US drops review of South Africa’s security risks

US lawmakers dropped a potential review of South Africa’s ties with Washington on the basis that they pose national-security risks.

President Joe Biden on Monday signed a version of a key annual defense-policy bill that didn’t contain an earlier amendment passed by the US House of Representatives in June that sought the review. 

Two congressmen introduced a bipartisan bill to the House in February, criticizing a series of foreign-policy positions taken by South Africa, including its case before the United Nations’ International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.

The proposed bill added to criticism by US lawmakers last year of Pretoria’s refusal to back the Western stance on Russia’s war with Ukraine, and its deepening relationship with the BRICS economic bloc.

South Africa maintains that while it may have opposing positions to the US on geopolitical issues, ties between the two nations remain strong. The US is the country’s largest trading partner after China. 

The US this weekend said South Africa will retain its preferential access to the world’s biggest economy in 2025 for thousands of products.

Maintaining a favourable commercial relationship is key to the newly formed South African coalition government’s efforts to bolster an economy that’s barely grown over the past decade.

After undertaking an annual review of which nations are allowed to enjoy duty-free under its African Growth and Opportunity Act, Washington left its list of eligible and ineligible nations unchanged for next year, the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement.