Unfortunate that US didn't participate in G20: South African trade minister

It is unfortunate that the US did not participate in the G20 in Johannesburg this weekend because important matters relating to world trade were discussed, South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau said on Sunday.

Tau, asked whether the US would lose out by not attending and reduce its influence on global trade, said this needed to be judged in the context of what the outcomes of the G20 have been.

It's been an important discussion around global trade, issues around the World Trade Organisation (WTO), discussion around industrialisation, financing for development, around debt. All those issues are important for the entire world and it is quite unfortunate that their (the US) voice was not coming across at these meetings, Tau said in a media briefing.

The minister said discussions with the US around trade would continue.

G20 is a separate process. Of course, I can't pretend that it does not reflect on the issues that have been discussed, but so far it hasn't in any way been negative, he said.

Tau said the decisions taken at the Johannesburg Summit would be tracked through what countries would be doing after the US takes over the Presidency next month.

We track progress on the number of agreements that we have with various countries on the basis of the principles set out here, the impact on the multilateral system and the positions that will be presented in the UN for resolution at different multilateral platforms, Tau said.

He added that there will also be tracking of discussion and the implications around reform at the WTO.

Issues are tracked on the basis of what we put on the table. The obligation is on us as a country to follow up and we are clear that we will follow up, he said.

Commenting on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Tau said it was still on the table.

Since its enactment in 2000, AGOA has been at the core of US economic policy and commercial engagement with Africa, providing many sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market for a wide range of products.

But President Donald Trump's arbitrary implementation of varying duties for different countries has impacted this severely.

There were issues on the US side with the government shutdown and that had an impact on the way decisions are made in the Congress. The delay in making those decisions have impacted us and we accept that it is part of the reality on the side of the Congress.

Now that Congress has resumed, we have to go back to Congress. The argument has always been that this is a decision made by Congress. Therefore, you need Congressmen and women to be in session to be able to engage. Now that they are back, we will certainly be continuing our lobbying for AGOA, Tau said.

Tau said President Cyril Ramaphosa had extended an invitation to all heads of blocs in Africa to ensure that Africa finds expression here.

We have agreed on what needs to be done in relation to critical minerals. A programme is in place to look at issues around the debt burden and the costs of capital in African countries, he said.

Tau emphasised that outcomes of the decisions at G20 would not be immediate, but that members would hold each other accountable for them.

We would be able to hold our partner countries in the G20 accountable for the commitments that they have made in as much as they hold us accountable for the commitments we have made, the minister concluded.