There was a sharp decrease in South African automotive exports due to uncertainty about United States US tariffs, as the country waits for the US administration to decide whether South Africa will remain part of Agoa, and the US president is mulling another 25 tariff on countries doing business with Iran.
South Africas trade surplus narrowed in December as a sharp decline in exports of vehicles and transport equipment weighed on overall exports. However, Jee-Avan der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa, says the latest trade statistics show that from November, goods imports fell by 5.8 to R141.1 billion in December, while exports decreased by 12.5 to R164.3 billion.
Consequently, South Africa recorded a preliminary trade surplus of R23.2 billion compared with a revised surplus of R37.9 billion in November. Year-on-year, exports increased by 3.4, while imports decreased by 2.2.
