In the wake of the levying by the US of 30% tariffs on South African goods, the country is facing the prospect of outright import restrictions – this time from Taiwan.
The South African government recently announced that the Taiwanese mission in Pretoria – the Taipei Liaison Office – would no longer be recognised, and that consular services would be rendered from Johannesburg, which would henceforth be known as a trade office.
Taiwan protested about this, noting that it had been undertaken without consultation. The country’s foreign ministry announced that it would consider countermeasures, including possibly stopping the export of semiconductor chips, where it is a world leader. This would be done, officials said, to “protect national dignity”.
Industry experts have cautioned that this could have wide-ranging implications. Taiwanese semiconductor chips are used in numerous manufacturing processes and are essential to the digital economy. In both respects, Taiwanese restrictions could hit South Africa’s industries hard.
Professor Japie Greeff of Belgium Campus ITversity was quoted as saying: “Many of Africa’s AI and data infrastructure systems run on Taiwanese chips. Any disruption could directly impact our rollout of advanced technologies like Agentic AI.”
“Semiconductors are essential to telecoms, smart devices, and even public sector digitisation. Restrictions would ripple across industries — raising costs, slowing projects, and delaying national innovation goals,” adds Dr Ernst van Biljon of IMM Graduate School.
While there have been suggestions for South Africa to develop its own industry, this requires enormous capital and skill, and would take years to achieve.
“There is no short-term fix. South Africa lacks the infrastructure to produce commercial-grade semiconductors at scale,” says Dr van Biljon.
The demand on the Taiwanese mission was justified as being in accord with South Africa’s commitment to the “One China Policy”. Critics argued that it reflected Chinese pressure, or an eagerness to please China on the part of a supplicating South Africa.