Search Results

Opinion: With the quiet expiration of AGOA and the dismantling of USAID, the Trump administration has shut down U.S. foreign policy tools in Africa, ceding ground to China's zero-tariff policies. Published in Devex by Alexanderia Haidara on November 12, 2025 While the U.S. government remains in gridlock due to the shutdown, the quiet expiration of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, undermines the Trump Administration’s commitment to transition the continent from foreign aid recipient to a reliable trading partner. By 2050, a quarter of the world’s population will be African and, collectively, African countries could account for a $29 trillion economic bloc in today’s currency. With only a faint possibility of a one-year extension, American business investors hang in the balance while they wait for U.S. Congress to make a decision before the end of the year.The Trump administration’s lack of urgency to renew AGOA, even after meeting with five African presidents this summer in the White House, underscores the consequences of a failed U.S-Africa policy and a lost opportunity for American investors. USAID and AGOA Since African countries gained their independence in the 1960s, foreign assistance has been the cornerstone of U.S.-Africa relations. For sixty years, the U.S. Agency for International Development has sought to address economic development, humanitarian assistance, and global health issues in Africa. By the late 1990s however, American business and political leaders recognized the need to move beyond aid to trade partnership. In 2000, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into law a trade preference program granting duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 5,000 products from more than 30 eligible African countries. USAID was the lead implementing agency providing technical and policy formulation assistance to eligible countries to help them maximize the program’s benefits. AGOA did work Since 2002, AGOA has generated over $1.2 trillion in two-way trade between the United States and Africa. This has created a pathway for U.S. companies to enter African markets, diversify their supply chains, and create more American jobs. U.S. companies including Target, Victoria's Secret, and Walmart have sourced T-shirts, jeans, and other apparel from Kenya, Lesotho, and Madagascar through AGOA. AGOA has created over 500,000 U.S. jobs and 1 million African jobs over the past 20 years. Does Washington value African partnerships? The fall of AGOA comes following the Trump administration’s shuttering of USAID, which funded trade and investment programs through Prosper Africa and Power Africa. While the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which manages infrastructure projects in Africa, survived, many of its programs have been cut. President Donald Trump’s message to Africa is crystal clear: The dismantling of the very agency that drove trade programs with the continent shows that America does not value African countries as equal trading partners. Although U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the New York Times report on the closing of the African Affairs Bureau at the State Department as “fake news,” the political damage had already sent shock waves across the continent. It’s increasingly clear that African political and business leaders no longer view America as a reliable partner. The Trump administration has yet to announce a rescue plan for American investors to recover business and job loss resulting from the expiration of AGOA. The possibility of only a one-year extension reveals that Washington still does not have a long-term vision for deepening commercial ties with Africa. With USAID gone, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation is next in line to deepen U.S. investment in Africa — but it has little to no presence on the ground and has traditionally partnered with USAID staff to implement its investment projects. Equally, U.S. State Department diplomats, who are now the main bulk of government staff left to carry out the country’s foreign policies, do not have the capacity or necessarily the expertise to help American businesses enter new emerging markets while managing foreign assistance programs. Meanwhile in China … As the Trump administration summoned USAID diplomats serving abroad to return home by July 1, China’s President Xi Jinping announced zero-tariff policies to nearly all African countries. While the African market offers U.S. investors ample business opportunities across multiple sectors, Trump remains laser-focused on the critical minerals industry. China dominates the global critical mineral supply chain, controlling nearly 60% of the market.  According to the Stimson Center, while the U.S. invested $7.4 billion in Africa in 2023, it invested less than $300 million — just 4% — into critical minerals. American investors will need more U.S. government support to navigate this politically risky business venture and counter Chinese investment. Just before Trump’s second-term inauguration, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi kicked off 2025 visiting African countries for critical minerals discussions. Traditionally, meanwhile, many U.S. presidents have not made Africa a top foreign policy priority, barely squeezing in an official African tour during their terms in office. Meanwhile, Trump has yet to commit to visiting other African countries this year. Looking ahead With USAID dismantled and AGOA expired, Washington is shutting down foreign policy tools that fostered deep diplomatic and commercial ties over the past 60 years. AGOA was more than a trade deal — it was a pathway for future U.S. government private sector engagement on the continent. Many U.S. businesses have already lost hope of any possibility of renewal, while African exports to the U.S. have significantly dropped. With potential U.S. military action in one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria, over the country allegedly ignoring attacks on Nigerian Christians, the prospects of deepening trade ties with the continent are becoming grimmer by the day. Closing USAID was a huge loss of institutional knowledge and expertise that will be a difficult gap to fill. The Trump administration should restore USAID and restructure it to increase public-private partnerships on the continent. In the long term, Washington also needs to build a strong infrastructure across the entire U.S. government, academia, media, think tank, and U.S. business community to properly support African countries transition from foreign aid recipients to trade partners. Without a robust diplomatic core and local experts serving at U.S. embassies, American investors will be left in the dark. If Washington wants to remain a serious player on the continent, it must go beyond partisan politics to rebuild a credible trade policy that empowers African industries and strengthens U.S. global competitiveness.

