South Africans reacted with a mix of concern and calls for strategic planning on Monday, a day after US president-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on the Brics bloc if it undercut the dollar as global reserve.
“We need to expect the unexpected through a risk assessment, even though we know any attempts to de-dollarise are far away as it would have a huge impact on the international financial system,” the DA’s finance spokesperson Ryan Smith said in an interview with Business Day on Monday.
Trump’s statement, which also threatened to cut the Brics+ countries from the US market, was particularly shocking as it coincided with South Africa taking over the helm of the G20 on Sunday before a summit of leaders in 2025.
Speaking to the press during a by-election campaign in Limpopo on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa would engage in diplomatic talks with Trump rather than engage in social media clashes.
Incorrect reporting led to this false narrative running wild. Brics is not planning to create a new currency. The discussion centres [on] trading among Brics members using their own currencies.
— Clayson Monyela, Dirco spokesperson
“We will have moments when we are going to sit down around the table and discuss all these matters,” Ramaphosa said.
“Some of the matters are discussed on these platforms. We prefer that we sit down and rely on diplomacy and have proper discussions on each issue that affects each nation. We are looking forward to having such discussions with Trump.
“He will say from time to time this is the type of tariff he will impose on this country and that country.
“We hear all of that, but in the end we also have a message to put across. We will put it [on] the table where we can discuss things properly in the usual South African style.”
The international relations & co-operation department also weighed in, with spokesperson Clayson Monyela dismissing Trump’s remarks as a reflection of incorrect reporting.
“Incorrect reporting led to this false narrative running wild. Brics is not planning to create a new currency. The discussion centres [on] trading among Brics members using their own currencies,” he said.
The idea of a Brics currency has its roots in the broader goal of the grouping to challenge the global power structure on the shared belief that many countries or regions should influence international relations and global decision-making power.
Over the years Brics countries have discussed the possibility of creating a unified currency to boost trade and investment among member states, with the establishment of the New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement in 2014 seen as steps towards greater financial co-operation.
Trump’s threat may put South Africa in a delicate balancing act in which it needs to juggle economic stability with its pursuit of national interests on the global stage.
The country is a major beneficiary of the US African Growth & Opportunity Act, which facilitated duty-free access to the US market for more than $3bn (R54.5bn) worth of the country’s exports in 2022, mainly motor vehicles, fruit and wine.
South Africa took over the G20 presidency from Brazil on Sunday and Ramaphosa is expected to formally launch it on Tuesday.
There are expected to be 230 meetings in the lead-up to the G20 meeting of leaders at the end of 2025.
“The G20 is important. South Africa needs to pursue its own interests. We are the sole member state from Africa, besides the AU. We also need to place items on the agenda that put Africa at the centre of an agenda that make it easier for developing countries to borrow money and service debt,” said Smith.
While his comments reflect the same sentiment as people Business Day has spoken to in the government of national unity, Smith, speaking from a party perspective, said South Africa needed a more “detailed plan” on what it wanted to get out of the G20.
With TimesLIVE and Tiisetso Motsoeneng
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