A US senator, John Kennedy, has introduced a new bill to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for two years but explicitly excluding South Africa.
The bill argues that AGOA should benefit African countries that support US interests and not those aligned with China or Russia. It also demands a full review of US–South Africa relations, potential sanctions on ANC officials, and a presidential certification on whether South Africa undermines US national security.
This is the third Republican push to penalise South Africa for its foreign policy stance. The tension intensified after the US boycotted the G20 summit and South Africa defied Washington by issuing the leaders’ declaration and refusing to hand over the G20 gavel at the Americans’ preferred level of protocol.
Negotiations between South Africa and the US are ongoing, and other US lawmakers still support AGOA renewal with South Africa included, but the Kennedy bill signals growing pressure to punish Pretoria politically and economically.