USTR Greer says he's open to 'different treatment' of South Africa under African trade initiative

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday said he was open to treating South Africa differently than other African countries if the U.S. extends a trade initiative with sub-Saharan Africa that expired in September.

Greer told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing that the Trump administration was open to a one-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, but viewed South Africa as a unique case and could consider excluding it from the trade initiative, if Congress pushed for that outcome.

"If you think that we should give South Africa different treatment, I'm open to that," Greer told the hearing, adding that South Africa needed to lower tariffs on U.S. products and non-tariff barriers on U.S. goods if it wanted the U.S. to reduce its 30% duties on South African goods.