Africa Prepares To Navigate Trump's Trade Wars

African leaders have long been aware that President Donald Trump's return to the White House has the potential to create massive political and economic disruption on the continent. For the best part of a decade, Trump has been in or around the US presidency, openly pledging to wage trade wars on America's competitors and allies alike and to upend the multilateral world order, creating challenges and potential opportunities for African countries in the process.

However, few would have expected that South Africa's domestic politics would be in Trump's line of sight less than two weeks into his presidency.

Trump's post on his "Truth Social" website condemning South Africa's land expropriation bill - which allows private land, mostly unused, that is owned mainly by white Afrikaners, to be seized by the government without compensation under carefully defined circumstances - brought an issue which has been bubbling away quietly for several years to the top of the diplomatic agenda.

"South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn't want to so much as mention. A massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see," Trump wrote.

"The United States won't stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!"