5. Güney Afrika devlet başkanı
South Africa: SA Calls On Russia to Return Ukrainian Children and 'Urgently' End the War
[Daily Maverick] President Cyril Ramaphosa has apparently spoken to Vladimir Putin about returning Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
South Africa to clean up high-risk areas after 12 women killed
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced a clean-up of high-risk areas across the country, after the bodies of 12 women were discovered in an area east of Johannesburg in just two months.
Gunmen kill 17 in South Africa bar shooting, 15 wounded: policeSouth Africa: Cases of Murdered Ekurhuleni Women Will Not Go Cold
[SAnews.gov.za] President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured the families of the women who have been brutally killed and whose bodies were discovered in Ekurhuleni that their cases will not be allowed to go cold.
Gunmen kill 17 in South Africa bar shooting, 15 wounded: policeGunmen kill 27 in 2 separate shootings in South Africa
Gunmen killed at least 27 people in two mass shootings in South Africa’s two main cities, police said on Sunday, in the latest violence to hit the crime-weary country. Eight gunmen armed with assault rifles stormed a bar west of Johannesburg at around 1930 GMT (12:30am) on Saturday, killing 17 people and wounding 15 others. The victims included 13 males and four females. The suspects opened fire on customers drinking outside and then moved inside to continue shooting, police said. The shooting took place in Wedela, a semi-rural township of brick houses and small businesses, surrounded by wide expanses of land scarred by mining. The area has also been a focus of a government crackdown on illegal mining, with soldiers deployed alongside police to tackle criminal networks operating around abandoned mine shafts. “The criminals think it’s a fashion. They want to make it something which we need to get used to, but that cannot be allowed and tolerated,” deputy provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said at the scene. “We managed to get clear pictures of the suspects and we will get them,” he said, adding that the attack appeared to have been retaliation for an incident last month. The motive was still unknown, and the suspects torched two vehicles before fleeing. One of the victims was being sought by police in connection with an incident at the same tavern last month in which one person was killed and another wounded, Kekana said. In a separate shooting at an entertainment venue in a township outside Cape Town early on Sunday, gunmen killed 10 people and wounded 11 more. In video clips shared on social media, revellers can be seen dancing and drinking before a burst of gunfire rings out, sending people scrambling for cover. Five of the victims were declared dead at the scene, while the others succumbed to their injuries while being taken to hospital. No suspect has been arrested in either case, police said. Army deployed The attacks come as South Africa, awash with legal and illegal firearms, grapples with persistent gun violence often linked to gang rivalries and competition among informal businesses. The country of about 62 million people records roughly 60 murders a day, among the highest rates globally. Last week, gunmen stormed a house party in a township in South Africa’s eastern port city of Durban and killed 11 people. South Africa has repeatedly turned to the military to reinforce police efforts against violent crime. In March, President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed soldiers to violence hotspots in Johannesburg, describing rampant crime as one of the biggest threats facing the country. Troops were also deployed to enforce strict Covid‑19 lockdowns in 2020 and during the deadly riots sparked by the jailing of ex‑president Jacob Zuma in 2021. They were also sent into the streets in 2023 after a wave of truck burnings raised fears of wider unrest. In 2019, around 1,300 soldiers were deployed to back up police in the gang-afflicted Cape Flats areas surrounding Cape Town. Yet shootings and other violent crime remain a persistent threat. In Johannesburg, 10 women have been killed in a single municipality in two months, the latest found on Saturday semi-naked and stoned to death. A suspect has been taken into custody, police said on Sunday. The nine other victims were mostly in their 20s and 30s, with some found stripped of their clothes and showing signs of sexual assault. Police have offered a 400,000 rand ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers, while the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, has put up a further $31,000.
