The Trump administration denied South Africa's visa to a special envoy to the US, and McEbisi Jonas officially refused his qualifications and notified Pretoria that he would not be recognized as an official interlocutor. This was condemned by the Democratic Alliance (DA), the second party in the South African Governance Union, and the statement announced that the measure came just after Jonas' nomination last May, with President Cyril Ramaphosa aware for months that his special Envoy is not welcome in Washington.
Despite these “clear and repeated” communications, the Pretoria presidency continued to mislead the president by claiming that Jonas remained a special envoy to the United States, tasked with leading efforts to reinforce bilateral relations between the two countries. The party therefore believes that the presidency “owes a complete and honest explanation to the South Africans about how they justify double their efforts to appoint a rapporteur who has been officially rejected by the host government.”
According to the DA, after Ambassador Ebrahim Lasor was expelled, “It is no longer denying that the president is interested in saving faces rather than protecting the livelihoods of South African businesses and workers who ultimately pay his prices. The billions of exports call for an urgent parliamentary briefing on the failure to appointed Jonas, as tariffs for the release date, currently scheduled for August 1st, are in effect.
This incident is part of the powerful tensions that have arisen between the US administration and South Africa after Donald Trump took office. Jonas' appointment comes after Washington declined to help South Africa and relied on the controversial expropriation law recently passed after the Pretorian government accused him of persecuting white people. A “reactivation” relationship with Iran. The US has also skipped a ministerial meeting organized as long as South Africa's G20 presidency is concerned. We will not see Johannesburg, the Foreign Minister of Johannesburg, abandoned by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last February, and today the Treasury Secretary will be taking part.
Last week, Trump intensified the global trade attack launched in April, and announced tariffs in several countries, including South Africa, which will be subject to 30% tariffs starting on August 25th. This is separate from the 40% tax imposed on cars in April, which has also been applied to auto parts since May. Before Trump's tariff announcement, South Africa had proposed trading packages that included a tax-free quota for two vehicles per year for exports from South Africa, as well as tax-free access for local automotive components for US production.
The United States is South Africa's second-largest trading partner and a major destination for domestically produced vehicles, and has benefited from tax-free access under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program. In 2024, the South African automobile sector accounted for 64% of all Asia A trade with the US, generating R2.86 billion (US$160 billion) in export revenue.
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