00:00South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the country to prepare for the possibility of losing preferential access to the
00:08United States market under a key African trade program as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate.
00:15The African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows eligible African countries to export certain goods to the U.S. duty
00:21-free, has been renewed by Congress until the end of 2028.
00:26The extension now awaits President Donald Trump's signature.
00:30Ramaphosa says the country must prepare for exclusion while seeking alternative markets to cushion the impact.
00:36South African vehicles benefit from duty-free access to U.S. and industry estimates indicate around 86,000 jobs at
00:44car manufacturers are directly linked to the agreement, rising to 125,000 when subcontractors are included.
