DA leader in South Africa rejects Solidarity’s proposal on unity government mechanism — TimesLIVE
Democratic Alliance (DA) federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis in South Africa rejected trade union Solidarity’s proposal to use the government of national unity mechanism to resolve the deterioration in relations with the United States. He said the process is too slow to protect South Africa’s preferential access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
The issues must be considered by the government
In a letter to Solidarity chief executive Dirk Hermann dated October 14, Hill-Lewis said the dispute must first arise at cabinet level. Only after that can it be formally referred to the government of national unity’s dispute-resolution mechanism.
According to him, DA agriculture minister Willie Aucamp will raise the issue in cabinet and has already arranged urgent contact with representatives of the US government. Hill-Lewis considers the mechanism’s track record unsatisfactory because of its cumbersome and slow nature.
As TimesLIVE reports, the DA is also maintaining direct contacts with US officials. Party representatives travelled to the United States to discuss preserving and strengthening trade ties, while Hill-Lewis also raised the matter with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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Risk to trade preferences
The United States ranks third among South Africa’s trading partners after the European Union and China, according to a government assessment of bilateral trade from August 2025. The Agoa programme, adopted in 2000, grants eligible sub-Saharan African countries preferential access to the US market for thousands of goods. It supports exports of automotive products, agricultural goods and metals.
Hill-Lewis said the loss of the full range of Agoa preferences would have consequences for South African workers, businesses and the economy. The DA also supports finding mechanisms through which provinces and municipalities could advocate for preserving trade preferences for local companies, farmers and products.
Solidarity and the Afrikaner civil rights organisation AfriForum are lobbying the administration of US President Donald Trump over South African policies, including land reform, affirmative action and legislation they consider discriminatory against Afrikaners and other minorities. The South African government denies claims of systematic persecution of the country’s white residents and a “white genocide,” while available crime statistics, according to the publication, do not confirm a campaign of racially targeted killings of white South Africans.
