US tariffs highlight need to diversify markets, South African president tells Japan summit

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday said the US tariffs highlight the need for diversified markets at the Japan summit.

"Recent tariff actions by the United States on African goods have highlighted the need to diversify our export markets," Ramaphosa said at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), held in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

The event hosts representatives, including presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers from nearly 50 African nations.

Ramaphosa called on Japan to support "tariff cooperation to ease market access for African goods," according to a readout issued by the South African government.

South African goods are currently subject to 30% tariffs by the US.

"South Africa seeks to deepen intra-African trade while becoming a continental industrial platform from which Japanese and other global firms can export into Africa," he said, expressing a desire for partnerships in infrastructure, energy, and digital development through blended finance.

"Africa is not seeking aid. It is seeking partners," he remarked.

"Africa must not merely react" to the global economic uncertainty and reshaping of trade but "must help to shape them," Ramaphosa said.