Cape Town – South African citrus exports to the US — especially from regions like Citrusdal in the Western Cape — are under threat due to a looming 31% tariff set to take effect on July 9, as announced by former US President Donald Trump.
The US, South Africa’s second-largest export market, has traditionally relied on South African citrus during the American summer (South African winter), and farmers have spent 25 years building supply chains to meet this demand.
According to Daily Investor, the new tariffs could devastate the R35 billion citrus industry, which employs about 140,000 people, making South African citrus uncompetitive against rivals like Peru and Chile.
Exporters have rushed shipments to beat the deadline, but long-term impacts could include downsized orchards and lost jobs.
Should the higher tariff “take effect, it would make our citrus completely uncompetitive in the US market,” said Boitshoko Ntshabele, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association.
Compounding the crisis are logistical challenges at South Africa’s state-run ports operator Transnet, and costly EU cold-treatment regulations. While farmers may reroute exports to Europe or explore Asian markets like China and India, industry leaders stress the importance of maintaining access to the US.
First batch
South African officials are lobbying for a reduced tariff rate of 10% to stay competitive.
US President Donald Trump announced he would send the first tariff letters to various countries on Monday, days before his deadline for trading partners to reach a deal expires, AFP reported.
Trump said on Sunday that he will send a first batch of up to 15 letters, warning that US levies on imports will snap back to the high levels he set in April if countries fail to make agreements.
But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the tariffs would not “boomerang” back until August 1 – giving some extra breathing space for dealmaking on a subject that has injected uncertainty into global markets.
“I am pleased to announce that the UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals, with various Countries from around the World, will be delivered starting 12:00 P.M. (Eastern), Monday, July 7th,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
( @realDonaldTrump – Truth Social Post )
( Donald J. Trump – Jul 06, 2025, 10:12 PM ET )I am pleased to announce that the UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals, with various Countries from around the World, will be delivered starting 12:00 P.M. (Eastern), Monday, July 7th.… pic.twitter.com/sINKQJX757
— Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 TRUTH POSTS (@TruthTrumpPosts) July 7, 2025
In a later post he threatened a further 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “anti-Americanism” after they slammed his tariffs at a summit on Sunday.
Trump had announced sweeping tariffs on April 2 – which he called “Liberation Day” – imposing a 10 percent duty on imports from almost all trading partners. Some countries, including some within the European Union, were slated to have far higher rates as well.
As markets plunged Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks – a deadline which expires on Wednesday.
But so far there have been limited results, with Washington unveiling deals only with Britain and Vietnam, while agreeing with China to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other’s products.
Trump told reporters as he boarded Air Force One earlier Sunday that it “could be 12, could be 15” letters that he would send on Monday.
“I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal,” Trump said, adding that some deals had been made already.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
