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Source: AFP
Securing South Africa's commercialized ties with the United States volition beryllium a cardinal purpose of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who Monday began a Washington sojourn that volition diagnostic a gathering with Donald Trump, Ramaphosa's bureau said.
Ramaphosa arrived precocious Monday accompanied by 4 furniture ministers connected the high-stakes visit. He is expected to conscionable Trump astatine the White House connected Wednesday.
"The intent of the sojourn is to reset and revitalise bilateral relations betwixt South Africa and the United States (US)," work a connection issued by the Pretoria presidency.
"In this regard, the sojourn volition absorption specifically connected reframing bilateral, economical and commercialized relations," the connection added.
Ties betwixt Pretoria and Washington person plummeted since Trump -- whose medication notably features South Africa-born Elon Musk astatine the caput of the "Department of Government Efficiency" -- took bureau successful January.
Ramaphosa's sojourn is seen arsenic an effort to reset the relationship.
A precedence is securing commercialized relations successful bid to "protect jobs, turn the system and grow employment opportunities", Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said earlier Ramaphosa arrived.
Ramaphosa was accompanied by his ministers for planetary relations, commercialized and agriculture and besides his peculiar envoy to the United States, Mcebisi Jonas.
The United States is South Africa's second-largest trading partner, down China.
Trump's sweeping commercialized tariffs announced successful April -- subsequently paused for 90 days -- included a levy of 31 percent connected South African imports, which immoderate industries accidental could effect successful monolithic laic offs.
Steenhuisen said of peculiar interest was the aboriginal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which provides duty-free entree to the US marketplace for immoderate African products.
There are fears that the Trump medication volition extremity the agreement, which is up for renewal successful September.
"Preferential commercialized agreements specified arsenic AGOA lend importantly to our economy," Steenhuisen said successful a statement.
"Losing these benefits would beryllium disastrous for farmers, workplace workers and the system astatine large," helium said.
With South African unemployment astatine astir 32 percent, economical maturation and occupation instauration is besides precedence for Ramaphosa's government.
The president volition besides effort to affirm that conspiracies of a "white genocide" are "patently false", his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
Trump's medication welcomed astir 50 people from the Afrikaner assemblage past week aft claiming the achromatic number was nether menace successful the black-majority country.
Steenhuisen is simply a person of the pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) enactment that joined Ramaphosa's authorities of nationalist unity, formed aft past year's elections.
Ramaphosa is besides expected to promote Trump to be the G20 acme of starring economies that South Africa hosts successful Johannesburg successful November and which the US president has threatened to skip.
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Source: AFP
