JOHANNESBURG, South Africa 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made a call to his US counterpart Donald Trump to discuss bilateral trade, just a day before Washington imposed 30% tariffs on the nation's goods entering the US market, according to an official statement released on Thursday.

"The two leaders undertook to continue with further engagements, recognizing the various trade negotiations the US is currently involved in," Ramaphosa’s office said in the statement released following the two presidents' talks over the phone on Wednesday.

The statement said both countries' trade negotiating teams will now move forward with detailed discussions in response to the leaders' call.

The tariff, announced earlier this month by the Trump administration, goes into effect on Friday and applies to all South African goods entering the US market.

This marks the second time Ramaphosa has spoken with Trump by phone since taking office last year.

Speaking separately at a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Ramaphosa’s call to Trump was part of South Africa’s broader negotiation strategy following a trade agreement reached during his working visit to the US in May.

She said the dialogue reflected "room for engagement" and an ongoing commitment to resolving trade disputes through high-level contact.

Relations between Washington, DC, and Pretoria have grown tense in recent months. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused South Africa of "unjust racial discrimination" against White Afrikaner farmers and, in February, announced cuts to aid directed toward the country.

The US is South Africa’s third-largest bilateral trading partner after China and the European Union. According to the US Trade Representative’s Office, total trade between the two countries reached $20.5 billion in 2024.