SA needs to find a compromise with US while still standing firm in our beliefs

What’s next in the tumultuous South Africa-United States diplomatic tug of war?

Over the last 10 days plenty shots have been fired from both sides, but US President Donald Trump threw the cat among the pigeons on Friday evening when he issued an executive order alleging human rights issues in the country.

The White House said they were ready to resettle “persecuted South African farmers”, days after threatening to freeze aid to SA pending an investigation into the “confiscating of land” here.

ALSO READ: Trump’s SA executive order: Government slams ‘propoganda’, takes shots at US refugee system

State department spokesperson Tammy Bruce wrote on X: “Persecuted South African farmers and other innocent victims being targeted solely based on their race who choose to resettle in America will be welcome.

“The US will also defend the rights and interests of those remaining descendants of settlers threatened with expropriation without compensation and other intolerable abuses.”

After a week of threats and now an executive order from Trump, President Cyril Ramaphosa should be commended for his calm responses, including “South Africa won’t be bullied” in his State of Nation Address on Thursday.

But it seems a new approach is needed.

As is mentioned in our business pages today, “our response must be careful, calculated and unemotional” even though Trump is feeding off misinformation.

But isn’t it time to change our tack? The US is important for us from a trade point of view.

It’s reported we will send a delegation of business people and government officials this week to get to the bottom of this, but is that enough?

We need to find a compromise while still standing firm in our beliefs, even if we re-evaluate our policies.

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