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Africa up against the shockwaves of the Trump II era
US President Donald Trump at a multilateral lunch with African heads of state visiting the White House in Washington, July 2025.© Jim Watson/AFP

Running Story
Africa up against the shockwaves of the Trump II era

The dismantling of USAid, rising tariffs, tougher immigration policies… Since Donald Trump's return to power, the African continent has had to contend with a series of upheavals. Faced with this new reality, its leaders are attempting to adjust by drawing up partnership proposals compatible with the transactional and sometimes informal approach favoured by the US president, who is obsessed with securing critical minerals and countering the terrorist threat.

Africa up against the shockwaves of the Trump II era
US President Donald Trump at a multilateral lunch with African heads of state visiting the White House in Washington, July 2025.© Jim Watson/AFP

Spotlight | Africa
Trump Africa emissary Frank Garcia faces tricky balancing act

The US State Department's new assistant secretary for Africa has to navigate a host of administrative and political dilemmas, all while dealing with officials who have tightened their grip on policy towards the continent since Donald Trump's return to power.

Members of the US Army land with a giant US flag near the White House in Washington, 4 July 2026.
LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 27.07.2026
Members of the US Army land with a giant US flag near the White House in Washington, 4 July 2026.

Africa
In Washington, African diplomats speak out in defence of AGOA

On the one hand, the Trump administration is consulting with businesses and partners on the continent regarding a possible reform of the trade framework. On the other, the continent's foreign ministries are stepping up their efforts to influence a debate whose outcome will also depend on the US mid-term elections, to be held in November.

LogoSubscribers only Business, Diplomacy 20.07.2026

Nigeria
Trump administration offers Abuja new migration deal

After being turned down a first time in 2025, the United States has come back with another proposal designed to speed up deportations to Nigeria.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 09.07.2026

Ivory Coast, Mali
Trump's new top Africa official may visit Bamako and Abidjan after Abuja

Set to travel to Nigeria, Frank Garcia, the new US assistant secretary for Africa, could go on to visit Ivory Coast and Mali. The destinations underscore the security focus of the trip.

Frank Garcia, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and Mahamat Tahir Orozi, Chad’s ambassador to the US, in Washington, 2 July 2026.
LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 06.07.2026
Frank Garcia, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and Mahamat Tahir Orozi, Chad’s ambassador to the US, in Washington, 2 July 2026.

Cameroon
Washington sends special forces in Africa chief to Yaoundé

General Claude Tudor is preparing to visit Cameroon, a few weeks after the visit by Africom's second-in-command. This move comes as security cooperation between the Trump administration and Yaoundé deepens.

General Claude Tudor, who heads the US Special Operations Command Africa in Jacqueville, Ivory Coast, on 30 April 2026.
LogoSubscribers only Defence, Diplomacy 26.06.2026
General Claude Tudor, who heads the US Special Operations Command Africa in Jacqueville, Ivory Coast, on 30 April 2026.

Spotlight | East Africa, Southern Africa
Economic actors brace for AGOA shakeup

With an extension of the US's African Growth and Opportunity Act beyond this year far from certain, the continent's manufacturers are alarmed about the financial ramifications and are asking for clarity. But the American political calender is restricting their room for manoeuvre.

Levi's jeans produced in the Ruaraka Free Trade Zone near Nairobi, Kenya, 4 April 2025.
LogoSubscribers only Business, Diplomacy 19.06.2026
Levi's jeans produced in the Ruaraka Free Trade Zone near Nairobi, Kenya, 4 April 2025.

Central African Republic
Washington to expel first migrants to Bangui

CAR is set to receive the first group of migrants under a deal quietly negotiated by President Touadéra, in an arrangement that intertwines financial incentives with the prospect of a closer relationship with the US.

The Central African Republic president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, at the UN headquarters in New York, on 24 September 2025.
LogoSubscribers only Politics, Diplomacy 12.06.2026
The Central African Republic president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, at the UN headquarters in New York, on 24 September 2025.

Spotlight | Cameroon, Nigeria
Trump's frontier miner, Drew Horn, eyes Abuja and Yaoundé

A former first-term White House and Department of Energy adviser, the ex-US Special Forces officer now heads private critical minerals firm GreenMet. Working on the frontier of politics and business, he is taking his first trip to Nigeria, where he will launch an extractive and industrial project.

American businessman Drew Horn in Nuuk, Greenland, in February 2026.
LogoSubscribers only Mining 10.06.2026
American businessman Drew Horn in Nuuk, Greenland, in February 2026.

