Jobs bloodbath likely as Trump tariffs threaten manufacturing, agriculture

Exports will continue but demand for SA goods might decline in the US due to higher prices

- By Mpho Sibanyoni

Economists have warned that the tariff that US President Donald Trump imposed on South African could result in economic shocks, including a jobs bloodbath and soaring prices of goods in the long term.

The economists stated this after Trump this week shocked markets by unveiling protectionist policies, hitting some of the countries doing trade with the yanks.

This saw South Africa being slapped with a 31% tariff, a steep hike compared to the current 7.6% tariff.

Economist Azar Jammine indicated that the tariffs would impact negatively on the local automotive manufacturing sector.

"Around 6.5% of the automotive sector goes to the US and the value is R27 billion," said Jammine, adding that the tariffs would affect brands like Merceodes-Benz and BMW.

"This might require them to reduce production and that might cause a reduction in the workforce," he said.

Jammine said the job losses were likely to kick in after two months. "It's not something that will happen in the next week, it will take quite a while because you've got stocks of goods that have already been exported.