The top-level team South Africa is sending to Washington to try to mend the breakdown in relations will first travel to China, France, Germany and other countries to win their support and try to avoid “humiliation” in the US.
Their mission is to counter the biggest diplomatic crisis South Africa has faced since democracy in 1994, precipitated this month when President Donald Trump cut all aid to the country because of its anti-Israel stance and alleged land grabs targeting white Afrikaners.
The team, whose members will be named after President Cyril Ramaphosa returns from an AU summit in Addis Ababa this weekend, will travel to France, Germany, the EU headquarters in Brussels, China, Brazil and other members of Brics before going to the US.
“Our first stop can’t be the US because Trump would likely want to humiliate us, close the door on us or send junior officials,” a senior government official said.
“We need to go to our allies, we need to reach out to the Global South, because this is not solely about Trump, this is about our G20 agenda and fostering partnerships while we also bolster the partnerships we enjoy.”
South Africa holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and is hosting a meeting of the group’s foreign ministers this week. The US secretary of state Marco Rubio is boycotting it in a protest against Pretoria.
Four conservative Republican congressmen upped the ante in the diplomatic standoff on Tuesday, writing a letter to Trump in which they called the South African government an “ethnonationalist gangster regime”.
At the top of their complaints is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which they described as “baseless” and “absurd”.
The congressmen urged Trump to block South Africa from the trade benefits of the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa), which would be a major blow to the economy, and to consider cutting diplomatic ties.
Trump’s claim that the Expropriation Act amounts to the confiscation of white farms, coupled with an invitation to Afrikaners to apply for “refugee” status, is continuing to cause ructions.
Some in the ANC, notably minister of mineral resources Gwede Mantashe, have not tried to conceal their anger.
Mantashe, who is chair of the ANC and has suggested African countries should withhold their minerals from the US, said yesterday South Africa must not be intimidated by Trump.
“You never allow yourself to be bullied because of the size of your economy by a major economy. Stand your ground, protect your sovereignty and move on not as a province of a bigger economy but as a sovereign state that must take its decisions,” said Mantashe on the sidelines of his visit to the KZN province.
“We will never have our legislation drafted in the US legislation will be drafted here, we take decisions here because we know the conditions here.”
In North West, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said South Africa must defend itself against Trump’s “madness”.
“We are encouraged by the leadership of Ramaphosa when he said in parliament we will not be bullied. And we say we must not be bullied,” said Mbalula.
America must not come into the affairs of a sovereign country like South Africa. We must fight and defend our country against the madness of Donald Trump
“America must not come into the affairs of a sovereign country like South Africa. We must fight and defend our country against the madness of Donald Trump.”
Yesterday, a group of about 2,000 white Afrikaners gathered outside the US embassy in Pretoria, holding posters declaring they wanted to take up the refugee offer and calling on Pretoria-born billionaire Elon Musk to “send the ANC to Mars”.
“Thank you Trump, we are coming”, the posters read. “Please help the farmers chase away the ANC”.
The group handed over a memorandum listing what they said was evidence of racism towards whites, saying US officials could use it to investigate conditions in South Africa.
Members of the group wore Trump T-shirts and replicas of the president’s signature MAGA — Make America Great Again — baseball cap, altered to substitute “Afrikaners” for America.
The letter to Trump on Tuesday was signed by Andrew Ogles, Tom Tiffany, Joe Wilson and Don Bacon, members of the House of Representatives on the far right of the US spectrum — a political identity that has become mainstream under Trump.
They also took issue with South Africa ordering Taiwan to move its diplomatic office out of the capital, Pretoria. The Trump administration is a strong supporter of Taiwan’s claim to be an independent country that does not fall under Beijing’s jurisdiction.
The congressmen said South Africa’s embrace of China and its case against Israel amounted to an anti-US vendetta.
“We would also suggest that you consider suspending diplomatic ties unless that government is prepared to engage constructively with our own.”
They claimed the Expropriation Act, with its provision for “nil compensation”, contravened the human rights provisions of Agoa.
“Violation of this (or any) Agoa eligibility requirement would make South Africa ineligible for preference benefits,” they said.
“Pretoria’s continued insistence on undermining American security and foreign policy interests are similarly disqualifying under the eligibility requirements,” they said.
“South Africa is simply not deserving of duty-free access to the American market. After four years of a government that emboldened our enemies, Americans are thrilled to have a president [Trump] willing to punish our adversaries and promote the national interest,” they said.
However, South Africa does still have some allies in Congress.
Democrat Jonathan Jackson told the Sunday Times he remained deeply committed to strengthening diplomatic ties and ensuring that US foreign policy reflected “fairness, mutual respect and long-term partnership”.
Jackson said he has engaged with “several colleagues” in Congress who share his concerns regarding the “potential consequences of President Trump’s executive actions”.
“While discussions are ongoing, there is a growing consensus among members who recognise the importance of maintaining a strong and principled US-South Africa relationship,” he said.
“South Africa has long been a strategic partner of the US, and any policy that undermines this relationship risks creating unnecessary tensions at a time when global co-operation is more critical than ever.”
South Africa has been under the microscope in the US since it professed nonalignment and refused to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine three years ago. The genocide case at the ICJ increased tensions dramatically.
Jackson said Rubio’s decision to snub the G20 meeting was a “missed opportunity for diplomatic engagement”.
“The G20 provides a critical platform for dialogue, and participation is essential in addressing shared economic and geopolitical challenges.”
The plan to send a delegation to the US was announced shortly after Trump signed his executive order freezing aid.
Government officials told the Sunday Times Ramaphosa would not make any concessions on the ICJ case because doing so would harm Pretoria’s international standing.
They accused the US administration of ignoring protocol by failing to communicate through diplomatic channels before announcing the aid cut.
“Look, it’s unlikely that sanctions are coming,” the senior government official said.
“What potentially awaits us is a tariff war. If he does that then we will have to hit back with our own. When it comes to Agoa, what we don’t understand is that inasmuch as we benefit from Agoa, so do the US companies in South Africa.
“I suspect that he may retreat quietly to avoid embarrassment.”
Pretoria is planning to engage these US companies to assist in its cause. The government source said it was hoped these companies would make their feelings felt in Washington ahead of the arrival of the fence-mending delegation.
South Africa will likely engage the black caucus in Congress, Republican sympathisers, the media and those within Trump’s administration willing to listen.
“It’s a matter of us going to Trump, stating our position, our laws and our redress policy. We have had disagreements with the US in the past, but we maintained our mutual respect and it never interfered with our relationship, there is no reason why it can’t be the same now,” the official said.
Jackson said his office was holding discussions with diplomatic representatives and policy experts regarding the US-South Africa relationship.
He remained open to direct engagement with South African officials to help to facilitate constructive dialogue.
He encouraged South Africa to continue engaging with key US stakeholders — including lawmakers, business leaders and civil society — “to highlight the long-standing value of US-South Africa relations. Strong diplomatic outreach and economic co-operation will be key in reinforcing mutual interests and countering narratives that seek to divide rather than unite.”
Many of the countries the South African delegation plans to visit have their own trade and diplomatic issues with the Trump administration, particularly over Ukraine and US support for the far right in Europe.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said this week his country will not accept people who “intervene in our democracy”, a day after US Vice-President JD Vance criticised European leaders.
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