South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday that his country must prepare for the possible loss of duty-free access to the U.S. market, warning that the effect on jobs would be “devastating.”
“I need, as president, to prepare us if it ever happens,” Ramaphosa said at a briefing with editors and journalists in Johannesburg, Reuters reported.
He did not say Washington had told Pretoria it would be dropped from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, known as AGOA. “Congress has decided that we should be kept in AGOA. What now remains is the executive,” he said, according to AFP.
He also urged calm. “We should not jump off tall buildings, and of course it will be devastating,” he said, Daily Maverick reported.
What South Africa stands to lose
AGOA lets eligible sub-Saharan African countries sell qualifying goods in the United States without import duties. Congress renewed the program until 2028, but the U.S. president decides each year which countries qualify.
South Africa accounted for about half of the $8.23 billion in goods exported under AGOA in 2024, according to Oxford Economics, Business Day reported.
Carmakers are among the most exposed. In 2025, the auto industry group Naamsa said 86,000 jobs at vehicle manufacturers were directly tied to the program, rising to 125,000 with subcontractors, AFP reported.
Washington must give 60 days’ notice before removing a country. An exclusion announced by Nov. 2 would take effect Jan. 1, according to AFP.
Strained ties with Washington
Relations have soured under President Donald Trump, whose administration has cut aid, expelled South Africa’s ambassador and imposed visa restrictions in September. Trump has accused Pretoria of persecuting white people, a claim South Africa rejects.
U.S. trade officials have also accused South Africa of keeping high tariffs on American poultry, wine and spirits.
Looking to China
Ramaphosa said South Africa would look for other markets and pointed to China. A Chinese zero-tariff scheme for qualifying African goods took effect May 1, and South African apples and wine were among the first products to enter under it, Business Day reported.
The warning came ahead of South Africa’s local elections on Nov. 4. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is due to deliver the medium-term budget on Wednesday, Oct. 21.