South Africa To Purchase Liquefied Natural Gas From US In Proposed $1bn Deal

South Africa announced Monday that it plans to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States in a proposed agreement valued at approximately $1 billion annually.

The development follows tense, high-stakes talks between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington last week.

In return for the LNG imports, South Africa would secure duty-free access for 40,000 vehicles exported annually to the United States, according to cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. Writing in a comment piece for the Sunday Times, Ntshavheni detailed elements of the proposed deal, which is still pending finalization.

The discussions, aimed at repairing strained diplomatic relations and preserving vital trade ties, came after a frosty televised exchange between the two leaders.

Under the tentative terms, South Africa would commit to importing U.S. LNG over a 10-year period, Ntshavheni wrote.

She also noted that the United States would invest in South Africa’s gas infrastructure, including support for fracking operations.

In exchange, South Africa would not only gain duty-free access for vehicles but also for 385,000 tonnes of steel and 132,000 tonnes of aluminium annually.

The proposal, if finalized, would generate an estimated $900 million to $1.2 billion in annual trade.

South Africa currently faces a significant trade deficit with the United States, which has recently threatened to impose tariffs as high as 30 percent on South African exports.

Additionally, the deal includes provisions for duty-free imports of South African automotive components used in U.S. vehicle manufacturing.

“These are numbers contained in the trade deal proposal that South Africa has presented to the USTR (US Trade Representative) for consideration and further negotiations,” said Ramaphosa’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya, speaking to AFP.

In his weekly newsletter published Monday, President Ramaphosa framed the meeting as a step toward stronger economic engagement.

“A key outcome of the talks was agreement on an economic cooperation channel between the US administration and South Africa to engage further on tariffs and a broad range of trade matters,” he wrote.

“There is potential to increase and diversify trade between our two countries in areas such as gas, mining and critical minerals, agriculture and nuclear products,” he added.

Ramaphosa also confirmed that the United States had agreed to participate in the upcoming G20 summit scheduled for November in Johannesburg.

“It was also agreed that Washington would be represented at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in Johannesburg in November,” Ramaphosa said.

President Trump had earlier threatened to skip the summit, which South Africa is hosting this year, amid deteriorating bilateral relations driven by disagreements on both domestic and international fronts.

During their meeting in Washington, Trump publicly confronted Ramaphosa with discredited claims of genocide against white farmers in South Africa—an issue that has fueled diplomatic tension.

Despite the controversy, Ramaphosa reaffirmed the purpose of his visit.

“The overarching aim of our visit was to deepen our strategic economic partnership with the US as our second-largest trading partner,” he said.