G20 has ‘shock absorbers’ to deal with Trump’s return as US President: SA

Cape Town: The Group of 20 has sufficient “shock absorbers” to function effectively if the incoming Donald Trump administration promotes an America First policy at the expense of international cooperation, South Africa’s leader said Tuesday as his country took over the bloc’s presidency.

South Africa assumed the rotational leadership of the group of the world’s leading economies on Sunday from Brazil and will hand it over to the United States at the end of 2025. Those three countries will work together over the next 12 months as per the G20 protocol.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would elevate the impact of climate change on developing countries during South Africa’s G20 presidency — the first by an African nation. US President-elect Trump has shown his disdain for international cooperation on climate issues. “We will seek to get sufficient consensus on decisions that need to be taken by the G20,” Ramaphosa said when asked if the G20 was prepared for a likely Trump America First approach in his second administration, which starts on Jan. 20. “I think there will be sufficient shock absorbers that will be put in place that will enable the G20 to continue to function. ... We are advancing the interests of the people of the world.”

Trump has given an indication that his foreign policy will be combative. He has pledged to impose new tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, while he also threatened this weekend 100 per cent tariffs against nations in the BRICS bloc of developing nations, which include Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and others.

Trump wrote on social media site X that those countries should expect to “wave goodbye to selling into the wonderful US Economy” if they pursue a policy of looking to move away from the US dollar for int’l trade.