International Sanctions

• In 1985, sanctions and other forms of pressure were stepped up as the extent of the violence of Botha's methods became known.
• Many banks stopped lending money to the government, causing a severe financial crisis, the Rand devalued by 35% almost overnight.
• In 1985, the European Community imposed a set of trade and financial sanctions on SA, in turn, causing the Commonwealth countries to adopt similar measures.
• In the USA, Congress passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986. President Reagan vetoed the legislation, but his veto was overridden. This severely restricted American lending to SA and imposed import bans on resources such as iron, steel, uranium and agricultural goods.
• On estimate of the cost of SA of the 1980's trade sanctions was $354 million annually.
• International companies and banks withdrew finance from SA; this pushed up interest rates and made government borrowing more expensive.
• South Africa ended its nuclear weapons program between 1989 and 1991, dismantling all six nuclear weapons it had developed.