Gunmen kill 17 in South Africa bar shooting, 15 wounded: policeGunmen kill 17 in South Africa bar shooting, 15 wounded: police
Eight gunmen armed with assault rifles killed 17 people and wounded 15 others at a bar west of Johannesburg, police said on Sunday, in the latest mass shooting in the crime-weary country. “They allegedly searched some patrons and took their cellphones before fleeing the scene in two unidentified motor vehicles,” police said, adding that the incident occurred at around 1930 GMT on Saturday. The victims included 13 males and four females, police said. The motive of the shooting was still unknown, police said, adding that the suspects torched two vehicles before fleeing. “Police have mobilised a team of detectives and other specialised units to trace and apprehend the suspects,” they said. In a separate shooting at an entertainment venue in a township outside Cape Town early on Sunday, gunmen killed 10 people and wounded 11 more. South Africa is awash with legal and illegal firearms, and shootings are common, often fuelled by gang rivalry and competition between informal businesses. The country of around 62 million people has one of the world’s highest murder rates, with about 60 people killed each day. In March, soldiers moved into violence hotspots in Johannesburg to support police efforts to tackle rampant crime, described by President Cyril Ramaphosa as one of the biggest threats facing the country.
Gunmen kill 17 in South Africa bar shooting, 15 wounded: policeSouth Africa: President Ramaphosa Calls for UN Backing On Panel On Inequality
[SAnews.gov.za] New York -- President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the United Nations General Assembly to back the establishment of an International Panel on Inequality (IPI), saying the time has come to turn growing international concern over inequality into coordinated global action.
Trump administration prepares sanctions against International Criminal Court, sources saySouth Africa pushes back on US visa curbs
South Africa on Wednesday hit back at new US visa restrictions over its racial equity policies, accusing the Trump administration of distorting its laws and further straining ties between Washington and one of Africa’s most influential powers. The dispute is the latest front in a broader clash over race, trade and diplomacy that has seen Washington cut aid, impose tariffs, expel South Africa’s ambassador and boycott a G20 summit in Johannesburg, all against the unresolved legacy of white minority rule. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new visa restrictions would target those who promote “race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa”. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Pretoria viewed the move “with concern” and that Washington was echoing narratives promoted by fringe groups opposed to South Africa’s post-apartheid reforms. “We reiterate that healing the divisions of the past and establishing a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights is a constitutional imperative,” Lamola said in a statement. The US did not immediately name any individuals targeted by the restrictions but warned of further “severe” action. “This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve in this matter,” US ambassador to South Africa, Brent Bozell, said. ‘Hypocrisy’ President Donald Trump has criticised South Africa’s land reform and employment equity laws, which were introduced after the end of apartheid to address racial disparities that remain among the world’s widest. Trump has portrayed the measures as discriminatory against Afrikaners, the white minority descended largely from Dutch settlers, a claim Pretoria rejects. In 2025, he berated President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa. While the US president has broadly cracked down on immigration, his administration has offered refugee status to thousands of white South Africans it says face persecution. Lamola rejected suggestions that the government was targeting any racial group, saying crime remained a national challenge affecting all South Africans. The opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, also condemned the visa restrictions, calling them an affront to South Africa’s sovereignty. “The hypocrisy of Washington’s position is breathtaking. It lectures South Africa, while arming Israel amid the reported killing of more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza,” it said in a statement. Despite the tensions, Pretoria and Washington have remained engaged in efforts to thaw relations. “The discussions have highlighted the need for any resolution to consider South Africa’s unique circumstances and to respect its democracy, constitution, sovereignty, and the will of its people,” Lamola said. South Africa is the largest trading partner of the US on the African continent, with more than 500 US businesses and 30,000 US citizens based in the country. South Africa said last month it would offer a “generous” new trade deal to the United States as it seeks to avoid hefty tariffs that threaten job losses on top of a dire unemployment crisis.
South Africa pushes back on US visa curbsSouth African police probe killings of seven women, Ramaphosa vows action
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 - South African police said on Tuesday they were investigating the deaths of seven women whose bodies were found near Johannesburg over the past two months, with some stripped of their clothes and showing signs of sexual violence.
