Is South Africa confronting a ‘Putin conundrum’? 2023

South Africa will continue to be eligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) of the United States, but it will not be coerced into abandoning its nonaligned posture in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Naledi Pandor, reiterated South Africa’s message in Parliament this week.

This week, South Africa’s future under Agoa has been the subject of debate after a bipartisan group of United States Congressmen wrote a letter urging the U.S. government to relocate the forthcoming Agoa forum from South Africa.

It means the country voluntarily puts itself in a position of disadvantage when dealing with another country by undermining its own foreign policy interests. It’s not your typical two-way dilemma of not knowing where to go. It’s a dilemma, but it’s one that’s invented.

The hosting of this forum by South Africa, according to these congressmen, would imply that the United States endorses South Africa’s relations with Russia.

In an effort to mediate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Cyril Ramaphosa has begun his African peace mission in Poland.

South Africa, according to political analyst Dr. Mpumelelo Mkhabela, is in what he terms a “Putin conundrum.”

Agoa, a US trade agreement, achieves strategic goals in Africa.

The criteria for illegibility state that a country seeking to export certain products duty-free to the U.S. market must not threaten U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.

Since the implementation of Agoa in 2000, a number of countries have been suspended and readmitted for various reasons, including the rule of law, political instability, and human rights.

If you signed on the dotted line to accept the US benefits on the basis of the illegibility criteria, you can’t say suddenly it’s being weaponized. If you’re no longer interested in that provision, you should resign from that arrangement.

Dr. Mkhabela has refuted the claim that the United States is arming Agoa, stating that the agreement has always been reciprocal.

Currently, South Africa exports more than 7,000 distinct products to the United States duty-free.

Behind these export figures, however, are thousands of employment and ways of life dependent on the Agoa agreement.