South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has strongly rejected the unilateral imposition of a 30% tariff on all South African exports to the United States, calling the measure inaccurate and unjustified.

The tariff, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 7 and set to take effect on August 1, targets South Africa as the only sub-Saharan African nation among 14 countries facing new trade penalties.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the South African Presidency argued that the tariff is based on a misrepresentation of trade data, noting that 56% of goods enter South Africa duty-free, and 77% of U.S. goods benefit from 0% tariffs under the most-favored-nation regime.

“South Africa maintains that the 30% reciprocal tariff is not an accurate representation of available trade data,” the statement read, adding that the average tariff on imported goods is 7.6%.

The tariff announcement follows a 90-day pause on Trump’s earlier “reciprocal tariffs” imposed in April. While some countries, like the UK and Vietnam, have reached preliminary trade deals with the U.S., South Africa has yet to finalize its own framework.

Ramaphosa has instructed negotiators to urgently engage with U.S. counterparts, referencing a Framework Deal submitted on May 20, which addresses concerns over trade imbalances, market access, and reciprocity.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Parliamentary Committee on Economic Development and Trade warned that the tariffs could severely impact key sectors such as citrus, macadamia, automotive components, steel, and aluminum, threatening tens of thousands of jobs.

The Trump administration has also warned that any retaliatory tariffs from South Africa would result in additional penalties, and has linked tariff relief to domestic U.S. manufacturing commitments.

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