South Africa: Ramaphosa Warns Artificial Intelligence Could Become Too Powerful to Control
[Scrolla] President Cyril Ramaphosa asked Brics countries in New Delhi to set up an international body to check artificial intelligence independently. Ramaphosa said developers of artificial intelligence warn it could wipe out jobs, spy on the public and escape human control.
Does South Africa’s anti-immigrant backlash signal the beginning of a new political era?
Does South Africa’s anti-immigrant backlash signal the beginning of a new political era? The World Today iallan.drupal 8 September 2026 After a long season of vigilantism and protests against undocumented foreign nationals, November’s local elections will test whether anti-immigrant populism has appeal for an electorate dissatisfied with the coalition government, writes Kiri Rupiah. South Africa has been in the grip of anti-immigrant protests and violence over its winter months, leading to the deaths of four foreign nationals - two Mozambicans, an Ethiopian and a Malawian. Tens of thousands more have been left in fear of their lives and livelihoods. Many have queued outside diplomatic missions in Johannesburg and Cape Town, seeking to escape from a nation that once styled itself a beacon of continental solidarity. It is not the first time the country has experienced xenophobic violence. What distinguishes this outbreak, though, is not just its unprecedented scale, but the widening demographic of protesters and the extent to which it has become politically organized. In the face of these forces, the coalition government led by the African National Congress has been caught flat-footed, struggling to control events. With elections in Johannesburg and across the country in November likely to bring further tension, is South Africa’s politics approaching a sea change? This year’s protests are different The two largest waves of xenophobic violence swept over the country in 2008 and 2015, under the ANC government. The 2008 attacks began in Alexandra township in Johannesburg before spreading nationwide, killing at least 62 people and displacing tens of thousands. Seven years later protests spread once again, this time from near Durban, amid frustration with the presidency of Jacob Zuma. In both cases, the violence was largely confined to impoverished communities with high levels of unemployment and was fuelled by rumours of foreign nationals taking opportunities from South Africans. This wave of anti-migrant sentiment draws from the same grievances as previous waves but is more politicized and better coordinated. Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, South Africa. The contrast with this year’s protest is stark. ‘This wave of anti-migrant sentiment draws from the same grievances as previous waves but is more politicized and better coordinated,’ said Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies. She said anti-illegal immigration groups have brought more discipline to their efforts, with identifiable leaders, social media networks and political demands. The group March and March made international headlines when undocumented immigrants were given an ultimatum in March by its leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, a former radio presenter, to leave the country by 30 June. Before the June ‘deadline’, Ngobese-Zuma said: ‘We are not calling for violence. No one will be killed on 30 June, and no looting will take place in our name.’ In some areas, vigilante groups went beyond street protests, going door-to-door to ‘arrest’ migrants, documented or not. The mobilization reached around 100 locations, with the largest marches taking place in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Pietermaritzburg. One of the most alarming developments is the widening social reach of anti-migrant politics, with xenophobic sentiment increasingly resonating among the middle-classes. Causes of resentment How did South Africa get here? After three decades of electoral dominance, the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in 2024. Yet the subsequent government of national unity, a multiparty coalition led by the ANC’s Cyril Ramaphosa, has made some progress. Structural reforms to improve fiscal stability have been praised by analysts and privatization policies aimed at the rail and energy sector have improved capacity. But the coalition’s macroeconomic competence has not led to improved living standards for ordinary South Africans. Unemployment remains stubbornly above 30 per cent, while services including water and electricity have broken down in many areas. Rampant crime has added to middle-class insecurity. And in the absence of tangible progress, the blame has shifted to migrants. Groups like March and March and Operation Dudula are the most visible and organized face of this xenophobic sentiment. For the past year and more, March and March has called on the government to make radical changes to migration laws and declare illegal migration a national disaster. 42% of respondents said they would not welcome any migrants into South Africa. These actions reflect a clear hardening of attitudes towards migrants, especially since the Covid pandemic. In a 2025 South African Social Attitudes Survey, 42 per cent of respondents said they would not welcome any migrants into the country - the highest level recorded and an increase from 28 per cent in 2020. In this climate, anti-migrant groups have spread harmful myths about undocumented foreign nationals causing unemployment among South Africans, committing crimes and being a burden on services. March and March says its supporters will protest ‘until all undocumented migrants have left South Africa’ and claims there are up to 30 million illegal immigrants in South Africa, nearly half its population. According to Africa Check, a fact-checking organization, the real figure is closer to 2.4 million. ‘The facts about migration are clear and consistent,’ said Mbiyozo. ‘They make up a small proportion of society and contribute 9 per cent of GDP.’ Yet misinformation about ‘outsiders’ taking from a ‘fixed pie’ of resources is rampant. This narrative has found fertile ground in South African politics. All parties, from the ANC to the Democratic Alliance, have increasingly blamed migrants for South Africa’s struggles. Now, politicians are echoing the March and March demands. The populist MK Party, led by Jacob Zuma, has called for sweeping immigration enforcement, while others, including the centre-right ActionSA, have campaigned on stronger deportations and tougher border security. Politics by other means Many argue that the government’s response has fallen short. When protests escalated in June, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged what he called South Africans’ ‘deep concerns about illegal immigration, border management and pressure on public services,’ while insisting the challenges ‘must be addressed within the framework of the constitution and the rule of law’. Between 26 June and 11 July, the government said it had processed more than 50,000 foreign nationals for deportation or voluntary repatriation and deployed more than 200,000 private security officers. Political divisions have undermined institutions and created a vacuum being filled by groups like March and March. But these measures have not resolved the underlying political fractures. After losing its majority in the 2024 election, the ANC was forced into a fragile coalition with opposition parties whose policy priorities often differ sharply. These divisions have undermined institutions such as the police and immigration system and created a political vacuum being filled by groups like March and March. The result is the effective delegation of state authority to vigilante organizations. ‘Xenophobia, Afrophobia, ethnic chauvinism and vigilante politics offer no way out,’ stated a national campaign against bigotry, backed by more than 120 organizations. ‘They will not create jobs, reopen factories, fix municipalities, end austerity or hold the powerful to account.’ Alex van den Heever, a professor at the Wits University School of Governance, warns of the risks from this continuing vigilantism. ‘The state has a monopoly on legitimate coercive authority precisely because its actions are constrained by law, procedures, courts and accountability mechanisms,’ he said. But ‘vigilante organizations are not subject to these safeguards’ which make them much harder to contain. Electoral tests Municipal elections in November will serve as a test of how far xenophobic sentiment has disrupted political discourse. Will the demands for improved public services outweigh concerns over immigration?
Does South Africa’s anti-immigrant backlash signal the beginning of a new political era?South African president calls for accountability over Palestine, Sudan, Iran
Addressing BRICS summit in India, Ramaphosa says international law cannot be applied selectively, urges UN Security Council reform
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi to attend BRICS summitBRICS Summit
The main programme of the summit has opened in New Delhi, India. Taking part in the meeting of BRICS heads of delegation are President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto, President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, President of China Xi Jinping, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council (UAE) Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of Brazil Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira, and Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Prior to the meeting, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi held an official welcoming ceremony for the Summit participants. The meeting participants will address initiatives put forward under India’s chairmanship, prospects for further strengthening the BRICS strategic partnership in politics and security, economics and finance, and cultural and humanitarian ties, as well as pressing international and regional issues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi to attend BRICS summitRussian president discusses ties, trade with South African, Egyptian, Malaysian leaders
Putin meets Ramaphosa, el-Sisi, Anwar Ibrahim on sidelines of BRICS summit in India
Putin concludes series of talks on September 11 by meeting with BRICS bank head
Earlier, the Russian leader held bilateral talks with the host of the BRICS summit taking place in New Delhi, Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
Meeting with President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa
