On the day The Macadamia magazine went to print, SAMAC CEO Lizel Pretorius confirmed that South Africa’s macadamia exports were no longer subject to the additional 30% reciprocal duty into the United States.
No fanfare – as when the tariffs were first imposed by US President Donald Trump – just a summary of the implications of the Executive Order and two annexures setting out the amendments to the US Harmonised Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) and the official listing of products exempted from reciprocal tariffs, including macadamia nuts.
Pretorius does add, however, that formal incorporation of the changes is still pending and that SAMAC would continue to monitor developments while keeping its members informed.
In a New York Times article on November 16 by Ana Swanson, the “walk back” on imports, which included beef, coffee, tomatoes and bananas among others, is what “critics say is an admission that the tariffs raised prices in the first place”.
“They walk back one of the president’s signature policies, the sweeping tariffs that he has suddenly paused, raised and lowered in recent months, causing chaos for trading partners and international businesses,” the article said.
While the White House is alleged to have said the tariffs were no longer needed, given the “substantial progress it had made in its trade negotiations”, Swanson hazards that the steps also “appear motivated by a rising concern inside and outside the White House about consumer prices”.
“Though Mr Trump campaigned on lowering the price of groceries, continued elevated inflation has weighed on his approval ratings, and concerns about affordability helped propel Democrats to wins in elections across the country last week.”
There is no getting away from it: Trump’s Make America Great Again strategy has cost South African macadamia, citrus and wine farmers dearly, but it can also be said that these domestic industries might have been bitten once and now they are twice shy!
In this edition of The Macadamia – the last for 2025 – we look at how the industry has responded to the tariffs; how alternative markets have been sought, and how the investment in processing infrastructure in China has local players watching warily.
Scores of small businesses are opening across South Africa’s macadamia industry as a side hustle to keep cash flow healthy and their macadamia operations viable, despite macro shocks such as the American tariff fiasco.
In this edition we take a sweeping look at these businesses, which range from coffee shops to fire briquette manufacturers, all with macadamias at the centre of their business model.
