President Cyril Ramaphosa has stressed that Pretoria prefers engagement with Washington, but will not be bullied

Pretoria has dispatched officials to the US for new trade talks after earlier negotiations failed to deliver a deal or ease tariffs. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the move during a parliamentary engagement on Tuesday, noting that the latest discussions center on critical minerals.

US President Donald Trump imposed a 30% tariff on South African goods as part of broader global levies targeting imports from multiple countries. The measure took effect last month despite Pretoria's repeated attempts to negotiate a fair agreement.

"The Presidency and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition have sent representatives ... who are preparing for the further formal negotiations with the United States government, which should be taking place in just a few days," Ramaphosa told parliament.

He said that instead of "war," South Africa has opted for engagement with a US administration "that at times is unpredictable," but without doing so "on a bended knee."

"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," the president declared.

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Ramaphosa said his government has "leverage" grounded in the country's natural resources, particularly its reserves of critical minerals.

"We have the minerals... which the United States needs. The discussions that we are having now with the United States also revolve around that. The critical minerals," he stated.

Relations between Pretoria and Washington have deteriorated since Trump returned to office in January. He has accused the South African government of mistreating the country's white minority, halted all funding to Pretoria, and expelled its ambassador for being "anti-American." 

Ramaphosa has rejected the allegations as baseless, meeting Trump in May to dispel the "completely false narrative." However, the situation remains unresolved, and Pretoria insists it will press on with negotiations.

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa said the US is South Africa's second-largest trading partner, sustaining hundreds of thousands of jobs, and stressed that protecting the interest of those workers is his government's duty.

Pretoria has been pushing to strengthen trade and investment ties through BRICS, across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.