South Africa Open to US Talks Despite Curbs

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Pretoria remains willing to discuss disputes with Washington, including rules affecting foreign investment, Black employment and ownership, and access for U.S. investors to South Africa’s mining sector. He said talks had been progressing before the Trump administration announced targeted visa restrictions over South African laws and policies, but South Africa would not retaliate with a “tit-for-tat war” given the importance of the relationship. The broader tensions include U.S. criticism of South Africa’s land and racial-equity policies and its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice; Lamola defended South Africa’s right to pursue policies addressing historical inequality and criticized the U.S. resettlement program for white Afrikaners as race-based.