Africa needs a true, progressive partner in the White House

President Kamala Harris could present opportunities for inclusive and productive collaboration with Africa – but she needs to do better than Biden.

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

With only four days to Election Day, however, the two main candidates -Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump – are yet to outline any specific multilateral or economic strategies for Africa. Thus, to obtain any insight into their plans for future engagement with the African continent, we have to look at their past actions.

At the commencement 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 constraints on $8.8bn in US foreign aid directed at international health programmes that either provide or advocate for abortion services.

He also discontinued funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a worldwide body dedicated to maternal health that offers contraception and pregnancy care to low-income women in 150 countries. Collectively, these actions presented a significant risk to the availability of sexual and reproductive health services in vulnerable communities across 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 temperature increases.

Should Trump secure a victory on November 5, the US may withdraw from the Paris Agreement once again. Such a move would drastically impede universal efforts to combat climate change and exacerbate the vulnerability of African nations to extreme weather events.

But the Trump presidency was not all negative for Africa.

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

In 2022, South Africa stood out as the leading beneficiary of this trade arrangement, with exports to the US valued at about R65 billion (approximately $3.6bn).

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

Meanwhile, between 2017 and 2021, the Trump administration committed between $7bn and $8bn annually in aid to African countries, primarily intended to bolster US interests while facilitating these nations’ progress towards self-sufficiency.

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

Then, in a pivotal 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 $14.2bn in bilateral trade and investment between the US and African nations. This achievement reflected a 67 percent increase in both the number and value of agreements finalised in 2022.

Prosper Africa is anticipated to persist, irrespective of who becomes the next president.

Throughout its four-year tenure, the Trump administration prioritised a limited engagement with Africa, consistent with its America First principles. Conversely, the subsequent administration adopted a more welcoming approach, seemingly recognising 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, on December 13-15, 2022, featuring the participation of 49 African leaders.

At the latter event, Biden expressed his strong commitment to future collaborations, stating, “The United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa.” He also underscored that his country “fully supports reforming the UN Security Council to include permanent representation for Africa”.

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

AGOA, unfortunately, is set to conclude in September 2025.

Many African countries, including Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa, are seeking to have it renewed for at least a decade.

Biden largely agrees with this sentiment.

On July 23, he urged the US Congress to “quickly reauthorise and modernise this landmark Act” that forms “the bedrock of America’s economic partnership with African nations”. There is reason to believe his current VP Harris would assume a similar position as president.

Trump, meanwhile, has made his intentions clear regarding the adoption of economic nationalism, implying that he could potentially refrain from renewing AGOA.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia on September 25, he affirmed his commitment to implement what he termed as “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 straightforward in his commitment to an aggressive America First agenda, in contrast to Biden and Harris, who have chosen a more international approach, particularly regarding Africa.

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

He did not engage in meaningful trips to Africa, cultivate partnerships or implement the reforms required to offer definitive proof of the US’s unwavering commitment to Africa and its alignment with the continent’s enlightened objectives.

Thus, his administration’s highly vaunted suggestion to grant two permanent seats to African nations in the UN Security Council, albeit without the provision of veto powers, would merely represent a symbolic and ineffective change. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, a former diplomat of the African Union, has labelled the proposal an “insult”.

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

Her administration would have to regard its official relations with African countries with the seriousness they merit, thereby positioning African representation and agency at the forefront of the international agenda.

Specifically, Africans must have a greater and equivalent say at multilateral institutions like the UN Security Council, World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

To effectively leverage African contributions, leadership and innovation in addressing global challenges, Harris will need 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 she belonged for the last four years failed to uphold its stated obligations, it may still be considered, in a very limited or imperial context, as progressive.

Trump is a foul-mouthed, deranged and 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 collaboration with Africa. But she needs to make sure she holds her pledges to African nations, unlike her current boss Biden.