US tariffs: Farmers hardest hit as AfriForum’s ‘fearmongering’ backfires

There is a belief that US President Donald Trump’s imposition of agricultural tariffs on South Africa indicates the failure of the AfriForum’s “fearmongering”.

The mainly Cape-based People’s Movement for Change (PMC) says instead of achieving its goal, AfriForum’s strategy has backfired. It said the white farmers it sought to protect would be the hardest hit by Trump’s sanctions.

PMC said the unfounded claims of white genocide, land grabs and violation of human rights were far from reality in South Africa – and AfriForum must take the blame for the latest developments.

Trump’s tariffs will hurt SA agriculture

Trump hit the country with a 30% tariff, which is set to affect the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Trump’s protectionist policies are even more stringent on agriculture.

Former DA MP, Phumzile van Damme, echoed the PMC’s sentiments in a post on X. She said what’s coming for South Africa’s economic sector was serious economic ruin, blaming those who lobbied the Trump administration using fear-mongering.

“All the fearmongering about South Africa has failed. The loud narrative of genocide, racial prosecution and mass land grabs has garnered no meaningful sympathy – no policy shift, no international solidarity, just disengagement and shrug from the international community,” Van Damme said.

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PMC’s national coordinator Zandre Allen said the party is concerned about the impact that the United States’ tariffs will have on South African farmers. She put the blame squarely on the AfriForum leadership.

“This is not the result of government policy, but of reckless political grandstanding by individuals like [AfriForum CEO] Kallie Kriel, who made it their mission to draw Donald Trump’s attention to South Africa in the most destructive way possible,” Allen said.

AfriForum ‘feeding SA farmers to the wolves’

In an open letter to Kriel, Allen reminded him that when he went knocking on Trump’s door, “you were not representing South African farmers, you were feeding them to the wolves. You invited one of the most protectionist leaders in modern history to target our nation under the guise of concern, and now the very people who feed this country are being punished for your shortsighted political stunts.

“You didn’t champion solutions, you lobbied for sanctions. You didn’t advocate for farmers, you dragged their livelihoods into your obsession with fear-based international posturing and now, South African citrus farmers, wine producers, and agricultural workers – black and white – are staring down financial ruin, not because of ANC policy, but because of the childish provocation of a so-called civil rights organisation that has repeatedly placed ideology above patriotism.”

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