What South Africa ships to the United States
Among the 300 largest U.S. import headings, South Africa is a listed supplier on 22 of them, worth $3.72 billion in March–July 2026 (81.9% of all imports from South Africa in the period). The chapters below rank those headings; goods outside the 300 largest headings, and headings where South Africa is not among the top 15 origins, are in the total but not in the table.
| HS chapter | Value (March–July 2026) | Share of covered | Largest headings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71 Pearls, precious stones, precious metals and jewellery · guide | $2.96 billion | 79.5% | 7110 Platinum, unwrought or in semimanufactured forms ($2.79 billion); 7108 Gold unwrought or in semimanufactured forms, or in powder form ($76.5 million); 7115 Other articles of precious metal ($55.9 million); 7118 Coin ($36.4 million) |
| 87 Vehicles other than railway rolling stock · guide | $322 million | 8.7% | 8703 Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed ($317 million); 8704 Motor vehicles for the transport of goods ($4.5 million) |
| 72 Iron and steel · guide | $132 million | 3.6% | 7202 Ferroalloys ($97.7 million); 7201 Pig iron and spiegeleisen in pigs ($34.5 million) |
| 76 Aluminium and articles of aluminium · guide | $108 million | 2.9% | 7606 Aluminum plates, sheets and strip ($78.2 million); 7601 Unwrought aluminum ($30.0 million) |
| 84 Machinery, mechanical appliances and computers · guide | $78.2 million | 2.1% | 8409 Parts suitable for use solely or principally ($65.0 million); 8482 Ball or roller bearings, and parts thereof ($13.2 million) |
| 08 Edible fruit and nuts · guide | $51.3 million | 1.4% | 0805 Citrus fruit, fresh or dried ($45.5 million); 0806 Grapes, fresh or dried ($5.8 million) |
| 17 Sugars and sugar confectionery · guide | $16.5 million | 0.4% | 1701 Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form ($16.5 million) |
| 03 Fish, crustaceans and molluscs · guide | $15.9 million | 0.4% | 0306 Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled ($12.3 million); 0302 Fish, fresh or chilled ($3.6 million) |
Each heading links to its U.S. import market page, with every origin's share and effective duty. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API, U.S. imports for consumption by HS10 and country of origin, public domain (work of the u.s. federal government); method as in our tariff-rates research.
Container ports in South Africa
The seaports below have a port page on this site with the UN/LOCODE, the classifiers and the lanes serving them. Which one your cargo uses depends on the factory's region and the carrier's service string; tell us the pickup address and we route it.
Any seaport's UN/LOCODE: port code finder; airports: airport code finder (IATA/ICAO).
U.S. duty treatment for goods from South Africa
- Column 1 general rate. Set by the HTS classification of the goods, not by the freight. South Africa has no free trade agreement with the United States, so the general rate applies.How FTA claims work.
- Section 301, forced labour. Our tariff-updates source does not list South Africa's tier under the Section 301 forced-labour action of 2026-07-24, so this page does not state one. Confirm the tier and the exemption lines with your broker before pricing.
- Section 232. Applies regardless of origin: steel, aluminium and copper on full customs value in 50%, 25% and 15% annex tiers since 2026-04-06, plus vehicles and parts, lumber and furniture, trucks, semiconductors and drones under their own proclamations. Dated entries on the tariff updates tracker.
- IEEPA and Section 122. The IEEPA tariffs ended on 2026-02-24 after the Supreme Court decision of 2026-02-20, with refunds ordered; the Section 122 surcharge that replaced them expired on 2026-07-24. Neither applies to entries filed now.
- MPF and HMF. The merchandise processing fee and, for ocean cargo, the harbor maintenance fee apply on top of duty.
Estimate the total for an HTS code with South Africa as origin in the tariff simulator, or find the code first in the HTS code finder. Tariff facts above are dated as on the tracker; confirm with your broker before pricing.
U.S. import duty pages for goods from South Africa
Worked duty pages for the highest-value tariff lines imported from South Africa, with the Column 1 rate, every Chapter 99 line and a $10,000 example.
Rates are the engine's calculated total for a commercial entry today; see each page for the components and entry-date history. Browse all import duty pages or price your own shipment.
Transit from South Africa to the USA
Airlift has not published a planning range from South Africa to the USA, so this page does not quote one. Ask for the current sailing when you request a quote, or search live sailings for any port pair.
Documents for a shipment from South Africa to the USA
On the U.S. side every ocean import needs the same set, whatever the origin. On the South Africa side an export declaration is filed with the national customs authority by your forwarder or customs agent; we have not published the form's name for South Africa on this page, so ask us which one applies to your shipment.
- Importer Security Filing (ISF, "10+2"). Required by CBP for cargo arriving by vessel, filed before the container is laden; Airlift files it in-house. Details · glossary · CBP — Importer Security Filing (10+2)
- Customs bond. A continuous or single-entry bond in the importer's name, arranged through the customs broker before the entry is filed. Details
- Commercial invoice. Seller, buyer, terms of sale, a full description and value per line, and the country of origin; the entry is built on it. Details
- Packing list. Marks, package count, weights and dimensions per package, matching the invoice and the bill of lading. · glossary
Airlift's customs clearance service covers document review, HTS classification support, ISF and entry coordination through our licensed broker network at the port of entry. Less-than-container loads: LCL ocean freight.
Shipping from South Africa to the USA: questions
In the Census sample for March–July 2026, U.S. imports for consumption from South Africa totalled $4.54 billion. Among the 300 largest U.S. import headings, the biggest from South Africa were pearls, precious stones, precious metals and; vehicles other than railway rolling stock; iron and steel. The table on this page lists the headings with their values.
Other origins
Every origin by region: shipping to the USA by country of origin. Airlift's lane guides: shipping route guides.
Trade figures: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API, U.S. imports for consumption by HS10 and country of origin (March–July 2026, extract of 2026-09-03), public domain (work of the u.s. federal government). Port codes: UNECE UN/LOCODE 2024-2. Tariff facts: the dated entries on the tariff updates tracker and the sources linked above. Reviewed September 2026.
Request a quote: shipping from South Africa to the USA
Give us the pickup city or load port in South Africa, the U.S. destination, the commodity, the package count with weights and dimensions or the container size and count, the cargo-ready date, and whether you need pickup at origin, U.S. delivery or customs clearance. We reply with the freight rate, destination charges and the services included.