A group of Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. Congress have written to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting that the annual Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) Forum be moved from South Africa this year, News24 reports.
The legislators - which includes Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who chairs the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and Republican Michael McCaul, chair of the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee - has called attention to what they say is South Africa's deepening military relationship with Russia.
According to the group, South Africa looks set to lose its Agoa status, which provides duty-free access to 25% of South African exports to the U.S.. The United States is South Africa's second-biggest single-country trading partner after China.
This follows accusations from the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, who said the South African government had supplied arms to Russia for use in its war against the Ukraine. A Russian ship, Lady R, was seen loading undetermined cargo at the country's military naval base in Simonstown, Cape Town on December 9, 2022. Defence Minister Thandi Modise denied that South Africa supplied any arms to Russia but was not forthcoming on the reason for the Russian ship's presence. The government later declared the issue classified.
In May 2023, amid a crisis in relations with the United States over South Africa's growing relations with Russia, the head of the South African National Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha, visited Moscow for talks on "improving combat readiness", according to Russia's defence ministry, citing TASS, the state-run news agency.
Clayson Monyela who is with South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said in a Tweet: "This letter by the four US Congress members to Secretary Blinken is noted. There is no decision by the State department/WhiteHouse to move the AGOA Forum from South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa's special envoys recently visited the U.S. to meet and explain South Africa's active non-aligned position on the Russia/Ukraine conflict to key stakeholders and decision makers.
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The original Agoa, for which 39 African countries are currently eligible, was passed in 2000 by the U.S. Congress to build trade ties with Africa by providing quota and duty-free entry into the United States for specific goods. The law, which was twice extended by Congress, is set to expire in 2025.
The legislation mandates that an annual forum be convened to bring together government leaders and private sector stakeholders from Africa and the United States. Previous meetings have taken place in Lome, Libreville and Addis Ababa, although most have been held in Washington, DC - the most recent in December during the U.S.-Africa Business Leaders Summit.
