SA's Trade With US 'Small Fry'

Experts: Shrinks to $17bn, Down From $19.1bn

- Ina Opperman

South Africa's trade with the US is not big enough for Trump's trade tariffs to tank the local economy, although it will hurt some sectors such as citrus farmers and automotive manufacturers.

And if the US wants to kick SA off the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) agreement, it will be cutting its nose to spite its face, says Bonke Dumisa, an independent economic analyst.

Just as the US is weaponising the dollar against South Africa, the persistent noises about removing the country from Agoa is also meant to undermine the economy — although its membership was officially extended to the end of 2025 by the US federal government recently.

"The US will not remove South Africa from Agoa. The legislation was deliberately well-crafted to be a win-win tool and the US is not just a charity vehicle devised to do some African states a favour — far from it.

"Over 120,000 US jobs are directly linked to Agoa. If the US emotionally removes South Africa, many of those 120,000 US jobs will be at stake," says Dumisa.