Banele Ginindza
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has called on government to impose steep tariffs on imports from BRICS partners China and India, warning that local industry is under siege and that trade imbalances are deepening.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim made the remarks during a parliamentary briefing by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and automotive industry stakeholders on the implementation of the South African Automotive Masterplan (SAAM) on Tuesday.
While labour supports investment and does not oppose South Africa’s BRICS membership, Jim said government must reassess the value of its trade partnerships at a time when the domestic auto sector is facing intense import pressure and heightened global trade tensions.
“We are not against BRICS. We are not against China. But if Chinese companies are investing here, then they must do proper investment, embark in proper manufacturing, actually create jobs in the value chain like VW and Mercedes Benz are doing,” Jim said.
“We shouldn’t ooh ahh about that. We need the dtic to represent us effectively.”
Jim said Numsa had yet to be consulted on the concluded sale of Nissan’s Rosslyn plant to Chinese automaker Chery, adding the union wants clarity on job retention and the future of the Nissan-linked value chain.
He warned that unless local procurement is prioritised, particularly by government as the country’s largest fleet operator, further job losses could follow in the tyre sector.
Continental Tyres, he said, has flagged a bleak 2026 outlook, with plant capacity to produce 2.3 million tyres a year but current production allocations of about 1.7 million units.
“If they don’t turn the picture around in nine months, they will be forced to follow Goodyear and close. Sumitomo in Ladysmith also threatening plant closure if they fail to turn around the picture,” Jim said.
Zuko Godlimpi, deputy minister of the dtic, said the department was balancing efforts to attract investment from BRICS partners with the need to safeguard domestic industry.
“We are engaging Chinese auto firms to try to get them to set up shop in South Africa. You can’t do that in a hostile setting. So we work very well with the Chinese government and Chinese auto manufacturers,” Godlimpi said.
“We are trying to make the case that many of them must come to South Africa to set up shop. It is the same with the ones from India. So we don’t have a negative attitude towards them.”
Godlimpi said negotiations with Chinese automakers are part of a strategy to position South Africa as a manufacturing hub for exports into Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“But that conversation is not exclusively for the Chinese. We’re having the same conversation with our traditional auto manufacturers in South Africa. We ideally want a scenario where we add more OEMs to the 7 plus that we have, as opposed to having anyone exiting.
“We don’t want VW, BMW and anybody to leave. We want to build a capability where South Africa becomes a strategic manufacturing hub for exports into the continent and the rest of the world.“
Godlimpi also said changing global trade patterns also present openings for South Africa.
“As the US pursues its foreign policy as it does, it runs the risk of decoupling itself from many of its traditional market partners. And that’s an opportunity for us as well,” he said.
“Think about it like this: if Canada starts to limit its dependence on the US auto-sector, they must answer the question: who are they going to source from? And our intention is to present South Africa as one of those.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM) warned that domestic policy constraints, market weaknesses and global shifts have made SAAM targets increasingly difficult to achieve.
The association said business conditions in the component sector remain largely negative, citing weaker original equipment (OE) production outlooks, supply chain disruptions, rising raw material costs and growing trade complexities.
Although vehicle sales in 2025 recovered to pre-Covid levels, NAACAM said they remain below SAAM 2035 targets. Meanwhile, import penetration is rising and local production has stagnated below pre-pandemic levels of 600,000 units, leaving South Africa accounting for only about 0.6% of global vehicle output.
BUSINESS REPORT
