Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday evening he was boycotting the G20 meeting in South Africa scheduled for later this month over the country's controversial land expropriation law.

South Africa has a new law to govern the expropriation (or compulsory acquisition) of private property by government for public purposes or in the public interest. The passing of the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 followed a parliamentary process that began in 2020.

President Donald Trump said the US would halt all future funding to South Africa because of its new land-expropriation law. The rand slumped.

Land expropriation without compensation is a hot topic in South Africa, but US President Donald Trump’s claims that land is being confiscated in South Africa are not true.

However, the government's efforts to speed up the process through an expropriation without compensation policy have been highly controversial, sparking backlash from conservative figures.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, without citing evidence, that "certain classes of people" in South Africa were being treated "very badly" and that he would cut off funding for the country until the matter is investigated.

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