U.S. lawmakers are calling on the White House to punish South Africa for supporting Russia.

A request from a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers to penalize South Africa for supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine has set off alarm bells in the Washington government. The proposal was to move a major trade conference scheduled for this year in South Africa to another country.

The move is the first concrete attempt to retaliate by the U.S. government against growing discontent in South Africa's relationship with Russia, which Washington believes threatens U.S. national interests.

The request is to postpone the annual forum on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). This act provides customs preferences for some thirty African countries in the U.S. market.

U.S. officials say intelligence indicating South Africa may be involved in supplying weapons to Russia for the war. At the same time, South African officials say the country is "not taking sides" in the conflict and deny selling weapons to Russia.

U.S. lawmakers and Gov. Biden disagree on how to respond to the suspicions.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want to read all the materials from The New York Times? Subscribe.

Make me an answer in this format: '{text}'