US pressure on South Africa grows as trade and investment ties endure

Diplomatic relations between the United States and South Africa remain tense despite Pretoria’s efforts to engage Washington during the United Nations General Assembly, while trade and investment ties have continued to show resilience. The latest escalation came on 15 September, when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions against South Africans involved in uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination and violence against minorities. Washington has also excluded Pretoria from this year’s G20 meetings.

South Africa formally reprimanded US Ambassador Leo Bozell on 29 September over his criticism of the government. It was the second such diplomatic protest in six months, according to the supplied analysis. The dispute covers South Africa’s positions on Israel, China and Russia, as well as land reform and race-related policies.

Bozell has identified five conditions for normalising relations. Two issues—the US refugee programme and litigation concerning the Expropriation Act—are described as effectively settled from Washington’s perspective. Three areas remain contentious: South Africa’s response to the “kill the boer” song, the designation of rural security as a priority crime, and the possible extension of equity-equivalent investment programmes to mining and telecommunications.

Pretoria says its rural safety strategy already treats the issue as a priority and has engaged Washington on implementation. The analysis says South Africa cannot simply disregard court judgments on hate speech, while President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that broad-based black economic empowerment policy is under review in sectors identified by the United States. At the same time, goods and services trade grew by slightly more than 10% in 2025 to below $29 billion, while US foreign direct investment remained stable.

South Africa remains part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and has major platinum-group-metal reserves, making it relevant to US critical-mineral supply chains. Examples cited of continuing US commercial engagement include Microsoft’s expansion of South African cloud and artificial-intelligence infrastructure, Alcoa’s acquisition of the Hillside Aluminium smelter and $50 million in US development-finance backing for the Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project. These links could provide incentives for further negotiations despite the political dispute.