South Africa’s attempts to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States might be complicated by continuing hostility from US president Donald Trump.
The president’s most recent critical comments about South Africa came in a post his Truth Social platform (reposted on X) in which he doubted he would attend a meeting of the G20 countries in South Africa, the first African country to hold the G20 presidency.
The October meeting is planned as a gathering of world leaders before South Africa hands over the G20 presidency to the US in November. However, if the meeting is held in South Africa as scheduled, the US president might not be there.
“How can we be expected to attend the very important G20 Meeting in South Africa when land confiscation and genocide are the primary topics of conversation?” he posted.
“They are taking the land of white farmers and then killing them and their families. The media refuses to report on this. The United States has withheld all contributions to South Africa.
“Is this where we want to be for the G20? I don’t think so.”
In February, President Trump signed an executive order cutting off aid to South Africa. He also instructed the US government to help white South African farmers to relocate to the US.