Rising costs, stalled civil rights, and political pressure reshape how Black Americans experience the Iran war Featured in the Black Wall Street Times by Alexanderia Haidara Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., discusses Congressional Black Caucus priorities for the 119th Congress Dec. 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) WASHINGTON — For Black Americans, the escalating Iran conflict is not a distant foreign policy debate—it is an economic and political burden being felt at home, as rising costs, stalled civil rights legislation, and increased military spending reshape daily life. Despite rising gas prices and the recent “No Kings March” protests, President Donald Trump escalated tensions with Iran on Monday, warning that the “entire country” could be targeted if no deal on the Strait of Hormuz is reached. As markets fluctuate and retirement savings feel increasingly uncertain, the administration has urged Americans to remain patient. But for many Americans living on the margins, patience comes at a cost. The consequences are already showing up at the kitchen table and at the gas pump, as military spending takes priority over investments in education and health care. Senator Cory Booker warned in a March 29 interview that the United States is being pushed deeper into a conflict with “no foreseeable off-ramp.”  The growing war is increasing pressure on Black political leaders to respond as domestic priorities fall further behind. No End in Sight: Black Soldiers and the Iran Conflict In his Easter Passover address just last week, Trump urged Americans to keep the conflict in “perspective,” comparing it to the duration of past wars, including World War II and the Vietnam War. He expressed his condolences for the 13 military servicemen but reiterated that “we must honor them by finishing the job”.  With no end in sight, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus  Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09),  stressed that “the cost of President Trump’s war of choice with Iran has already been immense, including the tragic deaths of 13 U.S. service members and hundreds more who have been injured.” One of the first Black casualties was Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, who was one of the several crew members killed in a refueling aircraft crash in Iraq. In an exclusive interview with NBC, his father, Charles Simmons, denied telling Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and President Trump to “finish the job,” but rather discussed the death of his son.  As the Trump administration considers deploying 10,000 troops to the Middle East, Clarke noted that “President Trump has failed to articulate a clear strategy or endgame for this conflict, which raises grave concerns—including for Black servicemembers, who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces at higher rates than their share of the general population and are often overrepresented in frontline roles”, he said.  National Security Strategist and former State Department Senior Advisor, Asha Castleberry- Hernandez said that “when it comes to military operations, there is always a military readiness element to it, which includes options and preparation. You have to look at all your options.  It remains uncertain [if the United States] will have boots on the ground. Without a robust coalition of allies, the mission is at risk.”  Economic impact and domestic tradeoffs from the Iran conflict The economic implications of the conflict are becoming increasingly visible. According to The New York Times, the White House has requested $1.5 trillion in defense spending for fiscal year 2027, potentially the highest level in modern history.  With over 600,000 Black women out of work and the rising Black unemployment rate, the war has caused more economic strain. “Black families, on average, spend a higher proportion of their income on essentials like groceries and utilities, and the rising costs resulting from this conflict are making matters even worse,” Clarke noted.  She said that U.S. taxpayer money should help American families at home. “For example, with the billions being spent overseas on Trump’s war, Republicans could have easily funded the Affordable Care Act tax credits that millions of families rely on to afford their healthcare,”  Clarke added. Proposed reductions include possible cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, community block grants to help with low-income housing, and education cuts that disproportionately impact low-income families and people of color.  At a private White House event, Trump remarked, “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care,” underscoring the administration’s priorities for defense spending. Iran influences US public opinion on the war  Lacking the military capacity to match the United States directly, Iran is leveraging time, domestic racial and economic divisions to wear down the White House and win the war. The Washington Post reported that 60% of “non-MAGA Republicans oppose using ground troops,” and the majority of Americans do not support the war.  Castleberry-Hernandez noted that when the Iran war first broke out, the “Iran Foreign Minister [Abbas Araghchi] secured interviews on MSNow and CBS News and was active in American national media” in order to influence the American public and “tell the Iranian side of the story.”  She pointed out that Iran is “confusing the American public” by going back and forth with the White House on social media. Instead of relying on the White House for war updates, the American media is fact-checking Trump’s claims with the Iranian government.  “It’s wild on [social media]. Trump says one thing, and then the Islamic Revolutionary Guard says something else.” Iran recently published an open letter to Americans asking if the Iran war is really “America first”. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in the letter that Iran has “never, in its modern history, chosen the path of aggression, expansion, colonialism, or domination, and never initiated any war” and that Western propaganda has distorted Iran’s global image.  Thus, the Iran conflict seemingly aims to undermine America’s global leadership and portray the U.S. as the real global terrorist, given recent U.S. military strikes and past wars in the Middle East.  