US trade negotiations was very murky, in part because both sides had signed a non-disclosure agreement, he suspected that South Africa would, in fact, be hit with the threatened big 30% tariffs. But he was hoping that the US would give South Africa another reprieve – an extension of the deadline to complete negotiations for a new deal. 'The hardest-hit centres by my estimation are going to be fresh fruit, particularly citrus and table grapes.' But MacKay said probably about half of these products had already been exported this season. 'So, still bad, but … it really means next year's going to be a particularly big problem'. MacKay added: 'The government keeps telling people to find other markets, as if that is really easy to do. For a product like citrus, we already export to over 100 countries. There's just not that many left we can send [citrus] to and certainly none left that will get us the same kind of prices we get in the US. 'Cars, of course, are not included in the 30% tariff, but they've already got their own 25% tariff. We've seen how that looks with Mercedes-Benz at least temporarily closing down its factory,' he added, referring to the company shutting down its manufacturing plant in East London for July, though it was reopened this week. MacKay said South Africa needed 'to get back to basics. We need to get a properly functioning, professional ambassador into the US. I can't even remember the last time we had a properly functioning ambassador.' Tau has been criticised in some quarters for the way he has handled the trade negotiations, but MacKay said because the negotiations had been held behind closed doors, it was impossible to judge. But, he said, he would like the government 'to put some time in with the sectors and the companies most negatively impacted to look at what can be done'. Daniel Bradlow, an economic diplomacy expert at the University of Pretoria and the South African Institute of International Affairs, said: 'The lesson from all of this, not just from South Africa, but from what's happening everywhere, is countries have to learn how to restructure their trade relations to work around the US.' For South Africa and for Africa generally, this meant there was a need to accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and other African regional trade arrangements. The institutions that needed to be developed more intensely included regional multilateral financial institutions in Africa such as the Trade and Development Bank and the African Export-Import Bank, which focuses specifically on developing trade for Africa, and several others, Bradlow said. 'And I think South Africa should be looking at: how do we make those more robust and more effective?' Other critical issues to address – which were being tackled in South Africa's G20 – were making Africa's debt more sustainable and how to increase development finance, because that would help to finance the regional infrastructure that is needed to implement the AfCFTA. Bradlow said whatever the outcome of the SA-US trade negotiations – even if the US accepted the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition's package, South Africa would be hit as the US was a big trading partner. It was just a question of how much. He noted that, for starters, a 10% increase was a given as no country had escaped that so far, except on critical minerals, though some countries had managed to lower their reciprocal and sectoral tariff rates. On the auto industry, he said one of the big questions was how the foreign auto producers would react to a tariff increase: 'Would they start shutting down factories?' Like the government, Bradlow also said South Africa and other countries needed to shift trade relations away from the US because, even if a Democrat were to oust Trump in 2028, Democrats might not change the tariffs much – as former president Joe Biden had not changed much of Trump's tariffs in his first term. Naumann noted that the US was South Africa's second-largest export destination by country (7.5% of total exports) and China its first with 11%. Both were overshadowed by the EU, which gets 17% of South African exports and the Southern African Development Community free-trade area. 'But our exports to the US are far more diversified than our exports to China, which are mostly raw materials or resources. That makes the US probably the most important destination as a country, albeit shadowed by the EU as a whole.' A major report on SA-US trade relations just published by Tralac shows the impact of increased US tariffs on South African companies and industries would depend on several factors, including tariff advantage or disadvantage relative to competitors; the seasonality of demand and supply (how responsive demand is to the landed costs of products); and US domestic policies such as local tax breaks on locally produced autos. MP Toby Chance, the DA's spokesperson on trade, industry and competition, said Tau had been slow in realising the danger from Trump's tariffs and in taking action 'both to woo him and explore alternative markets'. He said South Africa had erred in not tackling Trump's 'instinctive negativity' towards the country with better diplomacy, citing the appointment of Ebrahim Rasool as ambassador and Mcebisi Jonas as special envoy to the US. 'I think it is highly likely we will end up on the higher end of the 10% to 30% tariff spectrum, though there could be some sweeteners such as concessions on counter-seasonal fruit, which would help our citrus growers. 'Another glaring omission is the government's ignoring the issue of non-tariff barriers, continually raised by the Trump administration as factors in the negotiations, which are a bar to investment not just by the US but other countries and firms, e.g. BEE, the Employment Equity Act, expropriation without compensation, etc.' Naumann said it was probably unfair to criticise SA's negotiators for the perceived lack of progress. 'We're not first in line for a reasonable deal and apart from years-long neglect and being virtually absent in Washington – and still without an ambassador or interlocutor – politically we're certainly not well favoured by Washington. We shouldn't maintain high hopes of a particularly favourable outcome involving exemptions and a low country tariff rate, as this just doesn't appear to fit the current political narrative.' He thought new tariffs for South Africa would be postponed for further negotiations, but added: 'The US will be careful not to make concessions to South Africa that might undermine dozens of other trade deals being pursued right now.' DM
Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Everything you need to know about the US-SA tariffs
