The presidency says it is confident it can reset SA’s relationship with the US after the expulsion of ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, who was accused of being a “race-baiting politician who hates America” and its president, Donald Trump.
SA’s relationship with the US has slumped since Trump cut foreign aid in February, citing SA’s genocide case against Washington’s ally, Israel, at the International Court of Justice and its land policy as represented by the Expropriation Act.
On Friday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio took to X to say Rasool was no longer welcome in the US, posting a link to a Breitbart news report on his remarks at a virtual event hosted by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
Rasool described the actions of Trump’s administration as a response to “a supremacist instinct” and to projections that the US electorate would soon be less than half white, raising the prospect of “a majority of minorities”.
Rasool, who appears to support Israel’s enemy Hamas in a Facebook post, had struggled to gain access to state department officials and senior Republican politicians, according to news website Semafor. In September 2023, Rasool posted on Facebook a photograph of three scarves, including one signed by Hamas chair Ismail Haniyyeh, who was assassinated by Israel last year.
He was sent to Washington for a second ambassadorial stint shortly before Trump’s re-election and presented his credentials to then-president Joe Biden on January 13.
The DA’s spokesperson on international relations, Emma Powell, said the situation was “deeply unfortunate ... We call on the presidency to expedite the government of national unity (GNU) delegation to the US to negotiate a pathway towards the stabilisation of diplomatic relations with one of our country’s most important trade and investment partners”.
“Building and sustaining bilateral relationships is not an event. It’s a process that has to be managed with care and in a methodical manner against the prevailing conditions.
— Vincent Magwenya, presidency spokesperson
But presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said there was no need to rush to Washington. “The US chose to exercise its prerogative with respect to expelling our ambassador. We will continue focusing on resetting the relationship and engaging with the Trump administration at various levels.
“However, as things stand there is no reason to hastily send a delegation to Washington when enough ground work has not been done and we have not finalised our trade deal proposal,” he said.
“Building and sustaining bilateral relationships is not an event. It’s a process that has to be managed with care and in a methodical manner against the prevailing conditions.”
The US is one of SA’s most important trading partners and provides duty-free access to a range of SA goods under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa). About a quarter of SA’s total exports to the US fall under Agoa, under which it exported products worth $3.6bn to the US in 2023. More than 600 US firms have invested in SA, and Magwenya said there was room for further trade.
Powell said GNU partners should in future be involved in the appointment of ambassadors. “This is especially important in regard to Rasool’s replacement, given the critical nature of our trade and security relationship with the US.”
Ambassadorial appointments are made by the president on the recommendation of the minister of international relations & co-operation, but Powell said SA “requires a full foreign policy reform in line with the GNU’s statement of intent. SA’s foreign policy must reflect our commitment to advancing national interest and growing our economy. This will require a more consistent approach to the application of nonalignment.”
Magwenya said the US had supported the work of the AU and SA to resolve conflicts in Africa, and SA was aligned with Trump’s desire for a speedy and peaceful resolution to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“President Ramaphosa remains committed to supporting and even facilitating peace talks between the two warring parties. We have a history and experience of peacefully resolving what seemed like an intractable conflict, apartheid. We can share and use that experience to assist the parties with finding a path to peace,” he said.
Correction: March 17 2025
This story has been amended to clarify Ebrahim Rasool’s Facebook post.
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