Due to South Africa’s “deepening military relationship” with Russia, a group of U.S. congressmen wants to transfer a U.S.-Africa trade meeting from South Africa later this year.
In a letter, they also warned U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other authorities that South Africa could lose its AGOA privileges.
In Johannesburg, African leaders and U.S. officials will discuss the future of AGOA, which expires in 2025.
South Africa was the second-largest AGOA beneficiary after Nigeria in the first three months of this year, exporting roughly $1 billion to the U.S.
African nations want to extend AGOA, which gives eligible exports preferential U.S. access.
“We are seriously concerned that hosting the 2023 AGOA Forum in South Africa would serve as an implicit endorsement of South Africa’s damaging support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the June 9 letter noted.
According to the letter, South African foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela tweeted, “There is no decision by the State Department/White House to move the AGOA Forum from S.A.”
South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry, which handles U.S. trade ties, said it would not publicly react to the letter.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is helping African leaders settle the Ukraine issue.
However, parliamentarians were dissatisfied with South Africa’s February naval activities with China and Russia and plan to conduct a BRICS meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
The parliamentarians also supported the U.S. ambassador’s claim that a sanctioned Russian vessel gathered weapons at a South African naval facility last year. South African officials said they are unaware of such weaponry transfer and have begun an independent investigation.
