South Africa must do more to woo Trump to G20 summit

The door is still open for Pretoria to convince US president to attend the historic G20 summit by winning his heart and mind.

President Donald Trump's recent announcement that his US Vice President JD Vance will attend the G20 leaders summit in November in South Africa marked a significant step in the right direction in the bilateral relationship between Washington and Pretoria.

I believe that Pretoria should still work hard until the very last minute to get Trump to attend the summit. Giving up is not an option. Trump has the flexibility and openness of mind to change if and when given a good reason to.

It is a great sign of progress and maturity in SA-US diplomatic relations which is long overdue. It shows that President Cyril Ramaphosa's relentless diplomatic efforts are bearing fruit. South Africa is at the epicentre of global geo-strategic and geopolitical conversations.

Why? This is largely due to what Ramaphosa has referred to as South Africa's "principled position" on the major geopolitical issues of our time which are a source of polarisation and conflict between the global south and the global north.

On the Russia-Ukraine war, for example, South Africa enjoys cordial relations with both countries and is well positioned as an honest peace broker that can, if and when requested by Washington, convey sensitive messages to presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. On the very sensitive issue of the Israeli-Gaza war, South Africa can be leaned on to contribute towards a peaceful settlement.

Trump has expressed his commitment to end all wars, something that would augur well for his Nobel Peace Prize ambitions. If Trump's peace crusade succeeds, there is no doubt that the world would be a better place for all. Peace is a global public good in short supply.

If Pretoria can assist Trump's efforts to end the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Africa and, by so doing, advance Trump's prospects for a Nobel Prize, that would provide an enabling platform for a total reset in the relationship in ways that benefit Pretoria on the issue of tariffs and Agoa.

The combative and outspoken Vance is not just part of Trump's inner circle but is widely seen as a torchbearer and intellectual heir to the Make America Great Again movement.

He is perceived as one of the most powerful vice-presidents of American the modern era with influence comparable to the likes of Al Gore (1993-2001, under Bill Clinton) and Dick Cheney (2001-2009, under George W Bush).

This is likely to be Vance's first visit to Africa and therefore of significant importance to South Africa and Africa at large investing in our given that he may run for president after Trump's term ends.

South Africa's international relations and cooperation economy minister, Ronald Lamola, has happily welcomed the news and indicated his intention to engage with Vance during the G20 summit.

The fact that Ramaphosa is likely to meet Trump on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting next week will also provide a welcome opportunity for the two countries to deepen their relations and iron out any differences. South Africa needs to seriously intensify its efforts to reduce the high tariffs of 30%. This must be a burning national strategic priority that requires an unprecedented strategic pivot to commercial and economic diplomacy, It is trade and investment, not aid, that South Africa needs.

The US is South Africa's largest trading partner with which the latter enjoys a trade surplus. China is the largest trading partner overall but South Africa has a trade deficit which needs to be rebalanced for Pretoria to benefit. More than 600 US companies in South Africa employ about 250,000 people directly and account for about 10% of the country's GDP.

This past week Walmart, the world's largest company by turnover (more than $680bn in

2024), which is also the world's largest private sector employer with 2. forilin associates (as its employees are called), made a major historic announcement that before the end of this year, South Africa will have fully fledged Walmart-branded stores.

This is a resounding vote of confidence on South Africa as an investment location of choice considering Walmart has exited mecond-largest company by market Uk, Faeier this year, Microsoft, the words investment in Sou Africa makeand islatioa (about S3.8-trillion), announced its R5.4bn investment in South Africa to expand its cloud and

The writer believes President Donald Trump's recent announcement that JD Vance will attend the G20 leaders summit in November is a good sign. Picture: Reuters/Brian Snyder

Al infrastructure. This was in addition to about R20.4bn already spent by Microsoft in South Africa's first enterprise-grade data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

What does all this tell us? South Africa is attractive to American and other foreign investors who are the geese that lay the golden eggs of economic growth, job creation, supply and value chain modernisation, CSI spend, technology and skills transfer. South Africa should double down in attracting US investment. It's in the national economic interest. However, if the relationship is not improved, it could be a drag on South Africa's economic prospects and its economic interests. South Africa can't afford that. The stakes are high. Jobs are at risk.

Millions of South Africans benefit from having American companies invested in our economy. To think that you can simply say you will find alternative markets and ignore the world's largest economy is unhelpful at best and naive at worst.

Finding new markets has to be part of how we conduct our trade and investment affairs in the normal scheme of things. Let me be clear: we cannot and must not run away from having a cordial trade and investment relationship with the US, which is the world's largest consumer market accounting for about 30% of total global household consumption.

Total annual consumption expenditure in the US is $19-trillion. South African companies need their share of this massive spend. This is higher than China because of the higher US per capita incomes and stronger consumer demand.

What must be done? South Africa needs to urgently step up and find common ground with Washington on three sets of issues.

The first comprises geopolitical and foreign policy domain such as Iran, Russia, Israel, China and Brics. The second contains domestic policy issues such as land expropriation, B-BBEE and the so-called white genocide which have been raised by the White House.

The third set is trade and investment issues which are the subject of the current tariff negotiations. These include agriculture, poultry and intellectual property rights. None of these issues, in my opinion, is insurmountable.

Of urgent importance is the need for an ambassador in Washington. This needs to be complemented with a fresh and strategic approach to economic diplomacy, public diplomacy and deployment of our soft power to project positive narratives about South Africa. This can and must be done if we are to unlock the full potential in the relationship between these two great nations and advance inclusive prosperity for their peoples. The door is still open for Pretoria to convince Trump to attend the historic G20 summit by winning his heart and mind.

*Diamini is the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa and former chair of Massmart Powered By Walmart. He writes in his personal capacity