G20 prepared for Trump’s ‘America First’ policy – South Africa
The G20 has enough “shock absorbers” in place to function effectively if Donald Trump pursues an ‘America First’ policy at the cost of international cooperation after taking office as US president, South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa has said.
He made the statement during the official launch of his country’s presidency of the Group of 20 major economies in Cape Town on Tuesday. Pretoria assumed the rotating leadership of the G20 this month, succeeding Brazil at the group’s November summit in Rio de Janeiro. The US set to take over in December 2025.
Ramaphosa has promised to advance Africa and the Global South’s development priorities, including addressing the impacts of climate change. However, US President-elect Trump, who is set to take office on January 20, is said to oppose international cooperation on climate issues.
In response to a question about how prepared the G20 is for a likely Trump ‘America First’ approach in his second administration, Ramaphosa told the Associated Press: “I think there will be sufficient shock absorbers that will enable the G20 to continue to function.”
The US president-elect has vowed to use tariffs to settle American trade deficits, force offshore manufacturers to return, and achieve a range of geopolitical goals under a foreign policy that Western media describes as “combative.”
He has also threatened to impose 100% tariffs on goods from BRICS countries if they establish a new currency or support an existing one as a rival to the US dollar. BRICS previously comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and was expanded in January to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Around 30 other nations have expressed interest in joining the group of emerging economies, according to Moscow.
Leaders of the economic bloc, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have previously expressed support for the possible creation of an international reserve currency for trading within the group. Last month, however, Putin said it was too early to discuss a common BRICS currency because the economies of member states needed further development and integration first. Following Trump’s threat, South Africa has also denied that the bloc was planning to create a new currency.
On Tuesday, President Ramaphosa said his government will “seek to get sufficient consensus on decisions that need to be taken by the G20.”
“We are advancing the interests of the people of the world,” he was quoted by the AP as saying.
Ramaphosa also announced that he has invited Trump to South Africa for a state visit and to the G20 summit in Africa’s most developed economy in late 2025, where the US leader will take on the intergovernmental forum’s chairmanship role.
“If he has time… President Trump and possibly myself can go and play golf and talk about global matters,” Ramaphosa said.
