BusinessLive reports that economist Dawie Roodt warned on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s decision to slap 30% tariffs on vehicles, components, tyres and parts exported from SA to the US would “kill any possible economic growth in our country”.

According to Trump, the new tariffs, set to take effect on 1 August, were necessary because SA exported more to the US than it imported, which is a claim local experts reject. “Trump’s figures are not based on actual figures, but everyone will feel the impact because it will hinder any economic growth. These tariffs take away any competitive edge SA had in competing with the global market,” Roodt told the Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa), which has more than 72,000 members in the motor retail industry. According to Roodt, small firms had already stopped manufacturing because it was not feasible to continue with the new export tariffs, or due to reduced demand from US clients. “We can now accept that Agoa [the African Growth and Opportunity Act] is dead. Under Agoa, more than 1,800 SA products and goods, including vehicles, components and parts, were exported to the US duty-free,” Roodt said. Misa CEO Martlé Keyter reported that the union was experiencing an increase in employers closing their doors. Tiekie Mocke of Misa’s legal department said: “The negative impact on exports forced an employer within the retail motor industry to cut a five-day work week to four days, effectively leaving employees out of pocket by at least one week’s income per month.”

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessLive
• Read too, Trump imposes 30% tariffs on all SA goods, at Moneyweb

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