The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump will have significant opportunities to encourage change in South Africa, a nation that has drifted toward kleptocracy at home, and toward support for autocratic regimes abroad.
One opportunity for leverage is the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade deal that benefits South Africa and several other African nations by offering them duty-free access to U.S. markets. AGOA was renewed in 2015 but only extends through the end of the 2025 fiscal year, meaning that it will expire at the end of September.
The U.S. can exclude South Africa from AGOA — or end the entire agreement — if South Africa does not end its support for Russia and China’s foreign policy adventures, and if it does not change its approach to the Middle East. South Africa should withdraw its spurious “genocide” case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for example, and should stop pointless pro-terror, anti-Israel gestures, such as its current attempt to rename the street in front of the U.S. consulate in Johannesburg after a notorious Palestinian airplane hijacker from the 1970s.
Another chance for leverage is the G-20 summit in November 2025, which South Africa is set to host. One report suggests that the South African government will use the summit to focus on Palestinian grievances against Israel, in a reprise of the disastrous United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. The Trump administration should boycott the G-20 conference in South Africa until it drops its anti-Israel obsession.
Finally, there is an ongoing bidding contest for the 2040 Summer Olympic Games. Africa has never hosted before, and Egypt is attempting to be the first African host. The U.S. could offer to push for a South African bid — but only if South Africa commits to both foreign and domestic reforms, including a suspension of the racially discriminatory “Black Economic Empowerment” policies that only benefit a small elite and hurt infrastructure and economic growth.
South Africa remains the most important U.S. strategic partner in Africa; the need for change is arguably urgent.
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.
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