With South Africa’s foreign policy under scrutiny President Cyril Ramaphosa insists that Pretoria is “facing forward” and not taking sides between East or West.

Writing on the African National Congress (ANC) website on Friday, Ramaphosa echoed Kwame Nkrumah: “In the spirit of Kwame Nkrumah’s famous words, ‘We face neither East nor West, we face forward’, South Africa will continue to engage with partners in both the Global North and Global South. Our approach is neither partisan nor beholden, but strategic.’”

Ramaphosa’s comments follow mounting claims that South Africa’s supposed non-alignment masks a tilt toward Russia, China, and Iran, with antagonism towards the United States. Addressing these criticisms, Ramaphosa wrote: “[South Africa’s] economic diplomacy is centred on securing market access, attracting investment and promoting sustainable development. At a time when our country faces potentially high tariffs imposed by the US administration, we are continuing to put in place measures that reduce our dependence on historical markets.”

US tariffs on South African exports currently stand at 30%, ranking among the highest globally. This escalation is directly linked to Washington’s stated concerns that Pretoria’s foreign policy undermines US national security interests. Despite heightened tensions, well-placed sources have told The Common Sense that while formal diplomatic negotiations have faltered in recent months, renewed back-channel efforts are again underway to de-escalate tensions and work towards a trade and diplomatic deal.

In the wider context, South Africa’s geo-strategic relevance has grown in both the Indo-Pacific and South Atlantic, whilst US investment into Africa has lagged its global rivals over the past decade. South Africa faces a critical shortage of fixed investment which its GDP growth number for this year estimated at less than a quarter of that of its emerging market peers.