By Nellie Peyton

Golfer Ernie Els speaks in the Oval Office during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

JOHANNESBURG, July 23 (Reuters) – United States lawmakers have voted to advance a bill that proposes reviewing the U.S. relationship with South Africa due to objections over its foreign policy and potentially imposing sanctions on South African officials.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 34-16 on Tuesday to send the “U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act” to the full House of Representatives, where it could be subject to a vote, according to a video of the proceedings.

The measure would need to pass both the House and the Senate before it could be signed into law. Many bills at this stage never go to a vote.

However, the committee’s approval took the bill a step further and underscored tensions between Washington and Pretoria as South Africa seeks to fend off a looming 30% U.S. tariff and counter false claims of white “genocide” made by President Donald Trump.

South Africa’s foreign ministry and a spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa declined to comment.

The bill was introduced in April by Ronny Jackson, a Republican congressman from Texas who cheered the move on X, writing: “South Africa made its choice when they abandoned America and our allies and sided with communists and terrorists”.

The bill accuses South Africa of undermining U.S. interests by maintaining close relationships with Russia and China, which are among its allies and trading partners. It also accuses South Africa of backing Palestinian militant group Hamas that is at war in Gaza with Israel, which South Africa has denied.

South Africa has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause and filed a case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice in 2023, which is mentioned in the bill as one of its concerns.

The bill proposes “a full review of the bilateral relationship” and to “identify South African government officials and ANC leaders eligible for the imposition of sanctions”.

It later says that these would be people determined by Trump to have engaged in corruption or human rights abuses. No individuals are named.

South Africa’s relationship with the United States has sharply deteriorated during Trump’s second term, during which he has accused the government of anti-white racism and started a refugee programme for Afrikaners, who are descendants of European settlers.

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Based in Johannesburg, Nellie reports on general, economic and political news across sub-Saharan Africa. She previously spent six years in Dakar covering West and Central Africa. A U.S. national, she studied journalism and international affairs at Sciences Po, Paris. She was the recipient of Amnesty International’s 2021 award for best new journalist for investigating sex abuse by aid workers in DR Congo.

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