South African Scholar Deplores U.S. Tariffs, Calling It Weaponization Of Economic Power

The U.S. decision to impose tariffs on South African goods is a unilateral act that is bent on weaponizing the U.S. economic power, and the move is meant to coerce South Africa to align with U.S. foreign policy, a South African scholar has said.

Sizo Nkala, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Africa-China Studies, University of Johannesburg, made the statement in an interview with China Media Group (CMG).

His comment came after U.S. president Donald Trump announced 30 percent tariffs on all goods produced in South Africa, starting from Aug 1.

Nkala said the tariff decision is politically motivated and aims to pressure South Africa into changing its foreign policy stance.

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“These tariffs are political. It’s about South Africa’s foreign policy choices, and I think the U.S. wants to undermine South Africa’s sovereignty and its right to make sovereign choices on the international stage,” he said.

Nkala said the U.S. is using tariffs as a tool to weaponize its economic power, and he expressed the hope for South Africa to resist the external pressure.

“It’s a unilateral act that is bent on weaponizing U.S. economic power, and also it’s meant to coerce South Africa to align with U.S. foreign policy. So I hope South Africa is able to resist this coercion by the U.S.,” he said.