Black Views on U.S. military intervention Skepticism toward U.S. military interventions has longstanding roots within the Black community. During the Vietnam War, figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Muhammad Ali publicly criticized the war, and challenged the government to increase domestic spending and expand civil rights protections.  As the Trump administration rolls back 60 years of civil rights progress through executive orders, the Iran war is becoming increasingly unpopular in the Black community and across a majority of the country. Some Black creators have taken to social media to say that Black America is not at war with Iran, discouraging young Black men and women from joining the Army.  Actions by Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, sidelining Black and women service members, risk deepening racial divisions. Iran supported reparations related to the transatlantic slave trade at the United Nations, while the United States did not. Castleberry-Hernandez said that Iran’s support for reparations is to further “politically isolate America” at the global level and gain support from developing countries.  “Does Iran really care about George Floyd, I don’t know, but the George Floyd [protest] was a strategic vulnerability to the U.S. and undermined American moral leadership on human rights globally. This is what motivates Iran,” Castleberry-Hernandez added. Foreign Policy Alliances and Their Impact on Black Political Representation As the Iran conflict intensifies, divisions within Black political leadership are becoming more visible—shaped in part by longstanding relationships with powerful foreign policy lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Israel’s push for the United States to support the Iran war is adding strain between Black Congressional Leaders funded by AIPAC and Black voters.  However, Clarke said that “The Congressional Black Caucus remains firmly committed to ensuring that our policy positions—whether on domestic or foreign issues—are guided by the needs and priorities of the communities we serve. Our members are accountable first and foremost to our constituents, and that responsibility drives our legislative agenda and decision-making. Our approach to foreign policy, like all areas, reflects our core principles: advancing equity, protecting human rights, and promoting global stability.” As the Iran conflict drags on, Black voters are not just watching—they are demanding accountability from leaders navigating the cost of a war that continues to hit their communities hardest.

Featured in Semafor by Alexanderia Haidara Nelson Mandela and Jesse Jackson in 2005. Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images. The passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson this month comes at an inflection point. Much of the modern US-Africa policy architecture he helped lay the foundations for is being methodically unraveled under US President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. Start with the most jarring symbol: the shuttering of the United States Agency for International Development. For six decades, USAID functioned as Washington’s development backbone on the continent — imperfect, often bureaucratic, but central to US influence in health, education, and governance. In the 1990s, when Jackson and a bipartisan coalition reframed Africa as strategic terrain rather than charitable afterthought, dismantling that infrastructure would have been politically inconceivable. Jackson understood something many policymakers still miss: America’s racial politics at home shape its credibility abroad. “America’s past racial ideology led to a disregard not only of African Americans, but of the entire African continent,” he said in 1997. For him, civil rights and foreign policy were inseparable. It was Jackson’s activism that helped drive pressure on the Reagan administration and US corporations to divest from apartheid South Africa. Later, as US President Bill Clinton’s special envoy for democracy and human rights in Africa, he pushed electoral reform and civil society at a time when multiparty politics was spreading across the continent. There is a sharp irony in today’s rhetoric. The Trump administration’s “trade, not aid” mantra echoes Jackson’s own long-standing argument, dating back to his groundbreaking 1984 Democratic National Convention speech. Jackson believed durable partnerships would come through market access and investment, not dependency. That logic helped lay the groundwork for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which expanded duty-free access to US markets and anchored a new era of commercial diplomacy. But slogans are not strategy. AGOA has been granted only a one-year extension, injecting uncertainty into supply chains that require long-term predictability. Anti-diversity directives have narrowed how Washington frames engagement with majority-Black nations. And the dismantling of USAID has frozen or delayed programs that took generations to construct — from HIV/AIDS prevention to democratic institution-building. Having served at USAID in Nigeria last year, I saw how fragile those gains were even before this retrenchment. African democracies are faltering, some ceding ground to Russia and China. In 2025, Africa had 10 elections, with Cameroon, Tanzania, and Côte d’Ivoire erupting into political violence — the institutional ballast that once steadied US engagement is lighter. Meanwhile South Sudan edges toward a humanitarian crisis. The drift carries consequences. By midcentury, one in four people on Earth will be African. The continent’s economic weight and geopolitical relevance are rising, not receding. To downgrade Africa in US strategy is not a cost-saving measure; it is a long-term gamble with American influence. Jackson argued that moral authority and economic strength were intertwined. His legacy is not nostalgia for a more activist era. It is a reminder that US–Africa policy was deliberately constructed — by campaigners, lawmakers, and diplomats who believed the continent mattered to America’s future. Today, that belief feels less bipartisan and more contested. Whether Washington rebuilds a coherent, credible Africa strategy — one grounded in trade certainty, institutional capacity, and mutual respect — will determine whether Jackson’s vision endures or becomes a relic of a different political age. Alexanderia Baker-Haidara is a former US diplomat with the State Department.

