By Vera SONGWE and Witney SCHNEIDMAN
During a recent interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier,
asked
Félix Tshisekedi
The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was asked about how his administration plans to maintain ongoing relations with the United States—particularly in negotiating a crucial minerals agreement—while also strengthening ties with China.
The President of the DRC stated that China’s influence is not particularly “expanding” in Africa compared to how America’s influence is “declining.”
Tshisekedi is right. In 2000, the US was Africa’s largest trading partner; today,
China’s
total trade with Africa is more than four times larger than that of the
US
.
Two U.S.-Africa Leadership Summits were conducted, one in 2014 and another in 2022; however, no date has been set yet for a third summit. Despite this, Congress approved
legislation
towards the end of last year, which would require President Donald Trump to organize a summit this year and every two years from then onwards.
Meanwhile, China is preparing to convene its tenth summit with African leaders, through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in 2027. A Gallup poll
published
last year showed that, for the first time, China’s approval rating in Africa (58%) had surpassed that of the US (56%).
Talking to Baier, Tshisekedi noted that the DRC would be “quite pleased” to witness an increased American business presence. However, Trump’s trade strategies might lead to an unintended adverse effect. Furthermore, ongoing issues continue to persist.
reports
The plan by the Trump administration to decrease the number of U.S. embassies and consulates across Africa will likely exacerbate this reduction in influence.
Over the past 25 years, the foundation of America’s business ties with Africa has been the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which is a one-sided trade deal permitting over 6,000 African goods entry into the U.S., duty-free and quota-free.
In 2001-22, African AGOA members
exported
Over $100 billion worth of non-oil products were traded with the US. This exchange was intended to be unidirectional, yet it still provided advantages for American businesses like Levi’s, Gap, and Walmart, along with consumers.
The AGOA was designed to help Africa transform its manufacturing base, thereby shifting the basis of its relationship with the US from aid to trade – a goal that one might expect the Trump administration, which has slashed foreign-aid programs, to support.
Participation hinged on African governments endorsing political diversity, effective governance, and economic openness.
studies
Studies have demonstrated that trading with the United States boosts value-added production, enhances labor productivity, and increases job opportunities in African countries.
However, earlier last month, Trump presented
“reciprocal” tariffs
In numerous African nations, several top performers under AGOA experience high rates as well: Lesotho (50%), Madagascar (47%), and Mauritius (40%).
In the meantime, 17 African nations that are
ineligible
For AGOA benefits, primarily because of inadequate governance, entities were essentially granted much reduced tariff rates as rewards.
Trump
suspended
Most of these tariffs were implemented swiftly, initiating a 90-day period for negotiating new trade agreements. To an extent, he is achieving his objectives as AGOA nations rush to preserve their advantageous access to the U.S. market.
Lesotho, for example,
granted
A decade-long permit has been granted to Elon Musk’s Starlink, an associate of Trump, allowing them to run their satellite system within the nation.
Nevertheless, Trump’s tariffs are not expected to provide swift victories for the United States. Similarly, African
trade ministers
Have consented to expedite measures aimed at boosting intracontinental commerce, along with expanding export varieties to lessen their nations’ reliance on specific international markets.
In addition to that, the closure of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation would also occur.
closure
Of Voice of America, and the
lapse
Of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and America’s presence in Africa is rapidly diminishing.
However, there is an opportunity for Africa to capitalize on the US administration’s objectives for mutual gain. Securing access to essential minerals is President Trump’s primary focus regarding Africa.
This leads to situations where countries such as the DRC – which
boasts
the planet’s most abundant copper reserves and four out of the world’s top five biggest
cobalt mines
— including Gabon, Zambia, South Africa, and even Chad, which hold strategic importance. The U.S. is already involved in these regions.
in talks
Regarding a minerals agreement with the DRC and other countries.
The only problem is that China is far ahead of the US on this front. Chinese state-owned companies and banks
control
Eighty percent of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cobalt production, along with sixty to ninety percent of global cobalt supplies, undergo refinement processes in China. In contrast, the United States contributes less than one percent to worldwide cobalt production.
This disparity led the previous US President to
Joe Biden
His administration to develop the
Lobito Corridor initiative
aimed at extending the 800-mile railway line that stretches from the Angolan harbor of Lobito on Africa’s western coastline through the resource-abundant DRC all the way to Zambia.
This program – which has received backing from the Trump administration – aims to improve African infrastructure through collaborations among the United States, African governments, African-led financial institutions like the Africa Finance Corporation, and the European Union.
However, African nations should take further steps to guarantee that any crucial minerals agreements genuinely benefit their economies, particularly by requiring that some value-added processing happens within the continent.
In addition to accessing Africa’s critical minerals, the U.S. should focus on processing these resources and increasing their value within the continent—such as transforming cobalt into battery precursors prior to exporting them.
Given that Chinese enterprises have demonstrated little enthusiasm for engaging in this, such an exchange would likely elevate the United States to a more crucial collaborator status. This strategic move could thus secure America’s prolonged access to these critical materials.
Considering that Africa possesses all the necessary minerals for manufacturing distributed among over ten nations in Central and Southern Africa, fostering local processing capacities aligns well with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Both Africa and the United States aim to bolster their manufacturing industries; however, this development does not have to be a competitive race where one side wins at the expense of the other. Instead, through an agreement aimed at enhancing Africa’s industrial capacities, the U.S. stands to benefit from increased availability of crucial resources for its domestic industries. Such cooperation could also stem the erosion of American business clout across the African continent and foster thriving, reciprocal economic ties. As a result, these efforts might achieve healthier balance-of-payments positions—a goal President Trump has expressed interest in realizing.
Vera Songwe, who previously served as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa and Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations, is
a senior fellow who isn’t based locally at the Brookings Institution
Founder and Chair of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, and Co-Chair of the Expert Review on Debt, Nature, and Climate
.
Witney Schneidman served as the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Clinton administration and is currently a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc.
Syndigate.info
).
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