Western Cape exports to the US fell 16.2% to R14.51bn in 2025 as additional tariffs and a temporary lapse in preferential trade benefits hit exporters, prompting premier Alan Winde to press for tariff relief and improved relations with Washington.
The decline puts pressure on a province that accounted for more than half of South Africa’s agricultural and processed agricultural exports to the US last year. Its exposure also extends to yachts, jewellery and vehicle engine components.
The US dropped from the province’s second-largest export market to fourth, according to Winde, who told Business Day that the decline in export volumes was linked to a difficult trading year, additional tariffs and the temporary expiry of African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) benefits.
Agoa has been extended to December 31 2028, preserving preferential duty-free access to US markets for goods from eligible African countries. It is, however, still unclear whether South Africa will remain a beneficiary.
Local exporters have faced successive US tariff measures. Washington imposed a 30% tariff on affected South African goods in August 2025.
After the US Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariff regime in February, the administration introduced a temporary 10% global levy, followed in July by duties of 10%-12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners citing alleged failures to curb imports made with forced labour.
The trade uncertainty has coincided with deteriorating political relations fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s false allegations of racial discrimination against whites in South Africa and disputes over its domestic policies. Pretoria has rejected the allegations while seeking to keep trade negotiations open.
Winde told Business Day after visiting the US in September that the national government needed to repair diplomatic ties to protect investment and jobs. Commercial relationships remained active, he said, but businesses could not escape the consequences of tensions between the two governments.
“I’ve got no doubt that this will be negative for us if we don’t get the diplomacy right,” he said.
Winde said he was seeking a meeting with trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau to discuss the pressures on provincial businesses and how national negotiations could help them. Trade negotiations remained a national responsibility, he said, with the province using its relationships to press for better access.
I’ve got no doubt that this will be negative for us if we don’t get the diplomacy right.
— Alan Winde, Western Cape premier
“We can’t afford tariffs and high tariffs because then we are not competitive. We want to remain competitive in the market,” Winde said.
The delegation met representatives of the US state department, National Security Council and government financing institutions. It also engaged investors including Amazon, PepsiCo and Marriott International.
Investment has so far held up. The province recorded R11.41bn in US investment in 2025, its highest in a decade, the premier’s office said.
Winde said the US had been the province’s leading foreign direct investor over the past five years, making the diplomatic relationship particularly important. While the Western Cape wanted to diversify its markets, it also needed to protect relationships already supporting businesses and employment.
He said longstanding ties with Georgia and California could help build commercial links but could not shield exporters from tariffs set by the federal government. A yacht sold into the US would still face the applicable tariff regardless of a provincial relationship with the destination state.
“I’m worried that Agoa is now going to be the next sort of salvo that America is going to be playing with.”
He said his discussions had included the importance of vehicle exports from the Eastern Cape, arguing that provinces needed to support one another because their economies were connected. Weak employment elsewhere also increased pressure on Western Cape public services as people moved in search of work.
Excluding South Africa from Agoa would affect other African beneficiaries that relied on its banks, technology providers and logistics companies, he said.
Winde urged Pretoria to seek ways to ease the dispute, citing Mexico’s efforts to reduce pressure from Washington. The country’s high unemployment rate made a prolonged confrontation with a major investor and trading partner particularly costly, he said.
He argued that the country’s mineral exports offered negotiating leverage.
“And what are our trump cards, so to speak?” Winde said, pointing to “some of our key minerals that we export … but those are the trump cards. So how are we playing that game and are we playing it strategically or not?” he said.
Business Day
Thando Maeko
www.businesslive.co.za