Johannesburg, South Africa – When the millionaire mining magnate-turned-president of South Africa landed in Washington to satisfy the billionaire actual property tycoon-turned-president of the US, it was with a deal in thoughts.
Tensions have been escalating between the US and its African commerce ally since Donald Trump took workplace this 12 months, reduce off help to South Africa, repeated false accusations {that a} “white genocide” is happening there and commenced welcoming Afrikaners as refugees.
On the meeting between Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa within the White Home on Wednesday, the South African president started by focusing closely on commerce and investments, highlighting the 2 nations’ years of cooperation, in step with statements made by South Africa’s presidency that Ramaphosa would current a commerce deal to the US.
However Trump responded with a well-prepared redirect that South African media and analysts described as an “ambush” and a transfer that “blindsided” Ramaphosa.
Prepared with printouts of reports articles about alleged white victims of killings in South Africa and a video of firebrand opposition politician Julius Malema singing Kill the Boer, Trump insisted that white farmers have been being focused and murdered – an assertion Ramaphosa politely but firmly denied, saying criminality was an issue for all South Africans no matter race.
The crew Ramaphosa assembled to hitch him on his working go to – which included 4 white South Africans: two golf legends, the wealthiest man within the nation and the agriculture minister – all reaffirmed Ramaphosa’s info that whereas violence was widespread, white folks weren’t particularly being focused.
“We’ve got an actual security downside in South Africa, and I don’t suppose anybody needs to candy-coat that,” mentioned John Steenhuisen, the agriculture minister and a member of the Democratic Alliance occasion, which is a part of South Africa’s governing coalition.
“Actually, the vast majority of South Africa’s business and smallholder farmers actually do wish to keep in South Africa and make it work,” the minister, who’s himself an Afrikaner, mentioned. Trump claimed that “1000’s” of white farmers have been fleeing South Africa.
Steenhuisen added that the folks within the video Trump confirmed have been leaders of opposition minority events and his occasion had joined forces with Ramaphosa “exactly to maintain these folks out of energy”.
‘The lion’s den’
The assembly started cordially the place Trump complimented South African golfers, together with well-known Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, who have been a part of the delegation. They each implored Trump for enhanced commerce to uplift South Africa’s financial system.
Additionally within the delegation was South Africa’s richest man, Johann Rupert, a luxury-goods mogul and an Afrikaner. He countered claims of racial persecution in opposition to the white minority, saying that whereas criminality was rife, Black folks have been extra typically the victims.
“We’ve got too many deaths, however it’s throughout the board. It isn’t solely white farmers,” Rupert mentioned to Trump.
Ramaphosa stored his cool, native media and observers mentioned, noting that the South African president selected to stay calm, affected person and light-hearted even in gentle of Trump’s assault.
He steered talks again to commerce, saying South Africa wanted financial funding from its allies, and largely sat expressionless whereas the video was performed, often stretching his neck to have a look at it.
Ramaphosa went into “the lion’s den” and was met with an ambush however he remained calm, South African political analyst Sanusha Naidu mentioned.
“Ramaphosa and the delegation didn’t permit themselves to be baited into an emotional response. That’s crucial. They made Trump really feel like he had the higher hand within the assembly,” she instructed Al Jazeera, including that given the narrative from Trump earlier than Ramaphosa’s arrival, it “might have gone worse”.
When requested by a reporter whether or not he needed the deadlock between the US and South Africa resolved, Trump mentioned he was open to it.
“I hope it needs to be resolved. It must be resolved,” he mentioned, including that if it weren’t resolved, it will be “the top of the nation”.
‘Reset’ relations
Earlier than the 2 leaders met on Wednesday, Ramaphosa’s workplace mentioned the purpose was to “reset” relations, particularly because the US is South Africa’s second largest buying and selling companion after China.
“Whether or not we prefer it or not, we’re joined on the hip, and we must be speaking to them,” the South African president mentioned earlier than his journey.
Christopher Isike, a political scientist on the College of Pretoria, instructed Al Jazeera that direct engagement between the leaders was vital, given the tense relations between their nations.
“This is a chance for South Africa to appropriate misinformation peddled by President Trump and attempt to reset commerce relations between the 2 nations,” he mentioned.
Isike famous that each presidents’ backgrounds as businesspeople might present widespread floor for discussing mutually advantageous offers.
“Wealthy pals of Ramaphosa are additionally wealthy pals of Trump, and which will have helped facilitate the assembly,” Isike added.
Widespread floor and degree heads could be helpful because the leaders continued personal talks away from the media on Wednesday, observers mentioned.
Earlier than the go to, Ramaphosa maintained that whereas Trump was a dealmaker, he too was adept at making offers and even joked about the opportunity of enjoying a spherical of golf together with his US counterpart.
Washington, nevertheless, has criticised Pretoria for a number of issues since Trump took workplace. This continued within the assembly on Wednesday.
Trump targeted on the white farmers, significantly Afrikaners – the descendants of primarily Dutch settlers who instituted apartheid. He alleged they’re being killed due to their race regardless of proof exhibiting that assaults and killings are widespread throughout all teams within the nation.
