News 11:00

BULLETIN 3 April 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Presidency is concerned about America’s 30 percent tariffs
# The FF Plus warns a tax boycott could be a possibility
# And rugby: The Springbok Women will play two tests against Canada in July

# The Presidency has expressed concern at the newly imposed tariffs on South African exports to the US. South Africa is among 60 countries that have been singled out for higher tariffs by president Donald Trump, imposing tariffs of 30-percent on all exports. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the tariffs affirm the urgency to negotiate a new bilateral and mutually beneficial trade agreement with the US as an essential step to secure long-term trade certainty:

Meanwhile the European Union says the universal tariffs announced by Trump are a major blow to businesses and consumers worldwide. European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, says they are preparing for further countermeasures to protect Europe’s interests and businesses if negotiations fail:

# The Freedom Front Plus is warning that a tax revolt is to be expected if there are further tax hikes, no economic growth, and no improvement in service delivery. This follows the passing of the national budget in the National Assembly yesterday, which includes a contentious 0.5-percent value-added tax increase. The FF Plus says increasing tax is counterproductive and nothing but a desperate short-term measure, that will eventually let the country sink even deeper into a financial crisis.

# AfriForum says the City of Tshwane’s new environmental levy, which is expected to generate about 540-million-rand in additional revenue, is unfair. The proposed monthly levy of 194-rand-37-cents will be charged to properties with a value of over 250-thousand-rand without existing municipal refuse collection services. AfriForum’s Deidré Steffens says owners who have stopped using the metro’s refuse removal service due to poor municipal service delivery are now being targeted by this planned levy:

# Rugby: The Springbok Women will face Canada in curtain-raisers to the men’s Tests against Italy in Pretoria and Gqeberha in July. Canada is ranked second in the world and South Africa 12th. Bok Women performance coach, Swys de Bruin, says the confirmation of the Tests is great, as they need to play the best teams in the world to be in the best shape possible for the World Cup. SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer, says the Tests will showcase the growth and status of the Springbok Women.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-90-cents and the euro at 20-rand-69-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-77-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-295-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-125-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….