Country Info: South Africa

Bilateral Trade by Sector: United States - South Africa
Value ('1000 dollars), US 'domestic exports' *, US 'imports for consumption' / Includes year-to-date data
Bilateral Trade by Sector: United States - South Africa
Value ('1000 dollars), US 'domestic exports' *, US 'imports for consumption' / Includes year-to-date data
** On mobile & Desktop if the table is too wide, please use the scroll left and right to view the data off screen.
Sector | Category | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2021 YTD SEPTEMBER | 2022 YTD SEPTEMBER | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural products | Total exports | 355,489 | 303,715 | 285,793 | 213,773 | 270,264 | |||
General imports | 431,958 | 438,121 | 521,398 | 367,646 | 455,379 | 23.86% | |||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 325,183 | 317,922 | 363,459 | 251,170 | 324,492 | ||||
GSP imports | 24,355 | 47,758 | 29,160 | 19,358 | 22,812 | ||||
AGOA imports | 300,828 | 270,165 | 334,299 | 231,812 | 301,680 | ||||
Forest products | Total exports | 113,089 | 93,347 | 138,168 | 89,737 | 114,742 | |||
General imports | 38,545 | 30,208 | 35,704 | 26,459 | 27,598 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 9,307 | 7,551 | 12,728 | 8,934 | 6,426 | ||||
GSP imports | 8,477 | 7,313 | 11,661 | 8,182 | 5,204 | ||||
AGOA imports | 830 | 237 | 1,068 | 752 | 1,222 | ||||
Chemicals and related products | Total exports | 882,716 | 828,714 | 851,373 | 643,035 | 924,421 | |||
General imports | 776,383 | 609,447 | 1,239,162 | 1,041,596 | 670,934 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 432,230 | 324,879 | 384,191 | 271,911 | 340,787 | ||||
GSP imports | 228,770 | 147,477 | 89,041 | 63,165 | 65,898 | ||||
AGOA imports | 203,460 | 177,402 | 295,150 | 208,746 | 274,889 | ||||
Energy-related products | Total exports | 429,704 | 471,007 | 576,367 | 439,025 | 565,857 | |||
General imports | 83,295 | 80,238 | 87,528 | 65,107 | 75,974 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 13,040 | 7,397 | 11,365 | 8,503 | 6,911 | ||||
GSP imports | 932 | 3 | |||||||
AGOA imports | 12,108 | 7,394 | 11,365 | 8,503 | 6,911 | ||||
Textiles and apparel | Total exports | 42,766 | 33,183 | 36,629 | 28,310 | 24,061 | |||
General imports | 28,555 | 26,284 | 32,741 | 23,132 | 22,533 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 10,112 | 9,241 | 10,531 | 7,424 | 4,809 | ||||
GSP imports | 1,167 | 925 | 752 | 551 | 563 | ||||
AGOA imports | 8,945 | 8,316 | 9,779 | 6,873 | 4,247 | ||||
Footwear | Total exports | 1,600 | 748 | 402 | 317 | 548 | |||
General imports | 375 | 773 | 1,839 | 1,475 | 3,217 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 180 | 712 | 576 | 378 | 836 | ||||
GSP imports | |||||||||
AGOA imports | 180 | 712 | 576 | 378 | 836 | ||||
Minerals and metals | Total exports | 511,195 | 424,529 | 826,079 | 641,726 | 456,229 | |||
General imports | 5,077,689 | 7,380,134 | 11,283,328 | 7,955,828 | 6,595,371 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 500,458 | 307,844 | 512,488 | 363,073 | 472,717 | ||||
GSP imports | 197,297 | 184,769 | 102,448 | 69,801 | 98,309 | ||||
AGOA imports | 303,162 | 123,075 | 410,040 | 293,272 | 374,408 | ||||
Machinery | Total exports | 650,191 | 507,163 | 599,484 | 437,169 | 635,209 | |||
General imports | 327,670 | 300,995 | 403,924 | 338,770 | 408,099 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 30,279 | 18,579 | 10,064 | 8,395 | 9,551 | ||||
GSP imports | 26,193 | 15,514 | 6,677 | 5,881 | 6,037 | ||||
AGOA imports | 4,086 | 3,065 | 3,386 | 2,513 | 3,514 | ||||
Transportation equipment | Total exports | 1,422,378 | 975,927 | 1,289,695 | 982,477 | 1,140,992 | |||
General imports | 602,207 | 711,992 | 1,040,582 | 921,680 | 1,119,141 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 155,243 | 102,698 | 165,591 | 108,542 | 133,798 | ||||
GSP imports | 136,258 | 93,052 | 46,032 | 41,169 | 19,623 | ||||
AGOA imports | 18,985 | 9,646 | 119,559 | 67,373 | 114,175 | ||||
Electronic products | Total exports | 644,115 | 497,194 | 583,737 | 424,443 | 515,137 | |||
