By Enyichukwu Enemanna
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has dispatched a delegation to Washington, aiming to de-escalate tensions with the United States, which is his country’s second-biggest trading partner as bilateral relations between both countries come under uncertainty.
The latest move is in pursuit of retaining South Africa’s preferential access to American markets.
South Africa’s role in the Russia’s invasion in Ukraine February last year has come under serious questioning, even as the African country claims to be neutral in the war that has hit 500 days.
The country’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is among those who plan to meet with US lawmakers this week and lobby for his country to retain its eligibility to export goods duty-free to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
During the meeting with the MPs, the officials are expected to make efforts to dispel what the government has termed misinformation about its stance toward Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Tensions rose earlier this year when the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, accused South Africa of supplying arms to Russia — an allegation Pretoria denied.
Several United States lawmakers have called on President Joe Biden’s administration to reconsider whether South Africa should continue to benefit from AGOA.
Ramaphosa joined his counterparts from Senegal, Zambia and representatives from Uganda, Egypt, Republic of Congo and the African Union president during a six-nation peace mission to Kyiv and Moscow in June to try and broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Besides being angered over South Africa’s foreign policy stance, some legislators argue that Africa’s most-industrialized nation is too developed to participate in the program.
“There’s no officially expressed view that seeks to exclude South Africa from AGOA,” said Vincent Magwenya, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman.
“This is despite some politicians in the US lobbying for our exclusion.”
AGOA expires in 2025, and US officials have previously said the qualifying criteria may be revised or the program may be replaced.
South Africa transports cars and agricultural produce to the US under the accord. Last year, it exported $2.7 billion worth of goods using AGOA and the so-called Generalized System of Preferences.
