JOHANNESBURG – A bill proposing sanctions against African National Congress (ANC) leaders has cleared its first hurdle in the United States Congress, further straining relations between South Africa and Washington.
The proposed legislation, known as the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 (H.R.2633), was passed this week by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, with 34 votes in favour and 16 against. It calls for a full review of ties with South Africa and identifies individuals within the ANC-led government who could be subject to sanctions.
Republican Representative Ronny Jackson, who introduced the bill in April, has accused South Africa of abandoning its long-standing alliance with the US in favour of closer ties with “communists and terrorists.” He cited South Africa’s joint military drills with China, its diplomatic downgrades with Taiwan, engagement with Hamas leadership, and its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice as key concerns.
“This bill gives President Trump the tools to hold South Africa’s corrupt government accountable,” Jackson told lawmakers.
During Tuesday’s committee meeting, Republican members supporting the bill pointed to South Africa’s alignment with countries such as China, Russia, and Iran as evidence of a worrying foreign policy shift. They described the proposed sanctions as necessary to reset expectations in what they claimed was a one-sided relationship.
Democratic lawmakers, while also expressing concern over South Africa’s positioning, argued that the bill was too aggressive. Representative Gregory Meeks called the move hypocritical and warned that sanctions would push South Africa further from the US at a time when diplomacy is needed.
“The right way to address these differences is through dialogue, not punishment,” Meeks said.
Even some critics of South Africa’s foreign policy questioned the wisdom of using sanctions, noting that existing mechanisms like the AGOA review already offer space for structured engagement.
The bill must now pass through both the House and the Senate before being signed into law. A similar bill introduced by Jackson in a previous Congress failed in the Senate despite passing in the House.
Experts are sceptical about the current bill’s chances, despite Republican control of both chambers. Professor John Stremlau, a former US State Department policy planner, said the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, describing it as “dead in the water.”
Meanwhile, reaction from South African officials and diplomats has been scathing. South Africa’s Consul General to Canada, Thandile Babalwa Sunduza, took to Facebook to denounce the bill, calling it hypocritical for the US to maintain ties with authoritarian governments elsewhere while criticising South Africa’s historical allies.
“They say we relate with authoritarian governments, yet they maintain relations with countries that don’t even hold elections,” she wrote. “These communist nations stood with us during apartheid, offering food, weapons, and scholarships. And now, for standing with the oppressed, we are labelled the enemy.”
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