page_title: South Africa–United States relations
section_title: Post Apartheid
hierarchical_section_title: South Africa–United States relations / History / Post Apartheid
caption_attribution_description: English: President Obama and President Jacob Zuma of South Africa wait to take the stage in a tunnel at the soccer stadium. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
context_page_description: The United States and South Africa currently maintain bilateral relations with one another. The United States and South Africa have been economically linked to one another since the late 18th century which has continued into the 21st century. U.S. and South Africa relations faced periods of strain throughout the 20th century due to the segregationist, white rule in South Africa, from 1948–1994. Following apartheid in South Africa, the U.S. and South Africa have developed a strategically, politically, and economically beneficial relationship with one another and currently enjoy "cordial relations" despite "occasional strains". South Africa remains the United State's largest trading partner in Africa as of 2019.
context_section_description: Since the abolition of apartheid and the first-ever democratic elections of April 1994, the United States has enjoyed a bilateral relationship with South Africa.  Although there are differences of position between the two governments (regarding Iraq, for example), they have not impeded cooperation on a broad range of key issues.  Bilateral cooperation in counter-terrorism, fighting HIV/AIDS, and military relations has been particularly positive. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States also provides assistance to South Africa to help them meet their developmental goals.  Peace Corps volunteers began working in South Africa in 1997.
  During the presidency of Thabo Mbeki (1999–2008) relations were strained due to a combination of the ANC's paranoia around alleged CIA activities in the country and perceived criticism of Mbeki's AIDS denialism, a feeling partly based on the ANC's experiences of tacit American support for the Apartheid government during the Reagan administration.   The Bush administration's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as its PEPFAR initiative (that clashed with Mbeki's views on AIDS) served to alienate the South African presidency until president Mbeki left government in 2008.
  Until 2008, the United States had officially considered Nelson Mandela a terrorist, however on 5 July 2008 Mandela along with as other ANC members including the then current foreign minister were removed from a US  terrorist watchlist. Harry Schwarz, who served as South African Ambassador to the United States during its transition to representative democracy (1991–1994), has been credited as having played one of the leading roles in the renewal of relations between the two nations.
  Peter Fabricius described Schwarz as having "engineered a state of US/South Africa relations better than it has ever been”. The fact that Schwarz, for decades a well known anti-apartheid figurehead, was willing to accept the position was widely acknowledged as a highly symbolic demonstration of President F. W de Klerk's determination to introduce a new democratic system. During Schwarz's tenure, he negotiated the lifting of US sanctions against South Africa, secured a $600 million aid package from President Bill Clinton, signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1991 and hosted President Mandela's state visit to the US in October 1994.
  On 28 January 2009, newly elected US President Barack Obama telephoned his newly installed counterpart Kgalema Motlanthe as one of a list of foreign contacts he had been working through since his presidential inauguration the previous week.  Given primary treatment was South Africa's role in helping to resolve the political crisis in Zimbabwe.  According to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, the pair "shared concerns" on the matter. Obama credited South Africa for holding "a key role" in resolving the Zimbabwean crisis, and said that he was looking forward to working with President Motlanthe to address global financial issues at the 2009 G-20 London summit.
  The election of Obama along with Mbeki's departure from office as well as the enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) with South Africa as a key beneficiary greatly improved opinions within the South African government of its relationship with the United States.  As of 2014 the relationship between South Africa and the United States in the Zuma/Obama years is thought not to be as close as it was during the Mandela/Clinton years but greatly improved since the Mbeki/Bush years. The Zuma years coincided with a continuation of cooling of South Africa–United States relations whilst China–South Africa relations warmed significantly as South Africa focused diplomatic efforts on supporting the BRICS initiative.
  During the Trump administration relations between the two countries cooled due to statements made by President Trump regarding land reform in South Africa and the listing of South Africa as one of ten countries the "worst record" of supporting US positions in the United Nations.  The publication of the l
caption: President Barack Obama with President Jacob Zuma at the funeral of Nelson Mandela.
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