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# South Africa is losing duty-free access to America, and only 10% of exports there still used it
- URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/south-africa-is-losing-duty-free-access-to-america-and-only-10-of-exports-there-still-used-it/
- Published: 2026-11-05T03:45:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-05T03:44:59.000Z
- Description: America is removing South Africa from its duty-free scheme in January, but other tariffs had already done most of the damage, leaving citrus growers and their workers most exposed.
- Author: Christian Maidman
- Tags: Economy, Business Bagel News, #big

For 25 years, South Africa has had a cheaper way into the American market than almost anyone. On Monday, Washington said it plans to close it: President Trump notified Congress that he intends to remove South Africa, along with Rwanda, from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, known as Agoa, from 1 January 2027.

Agoa is a US law rather than a trade deal. Passed in 2000, it lets eligible African countries send more than 1,800 types of goods into the US without import duty, from oranges and wine to cars. South Africa has been its biggest beneficiary, accounting for 54% of all exports under the programme over its life. Removal needs 60 days' notice, which is why 2 November was the last day to announce a cut that takes effect on 1 January.

## Two versions of how it came to this

Washington's case is that South Africa puts obstacles in the way of American trade and investment, and it also points to corruption and to threats to US security and foreign-policy interests. Pretoria disputes how this has been handled, saying the Americans raised issues that were never part of negotiations running since 2025.

That argument will run on between the two governments. For businesses and workers here, the more useful question is what losing Agoa will actually cost.

## The tariffs that got there first

For most exporters, less than the headlines suggest. Since 2025, cars, parts, steel and aluminium have faced a separate 25% US duty, and business says vehicle export earnings to America fell from about R17.7 billion to R8 billion in a year. As those tariffs bit, the share of South African exports to America using Agoa fell from 28% in 2024 to about 10% in 2025\. Those shipments were worth about $1.7 billion, roughly 1% of everything South Africa sells to the world.

That national picture is cold comfort for the firms still using the scheme. They can keep selling to America, but they fall back to the standard duties charged to any country without a special arrangement, about 3.4 to 3.5 percentage points more on average, and every point makes them a little harder to choose over a rival.

## The orchards planted for America

The pain is concentrated, and citrus carries most of it. Growers in the Western and Northern Cape planted orchards specifically for American buyers. Lemons, mandarins and grapefruit will now pay ordinary duty on top of the 12.5% tariff added in July, while rivals in Peru and Chile keep their own trade agreements. Sending the fruit somewhere else is not quick either, because every market has its own plant-health rules and its own tastes, as the Citrus Growers' Association's chair, Gerrit van der Merwe, pointed out.

That is where the jobs sit. Reported estimates of the losses range from around 3,000 to nearly 10,000, mostly in farming and manufacturing. Pretoria has until 1 January to negotiate, but trade minister Parks Tau has said "some principles are not up for negotiation", which leaves a short window to protect the businesses and workers most exposed.