The African National Congress (ANC) has come out swinging in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping 30% tariffs on South African goods, accusing the Democratic Alliance (DA) of political sabotage and bowing to foreign pressure to scrap transformation policies.
At a fiery media briefing on Wednesday, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula delivered a defiant message: South Africa would rather face sanctions than abandon Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE).
“They are asking us to abandon what we stand for,” said Mbalula. “They want us to subvert our democracy, to subvert our sovereignty.”
The new tariffs were formally enacted through a White House presidential proclamation in July, modifying reciprocal tariff rates across select trade partners — including South Africa.
Mbalula went on to accuse the DA of playing a dangerous role in recent trade negotiations, alleging that a senior DA MP, Emma Powell, was actively working against the national interest. According to Mbalula, Powell has been “outed as an alleged Israeli asset” and was sabotaging discussions with the Trump administration.
“Ready for sanctions,” he declared, adding,
“If it means we’re going to suffer through sanctions as the leaders of the ANC, let it be.
We’re not going to back imperialists to subvert our democracy, to subvert our sovereignty.”
“It happened during the period of the struggle. It will happen even now. We will never forsake our country which we fought for its liberation and we’re still marching on even now. Not this ANC, not this leadership.”
The ANC SG insisted that the Trump administration’s tariff demands included the scrapping of BEE — a move he described as a direct attack on South Africa’s transformation project.
“This economy is still male, white-dominated, and you want to tell us to abandon policies that seek to advance transformation. It’s not going to happen.”
“We’re not the DA. The DA had to agree with that because they don’t want BEE, they don’t want to be transformational. They’re anti-transformation.”
“Political mischief” within the GNU
Mbalula didn’t hold back criticism of the DA’s role in the Government of National Unity (GNU), accusing the party of stirring “political mischief” to undermine ANC-led redress efforts.
“The DA political mischief — we see it from time to time in the GNU. It’s a matter that we need to address.”
“You must understand that the tariffs imposed by the United States of America are negatively going to affect our economy.
And you can’t, for national interests, say ‘no undo BEE’ in order to appease the US.”
Reaffirming the ANC’s commitment to equity and economic transformation, Mbalula said the governing party would not capitulate to external threats.
“We will still pursue redress because we’re not equal. This is a democratic country, it’s a liberated country and we’re still transforming it in order to achieve equity.”
DA denies sabotage claims
While the Democratic Alliance has yet to formally respond to Mbalula’s latest accusations, sources within the party have dismissed the claims as “diversionary tactics” aimed at shifting blame for the deteriorating U.S.–South Africa trade relationship.
🎯 Follow the full timeline of sanctions and trade fallout here: Trump Tariffs Hit South Africa Hard.
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