SA Politics Thread Part 11: The GNU Normal

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Grapes of wrath: South African wineries hit by 30% US tariffs

South Africa’s vineyards, known for their Pinotage and Chenin Blanc grapes, are bracing for a hit after 30 per cent US tariffs left them at a sharp disadvantage to their international winemaking rivals.

Africa’s largest economy exports more than $500mn a year of wine, a staple of its agricultural sector, and the US was its fourth-largest market last year after the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

The 30 per cent tariff on South Africa, which went into effect on Thursday, exceeds the 15 per cent levied on France, Italy and Spain, as well as the 10 per cent on Australia, Argentina and Chile.

The tariffs could have an outsize impact on an industry employing 270,000 people in a country where one in three cannot find a job.

“The US is also the biggest consumer market for wine globally, so many South African producers have put a considerable amount of effort into building up relationships there,” said Rico Basson, chief executive of the industry body South Africa Wine.
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About 200 of South Africa’s 512 wine estates export to the US, many of which will be “highly exposed” to the tariffs, Basson said.
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GT Ferreira, a banker who owns the Stellenbosch-based Tokara, disputed the idea that winemakers would be able to swiftly pivot to selling elsewhere.

“The government is talking about finding new markets, but if it was so easy, we’d have already done that a long time ago,” he said. “All we really can do is tell our marketing guys to try harder.
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R13... said:
Why was the previous one removed? Health is probably the worst performance portfolio I remember Lesufi refusing to act against the HOD there last year. Is that HOD still on the job?
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What were the findings against the HoD last year that he was supposed to act on?
 
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