SA President calls 'geopolitical shocks and unprecedented trade policy volatility' a threat to development.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Tuesday, 23 September, that "trade is now being used as a weapon against a number of countries," in an ostensible rebuke of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

"It is concerning that geopolitical shocks and unprecedented trade policy volatility are destabilising the global economy and jeopardising a critical source of development financing," Ramaphosa said.

"We must redouble our efforts to strengthen the link between trade and development. Unilateral trade practices and economic coercion have a detrimental impact on many nations."

He said the African Continental Free Trade Area, the world's largest free trade area, would become "the central pillar of economic cooperation and integration" for the African continent.

Trump imposed a 30% tariff on South African exports last month, after Pretoria failed to reach a trade deal with Washington before a 1 August deadline set by the US president.

South Africa first offered a proposal for a trade agreement to the US in May and subsequently submitted a revised offer for a deal in August.

In the days before Trump's tariffs were effected, South African...