South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Washington to meet with then President Donald Trump with the key aim of securing South Africa's trade ties with the United States. The visit, which included four cabinet ministers, was seen as an attempt to reset the relationship between Pretoria and Washington, which had deteriorated since Trump took office.

A primary objective of the visit was to safeguard trade relations to "protect jobs, grow the economy, and expand employment opportunities," according to Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen. The United States is South Africa's second-largest trading partner, trailing only China.

Trump's earlier announcement of sweeping trade tariffs, which were later paused for 90 days, had raised concerns. These tariffs included a 31 percent levy on South African imports, potentially leading to significant layoffs in some industries.

A particular concern was the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free access to the US market for certain African products. There were fears that the Trump administration might terminate the agreement, which was up for renewal in September.

Steenhuisen emphasized the importance of preferential trade agreements like AGOA, stating that losing these benefits would be disastrous for farmers, farm workers, and the overall economy. With South Africa facing an unemployment rate of around 32 percent, economic growth and job creation were top priorities for Ramaphosa's government.

Ramaphosa also addressed the issue of conspiracies regarding a "white genocide," affirming that such claims were false, according to his spokesman Vincent Magwenya. This came after Trump's administration welcomed approximately 50 people from the Afrikaner community, alleging that the white minority was under threat in South Africa.

Steenhuisen, a leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party within Ramaphosa's government of national unity, highlighted the pro-business perspective. Ramaphosa also intended to encourage Trump to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November, despite the then US president's initial threats to skip it.