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.
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Trade Barriers
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Tariffs & Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)

U.S. companies have cited protective tariffs as a barrier to trade in South Africa. Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade include port congestion, burdensome technical standards, customs valuation practices that exceed invoice prices, theft of goods, import permits requirements, antidumping measures, restrictions on foreign worker visas, weak enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), bureaucratic inefficiencies, excessive regulation, local content or supply chain localization requirements.  

Chicken restrictions In 2015, South Africa agreed to a Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) with the United States to allow a set volume per year (71,963 in 2024/2025) of bone-in chicken free of the anti-dumping duties. All imports of U.S. chicken require a health certificate from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, and bone-in leg quarters require a quota permit from the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC). South Africa increased the tariff from 37 percent to 62 percent on bone-in chicken portions. It also increased tariffs on frozen boneless chicken cuts from 12 percent to 42 percent. The TRQ for U.S. poultry has not been fully utilized since the 2019/2020 quota.

SACU For additional information on trade barriers for the Southern Africa Customs Union that includes South Africa, please see the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers published by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

ITAC The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) is tasked with administering South African trade laws and therefore receives requests for tariff protection from several local industries. For additional information on ITAC’s responsibilities (tariff administration, trade remedies, and import and export controls) please visit its website at: http://www.itac.org.za.

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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.

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