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The Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) released its latest tariff barometer on Wednesday, which showed that SA exports to the United States (US) increased significantly overall in September. This was despite the 30% import tax the US imposed on all SA products in August this year.
Yet, Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the SRI, explained that this increase was mainly due to precious metal exports, particularly gold, which was exempt from US tariffs. He indicated: “However, if we disregard precious metal exports, total exports have declined drastically. Exports of iron and steel products are recovering, but exports have not yet returned to previous years’ levels. Similarly, chemical and mineral exports have increased, but not sufficiently so to compensate for the decline in August.” He went on to caution that export numbers could remain very volatile, and that the coming months would provide a better indication of where exports were stabilising.
Despite the challenges, Du Buisson believes there is still room for recovery and explained as follows: “Because tariffs have been imposed on most countries, it is also possible that the US market could simply absorb the tariffs and that South African exports could well return to previous levels”. Du Buisson emphasised that the latest figures showed how important it was for the SA government to negotiate favourable trade terms proactively rather than simply absorbing economic pressure.
Access the SRI barometer report here
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