Sanctions, Spies And A G20 Snub? Us Tightens Grip On Sa

South Africa's foreign policy decisions are pushing it into Washington's crosshairs, with fears growing that major US sanctions, including being locked out of the global banking system, may soon become a reality.

The Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank with close ties to President Donald Trump's administration, has issued fresh warnings to Pretoria. The group claims South Africa's increasingly cosy ties with global powers like Russia, China, and Iran, along with its high-profile legal challenge against Israel at the International Court of Justice, could warrant the US hitting back hard, as Business Tech reports.

And by hard, they mean serious stuff: sweeping sanctions, even a potential ejection from SWIFT, the financial network that keeps international transactions running. That's the same hammer blow the US used against Russia in 2022. If applied to South Africa, it could cripple cross-border trade and isolate the economy.

Joshua Meservey, one of the Hudson Institute's senior fellows, said total sanctions are 'very much on the table,' although he prefers targeted penalties rather than 'blunt instruments' like SWIFT bans that could hurt ordinary South Africans. But that restraint might not last long.

US Congressman Ronny Jackson has already tabled a Bill-the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025-that gives Trump the tools to crack down on any South African government officials deemed friendly to 'America's enemies.'