S. African Sees ‘Protectionism’ in Senate Curbs

A South African official Saturday condemned as “protectionism dressed in morality” the sanctions approved Friday night by the U.S. Senate against Pretoria’s race discrimination policies.

Deputy Finance Minister Kent Durr, the first senior South African official to comment on the sanctions vote, said the selection of South African products to be banned from the United States “will help white people in Australia, Canada and the United States and damage the lives of blacks in South Africa.”

He added: “They will not help (apartheid) reform. Reform has a cost. The less able South Africa is to finance reform, the more difficult reform is.”

The Republican-led Senate voted 84 to 14 in favor of, among other things, banning imports of key minerals, textiles and agricultural produce, freezing Pretoria’s deposits in U.S. banks and ending U.S. landing rights for South African Airways.

House Bill More Stringent

In June, the House passed a more stringent bill calling for the withdrawal of all American investment and a complete trade embargo. A compromise between the House and Senate versions is scheduled for debate next month after the congressional recess.

Economists in Johannesburg said the proposed Senate sanctions could seriously affect an economy already hit by recession. “The measures are obviously designed to create rapid change here by working on our gross domestic product,” said one economist who declined to be identified.

“Their effect will be the contraction of our cake to create an unstable environment,” he said, adding that Pretoria is not likely to sit back, but would fight the sanctions.