US lawmakers voted to advance a bill that proposes reviewing the country’s relationship with South Africa and imposing sanctions on some African National Congress officials.
Relations between the countries have deteriorated in recent months over Pretoria’s condemnation of Israel’s war in Gaza and US President Donald Trump’s false claim of a white “genocide” in South Africa.
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday voted 34-16 to send the bill to the full House of Representatives. The bill would need to pass both the House and the Senate before it could be signed into law. Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Semafor that he opposed the imposition of sanctions but added he expected Republicans to follow through. He said “diplomacy and dialog” would be a better approach to resolving differences.
South Africa is trying to fend off a looming 30% US tariff. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday told reporters that South African officials are “engaged in discussions” with their American counterparts to negotiate a trade agreement.