Ramaphosa responds to Trump’s threat

 ·3 Feb 2025

President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to threats by US President Donald Trump to cut funding to South Africa over the country’s new expropriation laws, saying South Africa is ready to ‘engage’ over the matter and reach a ‘common understanding’.

Trump took to his ‘Truth’ social media platform on Sunday night, accusing South Africa of “confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly”—alluding to the Expropriation Act that was signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January.

He vowed to “(cut) off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.”

Responding to Trump’s statements, the office of the presidency denied that the South African government has confiscated any land and said that the new laws were not an instrument to do so.

“The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.

“South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners.”

Ramaphosa said that South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality, and that he was looking forward to “engaging” with the Trump administration over the country’s land reform policy.

“We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters,” he said.

The presidency noted that the United States is a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa.

The office also downplayed the impact of Trump’s moves to cut funding.

“With the exception of PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids programme, there is no other significant funding that is provided by the United States in South Africa,” it said.

AGOA is set to expire in September 2025.

According to trade union Solidarity, the US government-funded projects in South Africa worth more than $400 million (R7.6 billion) in 2024, especially to combat HIV/AIDS.

South African universities also received funding from the US government, it said.

Markets were spooked by Trump’s statement, sending the rand over R19/$ before pulling back on Monday morning.

Concerns have been raised over what the Trump administration’s tariff wars with close trading partners mean for the wider market—and what the targeting of South Africa, in particular, means for the country’s continued presence in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

AGOA allows duty-free access to the US market for a significant portion of South African goods, with more than R55 billion worth of exports in 2022 alone (mainly motor vehicles, fruit, and wine).

The US is South Africa’s second-largest export partner, with R61.49 billion of South African goods exported to the US in the first five months of 2024.

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