Western Cape bets on Europe and clean power as US tariffs bite
Exports to the US fell 16.2% in a year, but European buyers have stepped in. The province wants 200,000 export jobs by 2035 and says renewables will help its goods meet green rules.
Cape Town — The Western Cape is looking to Europe, the rest of Africa, Asia and the Middle East to grow its exports, and to clean energy to keep them competitive, after US tariffs cut South Africa's sales to the United States, Premier Alan Winde said at the province's second Biannual Export Industry Dialogue in Cape Town.
The pressure
- South Africa's exports to the US fell 16.2% between August 2025 and July 2026.
- The Western Cape supplied more than half of South Africa's farm and agri-processing exports to the US in 2025, and a large share of its seafood, yachts, jewellery, beauty products and engine parts.
- In a survey before the dialogue, 89% of export bodies named market entry costs and tariffs as a concern, and more than 70% port efficiency.
The response
European countries have largely stepped into the gap, the province says, though they increasingly demand low-carbon goods. Winde said the province is ahead of its renewable energy targets and could get about 50% of its energy from renewables within a year, citing the new Riversdale Solar Plant and the Helderhoop Solar and Storage Plant. That, he said, will help exporters meet demand for carbon-neutral goods.
The Western Cape Export Strategy 2035 aims for R408 billion in exports, more than 200,000 jobs from export growth and 1,000 more active exporters. "Every shipment that leaves our province represents a livelihood for a family back home," Winde said.
Source: Western Cape Office of the Premier, 14 October 2026.
