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.
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.
About the author
Alexanderia Haidara
Alexanderia Haidara is a former U.S. diplomat with the State Department and recently served as the development outreach communications specialist at the USAID Mission in Nigeria until its closure on July 1, 2025. She has over 15 years in foreign policy, global communications, and business experience. She worked in the public and private sector in Mexico, Rwanda, Honduras, and Nigeria.
