The Trump administration announced it will not invite South Africa to participate in the 2026 G20 summit hosted in the United States. President Donald Trump said payments and subsidies to the country would also be halted “immediately.”
“At my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in Miami, Florida next year,” Trump said on social media. “South Africa has demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.”
This marks the first time a country has been outright excluded from the G20 in its more than 20-year history.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa responded, calling Trump’s statement “regrettable.” The South African presidency said the nation “is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms.”
The U.S. previously suspended aid to South Africa in February, alleging discrimination against White farmers. The specific payments and subsidies being halted remain unclear. The U.S. also boycotted the 2025 G20 meeting in South Africa, citing unverified claims of genocide against White South Africans.
A source said the administration plans to invite Poland to participate at an elevated level at the 2026 summit. Poland’s president maintains a warm relationship with Trump, who previously invited the country to attend the G20 gathering at his golf resort in Doral, Florida, in December 2026.
Poland’s finance minister said last month that the country’s strong economic growth and status as the 20th-largest economy justify its G20 aspirations. “Given that we have had thirty-five years of uninterrupted economic growth and are the twentieth-largest economy in the world, ahead of, among others, Switzerland, our aspirations to join the G20 are entirely justified,” he said.
Relations between the U.S. and South Africa have deteriorated under the Trump administration. In March, the State Department expelled the South African ambassador to the U.S., declaring him “persona non grata.” During South Africa’s recent G20 chairmanship, no high-level U.S. official was present to receive the ceremonial gavel.
Trump added that South Africa “refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy” at the conclusion of the meeting’s closing ceremony.
The exclusion of South Africa from the upcoming G20 summit highlights ongoing tensions between the two nations and raises questions about the future composition of global economic forums.
