SA retains status as America’s foremost trading partner in Africa

SOUTH AFRICA remains one of North America’s foremost trading partners in Africa – with US exports to SA, for example, exceeding those to any other country in sub- Saharan Africa. On the SA export front, this country’s exports to the US are second only to those from Nigeria. But the Nigerian exports are largely oil-based, while SA's exports are highly diversified – with the principal products including chemicals, minerals, transport and automotive goods and agricultural products. In its export trade to the US, this country benefits from two duty-free trade agreements. SA is a beneficiary of the US generalised system of preferences (GSP), which grants duty-free treatment for more than 4 650 products. Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), an additional 1 783 products were added to the existing GSP products.