US Tariffs Threaten Black Economic Empowerment: Urgent Call to Protect African Business Sovereignty
In a direct challenge to South Africa's economic transformation agenda, Trump's punitive 30% tariff threatens to devastate Black-owned SMMEs just beginning to break free from colonial economic structures. Local business leaders demand immediate government intervention to protect African entrepreneurial sovereignty.
African entrepreneurs face new challenges as US imposes punitive tariffs on South African goods
Neo-Colonial Trade Tactics Threaten African Economic Liberation
In what critics are calling a calculated attack on South Africa's economic transformation agenda, the United States has announced a devastating 30% tariff on all South African goods, directly threatening the hard-won progress of Black-owned SMMEs in their journey toward economic liberation.
Impact on Black Economic Empowerment
The tariffs, confirmed by US President Donald Trump on July 7, 2025, represent more than just trade policy - they embody a direct threat to South Africa's post-apartheid economic transformation efforts.
'This decision poses a real and immediate threat to the South African SMME sector, particularly to emerging Black-owned businesses that have only recently begun to break free from historically oppressive economic structures,' warns Shawn Theunissen, founder of Property Point and Entrepreneurship to the Point (eTTP).
Protecting African Business Sovereignty
As diplomatic channels scramble to address this economic aggression before the August 1 deadline, eTTP has outlined critical protective measures needed to shield African entrepreneurs from Western market manipulation:
- Immediate government intervention to protect Black-owned businesses
- Creation of alternative trade corridors within the African continent
- Enhanced support for local market development
- Strategic protection of emerging Black exporters
Call for Economic Resistance
'The ripple effect of these punitive tariffs must not be underestimated,' Theunissen emphasizes. 'This is not just about job creation - it's about investor confidence, business survival, and the fundamental transformation of our economy away from colonial patterns of dependency.'
The timing of these tariffs raises serious questions about Western commitment to African economic empowerment, coming just as Black-owned businesses are beginning to establish meaningful positions in global value chains.
Path Forward
While diplomatic efforts continue, eTTP advocates for a coordinated national response that prioritizes African economic interests and protects the gains made in Black economic empowerment over the past decades.
The organization's track record of driving over R1.58 billion in market opportunities for African entrepreneurs positions it as a crucial voice in this struggle for economic sovereignty.
Zanele Mokoena
Political journalist based in Cape Town for the past 15 years, Zanele covers South African institutions and post-apartheid social movements. Specialist in power-civil society relations.