The Bill calls for a review of US-SA relations and for sanctions against the South African government and ANC leaders.
By Peter Fabricius for Daily Maverick
A Bill that would require the Trump administration to conduct a full review of US-South Africa relations and to identify South African government and ANC leaders eligible for sanctions passed the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee this week.
The committee passed the “US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025” by a vote of 34-16, with 28 Republicans and six Democrats supporting it and only Democrats opposing. It will now go to the full House of Representatives, where observers believe it will pass.
It envisages SA government and ANC leaders being sanctioned under America’s Global Magnitsky Act, which imposes financial and visa restrictions on individuals deemed guilty of human rights abuses or corruption.
The Bill would also require the US Administration to determine if South Africa has undermined US national security or foreign policy interests.
‘Aligning with America’s adversaries’
The Bill cites a long list of actions by the ANC government which it says have offended the US, centred on its good relations with Russia, China and Iran, and its hostility to Israel and Taiwan.
The Bill was introduced by Texan Republican Ronny Jackson, a firm supporter of President Donald Trump. He told the committee that South Africa, while claiming to be non-aligned, had recently abandoned the US and its allies by increasingly aligning with America’s adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran, and Iranian military proxies such as Hamas.
He cited SA hosting the Chinese government’s Confucius Institutes, conducting military exercises with China and Russia, and its alleged involvement in efforts to downgrade the US dollar.
He also said, “South Africa is systematically going after our partners and allies.” He cited its downgrading of Taiwan’s presence in the country, “falsely accusing the State of Israel of genocide at the illegitimate International Criminal Court and mimicking Iran’s disgusting dismissal of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October the 7th” (the date of the attack by Hamas on southern Israel).
Jackson said “extreme politicians from the African National Congress have led efforts to target Afrikaners”.
Daily Maverick recently revealed that the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) was a significant donor to Jackson, the sponsor of the Bill, and several other members of Congress hostile to SA.
Of the six Democrats who voted for the Bill in the Foreign Affairs Committee, Brad Sherman and Jared Moskowitz are known to be strong Israel supporters. Bill Keating and George Latimer represent districts with large Jewish populations and Ted Lieu was born in Taiwan.
