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Boston Globe
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump hosts West African leaders as the region reels from sweeping US aid cuts
The surprise meeting with the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau comes as the Trump administration has taken radical steps it said are meant to reshape the U.S. relationship with Africa. The leaders are expected to discuss key areas of cooperation including economic development, security, infrastructure and democracy, according to a statement from Liberia's presidency. The White House said 'this discussion and lunch dialogue with African heads of state was arranged because President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners.' Advertisement Earlier this month, U.S. authorities dissolved the U.S. Agency for International Development and said it was no longer following what they called 'a charity-based foreign aid model' and instead will focus on partnerships with nations that show 'both the ability and willingness to help themselves.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The U.S. African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrell earlier this year said the Trump administration wants to focus on eliminating trade deficits with Africa. 'Assistance involves a donor and a recipient, but commerce is an exchange between equals,' he said. Critics say the abrupt shift will result in millions of deaths. A study published in the Lancet medical journal late last month projected that USAID's dismantling and deep funding cuts would lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including 4.5 million children. Advertisement West African countries are among the hardest hit by the dissolution of USAID. The U.S. support in Liberia amounted to 2.6% of the country's gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development. The five nations whose leaders are meeting Trump represent a small fraction of U.S.-Africa trade, but they possess untapped natural resources. Senegal and Mauritania are important transit and origin countries when it comes to migration, and along with Guinea-Bissau are struggling to contain drug trafficking, both issues of concern for the Trump administration. Liberia's President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in a statement 'expressed optimism about the outcomes of the summit, reaffirming Liberia's commitment to regional stability, democratic governance and inclusive economic growth.' Gabon, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal are among 36 countries which might be included in the possible expansion of Trump's travel ban. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
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First Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- First Post
Trump to host five African leaders next week to discuss 'commercial opportunities'
Trump will host leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal for a discussion and lunch at the White House on July 9, a White House official said on Wednesday read more US President Donald Trump will host leaders from five African nations in Washington next week to discuss 'commercial opportunities,' a White House official said on Wednesday. Trump will host leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal for a discussion and lunch at the White House on July 9, the official said. 'President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners,' the official said, referring to the reasons why the meeting was arranged. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Africa Intelligence and Semafor reported earlier that the Trump administration would hold a summit for the five countries in Washington from July 9-11. The Trump administration has axed swaths of US foreign aid for Africa as part of a plan to curb spending it considers wasteful and not aligned with Trump's 'America First' policies. It says it wants to focus on trade and investment and to drive mutual prosperity. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was abandoning what he called a charity-based foreign aid model and will favor those nations that demonstrate 'both the ability and willingness to help themselves.' US envoys in Africa will be rated on commercial deals struck, African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrel said in May, describing it as the new strategy for support on the continent.
Daily Maverick
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Trump to host five African leaders next week to discuss ‘commercial opportunities'
U.S. President Donald Trump will host leaders from five African nations in Washington next week to discuss "commercial opportunities," a White House official said on Wednesday. Trump will host leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal for a discussion and lunch at the White House on July 9, the official said. 'President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners,' the official said, referring to the reasons why the meeting was arranged. Africa Intelligence and Semafor reported earlier that the Trump administration would hold a summit for the five countries in Washington from July 9-11. The Trump administration has axed swaths of U.S. foreign aid for Africa as part of a plan to curb spending it considers wasteful and not aligned with Trump's 'America First' policies. It says it wants to focus on trade and investment and to drive mutual prosperity. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was abandoning what he called a charity-based foreign aid model and will favor those nations that demonstrate 'both the ability and willingness to help themselves.' U.S. envoys in Africa will be rated on commercial deals struck, African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrel said in May, describing it as the new strategy for support on the continent.
Mail & Guardian
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Understanding the first 160 days of Senate Foreign Relations Committee on African affairs and global health policy
Is there partisan agreement on the strategic priorities for African affairs and global health policy among the majority members? A rapid review suggests that there has been a significant shift in the strategic priorities on African affairs and global health policy that have been pursued in formal engagements by the majority members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC). Over the first 160 days, the formal engagements of the majority members were not as strongly aligned with the strategic priorities of countering global health threats and strengthening democratic institutions as they were with the strategic priorities of ending regional conflicts, realigning US foreign policy, promoting human rights, countering the diplomatic engagement of malign actors and countering the predatory practices of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). That is a curious finding. It means that those formal engagements were not perfectly aligned with the strategic priorities for SFRC engagement on African affairs and global health policy that were declared by the relevant subcommittee chair during the first 160 days of either the last session or the current one. In turn, that raises a number of follow-on questions of policy relevance. One is whether there is partisan agreement on the strategic priorities for African affairs and global health policy among the majority members. Another is whether there is bipartisan agreement that the promotion of human rights should be a strategic priority among the majority and minority members. Media outlets and think tanks should seek to provide answers to those questions. Strategic priorities A rapid review shows that there were significant changes in the strategic priorities for African affairs and global health policy that were declared by the respective chair of the SFRC Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy within the first 160 days of the current session versus the last one. Current session At the start of this session, the current subcommittee chair articulated six strategic priorities for engagement. In the press release following his appointment, Senator Ted Cruz A few weeks later, Cruz held Last session In the prior session, the former subcommittee chair articulated a very different set of strategic priorities for engagement. In the press release following his appointment, Senator Corey Booker Committee engagement A rapid review of the hearings, chair press releases and subcommittee