Key topics:.Trump wants SA to change foreign & domestic policies, not just trade.US may sanction SA officials linked to corruption & adversarial nations.BEE rules & SA's stance on Israel, Iran, Russia may hinder relations..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By John Matisonn___STEADY_PAYWALL___.South Africa's plans to fix its relationship with President Donald Trump are still miles apart from the changes Trump is demanding..While South Africa hopes it can pivot to negotiating a new trade agreement that will appeal to his "transactional" attitude to other countries, Trump is trying to get South Africa to recognize that he expects changes to both our foreign and our domestic policies..Tshwane's plans include offering the US access to critical minerals as a carrot to normalizing the relationship..Before Washington's surprise decision to expel South African ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from the US, he said part of the preparation for a South African delegation visit to the US capital that was delayed because the government realized they had to have a concrete offer to make. .In his infamous Friday morning webinar at which he described Trump policy as "supremacist" he advised, "Don't come here empty handed, come ready to deal… Be transactional." .This was in part influenced by the apparent turnaround in Trump administration attitude to Ukraine after a hostile White House meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky after Ukraine agreed to make critical minerals available to the US. .However, Trump is demanding more than just a trade agreement both in the case of Ukraine and South Africa. Ukraine also agreed to Trump's plan including his ceasefire proposal. In South Africa, Trump's demands involve changes to both our domestic and foreign policies..This week Trump still had South Africa on his mind when he terminated secret service protection for Hunter Biden, controversial son of former President Joe Biden, saying that "he is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the human rights of people has been strenuously questioned." Hunter is married to a South African..In extensive interviews given by Trump insider Joel Pollak, a former South African who is senior editor-a-large at the pro-Trump publication Breitbart News, Pollak has referred to significant changes the new administration expects in South Africa..Pollak is tipped as the next US ambassador to South Africa, and he has access to the inner circle of US policy-makers. He told BiznewsTV that among options being considered was to sanction individual South Africans, to avoid punishing innocent citizens. He referred specifically to people singled out by the Zondo Commission for corruption, as well as those with ties to America's enemies..Read more: 🔒 How US Left sees SA – scary New Yorker assessment.If this avenue is pursued, it could lead to individual sanctions on senior ANC officials at Luthuli House as well as members of the government..In a previous BiznewsTV interview he also indicated that if Johannesburg goes ahead with its plan to rename the street where the US consulate is located after Leila Khaled, a Palestinian woman who participated in hijackings that left American civilians dead, the US would close its consulate and not reopen it..Since close Trump whisperer Elon Musk and the president have also complained about BEE rules requiring 30% local black ownership of foreign companies operating in the country, it is possible that Trump may also attempt to relax BEE rules as well, as the price for resuming normal trade relations..But an equally tough barrier to surmount may be South Africa's foreign policy. Ramaphosa appears to have significantly shifted views on Ukraine, by inviting Zellensky on a state visit in April, but this is unlikely to be sufficient, especially since Trump reversed traditional US support for Ukraine and picked a fight with its president in the oval office last month..Trump wants a shift in South Africa's loyalty to Iran, Russia and China, but especially in its support for Palestinians against Israel. Derailing South Africa's support for the International Court of Justice case against Israel is the toughest of these, although since other countries are now supporting this case, a South African withdrawal may make no tangible difference to its proceedings..At the state department daily briefing on Monday, spokesperson Tammy Bruce singled out the "unjust land expropriation law, as well as its growing relationship with countries like Russia and Iran.."They have taken also aggressive positions toward the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel – not Hamas – of genocide in the International Court of Justice, and reinvigorating its relationship with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.."This is a matter of a nation that is taking steps that are not in the interests, the best interests of providing a safe, secure, more prosperous America… Obviously part of it is to encourage a change in policy and posture. It's a matter of changing policy and creating better environments for all of us." .Read also:.Trump v SA: How the world is seeing the flashpoint🔒 Davos insights, Trump vs. ANC, and the future of global markets – BizNews Share Portfolio update Jan 2025Anthony Ginsberg: US stock's Trump bump is just the beginning
