The US State Department has introduced performance metrics for American ambassadors in Africa to evaluate them based on the number of business deals they make as part of the US government’s new “trade, not aid” approach.
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Within its first 100 days, President Donald Trump’s second administration secured 33 deals worth US$6 billion across the continent, announced Troy Fitrell, senior US official for the Bureau of African Affairs, at the launch of the bureau in mid-May.
The US’ new commercial diplomacy strategy “focuses our efforts on the countries where US companies want to do business and where the data shows we ought to do business”, Fitrell said on May 15.
Meanwhile, Trump has not only overhauled USAID – whose activities helped fight diseases such as HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa – and suspended foreign aid, but has also imposed trade tariffs. The administration has moved to dismantle the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which has invested more than US$10 billion in 24 African countries since 2004.
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How China is reshaping its economic ties with Africa
How China is reshaping its economic ties with Africa
Trump also planned to host the next US-Africa Leaders Summit later this year. When the US hosted a similar summit in 2022, former US president Joe Biden pledged to invest US$55 billion in Africa over three years.
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