According to a Treasury Spokesperson, Bessent would rather attend the 2025 World Expo in Osaka Japan.

Bessent, one of Trump’s top Cabinet officials, earlier skipped the first G20 Finance and Central Bank Governors meeting in Cape Town this past February.

The White House is yet to formally confirm President Trump’s attendance of the G20 leaders’ summit in SA in November.

A Treasury official has since confirmed that the acting Under Secretary for International Affairs, Michael Kaplan would travel to the G20 meeting in Durban instead of Bessent.

SA had been working to mend bilateral relations with the US but those efforts were dealt another blow, when President Donald Trump sent President Cyril Ramaphosa a letter this week, informing him that 30% tariffs on all SA exports to the United States would kick in on August 1, unless South Africa reduced trade barriers to its market, one of several countries to receive similar letters including Japan, where Bessent will travel to instead of the G20.

--SABC--