The import duties that US President Donald Trump plans to impose on South Africa since August can cause a loss of approximately 100,000 jobs in the country. This was stated on Wednesday by the Governor of the South African central bank Lesetja Kganyago, saying that the most endangered positions are those in the automotive and agricultural sector. TASR reports this based on Reuters report.
Kganyago told the local radio station 702 that the consequences of Trump’s planned 30 % duties on South African goods may be extraordinary for some sectors. “Especially for agriculture, the consequences may be devastating because this sector employs a large number of people with low qualifications. Cutures will mainly affect citrus fruit, table grapes and wines,” added the governor.
The automotive sector also envisages huge problems. According to the latest statistics to which Kganyago appealed, after the announcement of import duties to cars in April this year, cars from South Africa fell by more than 80 %. “If we do not find an alternative, we can lose approximately 100,000 jobs,” added. According to agrosector sources, about 35,000 seats are at risk of citrus fruit production only.
At the same time, unemployment in South Africa is one of the highest in the world. The official unemployment rate reached 32.9 % in the 1st quarter of this year and exceeds 43 % unofficially. In the case of young people in the age category of 15 to 24 years, the unemployment rate reached an officially 62.4 %. This means the highest unemployment in three years.