chair press releases shows that there was a similar level of SFRC majority engagement on African affairs and global health policy over the first 160 days of the current session versus the last one. Committee hearings In the current session, the SFRC held two committee hearings that were specifically focused on African affairs and global health policy. The first took place on 13 May 2025. It was a In the last session, the SFRC held two committee hearings on African affairs and global health policy over the same period. The first took place on 19 April 2023. It was a Committee majority press In the current session, the SFRC majority press featured six official statements on African affairs and global health policy. The first was an official statement on the In the last session, the SFRC majority press also featured six official statements on African affairs and global health policy. The first was an official statement on Subcommittee chair press In the current session, the press for the subcommittee chair featured three official statements on African affairs and global health policy. The first was an In the last session, the press for the subcommittee chair featured five official statements on African affairs and global health policy. The first was on Analytic synthesis A synthesis of the research findings suggests that there has not been a perfect match between the formal engagements of majority members and the strategic priorities declared by the current subcommittee chair over the first 160 days of the current session. Generally speaking, those formal engagements have not been strongly aligned with at least two of the strategic priorities declared by Booker during the first 160 days of the last session (that is, countering global health threats; strengthening democratic institutions). They have been more aligned with: One of the strategic priorities declared by Booker during the first 160 days of the last session (protecting human rights). Two of the strategic priorities declared by Senator Cruz during the first 160 days of the current session (countering the diplomatic engagement of malign actors; countering the predatory practices of the CCP). Two issues that were not declared to be strategic priorities by either Senators Booker or Cruz during the first 160 days of their respective sessions (realigning US foreign policy; ending regional conflicts). That raises follow-on questions of policy relevance. One is whether the historic pursuit of nomination approvals significantly impacted the strategic priorities that were pursued on African affairs and global health policy during the first 160 days of the current session. Another is whether there was partisan collective agreement on the strategic objectives for African affairs and global health policy among the majority members during the first 160 days of the current session. Yet another is whether there was bipartisan agreement that the promotion of human rights should be a strategic priority for African affairs and global health policy among the majority and minority committee members during the first 160 days of the current session. If so, then that raises the question of why the current subcommittee chair did not declare the promotion of human rights to be a strategic priority in response to domestic political concerns. Of course, there are many others. For example, why did the current subcommittee chair not declare Beyond the synthesis, the rapid review suggests that the current organisational structures of the SFRC subcommittees and State Department bureaus may not be optimised for the achievement of the current strategic priorities for African affairs. Like last session, there are hard jurisdictional boundaries drawn between North Africa affairs and sub-Saharan Africa affairs. Those probably impede the bridging of the artificial divide that exists between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa in African affairs. Moreover, there are blurred jurisdictional boundaries drawn between African affairs and global health policy. That may have made sense when countering global health threats was one of the strategic priorities for African affairs. However, it makes less sense now that countering global health threats has been downgraded as a strategic priority for African affairs. Research limitations The scope of the rapid review was exploratory in nature. As one would expect, it follows that there are several important limitations that merit consideration. First, the rapid review only critically examined a subset of the formal engagements on African affairs and global health policy by the majority members. Missing formal engagements include draft legislation and staff delegations. Their inclusion could have a significant impact on the research findings. There was draft legislation on African affairs and staff delegations to African countries during the first 160 days of the current session. Second, the rapid review did not critically examine informal engagements on African affairs and global health policy by the majority members. Missing informal engagements included social media posts. Their inclusion could have a significant impact on the research findings. There were majority leadership posts on African affairs on social media during the first 160 days of the current session. Moreover, social media was a major platform for engagement. As evidence, the SFRC Chairman's recent Third, the rapid review only critically examined one period of time. That could have had a significant impact on the research findings. There were intervening events that took place over the first 160 days of the current session. One was a There is therefore a clear and present opportunity to improve the general knowledge about the engagement of the SFRC on African affairs and global health policy by way of future research that is designed to address these research limitations. Michael Walsh is a visiting scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Ambassador (Ret) Charles Ray is a member of the Board of Trustees and chair of the Africa Programme at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
IOL News
18-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
US shifting Africa strategy to 'trade, not aid', envoy says
A general view of the Container Terminal at the port in Durban, South Africa, April 10, 2025. Image: REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo US envoys in Africa will be rated on commercial deals struck, not aid spent, a senior State Department official said, touting it as the new strategy for US support on the continent. President Donald Trump's administration wants to eliminate trade deficits, and drive mutual prosperity, African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrell said, according to remarks shared on Thursday. "Assistance involves a donor and a recipient, but commerce is an exchange between equals," he added at the launch of the policy in Ivory Coast on Wednesday. US ambassadors in Africa had already shepherded 33 agreements worth $6 billion in Trump's first 100 days, Fitrell said. "Trade, not aid, a slogan we've seen thrown around for years, is now truly our policy for Africa." US goods exports to sub-Saharan Africa amount to less than 1% of total US trade, according to US think-tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Despite Trump's aggressive spending cuts, Washington has pledged a $550 million loan for the Lobito rail corridor, a shortcut for copper and cobalt from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola's Atlantic port, bypassing China-controlled routes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The US is keen to counter both Chinese and Russian influence on the continent, particularly over minerals and trade. In one of China's latest deals on the continent, a $652m loan agreement was agreed with Nigeria through the Exim bank for a highway feeding the new Lekki port and Dangote refinery. The US has set six targets to be met before the next US-Africa Leaders Summit later this year, the envoy said. They include to make commercial diplomacy a core mission, push priority countries to enact business-friendly reforms and back "bankable" infrastructure not "vanity projects". It also wants to embark on more business-only diplomatic trips, match export-ready US firms with African ventures and overhaul financing tools to offer faster and more risk-tolerant blended funding. Global aid groups have widely criticised the US for slashing aid funds to Africa, which they say is costing lives of the most needy. REUTERS
