South Africa is another economy affected by the US trade tariffs. It exports steel to America, but since May, exports have been declining -- and the country's steel sector has been feeling the pinch. CGTN's Angelo Coppola has more.  

The impact of the US imposed tariffs has been immediate and negative. There's been a decline in exports in May and June, and industry insiders are concerned about the reduction in steel alloy exports.

MICHAEL ADE, CHIEF ECONOMIST STEEL ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA "We are also worried that US buyers might not renew their existing contracts, once these contracts expire. They might opt to seek for greater security in other African markets."

The local employment data for May and June hasn't been analyzed yet, but the steel sector is valued at about $900 billion annually, and has the potential to create thousands of jobs, based on available international data.

MICHAEL ADE, CHIEF ECONOMIST STEEL ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA "So there is huge potential for us to capitalize and improve jobs in the sector. But our concern now is the fact that this relative reduction in demand in the US, which can impact negatively on the value chain on the local value chain."

The US isn't South Africa's biggest steel importer by far.

MICHAEL ADE, CHIEF ECONOMIST STEEL ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA "So it was just one percent and in In 2018 so far it's 0.7%. But if you look at the broader metals and engineering sector, our prime export destination is actually Africa, other African countries. But when you zoom down and drill down to the steel sector, our prime export destination is Asia."

The US market is lucrative and the current crisis is seen as an opportunity to diversify.

MICHAEL ADE, CHIEF ECONOMIST STEEL ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA "So members who feel the pinch in trying to realign their supply chains, there is huge potential in Asia, in other African markets and also in the EU."

The US tariffs aren't having a dramatic impact on local exporters yet, because it's coming off such a low base. But the potential for growth is enormous.

MICHAEL ADE, CHIEF ECONOMIST STEEL ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA "The US market has huge market power. And they're also direct and indirect benefits that can occur to this sector. Because of the level of cross-sectional dependence that exists between the steel sector, and other sectors, the mining sector, the automotive sector, the construction sector. So there's this huge knock-on effect that can actually help in creating jobs."

ANGELO COPPOLA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "It seems like the steel sector's actually looking at this as an opportunity to grow market share going into the US. I'm Angelo Coppola for CGTN in Johannesburg, South Africa."