Tariffs imposed on South African agricultural products by the US are spiking the price of South African wine in the world’s biggest market, making it less competitive and reducing export volumes.
The price of South African wine is about 17 percentage points more expensive in the US relative to other imports when compared with 2024 prices, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its global trade update this month.
South African wine and fruit producers are feeling the impact of US duties of as much as 30 percent on some agricultural goods. US tariffs crimped imports 11 percent in the third quarter of last year and 39 percent in the final three months of the year, according to the report.
Photo: Reuters
UNCTAD highlighted the effect the tariff regime has on South Africa’s ability to compete in the US by “redistributing competitiveness in complex and uneven ways.” This “differs by sector, country and export structure,” the report said.
“Countries need to monitor their relative tariff positions closely, diversify export markets where access tightens and seize openings where preferential margins improve,” the UNCTAD said.
The US is South Africa’s second-biggest trading partner by country after China. South Africa is the US’ largest trading partner on the African continent with more than 500 US businesses and 30,000 US citizens based in the country.
As bilateral relations floundered, Washington in August last year imposed 30 percent tariffs on South African exports to the US, raising fears of major jobs losses in the local agriculture, automobile and textile sectors.
Pretoria said it was in negotiations with Washington for a better deal, but it has also signed a duty-free agreement with China, its biggest trade partner.
Meanwhile, Washington and Pretoria are at odds over a series of international and domestic policies, from South Africa’s genocide case against Israel to Trump’s disputed claims that white Afrikaners are being persecuted.
Yesterday, the US embassy said a conservative media critic picked by US President Donald Trump to be US ambassador to South Africa has arrived to take up his post.
Brent Bozell, 70, needs to present his credentials to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa before officially taking up his post.
Trump chose the right-wing Bozell for the job in March last year, soon after expelling South Africa’s ambassador on accusations that he was critical of Washington. Pretoria has yet to announce a successor.
Additional reporting by AFP
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