Republican-led foreign relations committee approves the submission of legislation to “reassess” relations with the post-apartheid state
Geostrategic Analysis
A renewed legislative effort by the United States House of Representatives seeking to sanction the Republic of South Africa has received a boost from the Foreign Relations Committee which voted to forward the measure to the full body for further discussion and possible approval.
Known as the “U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act”, this draft bill passed the MAGA-dominated committee in a 34-16 vote with some Democrats casting their ballots in favor of the bill.
This represented yet another plan to antagonize the African National Congress (ANC)-led Government of National Unity (GNU). Only weeks after coming into the White House for the second non-consecutive term, the South African Ambassador to the U.S., Ibrahim Rasool, was declared persona non grata by the White House.
These events were occurring amid the near-weekly announcements and shifts related to U.S. tariff policies. Many countries in Africa and throughout the Global South were subjected to astronomical tariffs under the guise that these states have been taking advantage of Washington and Wall Street.
President Cyril Ramaphosa traveled with a leading delegation from the GNU and other South Africans in politics and business aimed at resolving differences and lessening diplomatic tensions. Instead of engaging the South African leader and his colleagues as equal partners in contemporary world affairs, Trump sought to bombard Ramaphosa with slanderous accusations whose origins are among the far-right in the U.S.
There are no substantiated claims of white genocide being carried out in South Africa at the hands of the ANC. It was the ANC which led the struggle to overthrow the apartheid system for decades resulting in the release of political prisoners, the repeal of segregation laws and the ascendancy of President Nelson Mandela in 1994.
In the contemporary period it has been the South African government under the leadership of the ANC which filed suit against the State of Israel for its genocide against the people of Palestine. The case was brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body within the United Nations system.
Within a relatively brief period of time, the South African government in early 2024 had won a favorable ruling from the ICJ which said that the accusations of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza were plausible. This act of solidarity by the South African people has its origins within the national liberation phase of the revolutionary struggle. The ANC and other liberation movements within Africa have long cherished their alliances involving the Palestinians.
On the contrary, it was the U.S. which blocked sanctions against the former apartheid regime in South Africa during the liberation movement. These actions were quite similar to the role of successive administrations which have facilitated the occupation, expulsion and genocide against the Palestinian people.
The former administration of President Joe Biden dismissed the legal action by South Africa during 2023-2024 as lacking merit. Essentially, from a legal standpoint, the U.S. has failed to acknowledge that genocide is being committed in Occupied Palestine.
The solidarity linking the African Revolution with the liberation of Palestine is based upon a common history of domination by imperialism and settler-colonialism. Millions of people have died over the course of centuries during the Atlantic Slave Trade, classical colonialism and neo-colonialism, directly stifling the development of Africa and other victimized territories. Today, irrespective of the number of independent states in existence internationally, all of them are being threatened by the continuation of the hegemonic control exerted by the U.S. and its allies across the world.
Destabilization Through Legislation and Economic Sanctions
Trump’s tariffs policy is taking on the same role as sanctions leveled against hostile states. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, after a visit to the White House was welcomed with an announcement of 25% tariffs. Trump also said he would impose additional penalties because India has extensive trade with the Russian Federation.
Russia, India and South Africa are all leading members of BRICS Plus which has grown enormously over the last two years. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), considered the major strategic competitor with the U.S., has strong relations with all of these states through the BRICS Plus framework and other forums.
As it relates to the ongoing U.S. hostility towards South Africa, the website Business Insider Africa reported on July 23:
“The legislation reflects growing frustration among U.S. lawmakers over South Africa’s foreign policy stance, particularly its perceived alignment with countries like Russia and Iran, and its criticism of Western positions on global conflicts. If passed, the bill would require the U.S. State Department to conduct a thorough review of Washington’s relations with Pretoria, including trade, military cooperation, and diplomatic engagement…. Critics of the bill argue that it threatens long-standing ties between the two countries and could undermine cooperation on security, health, and economic development. However, its supporters maintain that the U.S. must hold its partners accountable when their policies are at odds with American interests and democratic values. As the bill moves forward, its passage could mark a significant turning point in U.S.–South Africa relations, with wide-ranging implications for regional diplomacy and international alliances.” (https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/south-africa-faces-potential-sanctions-as-us-lawmakers-back-critical-bill/r9gn7xg)
Such foreign policy initiatives by the Trump administration and Congress are not acts of strength, these are measures which desperately attempt to reassert imperialist hegemony through economic means. At the same time the trajectory of the U.S. has alienated billions of people around the world.
The economic onslaught against the world’s peoples through tariffs, mass deportations and sanctions will prove disastrous for the U.S. and its allies. As it becomes clearer that the enactment of draconian sanctions and tariffs will not be enough to reposition Washington where it can dictate the terms of international relations, the threat of another imperialist war will be upon the people. Three of the BRICS Plus leading members, Russia, China and India, are all nuclear powers. This set of political dynamics will require a militant anti-imperialist movement within the western industrial states to oppose their own governments in preventing the potential for nuclear war.
Legacy of Hostilities Towards the South African People
During the period of the national liberation movement in South Africa in the early 1960s, it was the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which played a pivotal role in the capture of Nelson Mandela in 1962. Mandela spent more than 27 years in prison along with other comrades from the ANC, the South African Communist Party (SACP), along with scores of activists.
Multinational corporations based in the U.S. provided the economic and security underpinning of the apartheid system between 1948 and the early 1990s. It was only the international work done by the ANC and its supporters which created the conditions for the building of a mass anti-apartheid and Southern African solidarity movement. The implementation of people’s sanctions from the grassroots resulted in the adoption of such policies by the imperialist states.
The anti-apartheid struggle and the entire alliance of liberation movements throughout Southern Africa was never supported by successive U.S. administrations. The ANC, the South-West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), the MPLA of Angola and FRELIMO of Mozambique, among others, were all considered communist-led organizations supported by the socialist countries. It was only when the Southern Africa solidarity movement throughout the continent and in the West reached a critical mass that the U.S. was forced to change its posture to one of diplomacy in order to maintain some influence in these emerging countries.
Knowing and acknowledging this history informs the antiwar and anti-imperialist movements of the role of the U.S. in undermining, destabilizing and overthrowing people’s governments. As the ideals of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), BRICS Plus and the world socialist movement as a whole come into fruition, the need for solidarity between the international working-class and the oppressed will become imperative.
