Slapped with a steep tariff, South African officials hope for a deal, but some worry the U.S. may insist that it roll back measures that redress the damage of apartheid.

Trump’s new tariff rates presented on 31 July 2025 corrected some of the grosser anomalies in his April announcement. Notably, Lesotho’s astronomical tariff of 50% was reduced to 15%. But some, like South Africa’s rate, stayed the same despite vigorous government lobbying to reduce it.

The South African rand was little changed on Friday as investors awaited details of President Cyril Ramaphosa's telephone call with his U.S. counterpart President Donald Trump on bilateral trade.