President Donald Trump has suspended U.S. aid to South Africa following the passage of a land expropriation law, deepening tensions between Washington and Pretoria. The executive order, signed Friday, condemned the legislation as showing “shocking disregard” for citizens’ rights by enabling land seizures from ethnic minority Afrikaners without compensation.
Trump’s order criticized what he called “countless” policies undermining equal opportunity and “hateful rhetoric” encouraging violence against “racially disfavored” landowners. He also cited South Africa’s recent foreign policy positions, including its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and strengthened ties with Iran, as reasons for the aid freeze.
The order outlined plans to support the resettlement of Afrikaners “escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination.” This follows escalating tensions between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, with Trump accusing the administration of “confiscating land” and discriminating against “certain classes of people.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would boycott upcoming G20 talks in Johannesburg, citing the legislation and other “very bad things” occurring in the country.
Ramaphosa has defended the Expropriation Act as a “constitutionally mandated legal process” aimed at ensuring equitable public access to land. In a parliamentary address Thursday, he appeared to challenge Trump’s stance, declaring, “We will not be deterred. We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied.”
The law permits land seizure without compensation when deemed “just and equitable and in the public interest,” such as for unused land, and after failed negotiations with owners. Ramaphosa’s African National Congress argues this addresses historical land ownership disparities from colonial and apartheid eras. No land has yet been expropriated under the law.
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition party and unity government member, has opposed the law as threatening property rights and foreign investment, while rejecting claims it permits “arbitrary” seizures.
Land ownership remains contentious in South Africa due to apartheid’s legacy. Government data from 2017 shows Black South Africans, comprising over 80 percent of the population, own just 4 percent of private farmland. White South Africans, about 7 percent of the population, hold approximately three-quarters of the land.
The aid freeze aligns with Trump’s broader reduction in foreign assistance, including scaling back USAID operations. U.S. aid to South Africa totaled approximately $440 million in 2023.
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