The Trump administration has set a non-negotiable deadline of 1 August for imposing new tariffs on the countries with which the US trades. Here's where South Africa stands. What's the background to the 1 August deadline? US President Donald Trump is obsessed with tariffs, which is a very weird 18th-century mercantilist preoccupation: tariffs used to fund governments before taxes were invented. There is evidence to suggest that Trump has been yapping about tariffs for more than four decades: at some point in the 1980s he decided that tariffs were the silver bullet to unlock unheard-of US prosperity, and no one has been able to persuade him against it, even though virtually all economists say he is wrong. He also sees tariffs as a way of resetting US trade terms with other countries — he feels that the US has been taken advantage of — and is using them as leverage to achieve various political goals. None of this is fair, justified, or reasonable, but, unfortunately, we all live in Trump's world now. In April, Trump announced tariffs for different countries based on a nonsensical formula which, it was later determined, had almost certainly been generated by ChatGPT. Since then, in a kind of demented game that Trump would have relished, countries have been scrambling to negotiate deals for themselves before an entirely arbitrary deadline of 1 August, on which the tariffs with trading partners will be set. Could South Africa get an extension on the 1 August deadline? Given the absurdity of the situation whereby every single one of the US's major trading partners is attempting to get an audience with a limited number of US trade negotiators, an extension to the deadline might seem — there's that word again — reasonable. But… 'THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE – IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED,' Trump trumpeted on Truth Social on Wednesday, 30 July. Somewhat confusingly, however, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News on Sunday that further negotiations and deals were still possible after the incredibly inflexible deadline. What will South Africa get hit with? Probably 30% tariffs on its US exports. There are certain elements of South African social media who are hell-bent on claiming that this is some kind of unique punishment for the sins of President Cyril Ramaphosa, but the truth is that South Africa's likely tariff rate looks quite average. Canada looks set to get hit with 35%; Mexico, 30%; Thailand, 36%; Laos and Myanmar, 40%; Bangladesh, 35%; and Brazil — more about this in a second — 50%. But the fact that South Africa is not unusual in being hit with these tariffs doesn't mean they are inconsequential. In the Eastern Cape in particular, terrible job losses are being predicted as a result of the hit on the automotive sector; see Estelle Ellis's piece here. What do we know about the progress of negotiations so far? Very little, because both the South African and US negotiating teams are under a non-disclosure agreement, so don't believe everything you see floating around on social media. We know, thanks to comments made by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, that the first proposed trade deal between South Africa and the US was rejected on 20 May for not being 'ambitious' enough, and so the South African team sweetened the initial deal. This was confirmed by the Dirco director-general, Zane Dangor, on Tuesday. Dangor also said that 'extraneous issues' were clouding the matter, and that certain 'demands' were being made by the US team on 'domestic policy' — with BEE a central concern. On Wednesday, Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau said the South African team was being encouraged to 'resubmit' a last-minute 'enhanced' proposal — with extra pork in it. Literally. What exactly is the US demanding from South Africa in terms of domestic policy? Again, we don't know, because all these talks have been happening behind closed doors between trade negotiators, with no formal, public statement of demands: that's not how tradecraft works. The Afrikaner delegation that visited Washington in June and met with 'representatives from the Office of the Vice President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council' claimed that US officials had presented them with four non-negotiable conditions to communicate to the South African government to achieve a reset of relations with the US. These just happened to be four issues very close to the heart of the Afrikaner political lobby, coincidentally enough. They were: the prioritisation of farm attacks; the condemnation by the ANC of the song 'Kill the Boer'; no land expropriation without compensation; and the exemption of US businesses from BEE requirements. It's hard to know how much of this might be wish-fulfilment from the Afrikaner delegation, since they were not there operating with any official South African mandate. What do we know about the criteria Trump's team are using to arrive at the tariffs? It seems like a heady mix of political vendettas, Trump's personal hyper-fixations and perhaps some economic considerations. But you would be demented to assume that the Trump administration is operating in good faith, and that some perfect (white, male) South African negotiator could have unlocked the perfect deal by uttering some magic words. For the best possible illustration of how the Trump administration is approaching this, see Brazil, which is likely to get hit with 50% tariffs, in large part because Trump's ally Jair Bolsonaro is facing criminal charges for trying to incite a coup. Trump used the trade negotiations to try to meddle in a sovereign country's justice system, demanding that the charges be dropped. This is, by the way, almost certainly illegal — but we are far past that point now. This is what South Africa is up against. Would it have helped to have a South African ambassador in place, or at least a trade envoy who could get a US visa? It surely wouldn't have hurt. But let's look at the example of India: India has been locked in trade talks with the US since March, while its external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has been 'camped in the US for months', to quote one commenter. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been practically spooning Trump, diplomatically speaking. And India still looks likely to get hit with 25% tariffs, proving that there is no guaranteed value to sucking up to Trump. As the days to the deadline have ticked down, South Africa has packed off Dirco Minister Ronald Lamola, one of the ANC's coolest heads, to Washington. In addition, Tau said on 702 on Wednesday that the South African government had 'pulled out all the stops' to try to engage on the trade matters: sending delegations from ministers, business, civil society and even Cosatu. 'From all angles, we have continued to engage with the US,' he said. What's in the deal we're offering the US? South Africa would buy 75–100 petajoules of liquefied natural gas from the US over 10 years; the US would simplify its poultry export rules so South Africa could buy more US chicken products; and South African companies would pledge about $3.3-billion (R59-billion) in US projects, especially in mining, metals recycling and related 'critical minerals', plus pharmaceuticals and farm machinery. In exchange for measures like these, South Africa is hoping that certain key industries — like shipbuilding and farming produce that can't be grown locally at the same time (counter-seasonal agriculture) — would be kept free of tariffs, as well as small-scale exporters. What if South Africa refused to supply minerals to the US in retaliation? This is something Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has hinted at several times as a potential retaliatory measure, and one of the only forms of leverage South Africa has: the US is dependent on South African platinum group metals, such as chrome, gold and manganese, for its car industry. Withholding those exports from the US is a nice little revenge fantasy. But News24's Lisa Steyn has a good explainer on why this move isn't feasible: partly because it would hit South African mining companies the hardest, and partly because these metals are sold to multinational companies rather than to countries. What happens next? We brace for impact. And remember to thank Uncle Donald once his tariffs stunt the world's economic growth, as is already happening. DM
