{"id":267011,"date":"2025-07-15T15:55:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T13:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/us-rejects-sa-special-envoys-credentials-amid-trade-crisis-claims-da\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T16:02:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T14:02:02","slug":"us-rejects-sa-special-envoys-credentials-amid-trade-crisis-claims-da","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/us-rejects-sa-special-envoys-credentials-amid-trade-crisis-claims-da\/","title":{"rendered":"US rejects SA special envoy\u2019s credentials amid trade crisis, claims DA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>DA Spokesperson on International Relations Emma Louise Powell claims in a statement that Special Envoy Mcebisi Jonas was denied a visa to enter the United States, leaving South Africa without official representation in Washington just weeks before potentially devastating <a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/trumps-30-tariff-on-south-african-imports-what-does-it-mean\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trade sanctions<\/a> take effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Powell, the United States formally rejected Jonas\u2019s credentials in May and informed the South African Presidency that he would not be recognised as the country\u2019s official interlocutor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jonas\u2019s appointment as Special Envoy came over 90 days ago, following Ambassador <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-was-south-africas-ambassador-to-the-us-expelled-a-view-of-the-ebrahim-rasool-affair-253640\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ebrahim Rasool\u2019<\/a>s expulsion from Washington. President Cyril Ramaphosa positioned the appointment as a critical intervention to prevent the collapse of vital export industries under \u201cliberation day tariffs\u201d \u2013 punitive 30% tariffs set to take effect within two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DA alleges that the Ramaphosa administration was explicitly advised on multiple occasions that Jonas was not acceptable to Washington, with US officials urging South Africa to appoint an alternative envoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-presidential-response\">Presidential response<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these alleged communications, President Ramaphosa continued to publicly support Jonas\u2019s appointment. In a televised SABC interview in June 2025, the President declared: \u201cMcebisi Jonas is still my North American envoy and has done good work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When questions were raised about Jonas\u2019s official engagements, Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya defended the appointment and accused critics of \u201cencroaching\u201d on the President\u2019s constitutional powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-opposition-criticism\">Opposition criticism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Powell said: \u201cThe Presidency owes South Africans a full and honest explanation as to how it can justify having doubled down on the appointment of a rapporteur whose credentials have been officially rejected by the host government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She added: \u201cIn the wake of Ambassador Rasool\u2019s disgraced expulsion from the United States, it has become undeniable that the President is now more concerned with saving face than with safeguarding the livelihoods of South African businesses and workers who will ultimately pay the price for his inaction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-economic-implications\">Economic implications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With no recognised South African representative in Washington and tariff hikes of 30% set to take effect imminently, export industries face potential losses running into billions of rands. The situation has raised questions about South Africa\u2019s diplomatic strategy during times of tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Powell emphasised: \u201cNow that the nation is aware that there is in fact no special representative advocating for South Africa in Washington on behalf of the Presidency, it is clear that our economy may in coming weeks lose billions of rands in exports when liberation day tariffs come into effect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DA Spokesperson on International Relations Emma Louise Powell claims in a statement that Special Envoy Mcebisi Jonas was denied a visa to enter the United State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":267013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"66","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"60","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"1","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_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