US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has announced a ban on South Africa from next year’s G20.

It’s the latest low in relations between the two countries, after a year of rows since Trump returned to the White House – and reached boiling point last weekend when Trump skipped the G20 summit hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg.

Trump’s boycott had prompted confusion over the role of the US as it takes over the G20 presidency of the world’s major economies from next month.

In response to Trump’s ban, South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has said it will continue to take part as a “full, active and constructive” member of the G20 and has called on other countries to back its attendance next year.

He also described the move as punitive and driven by distortions that erode global cooperation.

PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA NOTES US STATEMENT ON SOUTH AFRICA’S G20 PARTICIPATION

President @CyrilRamaphosa has noted the regrettable statement by President Donald Trump on South Africa’s participation in the 2026 G20 meetings.

The G20 South Africa 2025 Leaders’ Summit attended by…

— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) November 26, 2025

While the absence of the US was thought in some quarters to be a hindrance to the potential for finding agreement among the nations attending, member states were able to come to an agreement surprisingly early during the summit.

The G20 comprises the world’s leading economies plus the European Union and the African Union. It accounts for 85% of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population.

Trump said South Africa would not be invited to next year’s meeting, which he plans to host at his own golf resort in Miami.

Pretoria fired back in a statement late last night, saying South Africa was a G20 member in its own right and that its place in the bloc was decided by the other members.

“South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its membership and worth in participating in global platforms,” the presidency said, vowing to continue participating in all G20 meetings.

German support for South Africa

Support for South Africa’s attendance has come from Germany, whose ambassador to South Africa said that Ramaphosa’s state was “needed at the table”.

Last weekend, the German chancellor Friedrich Merz had some of the strongest words for the US boycott, as he claimed the world was “reorganising itself” in light of the changes to US foreign policy since Trump returned to office.

Trump had cited what he described as “horrific Human Right Abuses” endured by white farmers, and South Africa’s refusal to symbolically hand off the G20 presidency at the end of the Johannesburg summit to the United States.

South Africa on Tuesday handed over the G20 presidency at a low-key foreign ministry event after refusing to do so at the summit to a US embassy representative, insisting Washington be represented “at the right level.”

Trump has singled out South Africa for harsh treatment on a number of issues since he returned to the White House in January, most notably on his false claims of a “white genocide” in the country.

“It is regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President (Cyril) Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the US, President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions about our country,” Pretoria said.

The two nations have also fallen out over issues including South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court.