Zambia
Controversy and confusion over health agreement with Washington

The clumsy statement made by a Zambian government official has reignited tensions in discussions regarding American support for the health system, at a time when relations between the two countries have deteriorated.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 05.06.2026

Spotlight | Cameroon
US military prepares return to Far North

As jihadist pressure mounts around Lake Chad, US troops will once again be deployed in the region. This should help Washington expand its intelligence capabilities in the Sahel, and will enable Yaoundé to consolidate a regime weakened by a post-election crisis.

Africom Commander Dagvin Anderson speaking before the US Senate in Washington on 14 May 2026.
LogoSubscribers only Defence 05.06.2026
Africom Commander Dagvin Anderson speaking before the US Senate in Washington on 14 May 2026.

Lesotho
Collateral victim of the Trump administration, textile sector seeks survival plan

A mainstay of the national economy and heavily reliant on the US market, the sector, which employs around 40,000 people, is paying a heavy price for the rise in tariffs and the suspension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

LogoSubscribers only Business 13.04.2026

Ghana
Accra and Washington's health deal in limbo

While Donald Trump's administration is working towards new health agreements on the continent, Ghana is currently reluctant to accept the US administration's offer.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 07.04.2026

Spotlight | Mali
The crucial mining element of Bamako and Washington's reconciliation

A transactional approach, combining a security partnership with mining interests, is at work behind the rapprochement between the Trump administration and Assimi Goïta's junta. Among the assets under discussion are deposits of gold, manganese, and lithium that Bamako is offering to American investors.

The Morila gold mine, in Sanso, Mali, in December 2017.
LogoSubscribers only Mining 03.04.2026
The Morila gold mine, in Sanso, Mali, in December 2017.

Spotlight | DRC
The hidden clauses of Washington and Kinshasa's new health deal

Africa Intelligence has obtained a copy of the memorandum of understanding signed in February between the DRC and the United States. Whilst aimed at strengthening the Congolese healthcare system, this agreement could also benefit US biotechnology companies.

A vaccine against monkeypox being prepared at Goma Hospital in the DRC in October 2024.
Free access Diplomacy 31.03.2026
A vaccine against monkeypox being prepared at Goma Hospital in the DRC in October 2024.

Morocco
Rabat and Washington set a date to strike new trade deal

Two key economic sectors will be at the centre of the next review committee meeting between Morocco and the United States, as both sides move to draw up new contours to their free-trade agreement.

LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 27.03.2026

Spotlight | DRC
How US firm Virtus finally broke through to acquire mining jewel Chemaf

DRC Mines Minister Louis Watum has given the green light for the takeover of the company that operates the strategic Mutoshi copper and cobalt deposit.

DRC President Félix Tshisekedi in Paris on 25 February 2026.
LogoSubscribers only Mining 17.03.2026
DRC President Félix Tshisekedi in Paris on 25 February 2026.

Spotlight | Mali
The grey areas of Washington's rapprochement with Assimi Goïta

Launched several months ago amid a climate of acute mistrust, conciliation efforts by US diplomats to build closer ties with Bamako have not been without difficulties. While supporting the Malian junta, the Trump administration is exploring other options and cultivating a very discreet channel of communication with the opposition.

President Assimi Goïta during Mali's 65th Independence Day celebrations in Bamako on 22 September 2025.
LogoSubscribers only Diplomacy 05.03.2026
President Assimi Goïta during Mali's 65th Independence Day celebrations in Bamako on 22 September 2025.

Zambia
Lusaka stands up to Washington in health deal negotiations

The government has stated that it will not sign a health agreement if it is conditional on a second trade-off involving critical minerals.

LogoSubscribers only Mining 02.03.2026

Spotlight | DRC
How Kinshasa rebalanced its strategic partnership with Washington

Faced with an initial US proposal that was markedly one-sided and made no mention of security, a small team of Congolese negotiators had to fight for many months to rebalance the architecture of the agreement struck between the two countries.

Félix Tshisekedi and Donald Trump in the White House's Oval Office after signing a partnership deal between the two countries in Washington, on 4 December 2025.
Free access Defence 27.02.2026
Félix Tshisekedi and Donald Trump in the White House's Oval Office after signing a partnership deal between the two countries in Washington, on 4 December 2025.

DRC
AFRICOM head to meet with Félix Tshisekedi

President Félix Tshisekedi is due to meet General Dagvin Anderson, AFRICOM head, in Kinshasa on 26 February. The meeting is set to extend the security component of the strategic partnership concluded between the two countries last December.

LogoSubscribers only Defence 26.02.2026

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US President Donald Trump at a multilateral lunch with African heads of state visiting the White House in Washington, July 2025.

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Trump II and Africa

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