United States (USA) and South Africa (ZAF) Trade

2022

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Exports $6.11BRnk 43 / 219

2022

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Top Product $370MMotor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705)

2022

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Exports $10.9BRnk 2 / 214

2022

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About

United States-South Africa Trade: In 2022, United States exported $6.11B to South Africa. The main products that United States exported to South Africa were Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($370M), Cars ($273M), and Precious Metal Compounds ($246M). Over the past 5 years the exports of United States to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 3.15%, from $5.23B in 2017 to $6.11B in 2022.

In 2017, United States exported services to South Africa worth $2.71B, with Travel ($629M), Royalties and license fees ($590M), and Financial services ($479M) being the largest in terms of value.

South Africa-United States Trade: In 2022, South Africa exported $10.9B to United States. The main products that South Africa exported to United States were Platinum ($3.97B), Cars ($1B), and Gold ($497M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to United States have increased at an annualized rate of 9.3%, from $6.98B in 2017 to $10.9B in 2022.

In 2022, South Africa did not export any services to United States.

Comparison: In 2022, United States ranked 10 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 1.47), and 2 in total exports ($1.95T). That same year, South Africa ranked 59 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.076), and 34 in total exports ($147B).

Company data: In 2023, leading companies such as Loblaws Supermarkets (979), SAC (Société des alcools du Québec) (718), and Continental Tire (504) were at the forefront of exporting goods from South Africa to the United States. Conversely, Other (816), Wp Fresh Distributors (pty) Ltd (532), and Continental Tyre Sa (pty) Ltd (450) were notable for importing products to South Africa from the United States.

Latest Trends

September, 2024

About

Overview In September 2024, United States exported $414M and imported $1.33B from South Africa, resulting in a negative trade balance of $911M. Between September 2023 and September 2024 the exports of United States have decreased by $-345M (-45.4%) from $759M to $414M, while imports increased by $71.5M (5.7%) from $1.25B to $1.33B.

Trade In September 2024, the top exports of United States to South Africa were Diamonds ($49.4M), Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701... ($45.1M), Refined Petroleum ($38.1M), Commodities not elsewhere specified ($26.8M), and Cars ($24M). In September 2024 the top imports of United States from South Africa were Platinum ($302M), Cars ($253M), Ferroalloys ($72.7M), Diamonds ($53.9M), and Titanium Ore ($28.1M).

Origins In September 2024 the exports of United States were mainly from Texas ($64.2M), Illinois ($48.7M), South Carolina ($34.1M), Michigan ($30.9M), and California ($22.3M), while imports destinations were mainly Illinois ($299M), New Jersey ($294M), New York ($163M), Texas ($92.2M), and Pennsylvania ($81.3M).

Growth In September 2024, the decrease in United States's year-by-year exports to South Africa was explained primarily by an decrease in product exports in Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($-19.5M or -89.1%), Metal Mountings ($-10.5M or -75.3%), and Machinery Having Individual Functions ($-7.71M or -90.7%). In September 2024, the increase in United States's year-by-year imports from South Africa was explained primarily by an increase in product imports in Cars ($178M or 240%), Ferroalloys ($64.1M or 745%), and Other Precious Metal Products ($20.1M or 2.19k%).

Latest Trade

Time Scale

Year

Quarter

Month

Flow

Exports

Imports

Value

Trade Value

Growth

Growth (%)

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

EXPORT GROWTH (September 2023 - September 2024)$-345M(-45.4%)

IMPORT GROWTH (September 2023 - September 2024)$71.5M(5.7%)

MAIN EXPORTER (September 2024)Texas$64.2M

This section shows exports and imports data at subnational level for United States. Click any date in the line plot, any subnational region in the geomap or any product to explore the exports or imports behavior of United States over time.

To check South Africa and United States trade dynamics, check the bilateral page.

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Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

Value

Trade

Growth

Growth (%)

Year

In 2022, United States exported $6.11B to South Africa. The main products exported from United States to South Africa were Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($370M), Cars ($273M), and Precious Metal Compounds ($246M). During the last 5 years the exports of United States to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 3.15%, from $5.23B in 2017 to $6.11B in 2022.

In 2017, South Africa exported $10.9B to United States. The main products exported from South Africa to United States were Platinum ($3.97B), Cars ($1B), and Gold ($497M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to United States have increased at an annualized rate of 9.3%, from $6.98B in 2022 to $10.9B in 2017.

Exports from United States () to South Africa () (2022)

Exports from South Africa () to United States () (2022)

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

United States
Top DestinationCanada$308B

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$23.4B

This map shows whether countries import more from United States or South Africa. Each country is colored based on the difference in imports they receive from United States and South Africa or the difference in the growth in imports.

In 2022, countries that imported more from United States than South Africa included Canada ($308B), Mexico ($294B), and China ($151B).

In 2022, countries that imported more from South Africa than United States included Mozambique ($5.43B), Botswana ($4.74B), and Zimbabwe ($3.3B).

Difference in imports from South Africa () and United States () (2022)

Comparative Advantage United States - South Africa

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

This chart compares trade between United States and South Africa by product, considering products traded by both, United States and South Africa.

During 2022, United States had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Machines ($1.6B), Transportation ($1.11B), and Chemical Products ($920M).

During 2017, South Africa had a large net trade with United States in the exports of Precious Metals ($5.05B), Metals ($1.59B), and Transportation ($1.25B).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential United States South Africa+$281MRefined Petroleum

Top Product Potential South Africa United States+$856MCars

We estimate the export potential of an economy for each product and destination using an extension of the bilateral relatedness model of Jun et al. (2019).This extended gravity model considers similarities among products and geographies and explains more than 50% of the variance in future trade flows.

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Year

This visualization shows the product space at the HS4 level with the flags of United States and South Africa. This means that a dot/product with the flag of United States indicates it has a comparative advantage over South Africa. Similarly, a dot/product with the flag of South Africa indicates it has a comparative advantage over United States.

Product Space of United States () and South Africa () (2022)

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