Donald Trump's administration has taken another measure against South Africa, imposing new visa restrictions on foreign nationals that Washington considers responsible for or complicit in policies that, according to it, promote racial discrimination, violence against minorities or land expropriation without compensation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the new policy on 15 September, arguing that the South African government had failed to address concerns previously raised by Washington. According to a statement from the US State Department, the restrictions will apply to individuals involved in the drafting or implementation of laws and policies that, according to the US, enable expropriations without compensation, racial discrimination or incitement to imminent violence against ethnic or racial minority groups.
The measures do not constitute a blanket visa ban on South African citizens. Washington has not yet made public the names of those affected or their numbers.
Rubio said the new policy is based on section 212(a)(3)(C) of US immigration law, which gives the Secretary of State the authority to declare a foreign national inadmissible to the US when his entry is deemed to have serious adverse consequences for US foreign policy.
At the center of the clash between Washington and Pretoria is land reform and policies aimed at addressing inequalities created during apartheid.
One of the main points of debate is the Expropriation Act, signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January 2025. The law sets out rules for the expropriation of property in the public interest and provides that, in certain circumstances, compensation may be zero. South African authorities argue that this does not amount to automatic confiscation and that the law must be implemented in accordance with the Constitution.
In August, the Democratic Alliance, part of the ruling coalition, took the law to court, challenging the powers it grants to the state. According to Reuters, no land had been confiscated under the law until then.
Ramaphosa's government disputes the US portrayal of the situation and denies there is a systematic campaign of persecution against the white population. Pretoria argues that the reforms are aimed at correcting historical inequalities created during apartheid and has demanded that the US respect South Africa's right to shape its own domestic policies.
The land issue remains particularly sensitive in a country where ownership inequalities remain high. Land audit data released by the South African government shows that white landowners owned 72% of individually owned agricultural land and farms, according to the 2017 audit data.
The diplomatic spat has extended beyond land reform. Since Trump returned to the White House, the US has taken several measures against South Africa, including cutting US aid and measures that have affected the country's representation at G20 meetings. Trump has also supported a program to accept Africans as refugees into the US, while claiming that white South Africans face persecution. Pretoria has denied these claims.
The US embassy in Pretoria has also warned that the visa restrictions could be just the beginning of other measures. According to it, Washington believes that dialogue with the South African government has reached a critical point and that further steps may be taken if American concerns are not addressed.
The clash between Washington and Pretoria is thus unfolding on several fronts simultaneously, from racial politics and land reform to trade relations and differing positions on foreign policy. The new visa restrictions are the latest in a series of clashes that have significantly strained relations between the two countries.
