**Hill-Lewis Dismisses Solidarity’s Call for GNU Dispute Process on US Ties**
Democratic Alliance federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has rejected trade union Solidarity’s push to invoke the government of national unity’s dispute-resolution mechanism for the escalating strain with Washington. The process, he argues, moves too sluggishly to safeguard South Africa’s preferential access to US markets under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Hill-Lewis laid out his position in a letter to Solidarity chief executive Dirk Hermann dated October 14. Cabinet-level discussions must come first, he wrote. Only then could the matter formally reach the GNU’s resolution channel.
Meanwhile, DA agriculture minister Willie Aucamp plans to bring the issue before cabinet and has already secured urgent contact with US government representatives. Hill-Lewis voiced disappointment with the mechanism’s past performance, calling it cumbersome and slow. Party delegates have also travelled to the United States for direct talks on preserving trade ties, while Hill-Lewis himself raised the matter with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
As a result, the stakes remain high. The United States stands as South Africa’s third-largest trading partner, trailing only the European Union and China. The Agoa programme, launched in 2000, offers eligible sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access for thousands of goods, including vehicles, farm products and metals. Losing those benefits would hurt workers, businesses and the broader economy, Hill-Lewis warned.
Solidarity and AfriForum continue lobbying the Trump administration over land reform, affirmative action and legislation they describe as discriminatory against Afrikaners and other minorities. South African officials reject allegations of systemic persecution targeting white residents. Available crime data, according to reports, show no pattern of racially directed killings against white South Africans.
The DA also supports empowering provinces and municipalities to advocate for local companies, farmers and products that depend on Agoa preferences. Whether those regional efforts gain traction before any trade decision lands remains unclear.
