South Africa's graduation out of Agoa doesn't mean the country won't have any access to the US market. It will have access, but with slightly higher tariffs.

While we are now in a different political climate, I think it's important to remember that aside from the issues the US raised about South Africa's eligibility to be part of Agoa, there have been some conversations for some time. For example, back in 2014, the focus, among other matters, was on the reality that South Africa is an upper-middle-income country and should have graduated from Agoa to a full bilateral trade agreement with the US.

Of course, we had our own complications, both because of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu), which means we can't sign bilateral trade agreements without the region, and because we lobbied to keep benefiting from this unilateral approach (Agoa).

Looking back, if we had found a way to graduate out of Agoa, as we were pressured to do then, and began conversations about a trade agreement, we would be in a different climate than what we are seeing now.

Of course, this doesn't mean countries with trade agreements are spared from drastic changes in US trade policy; we see those changes affecting countries such as Canada.

Beyond South Africa graduating out of Agoa, I think there is also confusion about the implications. Others...