SOWETAN SAYS | Trump or Harris, who will better manage SA relations?

Americans will take to the polls on Tuesday to elect the 47th president of their country. 

The choice between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump has implications for the US and the world over. 

For Americans, this election is a contest over the management of their economy, their structural and racialised inequality, as well as the intersection between state regulation and individual rights such as abortion. 

While the election of one of the world’s most influential nations is of some interest to many South Africans, the importance of its outcome may not be as apparent. Yet, it is. 

Africa has the fastest-growing population in the world.

Consequentially, as acknowledged by the US before, our continent will increasingly play an influential role in shaping the future of the global economy, including through the momentum of BRICS partnership.

SA is a significant player in Africa and the US’s largest trade partner on the continent, with roughly 600 American firms operating in the country.

Therefore, despite political narratives often dismissive of SA/US bilateral relations, this relationship remains an important one for both countries.

The outcome of this election will therefore determine how these increasingly complex and at times awkward ties are managed in the next four years.

An obvious point of conflict has been the Russia/Ukraine war in which SA’s relations with Russia remain a diplomatic bother for the US.

More recently, the war on Gaza has amplified ideological fault lines between the two nations, with the Biden administration calling SA’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice “meritless.”

A win by either candidate in today's election will not change the US foreign policy on matters with its clashes with SA.

On these, both candidates largely agree – albeit with some nuance differences in their rhetoric. 

Therefore the management of this relationship when considering – on the one hand – SA rightly exerting its sovereignty and the independence of its decisions on geopolitics – and on the other – Washington’s track record of retaliatory politics, is most important.

So far, Biden’s administration has demonstrated a willingness to navigate the complexities of this evolving trade relation and at times despite some unreasonable pressure among its ranks to retaliate against SA.

The outcome of Tuesday’s election will determine if the White House will continue on this trajectory. 

SowetanLIVE