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The South African government says it has made significant progress in opening vast new markets like China and Thailand, securing vital protocols for products like citrus.
South Africa is a struggling economy that faces several challenges, such as a lack of growth tempo, disrupted exports, job losses, and the list is expanding. The enhanced US tariffs, its second-largest trade partner, have added to its woes. The US’s tariff of 30 percent, the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa, has reduced South Africa’s growth forecast for this year and beyond.
Diplomatically, the US-South Africa relations have soured in recent days. The Trump administration expelled Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, in mid-March, accusing him of being a “race-baiting politician” opposed to the Trump administration.
Several sectors, accounting for about 35 percent of all US exports, remain exempt from the tariffs. These include copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber products, certain critical minerals, stainless steel scrap and energy products. However, the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition has warned that an estimated 30,000 jobs are at risk.
These tariffs will have a severe impact on South African exports, especially vehicle exports, and also on agricultural exports. And unfortunately, people will lose their jobs and will not easily get new employment, because of the huge unemployment problem we have in South Africa.”
Last week, one of South Africa’s leading financial institutions, Standard Bank Group, slashed the 2025 economic outlook to 0.9 percent – down from 1.7 percent, as projected in March. For 2026, it predicts growth of 1.3 percent, down from an earlier forecast of 2 percent. Goolam Ballim, chief economist for the Standard Bank Group, accused the United States’ so-called “reciprocal tariff” policy of weaponising trade as a political tool.
The government has been scrambling to diversify South Africa’s export markets, particularly by deepening intra-African trade. Countries across Asia and the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have been touted as opportunities for high-growth markets. The government said it had made significant progress in opening vast new markets like China and Thailand, securing vital protocols for products like citrus.
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China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, accounting for 20 percent of the country’s exports, compared to less than 8 percent that goes to the United States.
