South Africa fears significant job losses, especially in the farmers and automobile industries, due to a 30% U.S. tariff on its imports after failing to secure a trade deal before President Trump's deadline.

Cape Town

Donald Trump has signed an order to impose tariffs imports into the U.S. from countries including China, Mexico and Canada.

Global Tariffs

South Africa is experiencing heightened economic pressure after the United States imposed a 30% tariff on its exports of precious gems and metals. Economists predict that this measure will reduce the country's economic growth and could result in tens of thousands of job losses, particularly affecting the agricultural and automotive sectors. 

The South African government has responded by seeking to engage with U.S. officials and by launching initiatives to help affected businesses find alternative markets. Despite these efforts, the tariffs remain in place, making South Africa's rate the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and signaling strained relations between Washington and Pretoria.

South Africa braces for job losses as U.S. tariffs kick in

who are correspondents in South Africa. South Africa steeped 30% on the export of precious gems and metals. Tom Canaty joins us from there. Tom, how are these tariffs going to be felt there, I asked you? Well, Stuart, South Africa already has the second highest level of unemployment in the world, just after Eswatini. So the real fear here in South Africa is the potential for job losses. Economists have already predicted that economic growth will slow from 1.2% down to 1% and that these tariffs could cause tens of thousands of lost jobs. And what's ironic about this whole situation is one of the hardest-hit sectors, sectors that will be hit, is the agricultural sector. So the groups of South Africans that travelled to the US earlier this year to lobby over disinformation about farm attacks against white South African farmers may have actually made life a bit more difficult for some of those farmers who remain here in South Africa today. Other sectors which will be hard-hit is the automotive industry, which employs about 110,000 workers in the Eastern Cape. So what's been the government's response then? So we received a statement from the President's office this morning saying that President Sylvain Ramaphosa actually held a phone call with Donald Trump yesterday and they undertook to continue engagements over these tariffs. But we've seen no signs yet of the US budging over this 30% tariff rate. Ramaphosa, he has tried to deflect responsibility from the South African government earlier this week, saying that South Africa was not alone and that this was a global phenomenon. But he was really hoping for a situation like Lesotho, a country that had a tariff rate of 50% that was then later slashed to 15%. Now South Africa's 30% is the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, obviously a bad sign of relations between Washington and Pretoria. The International Relations Minister said that efforts to reset relations between South Africa and the US have been, quote, undermined by some actors within South African society. And now the government has started efforts to sort of try to pivot its exports to other countries. The government's actually established what they're calling the Export Support Desk, which is essentially a helpline for companies affected by these tariffs who can now call up a number provided by the government that will then link them to South African embassies and high commissions abroad with the idea of trying to redirect some of this trade that was originally going to the US to other major trading partners like the EU or China. Tom, thanks very much. Tom Canetti, our correspondent talking to us there from Cape Town.

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South Africa braces for job losses as U.S. tariffs kick in

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