ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS STATEMENT ON THE U.S TRADE BULLYING MECHANISMS AND THE COWARDICE OF SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT
The Economic Freedom Fighters notes that the Minister of Trade and Industry is now capitulating to the United States’ trade bullying tactics, which will coerce South Africa to import poultry, beef and port meats from the United States. What this means is that South Africa’s chicken farmers, beef and pork producers will have to compete with the subsidized products from America, and evidently the South African producers will not win. When the South African producers of poultry, beef and pork do not win, it means the farms will be closed down and economically, such will lead to decreased revenue for the state, and loss of jobs in a state where South Africa’s economy is experiencing negative growth defined by crisis level of unemployment.
Barack Obama has sent a warning letter stating that South Africa will be excluded from the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) AGOA benefits if it does not allow the importation of beef, pork and poultry products from America. What this means is that Americans are saying South Africa should not feed itself, and should allow conditions for the country to be fed by Americans. There is no country in the world that deserves respect if it cannot feed itself and South Africa has lost the capacity to feed its own people and such will be completely undermined due to government’s lack of coherent and cogent trade and industrial protection programme.
When we held the great Economic Freedom March on the 27th of October 2015, we stopped at the US Consulate in Sandton to communicate the simple message that America is not South Africa’s ally in the pursuit for economic emancipation. We specifically said that Americans use their trade bullying tactics so that they can dump goods and services into the South African markets without tariffs. America always uses its superior economic and trading power to intimidate and belittle their trading partners and the letter from Barack Obama is an expression of such bully tactics.
Now, the Minister of Trade and Industry is capitulating to the bully tactics of the US, and said the following “South Africa wishes to submit that it has been making continual progress during the past few months to implement the agreement reached in Paris on June 6-7 this year. The main issues to be resolved are the opening of the South African market to US exports of the three meats: poultry, beef and pork. At the Paris meeting South Africa agreed to open the South African market to the US for 65 000 tons of bone-in chicken pieces through a rebate facility”. This statement by the Minister means that at the end of it, South Africa will be receiving poultry, beef and pork products from America, and such will undermine SA’s food security, jobs and self-respect.
The EFF has consistently called for the protection of local industries, and this forms part of our cardinal pillars. We once again call for protection of South Africa’s food economy, which is the entire food production capacity in South Africa. Such should be done with clearly defined relations and interactions with South African retailers, because importation of food which can practically be produced in the country undermines the integrity of any nation and country. In the immediate, Trade & Industry should work with Agriculture and Land Bank to assist the capacity of small scale chicken farmers, beef and pork producers. Almost all black small scale chicken farmers (particularly chicken growers) in South Africa do not have independent access to abattoirs to process chicken products.
The EFF will write to the Portfolio Committee on Trade & Industry and the to the Department to present a cogent plan on protection and development of the food economy sector, with the aim of guaranteeing South Africa’s food independence and self-dependence. The trade bullying tactics of the US can only be overcome by developing a strong and reliable food economy sector, which will create jobs and feed all people.
Issued by EFF National Spokesperson Mbuyiseni Quintin Ndlozi, 9 November 2015
