Trump and Co keen to sell their agricultural products here

Is it about South Africa, the US or both? These are the questions observers asked as the Trump administration decided to send a delegation to southern Africa from the agriculture and agri-business sector in the US, led by the country’s under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, Ted McKinney.

The fact that the trade mission will be based in Johannesburg and Cape Town has made some believe the White House has responded positively to the recent overtures of President Cyril Ramaphosa to lure foreign investors. Recently, Ramaphosa addressed US politicians and businesspeople in New York about South Africa being a country of opportunities for investors.

But a political expert says the US is not to be trusted and the Trump administration, an opponent of the global efforts against climate change, should be isolated.

The US is the first country to respond after the SA investor summit in which South Africa identified agriculture as key to leverage its economic growth and deal with the high unemployment rate.

McKinney, who was expected to land in the country yesterday, was to be joined by US business and state government leaders on a mission meant to expand agricultural export opportunities for the US in the southern African region. According to a US embassy statement yesterday, although the mission was to be based in Johannesburg and Cape Town, they would engage with potential customers from Angola, Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“This trade mission is part of the USDA’s continuing effort to tap into new markets for US agricultural products,” McKinney said. “The southern Africa region is typically a net importer of agricultural goods, but the majority of those imports currently come from Europe, Asia and elsewhere in Africa. We are excited about the potential to grow the United States’ market share and cultivate new customers for high-quality, cost-competitive US food and farm products.”

The delegation was to include agriculture and agro-processing leaders from US states such as Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah.

Up to 33 companies and organisations from the US were listed as participants in the mission. This is the biggest delegation of American businesspeople in a long time.

Political analyst Vishwas Satgar strongly warned against getting into deals with the US, which has a negative attitude towards climate change. Satgar, of international relations at Wits, said South Africa should reassess its relations with America and put pressure on the US to ensure it was isolated as a pariah.

He said the age of global agriculture was gone and South Africa should instead seek local solutions in its food systems. “Global food systems are not working; we must have systems that are localised and locally controlled,” Satgar said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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