Africa needs a true, progressive partner in the White House 2024 US election

The upcoming elections in the United States will determine the nature of interactions between this leading global power and African countries.

With just four days until Election Day, however, the two leading candidates — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump — have yet to outline specific multilateral or economic strategies for Africa. Thus, to gain insight into their plans for future engagement with the African continent, we must look at their past actions.

At the start of his four-year presidency in January 2017, Trump reinstated and expanded the so-called Global Gag Rule, also known as the “Mexico City policy,” which imposed restrictions on US foreign aid worth 8.8 billions of dollars, directed to international health programs. who either provide or advocate for abortion services.

He also cut funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a global maternal health agency that provides contraception and pregnancy care to low-income women in 150 countries. Collectively, these actions posed a significant risk to the availability of sexual and reproductive health services in vulnerable communities in Africa.

In November 2020, Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, a treaty that aims to improve the global response to climate change challenges and regulate rising temperatures.

If Trump wins on November 5, the US can withdraw from the Paris Agreement again. Such a move would drastically hamper universal efforts to combat climate change and exacerbate the vulnerability of African nations to extreme weather events.

But Trump’s presidency has not been all negative for Africa.

On the economic front, the Trump administration has advanced trade opportunities between the US and African countries through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Established in 2000, AGOA allows eligible sub-Saharan African countries to gain duty-free access to the US market for more than 1,800 products, alongside more than 5,000 products that are eligible under the Generalized System of Preferences program.

In 2022, South Africa stood out as the main beneficiary of this trade agreement, with exports to the US valued at around R65 billion (about US$3.6 billion).

To complement AGOA, the Trump administration on December 13, 2018 launched Prosper Africa, a government program designed to facilitate trade between US businesses and Africa. Beyond its economic implications, Prosper Africa represented a strategic effort to counter China’s successful Belt and Road initiative and Russia’s ever-expanding influence in Africa.

Meanwhile, between 2017 and 2021, the Trump administration has committed $7 billion to $8 billion annually in aid to African countries, primarily to support U.S. interests while facilitating these nations’ progress toward self-sufficiency.

When President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris took office on January 20, 2021, they moved to either dismantle or renew a number of policies enacted by the Trump administration. That day, they immediately canceled the Global Gag Rule. Eight days later, on January 28, they reinstated US participation in the Paris Agreement.

Then, in a key development, the Biden-Harris administration unveiled the Prosper Africa Build Together Campaign on July 27, 2021, effectively relaunching the Prosper Africa plan, but with a focus on energy, climate solutions, health and digital technology.

Later in December 2023, the White House announced the successful completion of 547 new agreements, valued at approximately $14.2 billion in bilateral trade and investment between the US and African countries. This achievement reflected a 67% increase in both the number and value of deals completed in 2022.

It is anticipated that Prosper Africa will persist regardless of who becomes the next president.

During its four-year term, the Trump administration has prioritized limited engagement with Africa, consistent with its America First principles. Instead, the subsequent administration took a more welcoming approach, seemingly recognizing the critical role of African nations as key partners.

In this light, the Biden-Harris administration announced a new strategy for sub-Saharan Africa in August 2022 and subsequently convened the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington, DC, from December 13-15, 2022, with the participation of 49 leaders Africans. .

At the latter event, Biden expressed his firm commitment to future collaborations, declaring, “The United States is all in Africa and all in Africa.” He also stressed that his country “fully supports the reform of the UN Security Council to include permanent representation for Africa.”

To boost trade, the Biden-Harris administration also supported AGOA. At the same time, it actively pursued bilateral agreements with selected African nations. On May 23, Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto unveiled a series of investments focused on green energy, education and health manufacturing, as well as a framework to address the country’s debt woes.

AGOA, unfortunately, is due to end in September 2025.

Many African countries, including Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa, are trying to renew it for at least a decade.

Biden largely agrees with that sentiment.

On July 23, he urged the US Congress to “rapidly reauthorize and modernize this landmark act” that forms the “pillar of America’s economic partnership with African nations.” There is reason to believe that his current vice president Harris will take a similar position as president.

Trump, meanwhile, has made clear his intentions on embracing economic nationalism, hinting that he may refrain from renewing AGOA.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, on September 25, he affirmed his commitment to implement what he called the “New American Industrialism” and to “bring thousands and thousands of businesses and trillions of dollars in wealth back to the good old USA”. .

Trump has, in fact, been exceptionally forthright in his commitment to an aggressive America First agenda, unlike Biden and Harris, who have chosen a more international approach, particularly with regard to Africa.

Biden, who is scheduled to visit Angola in early December, just weeks before leaving office, has not made any state visits to Africa, despite assurances he made during the US-Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022.

He has not embarked on significant travel to Africa, cultivated partnerships, or implemented the necessary reforms to provide definitive proof of the US’ unwavering commitment to Africa and its alignment with the continent’s enlightened goals.

Thus, his administration’s much-vaunted suggestion to grant two permanent seats to African nations on the UN Security Council, albeit without veto power, would represent only a symbolic and ineffective change. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, a former African Union diplomat, labeled the proposal an “insult”.

Therefore, if he triumphs on November 5, Harris will have to go beyond mere rhetoric and support the addition of two permanent seats for African nations on the UN Security Council with equal veto rights.

Her administration should treat its official relations with African countries with the seriousness it deserves, thereby placing African representation and agency at the top of the international agenda.

Specifically, Africans must have a greater and equal say in multilateral institutions such as the UN Security Council, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

To effectively harness African contributions, leadership and innovation in addressing global challenges, Harris will be required to undertake regular state visits to various African nations. Indeed, unlike Biden, she must strive to engage in more than superficial efforts to transform Africa’s place and responsibilities in the current largely US-led world order.

Although the administration to which he belonged for the last four years has not lived up to its stated obligations, it can still be considered, in a very limited or imperial context, as progressive.

Trump is a stupid, deranged, racist politician with an inward-looking agenda. He cannot and will not deliver for Africa.

President Kamala Harris, on the other hand, could present opportunities for inclusive and productive engagement with Africa. But she needs to make sure she keeps her commitments to African nations, unlike her current boss Biden.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.