An organisation of exporters in the Western Cape has sounded the alarm over continued diplomatic and trade tensions between SA and the US, warning exports from the province to the US fell by R2.8bn in a single year.
Exporters Western Cape (EWC) urged the government to intervene “at the highest level” to arrest the slide in bilateral relations between Washington and Pretoria. Since US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025, the US government has taken an antagonistic approach to SA.
In a memo seen by TimesLIVE, EWC chair Terry Gale said the back-and-forth between international relations and co-operation minister Ronald Lamola and US ambassador to SA Brent Bozell III deepened the uncertainty between the countries.
“This standoff carries an economic cost. While the diplomatic confrontation continues, exporters face uncertainty over a market they have spent years developing. The government must give this relationship the urgent attention it deserves.”
Gale said exports from the Western Cape to the US fell from about R17.31bn in 2024 to R14.51bn in 2025, a 16.2% or R2.8bn export value decline. He warned the livelihoods that depend on this trade cannot be an afterthought.
Neither country has to agree on every policy to recognise the value of doing business with the other. Allowing disagreements to deepen without a workable resolution puts commercial relationships in jeopardy
— Terry Gale, Exporters Western Cape chair
“These figures should serve as a warning. Exporters spend years building a foothold in the US market. Continued uncertainty puts that work at risk and makes it harder to retain customers. Once a buyer moves to another supplier, winning that business back is no simple matter,” said Gale.
Recent provincial reporting shows the US dropped from the Western Cape’s second-largest to fourth-largest export market. Gale said both governments needed to move beyond public confrontation and pursue negotiations that would protect the trading relationship.
“Neither country has to agree on every policy to recognise the value of doing business with the other. Allowing disagreements to deepen without a workable resolution puts commercial relationships in jeopardy.”
Gale said entering new markets remained essential, but it should not excuse the erosion of established trade. He called for direct engagement at the highest level, backed by a clear commitment to resolving the outstanding issues.
“Diversification takes time. Exporters cannot simply replace the US market overnight. South Africa needs to defend its existing business while pursuing new opportunities. Further deterioration must not be treated as inevitable.”
The Trump administration has pressed on with policies against SA, including “reciprocal tariffs” and taking white Afrikaner South Africans into the US as refugees on the pretense of them being victims of a long debunked “white genocide”.
TimesLIVE
Khulekani Magubane
www.timeslive.co.za