South African Manufacturers Call for More Tariffs on China

Local entrepreneurs and business people said they can’t compete with China’s low cost model, and little was being done to protect them.

Workers at Kinross Clothing manufacturers in Maitland, sew men's trousers, in Cape Town, South Africa, on Oct. 19, 2017. Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG—Relations between the governments of China and South Africa are flourishing, but manufacturers in Africa’s leading economy feel increasingly squeezed by what some describe as a “constant flood” of cheap Chinese imports.

The crisis is especially serious in South Africa’s clothing and textiles sector, which trade unions and economic researchers say has declined remarkably over the past 25 years as China’s hold on the market has strengthened.