Whereas then US president Joe Biden initially missed the group photo at the annual Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last year, requiring a reshoot, his successor did not even bother showing up for this year’s meeting in Johannesburg. US President Donald Trump boycotted the summit due to alleged mistreatment of white people in post-apartheid South Africa.
Yet, even in the absence of the US, the G20 managed to make a leaders’ declaration at the start of the summit, which usually comes at the end.
As Washington was mulling over whether to send any senior people to this year’s summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa could not contain his laughter in response to a journalist’s question about the US asking to participate two days before the event’s start. The White House was not amused. As the host of next year’s G20 summit, the US threatened to bar South Africa, a G20 founding member, from attending the Florida gathering. This year’s G20 in South Africa was the fourth in a row hosted in the Global South.
Among the recent G20 summit hosts, South Africa faces a relatively moderate tariff of 30 per cent from the Trump administration – not as low as Indonesia’s 19 per cent, but much better than the 50 per cent imposed on Brazil and India. However, South Africa’s rate is considerably higher than several other economies on the continent, such as Kenya and Nigeria.
The G20’s focus on inclusive industrialisation this year is particularly poignant in this regard. As a post-industrialised US leverages tariffs in its attempt to reindustrialise, it is kicking away the development ladder of industrialising nations. African countries in particular confront an acute set of challenges.
South Africa, for example, continues to struggle with rampant crime, poor public health and uneven income distribution. Its economy has experienced growth of under 1 per cent per year in the last decade.