South Africa Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in South Africa, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals.
Select Country Guide
Trade Agreements
Last published date:

Worldwide

TIFA

The United States and South Africa signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on June 18, 2012, amending the original 1999 agreement. The TIFA is the primary mechanism for discussions of trade and investment issues between the United States and South Africa.

SACU

There is duty-free trade between South Africa and the other four countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and eSwatini) that comprise the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Agreement, as of 2012, allows duty-free trade among 12 of the 15 members. The European Union-South African Trade and Development Cooperation Agreement that came into effect in 2000, has as a progressive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that has become the cornerstone of the regional trading landscape. South Africa has also negotiated agreements with the European Free Trade Association, the United Kingdom and Mercosur. South Africa, through SADC, has finalized negotiations on Phase I of the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement, which link SADC, the East Africa Community (EAC) and the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) into a free trade area. South Africa is also a member of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which commenced trading in January 2021.

AfCFTA

South Africa is a member country of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. Of the 54 countries that signed the original AfCFTA agreement, 50 have ratified the agreement. These countries represent 1.3 billion people with an estimated combined GDP of $3.4 trillion. Traditionally, diverse geography and languages, and the lack of interlinking transportation networks, have fractionalized these markets. By reducing barriers to trade and investment, the AfCFTA will help to integrate them into a larger, more profitable regional market with greater economies of scale. 

The United States is not a party to the AfCFTA agreement. However, many of the reforms envisioned in this landmark regional integration effort will improve overall conditions for trade and investment on the African continent. Specifically, improved customs processes and procedures, the reduction of non-tariff barriers, more harmonized standards and certification procedures, and common rules for digital trade can ease the movement of goods, services, and digital trade in Africa. The AfCFTA Agreement phases out a web of 170 different intra-African Bilateral Investment Treaties by 2028 and creates a more harmonized framework for inward investment in AfCFTA member countries. Member countries will revamp aspects of their current inward investment legislation as a result. Further, the anticipated growth in intra-African trade activity itself is expected to create commercial opportunities. This is the case in areas such as transport logistics, express shipping, international payments, fintech solutions, and eCommerce marketplaces. As a result of all of these factors, international companies are already developing AfCFTA strategies to take advantage of reduced barriers and market integration. They are monitoring changes to laws, regulations, especially on investment and digital trade. 

Scope of Coverage

The AfCFTA Agreement covers the following trade policy areas: trade in manufactured and agricultural goods, trade in services, dispute settlement, export taxes, competition policy, antidumping and countervailing measures, state trading enterprises, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, movement of capital, intellectual property rights, investment, digital trade, and women and youth. So far, the agreement does not cover government procurement, labor, environment, state aid, or free movement of people. 

Tariffs

U.S. exporters to Africa will still face Most Favored Nation tariff rates for their exports to individual African countries. AfCFTA member countries started reducing tariffs on their trade with one another in 2021 on a progressive basis. Some of these tariff cuts are well advanced, and in other cases, member countries’ commitments allow them to stage tariff cuts to zero by 2034. (Each country is allowed to exclude three percent of lines.) Actual trading under the AfCFTA started in 2022 by select countries that had finalized their tariff schedules. (See Guided Trade Initiative). The specific tariff staging and associated rules of origin for individual goods can be found in the AfCFTA eTariff Book. 

Investors and economic operators that grow, mine, or produce goods in member countries of the AfCFTA that meet the product-specific rules of origin under the Goods Protocol should be able to take advantage of tariff preferences when exporting those goods to other AfCFTA markets. Companies can submit specific questions to the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra at customs@au-afcfta.org about interpreting the rules of origin and determining tariff treatment. 

Services

Member countries of the AfCFTA are still finalizing the negotiations and schedules of commitments for trade in services. These negotiations are focused initially on five areas: financial services, transport, communication (which covers many ICT services), business, and tourism. The AfCFTA Services Protocol will also address regulatory frameworks for market access and national treatment provisions, further defining the outcomes. In 2025, international companies established in member countries should start to gain a better sense of how these outcomes could impact their business.

Conclusion

The AfCFTA Secretariat coordinates and facilitates the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement among African states. It also engages stakeholders to promote the AfCFTA and undertakes trade and investment promotion activities to enhance intra-African trade, among other duties. It can be challenging for individual companies to track the specific status of AfCFTA negotiations and the implementation by AfCFTA member countries of the trade obligations in individual protocols. Member countries are ratifying specific protocols on individual timelines and there are different entry into force timelines for different protocols. Companies can follow business actionable developments at the Commercial Service’s AfCFTA Resources Page.

The South African Reserve Bank approves currency exchanges.

Imports

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) is empowered to regulate, prohibit, or ration imports to South Africa in the national interests, but most goods may be imported into South Africa without any restrictions.

As a matter of government policy, the South African Government is aiming to open its market further to increase trade and to develop more competitive domestic industries. However, in 2006, the South African Government made exceptions to this approach to protect the labor-intensive garment industry. During 2020, the South African authorities enacted emergency measure to restrict all movement of goods and persons due to the Covid-19 pandemic; these have since been lifted.

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility