Ramaphosa to step into the lion’s den

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa plans to hold talks with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Washington on May 21 and hopes to ease a simmering diplomatic row between the two nations. 

Ramaphosa will visit the US from May 19 to 22 and meet Trump at the White House “to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest,” South Africa’s Presidency said in a statement Wednesday.

His visit “provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries,” it said.

Since starting his second term in January, Trump has accused South Africa of orchestrating a genocide against White Afrikaner farmers and seizing their land, allegations echoed by his Pretoria-born billionaire backer Elon Musk.

Washington has frozen most aid to the nation, announced tariffs on its exports and expelled its ambassador, while offering members of all minority groups refugee status, with a first cohort arriving in the US on a charter flight this week. 

There have been no official land seizures in South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994, while police statistics show young Black men bear the brunt of violent crime.

Ramaphosa has repeatedly denied that any group is being persecuted and insisted that property can only be taken in the public interest and within the confines of the constitution.  

Ramaphosa signed off on legislation late last year that will make it easier for the government to take land without paying for it in the public interest to help ensure equitable access.

His administration hasn’t expropriated any land so far, although millions of people have taken occupation of private and government property — official data show that about 12% of households are situated in informal settlements. 

The US is South Africa’s largest trading partner after China, and more than 600 American companies do business in Africa’s most industrialised economy.

With the nation’s preferential access to US markers under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act effectively terminated, officials in Pretoria are working on a new trade deal to present to Trump.

In April, Trump announced a 30% tariff on South African goods but this was later paused for 90 days. 

Relations between the two nations have also soured because of Pretoria’s decision to file a case in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel, a close American ally, of committing a genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and its close ties with Iran. 

Given South Africa’s foreign-policy positions, Washington will likely “go aggressive” on Pretoria, said Louw Pienaar, a senior analyst at the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy. 

“I hope with this visit, there’s at least movement towards de-escalation, but I would not hold my breath,” he said in a panel discussion at the Nampo Harvest Day expo near Bothaville in the Free State province. 

The standoff has cast a shadow over South Africa’s presidency of the Group of 20, with Trump shunning meetings of the bloc and rejecting calls for it to focus on addressing issues such reducing developing nations’ debt and climate change.  

The South African government’s initial intention was for Ramaphosa to hold bilateral talks with Trump on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting that is scheduled to take place in Canada on June 15, but the gathering was fast-tracked, according to people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to comment. The two men have spoken by phone twice since Trump won reelection.