The White House claims that the Expropriation Act discriminates against South Africa’s white minority, which is why U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 7, 2025, to stop U.S. aid to the country. The order makes reference to South Africa’s involvement in the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) prosecution of genocide charges against Israel.
As long as South Africa “continues to support bad actors on the world stage and allows violent attacks on innocent disfavored minority farmers,” the White House said, the United States will cease aid to the country. Citing worries about their safety and financial future, Trump also revealed plans to create a resettlement program for white South African farmers and their families.
“The United States will promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination,” the executive order declares. Humanitarian assistance, including the admission and resettlement of Afrikaners—mainly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers—through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, is anticipated to be a top priority for U.S. officials.
The Expropriation Act, which South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law last month, gives the government the power to take land in certain situations, like when it is underutilized or when redistribution is thought to be in the public interest, in order to make up for historical injustices resulting from land dispossession during the apartheid era.
Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, has been outspoken in his criticism of the Expropriation Act, claiming that it poses a threat to the nation’s white minority. Additionally, Musk and the South Africangovernment regulations mandating that large corporations, like his Starlink satellite internet service, give 30% of their stock to historically underrepresented groups.
Apart from suspending aid, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared that he will not attend the forthcoming G20 negotiations in South Africa, citing the government’s “anti-American” agenda.
Trump’s claims have been rejected by the South African government as false information, claiming that the new land law seeks to address long-standing economic inequalities rather than permit arbitrary confiscation. In South Africa, where apartheid ended thirty years ago, the majority of farmland is still owned by white people, making the law a hotly contested topic. Musk has been contacted by Ramaphosa to discuss the tensions resulting from Trump’s comments regardingthe recently enacted land law. Ramaphosa reiterated South Africa’s adherence to constitutional principles, such as equality, justice, fairness, and the rule of law, during their discussion.
