President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday vehemently denied South Africa’s announcement that the United States was ending a boycott of this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, saying no US official would take part in talks.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier Thursday described an 11th-hour about-turn by the Trump administration, which had relentlessly attacked South Africa over treatment of white minority farmers by the post-apartheid government.
The White House said the US ambassador would attend but only for a handover ceremony as the United States will next year host the summit of the club of global economic powers, at a golf club owned by Trump in Florida.
“The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
“I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today, and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team,” she said.
Ramaphosa earlier said that the United States had a “change of mind about participating in one shape, form or other, in the summit.”
Ramaphosa said the supposed change of heart was “a positive sign”.
“All countries are here, and the United States, the biggest economy in the world, needs to be here,” he said.
Ramaphosa’s remarks came despite the US embassy in Pretoria sending a notice that it would not attend.
In the weekend message, it said South Africa’s G20 priorities “run counter to the US policy views and we cannot support consensus on any documents negotiated under your presidency.”
The agenda included improving debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a “just energy transition” and harnessing “critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development”.
The Group of 20 represents some 85 percent of the global economy, with its summits becoming major gatherings for world leaders since the economic crisis of 2008.
Trump had initially agreed to send Vice President JD Vance before ruling out any participation.
The G20 summit is the latest major international gathering to be snubbed by the United States under Trump.
The United States is also shunning the ongoing COP30 climate talks in Brazil, with Trump instead defending fossil fuels and rejecting the scientific consensus on the planet’s rising temperatures.
Trump has singled out South Africa for harsh treatment since he returned to the White House in January, often seizing on far-right commentary on the internet.
Trump has repeated debunked claims that white Afrikaners are being systematically “killed and slaughtered” in the country, which has high levels of violence. The Trump administration also expelled South Africa’s ambassador after he accused Trump of racism.
Trump has imposed 30 percent trade tariffs on South Africa, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite Trump’s boycott, US businesses are well represented at a separate Business 20 (B20) event that wound up in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The head of the US Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Clark, thanked South Africa for fostering “real collaboration between G20 nations during a time of rapid change” during its presidency.
“The US Chamber of Commerce will use our B20 leadership to foster international collaboration,” Clark said.
The United States has significant business interests in South Africa with more than 600 US companies operating there, according to the South African embassy in Washington.
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