As a Black American expat living in Nigeria, watching Ryan Coogler’s Sinners  on the big screen was a proud and emotional moment.  The film connected me with my family’s past while evoking the spiritual presence of my African ancestors.  Sinners  was also an opportunity for Black Hollywood directors to showcase Black stories and history on the global stage.   Sinners  starring Micheal B. Jordan and directed by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, tells the story of two twin brothers who fled Chicago in the 1930s  to move back down south to their hometown in a rural Mississippi.   The twins open a blues juke joint only to discover that evil vampires awaited them in the heart of Jim Crow South.  Michael B. Jordan plays twins Smoke and Stack in the new movie Sinners . Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Sinners  provided me a rare glimpse of life in 1930s Clarksdale, Mississippi— where my family had been deeply rooted for over 100 years.  While my grandparents never scared me with vampire stories and hoodoo magic, my family shared the horror stories of living under segregation and the backlabor pain of picking cotton. “We made 10 cents an hour,” my grandmother would say, shaking her head in disgrace. My aunts often bickered and joked at family gatherings about who picked the most cotton using humor to soothe painful memories.  For them, their Christian faith and church community were essential to surviving the evilness of white supremacy.  And even more so, Sinners  offers a desperately needed history lesson for African moviegoers on Black American blues history and culture in rural Mississippi—history that’s often missing from African libraries and bookstores.  At a time where Black History is under attack in the United States, historical movies and African American literature are not only welcomed in Africa—they’re  celebrated.  The sold out theaters across Nigeria during the second opening weekend confirms that African movie goers support movies from Black Hollywood and that black centered stories in America can thrive internationally. Nigerians gasped, laughed and shouted at all the right moments bringing the theater to life just like home. Unsurprisingly, Nigerian media outlet, Nairametroxs  boasted on the headlines “Ryan Coogler’s Sinners  hits N269.9 million ($170,000) and dominates Nigerian Box Office in 9 days.”  With a population of roughly 227 million and 90 movie theaters nationwide, that’s a major milestone—especially when compared to the United States with roughly 2000 movie theaters. Kenya’s KBC media outlet noted that although “ Sinners  had a softer launch internationally $15.4 million (Ksh. 1.9B) across 71 markets, its stateside triumph stands out.”  With the global impact of films like Sinners  and Black Panthe r, it’s time for Black Hollywood  directors and historians to be more intentional in promoting their work and doing business on the continent. Sinners  would had earned even more in international sales across the African Diaspora if there was a strong media campaign instead of relying on social media and word of mouth. The Sinners  cast could have had a movie premiere in Abidjan, especially since Ivorian Zaouli dancers performed in the movie. The cast could have had a public screening in South Africa or Kenya and a press conference with African journalists and influencers on local radio and TV.  The abrupt closure of  US Agency for International Development , which had committed $3.5 million in the creative industries in Nigeria, provides another opportunity for Black American producers. to invest in the next generation of African storytellers. Black Hollywood could build film and acting schools, movie theaters, student film and art exchanges, and studios on the continent like British Actor Idris Elba . This would create more jobs for African youth and business opportunities for both creators across the Atlantic.  As anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies continue to threaten Black progress in the United States, Black entertainment leaders must invest now, share stories, and strengthen connections on the continent and across the diaspora.