US pressures France to exclude Ramaphosa from G7 Summit

The United States has placed significant pressure on France to disinvite President Cyril Ramaphosa from the upcoming G7 Summit, scheduled to take place in the French town of Evian this June.

This move follows months of increasingly fractured ties between Washington and Pretoria.

Relations have soured over a range of geopolitical and domestic issues, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, a key US ally, and President Donald Trump’s assertions regarding the treatment of white Afrikaners.

Trump has clashed repeatedly with the South African government during his term. 

He previously imposed 30% tariffs on most South African exports, which represented the highest rate applied to any nation in sub-Saharan Africa.

While the US Supreme Court has since overruled this tariff policy, the economic friction remains a significant point of contention. In addition to trade disputes, the diplomatic relationship has been strained by heated rhetoric. 

Trump has berated Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a "white genocide" and notably boycotted a G20 Summit in Johannesburg last November.

The current effort to block South Africa’s participation in the Evian summit marks a further escalation in the breakdown of bilateral cooperation.