Trump additionally talked about South Africa’s land reform law that permits land within the public curiosity to be taken with out compensation in distinctive circumstances in an effort to redress apartheid injustices. Pretoria mentioned no white land has been taken, however the US mentioned the regulation unfairly targets minority white South Africans who’re the bulk landholders.
Regardless of Pretoria persistently searching for to rectify false assertions, the Trump administration has pushed forward with a plan to absorb Afrikaners as refugees. The first group arrived final week. He has additionally reduce help, together with very important assist for life-saving HIV programmes, to South Africa.
Moreover, there are worries that Trump could not attend the Group of 20 summit being held in South Africa in November and his authorities could not renew the African Development and Alternative Act (AGOA), key US commerce laws that assists economies in sub-Saharan Africa. It expires in September.
Commerce and investments
Earlier than Wednesday’s conferences, Ramaphosa mentioned strengthening commerce relations between the 2 nations was his main motivation for travelling to Washington, DC.
“We wish to come out of the US with a extremely good commerce deal, funding promotion. We put money into the US, they usually put money into us. We wish to strengthen these relations. We wish to consolidate relations between the 2 nations,” he mentioned.
This week, South Africa’s ministers of commerce and agriculture, Parks Tau and Steenhuisen, met with US Commerce Consultant Jamieson Greer to current the primary draft of a commerce deal.
In 2024, whole items commerce between the US and South Africa amounted to $20.5bn. This included $5.8bn in US exports to South Africa and $14.7bn in South African exports to the US.
Nonetheless, some observers mentioned that on the coronary heart of the potential commerce deal is what South Africa might provide billionaire and shut Trump ally, Elon Musk, given his ongoing claims about obstacles he allegedly faces in working Starlink, his satellite tv for pc web firm, within the nation the place he was born because of its transformation legal guidelines.
These legal guidelines search to redress previous injustices that stored Black folks destitute and require companies over a sure measurement to have a 30 % fairness stake held by members of beforehand deprived teams.
Talking on the Doha Financial Discussion board on Tuesday, Musk reiterated his assertions about legal guidelines he claimed have been biased in opposition to white folks regardless of consultants explaining that almost all of these solely search to advertise racial justice.
“All races have to be on equal footing in South Africa. That’s the proper factor to do. Don’t change one set of racist legal guidelines with one other set of racist legal guidelines, which is completely improper and improper,” Musk mentioned.
“I’m in an absurd scenario the place I used to be born in South Africa however can’t get a licence to function Starlink as a result of I’m not Black,” he claimed.
Earlier than Wednesday’s assembly, a White Home official instructed the Reuters information company Trump is more likely to inform Ramaphosa that each one US firms in South Africa must be exempt from “racial necessities”.
Opposition determine Malema’s occasion, the Financial Freedom Fighters (EFF), threatened authorized motion after information that the federal government was contemplating providing regulatory assurances to Musk’s Starlink. The EFF mentioned the transfer could be unconstitutional and reveals Ramaphosa is prepared to compromise the nation’s sovereignty to “therapeutic massage the inflated ego of Musk and Trump”.
Isike mentioned that whereas commerce concessions could be mentioned, he doubted the South African authorities would quit its legal guidelines to appease Musk.
“I might be shocked if Starlink will get its method by refusing to observe South African transformation legal guidelines, which require 30 % Black possession of a international firm,” he mentioned.
‘Genocide’ claims
In the meantime, in personal talks, Ramaphosa and Trump have been additionally anticipated to debate international coverage points, together with peace prospects between Russia and Ukraine and South Africa’s assist for Palestine and its genocide case in opposition to Israel on the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ).
Some political observers mentioned Pretoria is within the US crosshairs partly due to its actions in opposition to the important thing Washington ally.
Patrick Bond, a sociology professor on the College of Johannesburg, predicted earlier than the talks that the US would possibly provide to retract claims of “white genocide” in trade for South Africa dropping its case on the ICJ.
South Africa is searching for to carry Israel accountable for its assault on Gaza, which has killed greater than 53,000 Palestinians since October 2023. The US is Israel’s strongest ally and arms provider.
“We’re very rational in relation to discussing world and geopolitical issues. We’ll put South African positions first, and our international coverage positions might be clarified,” Ramaphosa mentioned earlier than the assembly.
Because the Gaza genocide case in opposition to Israel continues in The Hague, US allegations of a extensively discredited “white genocide” in South Africa proceed to observe the nation’s management.
Earlier than Trump and Ramaphosa retreated to non-public conferences on Wednesday, a reporter requested the US president if he had determined whether or not genocide was being dedicated in South Africa. “I haven’t made up my thoughts,” he replied.
The unfounded declare of white genocide has “taken on a lifetime of its personal”, analyst Paolo von Schirach, president of the World Coverage Institute in Washington, DC, instructed Al Jazeera.
It is going to be troublesome for Ramaphosa and Trump to rebound after the Oval Workplace “ambush”, he mentioned.
“We all know that Elon Musk actually fanned this story [about a white genocide], and he’s in all probability not the one one,” von Schirach mentioned. “It’s going to be exhausting for Trump to say, ‘Oh, so sorry. I used to be misinformed.’”
