The Price of Politics: US Suspends Foreign Aid to South Africa

On February 7 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14204, suspending almost all US aid to South Africa. This decision followed the “South Africa’s Expropriation Act” passed in South Africa on January 23 2025, permitting, under limited circumstances, the South African government’s acquisition of private land without compensation. 

Previously, as explained in the 2017 Land Ownership Audit, despite making up only 7.3 per cent of the population, white South Africans continue to control nearly 70 per cent of the country’s land and wealth, while Black South Africans, who make up 80 per cent of the total population, only control between 4 to 8 per cent of land and wealth. This disparity follows racist laws implemented during the apartheid era, such as the Natives Land Act of 1913, allowing the forceful removal of non-white South Africans from their lands, legally restricting them from owning land in most of South Africa. The impacts of these laws are evident in South Africa to this day. An IMF report explains that income distribution remains skewed and highly concentrated towards the richest 20 per cent. 

As a means to move forward in a country still facing the historical injustice and legacy of apartheid, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration argued that the Expropriation Act, implemented in 1975, is a necessary tool as part of their National Development Plan. 

The Trump administration was alarmed by this action. The official line of reasoning argues  the bill implies that South Africa follows “unjust and immoral practices that harm our nation.” The administration asserts that this bill is “in shocking disregard of citizen’s rights” and holds “egregious actions” against white South Africans. Subsequently, all aid has now been suspended and President Trump has begun to offer refugee status to white South African farmers. 

This decision has significant implications for both the South African government and the country’s population. For instance, South Africa remains the country with the most people living with HIV, totalling more than eight million in 2024. For the past 20 years, USAID, the US’s primary development agency until its disbandment on July 1 2025, had been a key aid donor in combating HIV in South Africa, providing $6.5 billion USD in 2024 alone. Launched in 2003, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been credited with saving 26 million lives outside the US. Funding from this program made up around 17 per cent of South Africa’s HIV budget. This suspension of aid has left hundreds of thousands of people without crucial HIV-related assistance. 

Recognizing the gravity of this cut, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised an emergency waiver to provide humanitarian assistance and resume certain activities. However, this does not include crucial prevention programs, which means that long-term progress is no longer addressed. Furthermore, the cut in HIV aid has implications for the entire South African healthcare system, leading to the closure of multiple HIV treatment clinics and inciting an overflow of patients in general medical facilities. PEPFAR’s former Chief of Staff, Jirair Ratevosian, has described the future following this aid suspension as a “bloodbath,” explaining how “millions will suffer as a result of these actions.”

Beyond healthcare, the abrupt pause of cooperation has extended to other critical areas. For example, Washington announced the suspension of all military cooperation and assistance with the SANDF, despite three decades of collaboration — a symbol of the breakdown in their relationship. This breakdown is further reflected in the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), resulting in the immediate termination of grant projects and financial pledges that had previously been funded through JETP. Following the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which had promoted economic growth, its future now holds an uncertain outlook. South African President Ramaphosa has since attempted to mend the nation’s political ties with the US, notably with a visit to the White House on May 22, 2025. However, aid remains paused. 

These clashing views and diplomatic fallout have triggered geopolitical shifts in the region, especially at a time when the US has sought to counterbalance China and Russia’s new influence on the region. 

Prior to the aid suspension, South Africa had been getting closer to other major nations such as China through collaboration in the BRICS, a worrying competition for the US. China has been keen on tightening their relationships with Africa, especially by promoting its development model as an alternative to the West. For South Africa, this has come mainly in the form of loans to build long-term infrastructure and investing in renewable energy. Moreover, since 2008, China has become South Africa’s largest trading partner. The African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling political party, has even begun to align itself on foreign policy matters with Russia and China, further diminishing US influence. 

The US cuts have created an opening for competing nations like China to take on larger roles with South Africa, as they have heightened South Africa’s dependency on Chinese resources.

However, China may not be able to fill the gap that will follow the aid suspension. This is because of their preference for loan-based funding. This means that their aid comes in the form of trade or infrastructure, rather than contributions to healthcare. China’s global foreign aid stood at $3 billion USD in 2023, while American aid to Africa alone amounted to $8 billion USD in 2023. This disparity suggests that China may not be able to fully replace the US as a development partner to South Africa. 

Thus, while China is eager and well-positioned to increase its influence in South Africa, it cannot entirely fill the void left by the US.  China will not be able to offset the consequences of the US withdrawal. China is likely to become one of South Africa’s most important allies and a strong alternative to the West, but it will not directly replace the US.

Edited by Allison Dera

Featured image: “President Donald Trump meets with President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the Oval Office” by The White House, licensed under CC BY 4.0.