Anti-SA bill in US ‘ dead in the water‘

• Department banks on ‘ mutually beneficial relations’

The department of international relations & co-operation does not believe there is a legislative future for a bipartisan US bill that, if adopted, will oblige the US administration to conduct a comprehensive review of that country’s relations with SA.

The department of international relations & co-operation does not believe there is a legislative future for a bipartisan US bill that, if adopted, will oblige the US administration to conduct a comprehensive review of that country ’ s relations with SA.

The two members of Congress who introduced the bill last week, Republican John James and Democrat Jared Moskowitz, condemn what they say is SA’s siding with “malign actors” on the international stage such as Hamas.

The US-SA Bilateral Relations Review Act is in the first stage of the legislative process and will typically be considered first by a committee before it is possibly sent to the House of Representatives or the Senate.

While the adoption of the bill could have negative consequences for SA’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows dutyfree access for a range of products, and could affect investor sentiment, spokesperson for the department of international relations & co-operation Clayson Monyela said: “We don’t think the bill will go anywhere. The US government values the mutually beneficial relations with SA and they don’t share the views of the drafters of the proposed bill.”

International relations & cooperation minister Naledi Pandor expressed concern that the drafters of the bill attempted to associate SA with terrorism and “the atrocious attack against civilians in Israel” by Hamas on October 7.

“Our government would encourage a more informed and balanced perspective and will continue to work at strengthening our relationship,” she said.

NATIONAL SECURITY

If adopted the bill will require the president not later than 30 days after enactment of the act to release a determination explicitly stating whether SA has engaged in activities that undermine US national security or foreign policy interests. It must be accompanied by a report justifying the determination.

It will also require a full review of the bilateral relationship between the US and SA that must be conducted not later than 120 days after enactment.

The bill states that “in contrast to its stated stance of non-alignment, the SA government has a history of siding with malign actors, including Hamas, a US-designated foreign terrorist organisation and a proxy of the Iranian regime, and continues to pursue closer ties with the People’s Republic of China ( PRC) and the Russian Federation.”

This undermines US security and foreign policy interests, the bill reads.

“The SA government’s support of Hamas dates back to 1994, when the ANC first came into power, taking a hardline stance of consistently accusing Israel of practising apartheid.”

The two members of Congress say that after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 2023, members of the SA government and leaders of the ANC “have delivered a variety of antiSemitic and anti-Israel-related statements and actions”.

These include the “politically motivated suit” filed by SA in the International Court of Justice “wrongfully accusing Israel of committing genocide”.

The bill also cites what it says is the government’s pursuit of increasingly close relations with the Russian Federation, “which has been accused of perpetrating war crimes in Ukraine and indiscriminately undermines human rights. SA’s robust relationship with Russia spans the military and political space.”

Also condemned are the government ’ s interactions with the Chinese government and the ANC ’ s interactions with the Chinese Communist Party, who the members of Congress say “are committing gross violations of human rights in the Xinjiang province, implement economically coercive tactics around the globe, [and] undermine SA’s democratic constitutional system of governance”.

An example is “the widespread presence in SA’s media and technology sectors of People’s Republic of China statelinked firms that the US has restricted due to threats to national security, including Huawei Technologies, ZTE and Hikvision, which place SA sovereignty at risk and facilitate the Chinese Communist Party’s export of its model of digitally aided authoritarian governance underpinned by cyber controls, social monitoring, propaganda and surveillance”.

Also cited is the government ’ s mismanagement of state resources and its inability to effectively deliver public services aswell as the disruption of rail operations due partly “to malfeasance and corruption by former Transnet officials”.