IMF cuts South Africa's growth forecasts amid tariff concerns

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecast for South Africa's economic growth in 2025, cutting it from 1.5 percent to 1 percent, according to the latest World Economic Outlook report.

JOHANNESBURG, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecast for South Africa's economic growth in 2025, cutting it from 1.5 percent to 1 percent, according to the latest World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday.

Citing "tariff rates to levels not seen in a century and a highly unpredictable environment," the report also lowered South Africa's 2026 growth forecast from the earlier 1.5 percent to 1.3 percent.

Dawie Roodt, a senior economist at Efficient Group, a financial services company based in South Africa, told Xinhua that the downward revision did not come as a surprise, given the likely effects of trade tariffs and global instability.

With South Africa's agricultural and automotive sectors exporting products worth billions to the United States each year, tariffs are expected to damage these industries if not reversed.

Trade tariffs will be among the key issues discussed at the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting in Washington this week, Roodt said.

"The tariffs would be the main issue," he said. "Tariffs and their effects and what countries could do to limit their effects would feature prominently. The global financial system, payment system, and reserve system would be discussed." ■