South Africa fired back at Donald Trump after he slapped them with hefty trade penalties. The African nation called out the American president for getting his numbers wrong about their business deals. Officials from Cape Town said Trump based his 30 percent tax punishment on bad math that makes no sense. They claimed their real average tax rate sits at just 7.6 percent for imported goods. The government wants everyone to know they treat American companies fairly when they sell products there.
More than half of all goods roll through South African ports without paying any taxes at all. American businesses enjoy even better treatment with 77 percent of their stuff entering the country tax-free. President Cyril Ramaphosa got a letter from Washington confirming the new penalties would hit his country hard. His team promised to keep talking with American officials to fix this mess peacefully. They want both countries to make money from trading with each other instead of fighting over numbers.
Trump pushed back his tariff deadline from July 9 to August 1 after getting advice from his top people. He announced punishment taxes for 14 different countries around the world on Monday. Japan and South Korea face 25 percent penalties alongside Malaysia and other nations. Indonesia gets hit with 32 percent taxes while Serbia and Bangladesh pay 35 percent. Cambodia and Thailand must cough up 36 percent with Laos and Myanmar facing the steepest 40 percent rates.
More than half of all goods roll through South African ports without paying any taxes at all. American businesses enjoy even better treatment with 77 percent of their stuff entering the country tax-free. President Cyril Ramaphosa got a letter from Washington confirming the new penalties would hit his country hard. His team promised to keep talking with American officials to fix this mess peacefully. They want both countries to make money from trading with each other instead of fighting over numbers.
Trump pushed back his tariff deadline from July 9 to August 1 after getting advice from his top people. He announced punishment taxes for 14 different countries around the world on Monday. Japan and South Korea face 25 percent penalties alongside Malaysia and other nations. Indonesia gets hit with 32 percent taxes while Serbia and Bangladesh pay 35 percent. Cambodia and Thailand must cough up 36 percent with Laos and Myanmar facing the steepest 40 percent rates.
