The United States hosted the Africa Leaders Summit this week in Washington, gathering around 50 high-level African delegations to discuss economic partnerships and fair trade deals. However, some analysts in Africa believe that the summit should have been held in Africa instead of the US, as one country should not be calling all of the leaders of Africa. Economic and political analysts have emphasized the importance of African leaders negotiating fair deals and pushing for better economic partnerships with the US.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been at the core of US economic policy and commercial engagement with sub-Saharan Africa since 2000, providing eligible countries with duty-free access to US markets for over 1,800 products. However, the AGOA has been overtaken by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect on January 1, 2021, and by China’s growing engagement and influence in Africa. China’s foreign direct investment in Africa is nearly double that of the US, and the Asian giant is also the largest lender around the continent.
Some analysts have argued that the US should extend the AGOA beyond its current expiration date in 2025 in order to remain competitive with China in Africa. However, others believe that the US should focus on building partnerships that create a “win-win” situation rather than approaching Africa as “beggars.” The US has also warned Africa about its engagement with China and Russia, and it is expected that these issues will be addressed at the summit. However, the issue is that US still lacks respect for the continent despite the fact that the raw materials from the continent feed the US and the world. With this in mind, African leaders need the entrepreneurial negotiating skills of successful entrepreneurs such as Aliko Dangote and much more to go into this meetings with the skills needed to come out with business deals that finally make Africa great again. Without the skills, it will be more talk and less action.
