Sakeliga submits comments to the United States Trade Representative

Sakeliga has submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) as input into its annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) report. The submission documents how the South African government inhibits trade and commerce by making race a condition of employment, state contracts, licences, mergers, and trade.

The USTR’s NTE report is the United States government’s annual account of the barriers other countries place in the way of trade and investment. It is submitted to the President and Congress and serves as a reference for US trade policy. The next NTE report is expected to be published in March 2027.

Sakeliga responded to the official annual request for comments advertised by USTR in September 2026. The submission is part of our standing programme to provide domestic and international business communities and trade offices with accurate information on race-restrictive regulations and regulatory developments affecting local and foreign businesses operating in South Africa, supporting well-informed business strategies and policy decisions.

Sakeliga’s submission provides context and factual clarity on race-restrictive regulations as well as guidance on how South African law, its administration, and the policy landscape have shifted since the period the 2026 NTE Report covers, through new regulations, enforcement programmes, and a series of court judgments.

The submission documents five areas of race-restrictive regulation:

1. Employment Equity regulations;
2. State procurement;
3. BEE licensing;
4. Competition Commission mergers and acquisitions regulation; and
5. Trade (quotas, rebates, and permitting).

Sakeliga will also distribute the report submitted to USTR to other foreign trade offices with representation in Pretoria.

Sakeliga will continue to investigate, highlight, and resist race-restrictive regulation and will inform local and foreign businesses and policymakers of the status of harmful business regulation, its consequences for business, and progress in challenging this policy programme in the courts and elsewhere.

Resources

• Sakeliga's comments to the USTR on foreign trade barriers for 2027