Ramaphosa woos Musk, trumpets trade with the US

President Cyril Ramaphosa met with South African-born US billionaire Elon Musk – the co-founder of Tesla Motors, founder of SpaceX, and owner of X (formerly Twitter) – in New York on Monday, trying to woo Musk and United States businesses to invest in the &#039;GNU&#039; South Africa.The SABC’s US and United Nations bureau chief Sherwin Bryce-Pease posted pictures of Ramaphosa’s meeting with Musk on X, saying the meeting in the Big Apple was “to talk investment in SA after a day focused entirely on FDI [foreign direct investment] and engagement with dozens of business leaders.”Ramaphosa is leading a delegation in the US this week, along with trade and industry minister Parks Tau and other government officials.His meeting with Musk also comes at a time when the SA government is looking at possibly opening up the market for Tesla’s Starlink business to enter SA. However, both Ramaphosa and Tau would have no doubt also spoken to Musk about the possibility of setting up a Tesla plant in SA.US visit The president’s investment charm offensive comes as the US is deciding on whether to extend the country’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) trade deal and ahead of South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit next year.Agoa provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries (including SA currently) with duty-free access to the US market for over 1800 products. The G20 is a grouping of some of the world’s major economies, including the likes of the US, UK, Germany, China, France, Brazil, the European Union, and more recently, the African Union.Earlier on Monday, Ramaphosa and Tau – together with minister of international relations Ronald Lamola – met executives at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and business bodies like the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU).Ramaphosa had the opportunity to ring the closing bell of NYSE – the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalisation.Trade talksSouth Africa’s US trade visit comes just three weeks after Ramaphosa undertook a similar trade and state visit to China in early September.It is also his first visit to the US since the establishment of SA’s new Government of National Unity (GNU) in July, after the 2024 elections.The US goes to the polls in November, with Republican candidate Donald Trump taking on the Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris.With Trump’s tough talk around trade barriers (duties) for exports into the US, there are fears that SA could be excluded from the new Agoa deal in 2025. Whether Trump or Harris wins, Ramaphosa and Tau will want to secure SA’s continued participation in Agoa trade benefits, as well as the future US president’s attendance at the G20 summit in SA next year.The US goes to the polls in November, with Republican candidate Donald Trump taking on the Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris.-MONEYWEB

Ramaphosa woos Musk, trumpets trade with the US

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Republikein 2025-12-15

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