Kallie Kriel: Ordinary South Africans will pay the price for AGOA removal

AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel says ordinary South Africans will feel the biggest pain from the country’s removal from the US trade programme AGOA. Speaking in a video interview, he warned that workers and communities, not politicians, will carry the economic cost, including possible job losses.

The United States announced on 2 November that South Africa and Rwanda will lose AGOA benefits from 1 January 2027. The US Trade Representative said the decision follows a review that found practices inconsistent with the programme’s rules. These include barriers to American trade and investment, concerns about corruption, and actions seen as going against US foreign policy and security interests.

South Africa has been the biggest user of AGOA. In 2025 the country exported about $1.7 billion worth of goods duty-free under the scheme. That was mainly vehicle parts, citrus fruit and wine. While this is only a small part of total trade with the US, industries that rely on the American market face higher tariffs and tougher competition once the benefits end.

Kriel placed the blame firmly on President Cyril Ramaphosa and the government. He pointed to the signing of the Expropriation Act in January 2025 and the country’s foreign policy choices. AfriForum has long argued that these steps weakened property rights and strained relations with Washington. The organisation says it warned the Presidency early and later offered proposals to protect the trade access, but those efforts were ignored.

“Ordinary South Africans are now paying the price,” Kriel has said in related comments. He argues that politicians who made the decisions will not lose their jobs, while factory workers, farm labourers and people in export towns will. Sectors such as citrus in the Western and Northern Cape, and some manufacturing plants, have already flagged the risk of retrenchments.

Government has responded that most exports to the US already enter under normal rules and that the overall economic impact should be limited. Trade Minister Parks Tau said Pretoria will support affected companies and look for other markets. President Ramaphosa called the exclusion negative but said trade with the US will continue.

Critics of AfriForum, including trade union federation Cosatu, have accused the organisation of lobbying in the US in ways that damaged South Africa’s interests. Kriel maintains that AfriForum acted to protect the economy and the people who depend on it.

With the change set for the start of 2027, businesses and workers in the affected industries now have a few months to prepare. For many ordinary families linked to fruit packing sheds, auto component factories or wine exports, the real test will come when the duty-free access ends and the higher costs begin to show.

Source: https://x.com/TimesLIVE/status/2118718440878084281?a=k2KGRUIpshhRwuTlSNk&s=19