President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in India. The Russian delegation at the meeting included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin; Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov; Aide to the President Yuri Ushakov; Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut; Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov; Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev; Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev; First Deputy Minister of Energy Pavel Sorokin; President of the Russian Fertiliser Producers Association, member of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and Head of the Russian Segment of the BRICS Business Council Andrei Guryev, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev. * * * President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends, I am very glad to see you. Our previous discussions also took place at the BRICS summit, in Kazan, yet we remain in constant contact – as do our respective teams. Last year, we had the opportunity to compare positions on the full spectrum of current issues with your Vice-President, who, at your instruction, participated in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Africa are developing successfully. Just last week, on September 5, we marked the 20th anniversary of our basic treaty, signed in 2006 – the Treaty on Friendship and Partnership between our states. Political dialogue and inter-parliamentary ties are developing, with the heads of our foreign ministries maintaining regular contact. Trade may not be increasing at a rapid pace, but it continues to grow and remains at a solid level. We have traditionally developed cooperation in the cultural and educational spheres, particularly in personnel training and education. For the 2026–27 academic year, the state quota has been increased to 100 scholarships for your young people to study in Russia. We note the similarity of our approaches to key international and regional issues, and we are grateful for South Africa’s support for Russian initiatives at the United Nations. Naturally, Russia attaches great importance to the comprehensive development of relations with African countries as a whole. We are preparing, in a robust manner, for the third Summit Russia-Africa, which will take place in Moscow from October 28 to October 29. Among the main subjects are digital technologies, artificial intelligence, peaceful use of freedom, and food security. And we do expect to have a representative delegation from your state. Mr President, my dear friend, I am most delighted to see you. President of the Republic of South Africa :Cyril Ramaphosa Thank you very much, President Putin. It’s always a real pleasure to see you, because that gives us an opportunity to continue to strengthen our relations and also advance the various areas in which Russia and South Africa have dealings. And I wish to thank you once again for Russia’s support for South Africa’s G20 presidency, and for your country’s support for South Africa’s priorities. Many people believe that the G20, that was held in South Africa, was very successful, and in large measure this was also due to the support that we received from Russia. It was not an easy summit, but we were able to overcome the challenges from those who did not want to fully participate. But it was a good summit. And I wish to convey our appreciation for the continuing significant progress in our bilateral relations. Trade obviously needs to be much better, but it is continuing in the right number of areas in which our trade relations can improve, and we need to focus on that as well. And thank you very much for receiving our Vice President, who came to the Investment Forum. The discussions that took place there have helped to strengthen relations between our two countries, and in a number of areas we find that our two governments cooperate well. The 18th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ICTEC), which took place in Moscow in April 2025, that, too, extended our relations. It was an important opportunity to also review the progress and to identify new areas of collaboration. The appointment of South Africa’s ambassador to Moscow has been outstanding, but we will be appointing an ambassador soon. And I am honoured by your invitation to attend the Russia–Africa Summit during the October month in Moscow. We are having local government elections exactly a few days thereafter, so I will be in the middle of a very vigorous campaign, and I will therefore not be able to honour the invitation. However, South Africa will be represented, and we obviously are very interested in hearing from you about the developments that continue to take place in the various conflicts that are happening in the world. And we are also grateful that we’ve been invited to participate in the Pathways to Peace Second International Conference that will be taking place in Canada. So we want to hear your views on that as well, because we would like to attend, to see how best we can continue advancing our relations. Now, South Africa will continue working with yourselves in various international forums to contribute to the broader international efforts aiming at securing peace around the world, and we know that Russia also would like to see that objective achieved. Then we also take this opportunity to thank you for continuing to give our country support when it comes to the training of our students.
Meeting with President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril RamaphosaXi in India, bank capital injections, EU-China trade
Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to India for the first time since 2019 and finalising plans for a US trip as he works through his busiest month of international travel in years. Xi will attend the annual Brics summit in New Delhi over the weekend and meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa are among other leaders going to the event, which gathers some of the world’s biggest energy producers and users. The India trip gives Xi...
Has Trump finally found a foreign trade deal he can get behind?
