South Africa could be excluded from a renewed preferential trade pact between the US and sub-Saharan African countries, a US official said, in the latest uptick of tensions between Pretoria and Washington.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told a Senate hearing that President Donald Trump was considering extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that expired in September, but may “give South Africa different treatment.” When asked if the country, Africa’s largest economy, should be left out of any future extension of AGOA, he said: “I’m open to that because I think they are a unique problem.”
Ties between Washington and Pretoria have sharply deteriorated during Trump’s second term. In August, Washington imposed 30% tariffs on imports from South Africa as part of a global tariff overhaul, and heated talks for a new trade deal appear to have stalled. Last week the White House said it would not invite Pretoria to join the G20 summit it is hosting next year after boycotting the same event hosted by South Africa last month.
