Precious metals shield two-thirds of SA's US exports from AGOA removal

SA's top 10 export categories to the United States by value, 2025 (US$ millions) — colour-coded by tariff and AGOA status

83%

collapse in SA vehicle
unit exports to the US, 2025

$1.7bn

value of AGOA-eligible exports
in 2025, down from $4bn in 2024

Already duty-free (MFN zero-rate, not AGOA-eligible)

Section 232 tariff (25–50%, AGOA preference nullified)

AGOA-eligible (losing duty-free preference)

South Africa's dominant exports — precious metals and minerals — already enter the US duty-free under Most Favoured Nation rules, so AGOA's removal leaves the top tier of the trade relationship intact. For citrus growers, machinery makers, chemical producers and electronics exporters, the loss of AGOA stacks a further 3–17% tariff burden on top of the 12.5% they already carry — hitting the labour-intensive sectors hardest.