Briefing Note: The economic slowdown - Figure 1. Sources of the downturn in the first quarter of 2019 International economic International policy:

Sources of the downturn in the first quarter of 2019 International economic International policy: trends: • Unpredictability of the Trump Administration affecting • Slowdown in all of South international investment climate and consumers, Africa’s major trading especially but not only through trade wars. [...] China, Europe and India all saw slower growth in the past year; of the major economies, only the US expanded faster in 2018 than in 2017. [...] The past six months were marked by political uncertainty, linked in part to the run-up to the elections, and a drumbeat of reports on the state-capture project. [...] In sum, the loss of jobs and decline in GDP in early 2019 reflected a range of domestic and foreign factors in both the policy and economic arenas. [...] In addition, with global trade under threat, South Africa needs to play a more strategic and consistent role in supporting economic growth in the region, and look to the emerging opportunities from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.