General imports | 80,053 | 76,958 | 80,647 | 58,528 | 70,289 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 18,353 | 10,204 | 11,121 | 6,402 | 7,687 | ||||
GSP imports | 13,833 | 4,706 | 1,623 | 1,216 | 614 | ||||
AGOA imports | 4,520 | 5,499 | 9,498 | 5,186 | 7,073 | ||||
Miscellaneous manufactures | Total exports | 83,461 | 49,981 | 60,464 | 45,187 | 63,914 | |||
General imports | 230,043 | 1,601,271 | 881,293 | 547,177 | 1,354,465 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 145,422 | 236,092 | 427,764 | 317,260 | 317,368 | ||||
GSP imports | 113,974 | 207,919 | 330,621 | 247,705 | 233,724 | ||||
AGOA imports | 31,447 | 28,172 | 97,143 | 69,556 | 83,644 | ||||
Special provisions | Total exports | 230,730 | 189,773 | 231,023 | 174,017 | 204,334 | |||
General imports | 117,744 | 104,586 | 117,825 | 81,108 | 127,505 | ||||
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | |||||||||
GSP imports | |||||||||
AGOA imports | |||||||||
All Sectors | Total exports | 5,367,433 | 4,375,282 | 5,479,214 | 4,119,217 | 4,915,707 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2022 | |
General imports | 7,794,518 | 11,361,006 | 15,725,971 | 11,428,504 | 10,930,506 | -4.36% | 38.42% | 101.76% | |
AGOA (including GSP provisions) imports | 1,639,808 | 1,343,119 | 1,909,879 | 1,351,991 | 1,625,382 | ||||
GSP imports | 751,257 | 709,437 | 618,016 | 457,028 | 452,782 | ||||
AGOA imports | 888,550 | 633,682 | 1,291,863 | 894,964 | 1,172,600 |
US Department of Commerce
Note: empty fields denote ‘no trade’, NE means ‘not eligible’
* “Domestic exports” (by the US) measures goods that are grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States, and commodities of foreign origin that have been changed in the United States. Goods may be changed in a US FTZ, from the form in which they were imported, or they may be enhanced in value or improved in condition by further processing or manufacturing in the United States.
Published on www.AGOA.info - tralac’s online AGOA information portal
Economic Background
South Africa is a middle-income emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; and a stock exchange that is Africa’s largest and among the top 20 in the world.
Economic growth has decelerated in recent years, slowing to an estimated 0.7% in 2017. Unemployment, poverty, and inequality - among the highest in the world - remain a challenge. Official unemployment is roughly 27% of the workforce, and runs significantly higher among black youth.
Even though the country's modern infrastructure supports a relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region, unstable electricity supplies retard growth. Eskom, the state-run power company, is building three new power stations and is installing new power demand management programs to improve power grid reliability but has been plagued with accusations of mismanagement and corruption and faces an increasingly high debt burden.
South Africa's economic policy has focused on controlling inflation while empowering a broader economic base; however, the country faces structural constraints that also limit economic growth, such as skills shortages, declining global competitiveness, and frequent work stoppages due to strike action.
The government faces growing pressure from urban constituencies to improve the delivery of basic services to low-income areas, to increase job growth, and to provide university level-education at affordable prices. Political infighting among South Africa’s ruling party and the volatility of the rand risks economic growth.
International investors are concerned about the country’s long-term economic stability; in late 2016, most major international credit ratings agencies downgraded South Africa’s international debt to junk bond status.
Agricultural products
sugar cane, maize, milk, potatoes, grapes, poultry, oranges, wheat, soybeans, beef
Industries
mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
Industrial production growth rate
1.2% (2017 est.)
(Source: World Factbook, 2021)
The documents alongside are sourced from SARS. Please cross-check the relevant section on the SARS website.
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