DIPLOMATIC tensions between South Africa and the United States have reached a new nadir following the publication of a controversial State Department human rights report that Pretoria has condemned as inaccurate and politically motivated.
South Africa’s government slammed a report published by US President Donald Trump’s administration that said the human-rights situation in the African nation “significantly worsened” last year. The escalating diplomatic row threatens to derail ongoing efforts to resolve trade disputes and punitive tariffs that have strained bilateral economic relations.
The South African Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation issued a scathing response on Tuesday, registering “profound disappointment” with what it characterised as a fundamentally flawed assessment based on “a-contextual information and discredited accounts.”
In its annual human rights report released Tuesday, the US State Department accused South Africa of taking ‘a substantially worrying step towards land expropriation of Afrikaners and further abuses against racial minorities’. The report also cited incidents involving the deaths of farm workers and police use of force, which South Africa says are currently being adjudicated by the country’s independent judiciary.
“It is ironic that a report from a nation that has exited by the UN Human Rights Council and therefore no longer sees itself accountable in a multilateral peer review system would seek to produce one side fact free reports without any due process or engagement,” the ministry statement said, highlighting “significant and documented concerns about human rights within the United States.”
The diplomatic spat comes at a particularly sensitive time for South Africa-US economic relations. The reciprocal tariffs effectively nullify the preferences that Sub-Saharan African countries enjoy under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to South African government statements. The US represented 7.45% of South Africa’s total exports in 2024, while South Africa accounted for only 0.4% of the US’ total imports.
Trade negotiations between the two countries had been gaining momentum, with South African Trade Minister Parks Tau recently engaging with US officials on tariffs, minerals, and AGOA benefits during meetings in Washington. However, the human rights report appears to have dealt a significant blow to these diplomatic efforts.
The South African government has challenged the US report’s methodology and conclusions, contrasting it with recent assessments from the United Nations. The ministry cited UN recognition of South Africa’s Land Expropriation Act as “a critical step in addressing the country’s racially imbalanced land ownership,” describing it as validation from “the UN’s primary human rights body.”
The State Department’s annual human rights report called out Brazil and South Africa while scaling back criticism of Israel and El Salvador, shifting its account of other nations’ abuses to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
South Africa has committed to releasing a comprehensive set of documents during the week to provide what it calls “a complete and accurate picture” of the country’s human rights record. The ministry referenced reports from the South African Human Rights Commission and the UN Human Rights Council, as well as fact-checking articles from international news agencies, to counter what it termed “distortions” in the US assessment.
The escalating dispute threatens to undermine broader US-Africa relations at a time when the Trump administration has already implemented sweeping tariff measures affecting multiple African countries. The AGOA framework that saw African countries export duty-free to the US is as good as dead, experts say.
Despite the sharp exchanges, South Africa has indicated it remains “open to addressing these distortions through the diplomatic channels,” suggesting both sides may still seek to contain the damage to their bilateral relationship.
The controversy highlights the increasingly complex dynamics between the US and its African partners under the Trump administration’s more confrontational approach to international relations, with human rights concerns becoming entangled with broader trade and strategic considerations.
