Joshua Meservey in Washington: What SA must do urgently to transform the USA from Foe to Friend
In this interview, the Africa specialist at one of Washington’s leading think-tanks assesses a 15-page anti-SA Bill being promoted to the US Congress by Representative Ronny Jackson, a permanent member of both the House’s Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees. Joshua Meservey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute explains how the Bill works, its implications and what the SA Government would need to do to get it off the table. He spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.
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Highlights from the interview
A congressional bill with teeth
In a candid and pressing conversation with Alec Hogg, Hudson Institute senior fellow Joshua Meservey outlined a dramatic turn in U.S.-South Africa relations, one that places Pretoria squarely in Washington’s crosshairs. The trigger? A newly reintroduced congressional bill with far-reaching consequences, backed by a key Trump ally and senior U.S. lawmaker, Representative Ronny Jackson.
Jackson, a former U.S. Navy rear admiral and White House physician, now sits on the powerful House Committees on Intelligence and Foreign Affairs. His bill—revived from a previous Congress—doesn’t just re-evaluate the U.S.-South Africa relationship. It demands action. Most significantly, it calls for the executive branch to identify ANC and government officials potentially eligible for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act.
A real path to becoming law
“This bill has a real chance of becoming law,” Meservey warned. While the U.S. legislative process is famously opaque, Republicans currently control both houses of Congress. With President Trump likely to return to the White House in 2025, and Jackson being a close ally, the path for such legislation—though winding—now looks more navigable than ever.
More than symbolic, the bill signals the deepening rift between Washington and Pretoria. South Africa’s perceived drift toward authoritarian regimes—its warm ties with Russia, the ICJ case against Israel, and its antagonistic posture toward the West—has alienated both Democratic and Republican leaders in Washington.
AGOA and the economic time bomb
Yet it’s the economic implications that may jolt Pretoria awake. The bill calls for an “out-of-cycle” review of South Africa’s AGOA eligibility. AGOA—the African Growth and Opportunity Act—provides tariff-free access to U.S. markets for select African countries, including South Africa. Losing AGOA status could devastate sectors of the South African economy, particularly manufacturing and automotive exports. BMW alone sends nearly half its South African production to the United States.
But even if AGOA is reauthorized—which is not guaranteed—Meservey is doubtful South Africa would remain eligible. “The ANC’s actions are so clearly in violation of AGOA’s terms, I don’t see any way it stays in,” he said.
A roadmap to redemption
Meservey’s message to South Africa’s Government of National Unity, if it sought his advice, is unambiguous: stop antagonizing Washington and start fixing the relationship. He believes there’s still goodwill in Washington toward South Africa, but that goodwill is being “burned through at an alarming rate.”
He suggests a roadmap:
Drop or “defang” the ICJ case against Israel
Carve out exemptions for U.S. companies from BEE regulations
Abandon provocative anti-U.S. rhetoric
Stop joint military drills with Russia and China
Restore diplomatic ties with Israel
Reopen Taiwan’s Pretoria representative office
“These steps would go a long way toward mending relations,” he said, while cautioning that time is running out.
Intelligence and embarrassment as a weapon
While some in South Africa may shrug this off as political theatre, Meservey’s warning is that the U.S. has the capability—and the willingness—to escalate. “If the U.S. decided to unleash its intelligence agencies,” he said, “it could be extraordinarily embarrassing for senior ANC officials.”
Though he dismissed notions of the U.S. intelligence community as infallible, Meservey didn’t deny their reach. Financial corruption, ANC-linked networks, and previously classified insights could all be weaponized in a campaign of diplomatic pressure. “We’ve done it before,” he said, referencing the declassified report on Xi Jinping’s family wealth.
The values clash: BEE and the American right
The deeper issue here is not simply one of geopolitics but values. The Trump movement—whose influence is expected to grow if he retakes the White House—was born out of frustration with identity politics and race-based laws. To them, BEE is the embodiment of what they reject.
“Even if South Africa’s history explains BEE, it doesn’t make it acceptable to this administration,” Meservey said. “They see it as destroying the meritocracy that made America what it is.”
The critique is not just ideological. Meservey argues that BEE has failed by its own metrics: it has largely enriched a small, politically connected elite and done little to address deep economic disparities.
The case isn’t closed—But the clock Is ticking
In sum, South Africa finds itself on a collision course with a reinvigorated Washington consensus—one increasingly intolerant of Pretoria’s defiance. The relationship, once shaped by mutual admiration and democratic ideals, is now clouded by mistrust, irritation, and pending retaliation.
Yet Meservey remains cautiously optimistic. “These are fixable problems,” he said. “But South Africa must act. Not with empty rhetoric, but with real, tangible policy changes.”
A glimmer of quiet progress
Alec Hogg noted one potentially hopeful sign: a representative from SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space venture, was recently named to a South African G20 business working group. “Maybe, behind the scenes, progress is being made,” he said.
One can only hope that such gestures are more than cosmetic. Because if Pretoria continues to test Washington’s patience, the consequences could be historic—and irreversible.
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