The incoming administration of President Donald Trump, and the Republican-controlled Congress, are preparing to demand changes in South Africa’s foreign policy as the price for continued trade preferences from the United States.
Fox News reported Thursday:
Key Republicans are already pressing the incoming Trump administration to kick South Africa out of lucrative trade arrangements, should the South African government not change its position on Russia, China, Iran and Israel.
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South Africa joins Russia’s military aircraft and naval vessels on exercises, allowing Pretoria’s naval bases to be used by the Kremlin and Russia’s sanctioned warships. Senior South African military officials have received training in Moscow. At the U.N., South Africa has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
South Africa’s majority ANC party has met with terror group Hamas, and recently one branch of the ANC supported a local Muslim leader who reportedly shouted to a cheering crowd, “I am Hamas, Cape Town is Hamas, Viva Hamas!” The government also issued a statement condemning the killing this year of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The country’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, spoke out against the “assassination” of this designated terrorist leader, saying “such acts of extrajudicial killings violate international law.”
In addition, South Africa has led the charge at the UN’s International Court of Justice to accuse Israel of “genocide.”
As Breitbart News has noted, the Trump administration holds unusual leverage over South Africa — not just because it is one of South Africa’s most important trading partners, but also because the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which benefits South Africa, comes up for renewal in 2025. Moreover, President-elect Donald Trump will likely travel to South Africa for the G-20 conference next November — but could also withdraw his participation.
South Africa has returned former Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool to Washington, despite his history of support for radical Islamists in their fight against Israel. He is seen as a moderate and says South Africa should put away its “megaphone” on the Middle East, at least until it secures a renewal of AGOA.
South Africa appears to expect that American beneficence will continue under Trump as it did under Joe Biden, but winds of change are blowing.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.