\u201cOne would have expected the rand to have blown out already, given the diplomatic fallout between South Africa and US, but it has been surprisingly stable,\u201d said Reezwana Sumad, senior research analyst at Johannesburg-based lender Nedbank Ltd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut what we\u2019ve also seen is that the whole majority of the emerging market FX universe has also been stable. Sharp dollar weakness has supported emerging-market currencies. The rand is also benefiting from that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, US investors play an important role in funding South Africa\u2019s current account deficit and any US investment restrictions, should relations deteriorate further, would trigger a major financial shock, Deutsche Bank said in a note last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa must \u201cfind a new equilibrium between the tensions that will likely continue to exist over domestic policy that the Trump administration has repeatedly criticized, and the business relationships and trade ties that would be negatively affected by a complete breakdown,\u201d said political analyst Ziyanda Stuurman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The air between Washington and Pretoria was already chilly before Trump\u2019s return to power, with the US critical of South Africa\u2019s non-aligned stance on Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Trump was sworn back into office on Jan. 20, he\u2019s halted US aid to South Africa and his secretaries of Treasury and State have both snubbed Group of 20 meetings, which the country is hosting this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the measures being considered by Pretoria are a new trade deal to present to the US in anticipation of the country\u2019s duty-free access under the African Growth & Opportunities Act, known as AGOA, being revoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thousands of South African goods enter the US duty free under AGOA and the so-called Generalized System of Preferences, America\u2019s oldest and largest trade-preference program for the world\u2019s poorest economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is working to secure continued preferential access, while preparing a bilateral agreement that would be used in event that it\u2019s revoked, said Deputy Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Andrew Whitfiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA key part of our effort is to work together with business to achieve the most favorable outcome possible,\u201d he said by text message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are more than 600 US companies invested in South Africa and we are confident that we can maintain strong trade and investment relations with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trade ties with the US remain a strategic priority, presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya said by text message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n America is South Africa\u2019s biggest individual trade partner after China, with goods worth $14 billion shipped to the US in 2023 and imports totaling $9.75 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe trade proposal we are formulating is in anticipation of either the scrapping of AGOA entirely or the termination of South Africa\u2019s participation,\u201d Magwenya said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe current diplomatic tensions have not impacted our bilateral trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n South African foreign ministry officials are also in the US this week for G20 meetings and are using the occasion to meet with their US counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among other plans being considered is the deployment of a White Afrikaner as ambassador to replace Ebrahim Rasool, who was declared persona non grata <\/a>by the US on March 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That approach may serve to counter the false narrative within the Trump administration \u2014 amplified by his South African-born billionaire ally Elon Musk \u2014 that the ethnic group is being persecuted by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Very few people know that there is a major political party in South Africa that is actively promoting white genocide. Musk has sought approval to expand his Starlink in the country, but has objected to its legislation that seeks to boost Black participation in the economy, accusing the government of having \u201copenly racist ownership laws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElon Musk falsely believes that \u201cWhite genocide\u201c is being perpetrated here in South Africa,\u201d Magwenya said. \u201cPerhaps he has lost the appetite to have any business exposure here. Otherwise, how will his team be able to operate here if one follows his logic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among people being considered for the ambassador role are Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel and former Tourism Minister Martinus van Schalkwyk, according to people familiar with the matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another vacancy in the US is the position of consul general in Los Angeles, for which former South African Ambassador to Ireland Melanie Verwoerd is being considered, said the people who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The names are among candidates that may be recommended to Ramaphosa in the coming weeks, though he may select his own candidate for the job, the people said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The appointment of the new ambassador may take months, as Ramaphosa continues to assess the situation in the US, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this week, the Trump administration nominated Leo Brent Bozell III, a conservative activist and writer, to be the country\u2019s ambassador to South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Magwenya declined to comment on the potential candidates for South African ambassador as none have been presented to the president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" South Africa is scrambling to reset US relations that have been under assault by Donald Trump since his return to the White House, working on Plan B for further disaster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":814678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[10849,853,10022],"class_list":["post-818779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-donald-trump","tag-south-africa","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818779"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":818782,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818779\/revisions\/818782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SA-trading-partners.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
The video below was just yesterday. A whole arena chanting about killing white people.
A month ago, the South African government passed a law legalizing\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/GHYp6DvGkr<\/a>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n