South African President Cyril Ramaphosa criticized President Donald Trump on Tuesday, condemning his decision to reinstate sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and accusing the U.S. of shielding Israel from accountability.
Trump reimposed sanctions on the ICC earlier this month, reversing President Joe Biden’s decision to lift them. The sanctions had originally been introduced during Trump’s first term in response to what he called the ICC’s “illegitimate assertions of jurisdiction” over U.S. personnel. The ICC had attempted to prosecute Americans for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, despite the U.S. not being a party to the Rome Statute that governs the court.
Ramaphosa, along with leaders from Malaysia and Colombia, co-authored an article in Foreign Policy attacking Trump’s actions and accusing Israel of violating international law in Gaza. The article criticized nations that “brazenly challenge the world’s top courts” and vowed to comply with ICC warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The authors also pledged to block arms shipments to Israel and prevent military supplies from passing through their ports.
The article did not mention Hamas or terrorism, instead portraying Israel as the aggressor. It compared Trump’s plan for post-war Gaza to “South Africa under apartheid, Colombia during counterinsurgency, and Malaysia under colonial rule.”
Ramaphosa’s latest attack on Trump comes after the U.S. president signed an executive order cutting aid to South Africa and offering asylum to Afrikaner farmers. Trump cited South Africa’s hostility toward the U.S. and its allies, specifically its ICC case accusing Israel of genocide while ignoring Hamas’s terror attacks.
Ramaphosa’s position also risks South Africa’s status under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade deal that grants preferential access to U.S. markets. AGOA’s eligibility criteria prohibit actions that undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy. With AGOA set to expire in September, South Africa’s continued inclusion is uncertain.
Rather than seeking compromise, Ramaphosa appears to be escalating tensions with Trump, a move that could have significant economic and diplomatic consequences for South Africa.
