President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended South Africa's Expropriation Act, introduced in January, saying that it will "balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of the rights of property owners". Ramaphosa vehemently denied that the policy targets white landowners, as Trump had insinuated.

Trump’s comments waded into a sensitive racial issue and deepened already sharp divisions between the United States and South Africa.

The Expropriation Act allows the South African government to seize land, in the name of public interest, with or without compensation. Its purpose is to repossess land and distribute it to address what the government refers to as historical injustices.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded on Monday to US President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off aid over the alleged mistreatment of White farmers, denying Trump’s claim that authorities were “confiscating land.

The U.S. president did not specify who was being "treated badly", but the land reference suggests he's referring to white landowners.

The new law on land reform in South Africa has significant implications for the agricultural sector, property rights, and socio-economic equity. This legislation aims to address historical injustices related to land ownership while ensuring sustainable agricultural practices and economic growth.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday formalizing his announcement earlier this week that he’ll freeze assistance to South Africa for a law aiming to address some of the wrongs of South Africa’s racist apartheid era — a law the White House says amounts to discrimination against the country’s white minority.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa defended his land reform policy on Monday against an attack by Donald Trump that laid bare deep divisions within South Africa over racial disparities in ownership,