Tucked away in the funding package passed by Congress this week is a provision that extends the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through the end of 2028. The two-year extension of AGOA — a preferential trade deal that offers eligible sub-Saharan countries duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of goods — answers the White House’s request that the agreement be extended on a short-term basis while negotiations take place over its long-term future. Originally signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000 to improve U.S. trade relations with sub-Saharan Africa, AGOA has had a topsy-turvy past year. Trump’s strong disapproval of preferential trade agreements led many Africa watchers to assume that AGOA was going to lapse without any effort by the administration to extend it past its September 2025 expiration. But just a day before the agreement expired, Trump came out in support of a short-term extension and expressed a desire to begin negotiations over what a long-term AGOA should look like. Competing bills were presented in Congress late last year for AGOA’s extension, including one sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) which included a provision that would have called for the review of the bilateral U.S.-South Africa relationship. This came in the wake of Trump’s spat with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over the country’s handling of what the American president called, without providing proof, a “genocide” against the country’s white population. In the end, an AGOA extension (which did not include a bilateral review for South Africa) was signed into law in February, keeping the act in force until the end of this year and providing retroactive AGOA benefits to goods that had been sold during the months between its expiration and renewal. Now, with this new two-year extension, negotiations over the act’s long-term future can finally take place. Trump’s support for a long-term AGOA stands in contrast to his general opposition to preferential trade deals, which he has criticized for their tendency to remove tariffs on foreign companies exporting to the United States without providing the same level of benefit to American exporters. This, Trump has complained, worsens the U.S. trade balance (by increasing imports without increasing exports), consequently making American companies less competitive with foreign sellers that can produce goods more cheaply and thus undercut the prices of American-produced goods. (Of course, lost in the hoopla over the trade balance is that these cheaper imports — and the wider range of options in a competitive market — benefit American consumers.) Trump’s team has been outspoken in its pursuit of a long-term AGOA that provides more reciprocal benefits to the United States. In practice, this most likely means that the administration will push for a long-term agreement where African countries reduce or eliminate tariffs facing U.S. exporters in a similar vein to the benefits offered by the United States to sub-Saharan exporters. But these negotiations require nuance and complexity. American demands for greater trade reciprocity need to take into consideration how AGOA actually benefits its African partners, or else African exporters will turn elsewhere. Although AGOA has quite noticeably benefited certain African sectors — such as textiles and apparel — its benefits aren’t substantial enough to offset the cost that African countries would incur if they were to remove tariffs on thousands of goods at the request of the Trump administration. The widespread removal of tariffs would decrease revenue for African governments struggling to repay high levels of sovereign debt and hurt local companies that can’t achieve economies of scale to the same extent that larger American companies can. Such a move would render many African companies unable to compete with a new slate of American exporters entering their countries duty-free. And although accessing the huge American market remains a major goal of African sellers, the truth is that they now have a much wider international consumer base than in years past, which decreases American leverage. The Chinese government has given all African countries, except Eswatini (which recognizes Taiwan as an independent country), duty-free access for all exports to China. Unlike the U.S. trade deal, these agreements apply to all exported goods without requiring African partners to meet governance and human rights standards, nor forcing them to remove tariffs facing Chinese exporters. And African countries are also beginning to trade with each other at a much higher clip, especially now that the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to create an Africa-wide customs union, is beginning to take shape. The schizophrenic nature of AGOA’s stop-start renewals over the past year has already hindered U.S.-Africa trade relations, with African exports to the U.S. dropping sharply during the months AGOA had lapsed. Talks about reciprocity alongside Trump’s heavy tariffs have increased pessimism among experts about what benefits a long-term agreement might actually provide Africans. Continuing to push heavy demands on sub-Saharan countries for reciprocity could backfire, as many would-be African partners might increasingly turn to China and alternative markets, where they can reach a wide base of consumers without being forced to jump through hoops put in place by Washington. Although the administration is right to aim for a long-term agreement, it should do so while taking into consideration the current, competitive geopolitical moment, and the real needs of African countries to access new markets and deepen supply chains.
Kongre, Afrika Büyüme ve Fırsat Yasası'nı 2028'e kadar uzattı