EU Pledges $5 Billion to South Africa Amid Escalating Trade Tensions With U.S.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — European Union Leaders declared €4.7 billion ($5.1 billion) worth of investments. South Africa on Thursday to support green energy and vaccine production , and consented to initiate discussions for new trade agreements with Africa’s leading economic power.

This announcement was made during the first bilateral summit between the group and the African nation in seven years.

The leaders of the European Union and South Africa highlighted the importance of enhancing global collaboration during their discussion, which took place at the Cape Town offices of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The participants included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as well as European Council President António Costa.

Their message was at odds with the Trump administration’s confrontational foreign policy and trade tariffs .

In a social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he would introduce 400% tax on wines from Europe Champagne and liquor included in escalation of a trade war with the EU .

We will safeguard our interests," von der Leyen responded to Trump's recent threat. "We have made this clear both in word and action, yet I also wish to stress that we remain receptive to discussions.

von der Leyen additionally mentioned that Europe aimed to strengthen its trade ties with South Africa, which currently serves as the EU’s biggest trading partner within sub-Saharan Africa.

"We aim to reinforce and expand our supply chains, but we wish to achieve this through collaboration with you," she stated, seated beside Ramaphosa.

She characterized it as a fresh chapter in their relationship and spoke of South Africa as a dependable ally. "There is considerable regard from each side towards stability, consistency, and dependability," she stated.

Ramaphosa stated that the summit took place during a period marked by growing global instability. Both the EU and South Africa experienced the effects of Biden's initial months in his second term as president.

South Africa has been singled out for sanctions under the Trump administration due to various domestic and international policies that the U.S. president portrayed as un-patriotic — referring to South Africa initiating a case at the International Court of Justice charging an American ally, Israel, with genocide during the conflict in Gaza, along with mentioning South Africa’s relationships with China and Iran.

Trump issued a directive issued by the president just last month cutting all U.S. funding to South Africa, accusing it of a human rights violation against a minority group that was ethnically white In rural areas, and by backing certain "undesirable individuals" globally, like those in Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran.

von der Leyen's visit also underscored the EU's backing for South Africa's tenure as president of the Group of 20 heading wealthy and developing countries this year, another realm where the United States has criticized South Africa while boycotting some early G20 meetings.

South Africa hopes to use its leadership of the group to make progress on help for poor countries, especially on debt relief and more financing to mitigate the impact of climate change .

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed some of those priorities for the G20 and skipped a foreign ministers meeting of the group in South Africa last month. He also said that he wouldn't attend the main G20 summit in Johannesburg in November, indicating that the U.S. would give little attention to attempts at international cooperation through the bloc, which includes 19 of the world's major economies, the EU and the African Union.

The EU said that the vast majority of the new investment in South Africa — $4.7 billion out of the $5.1 billion — would be to help South Africa transition from its coal-based economy to greener energy supplies.

That new pledge came a week after the U.S. withdrew from an agreement to give funding to South Africa and two other developing nations to help them transition to clean energy sources that was seen as a possible blueprint for more deals to reduce carbon emissions across the world. The EU has also pledged money to that Just Energy Transition Partnership and said that it's still committed to the program.

“We know that others are withdrawing so we want to be very clear with our support," von der Leyen said. "We are doubling down and we are here to stay.”

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa