United States tensions putting 576,000 jobs one the line in South Africa

Civil society organisation Solidarity has warned that weakening trade relations with the United States of America is putting more than half a million jobs at risk.

According to the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), exports to the United States support approximately 576,000 jobs across South Africa.

Around half of these work in sectors which directly benefit from favourable export conditions under the United States African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

These include industries such as fruit, mining, automotives, chemicals, and steel, with the potential loss of these benefits presenting substantial risks to job security in the country.

Solidarity said that a retraction of AGOA on the part of the US would weaken business competitiveness, reduce export revenue, and negatively impact vulnerable rural communities.

South Africa exported goods worth R156.8 billion to the US in 2024, with the agricultural sector alone exporting products worth more than R10 billion to the market.

Local businesses across many of South Africa’s agricultural communities are dependent on export markets as their main form of economic activity.

Theuns Du Buisson, an economic researcher at SRI, said the South African government was putting the future of these businesses and communities at risk through political obstinacy.

“It is easy to dismiss the importance of AGOA when your own salary does not depend on it,” Du Buisson said. “But behind these exports are workers, families, and communities with few other economic opportunities.”

While AGOA accounts for a small percentage of South African exports, Du Buisson said it benefitted vulnerable rural communities the most.

South Africa has already begun to feel the impact of tariffs imposed against it by the US, with the country’s automotive sector being a clear example.

After a general tariff was introduced last year, just 6,500 vehicles were exported from South Africa to the US in 2025, compared with 25,500 the year before.

The US is in the process of reviewing the participating countries list for AGOA, with the final list set to be announced on 1 November.

South Africa may find itself taken off of the list due to its strained relationship with the US, losing all of its current export benefits and placing thousands of jobs on the line.

Fixing a broken relationship

Solidarity has engaged with the United States government on the importance of AGOA for the past four years, repeatedly submitting research to various forums.

The trade union’s first AGOA report was submitted to the Biden administration in 2023 after both Republicans and Democrats began scaling back relations with South Africa.

According to Du Buisson, the United States accounts for 27% of the global consumer market, making maintaining positive trade relations a top priority for South Africa.

“One in every 30 households benefit from exports to the US,” Du Buisson said. “For many of these exports, there is no other market that can replace the US market.”

“For the sake of South African jobs, we must now do everything in our power to keep relations with the US positive.”

The relationship between South Africa and the United States has deteriorated significantly in recent years, largely due to conflicting policies between the two countries.

The US has disapproved of the South African government’s close ties to countries which it views as having opposing interests to itself, such as Iran, Russia, and China.

It has also criticised some of the country’s regulations, including Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and land expropriation without compensation.

United States ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III recently said that the US had run out of patience with South Africa over its failure to address some of these issues.

In response, Bozell was démarched by International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola, who told Bozell to “get out the kitchen” if he was no longer willing to dialogue.

Solidarity believes that statements such as the one made by Lamola will only further strain relations between the two countries, with workers and their families set to pay the price.

“No country can maintain a thriving export economy without good relations with the United States,” Du Buisson said. 

“That is why Solidarity continues to advocate for trade ties that work in the interests of South Africa and its people.”

Solidarity has submitted settlement proposals concerning South Africa’s race-based policies to both the United States and South African governments.

These include a phasing out of these policies by 2030 and the introduction of non-racial alternatives to ownership requirements.