Two weeks to 40% duties. Pretoria lowers its head, chomps away as asteroid approaches

Key topics:South Africa’s small open economy faces major external risks from August 1 tariffs.Government leadership seems unprepared, ignoring looming international trade threats.Ramaphosa’s US mission failed, leaving SA diplomatically weak and without leverage..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.The auditorium doors will open for BNIC#2 on 10 September 2025 in Hermanus. For more information and tickets, click here..By Alec Hogg.Living one day at a time is a fantastic approach for rational individuals. As the great Roman emperor philosopher Marcus Aurelius urged us: "Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last.”But it’s a terrible approach when responsible for a collective endeavour. Especially for a small country, adjusting to circumstances and planning ahead is critical. We’ve known this for thousands of years. Witness Joseph, originally of Egypt but better known nowadays for a show about his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.Consider the facts: SA accounts for just 0.3% of global GDP. So it’s a classic ‘price taker’. We are also what is known as an ‘Open Economy’ as exports and imports account for over half SA’s economic activity.Such realities should determine all actions in an international trade arena where SA is both very small and extremely vulnerable. Especially now when this veritable cork in the ocean is exactly two weeks away from experiencing Tsunami-like turbulence.Yet occupants of the Union Buildings are serenity personified. Seemingly living for today and letting August 1 take care of itself.They’re either suffering from an extreme case of Dunning Kruger or hoping for a miracle. Most likely those worthies who lead the nation are applying the storied approach of dinosaurs who, on seeing the asteroid approaching, simply continued grazing believing there was nothing they could do to stop the existential threat..Read more:.Worldview: Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on Africa – SA braces for trade fallout, Lesotho hit hardest with 50% blow.My tweet above was posted nine days ago to point tribe members towards a forthright interview with Joel Pollak. That sad conclusion it reaches was confirmed in an interview today with Johann Human, a retired World Trade Organisation senior official. Click here to watch. Another thunderflash for the dreamers comes towards the end of this week’s special BizNews Premium-only podcast from the FT. It’s a brilliant rendition of the Kraft Heinz story, a disaster with significant parallels in SA’s own Tiger Brands. As you’ll hear, it was not one of Warren Buffett’s better bets. Click on the image at the bottom of the page to access.But the part where Pretoria should listen closely is where Unhedged Podcast host Rob Armstrong shares his “long” of the week: the best bet around, he avers, is Trump Tariffs will indeed be implemented on August 1 - not least so the US President can prove TACO (‘Trump Always Chickens Out’) is just fake news.On the topic of brilliant content, RW Johnson’s just published piece is a must-read.A taster: Ramaphosa’s mission to Washington has achieved nothing and he remains at the foot of the mountain, without friends, without leverage and, indeed, without dignity. Such is the denouement that ANC foreign policy has produced.

Two weeks to 40% duties. Pretoria lowers its head, chomps away as asteroid approaches

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