By Enyichukwu Enemanna
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will be heading to Washington this week where he will meet with the US President, Donald Trump, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson said on Monday.
During the meeting, he will also present business opportunities for Elon Musk’s companies, aiming to mend relations between Pretoria and Washington.
The two heads of state are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, while South African officials are preparing a trade proposal to present to Trump to reset the relationship.
Trump had frowned at the land reform policy initiated by Ramaphosa, which he said was targeted at white majority landowners. He also condemned the decision by Ramaphosa to institute a genocide case against US ally Israel before the International Court of Justice over the war in Gaza.
The US leader had in February cut funding to South Africa, in addition to refugee status granted last week to a group of white South Africans he claimed were victims of racial discrimination, an allegation South Africa has denied.
One potential proposal would be for Tesla, led by Musk, a close ally and adviser to Trump, to receive favourable tariffs on its imports into South Africa in exchange for building electric vehicle charging stations, a BBC report says.
“(It) could be one of the points discussed,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said in response to a text message query on the matter.
Asked about the question of licensing for Musk’s satellite company Starlink, Magwenya said: “Certainly, the issue will be discussed.”
The United States has pushed some nations facing tariffs to approve Starlink, the Washington Post reported earlier this month, citing State Department cables.
Musk, who is South African-born, has previously claimed Starlink was barred from operating in South Africa because he is not black, an allegation South African officials refuted. South Africa’s telecoms regulator said in March that Starlink had not applied for a licence.
South Africa’s Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, part of the delegation travelling to the United States, said he wanted to secure trade benefits for South African farmers.
South African agricultural products currently enjoy duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Under Trump’s tariff regime, however, that is now at risk.
“Losing these benefits would be disastrous for farmers, farm workers and the economy at large,” Steenhuisen said in a statement.
