South Africa hits back at the United States
South Africa’s government slammed a report published by US President Donald Trump’s administration that said the human-rights situation in the African nation “significantly worsened” last year.
The review published by the State Department late on Tuesday echoed some of Trump’s criticisms of the country, including Pretoria’s adoption of a land-expropriation policy.
It also raised concern about alleged extra-judicial killings and repression of racial minorities.
The rand was little changed on Wednesday morning, trading 0.1% stronger at 17.5755 per dollar by 07h10 in Johannesburg.
“We find the report to be an inaccurate and deeply flawed account that fails to reflect the reality of our constitutional democracy,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.
“The report’s reliance on a-contextual information and discredited accounts is highly concerning.”
Relations between South Africa and the US have been fraught since Trump returned to the White House in January.
He has falsely accused the African nation’s government of presiding over a genocide of White farmers, and criticized its international allegiances with countries such as Russia and Iran.
Earlier this month, the US imposed a 30% tariff on imports from South Africa. The levy places South Africa among four countries — the others being Brazil, China and Switzerland — that have effective tariffs that are “significantly higher” than their competitors, according to Oxford Economics.
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