South Africa will never 'go on bended knee' in trade talks with US: Ramaphosa

CAPE TOWN - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that his government is actively engaging the United States to secure a fair trade and investment deal, but emphasized that the country will not "go on bended knee" in the negotiations.

Responding to questions in the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, Ramaphosa told lawmakers that South African government representatives are currently in the United States for further formal negotiations.

"Our people, who are in the United States, now are fully fired up with this type of approach," he said, adding that ministers of trade and industry and international relations will join them to advance the discussions.

"They are meeting a number of stakeholders, including representatives in the administration, legislators, business people, and others," he added.

The president said that the objective of the continued engagement with the United States is to secure a mutually beneficial trade and investment deal, noting that the government has chosen the route of engagement after consultations with exporters, importers, trade unions, and the private sector.

"Our option is informed by what we want to gain. And what we want to gain is to continue exporting to the United States as much as possible, and to enable companies also to invest in the United States, but to also get US companies to invest in us," Ramaphosa said.

Meanwhile, the president stressed that South Africa entered talks with significant leverage, pointing to the country's mineral wealth and processing capacity.

"The discussions that we are having now with the United States also revolve around that the critical minerals that South Africa has, and the capacity that we have to process those minerals ... something that we take to the table and use as leverage," he said.

Ramaphosa acknowledged that the US administration can at times be "unpredictable" and "retaliatory", but said he was confident that the strategy of engagement would deliver positive outcomes.

"It is a strategy that we have opted for, a strategy of engagement, and a strategy which we believe will yield results, notwithstanding the fact that we are obviously dealing with the United States administration that at times is unpredictable and that at times just retaliates -- without being supplicants, without going on bended knee, which we have never done and which we will never do," Ramaphosa said.

"We have said we will not be bullied. We will stand as a sovereign country and negotiate and get the best deal for South Africa. That's precisely what we do," he noted.