Trump presidency: first reflections on the impact for Africa

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the potential implications of Donald Trump's 2016 election on US-Africa relations, noting a lack of specific policy detail regarding the continent during his campaign.

• The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), extended to 2025, is unlikely to be a major point of contention, as Trump is expected to focus his anti-trade efforts on China and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). However, South Africa may face pressure during annual AGOA reviews regarding its preferential market access.
• There is a risk that Trump's goal of negotiating tougher trade deals could lead to a stalemate in the development of a post-AGOA free trade agreement between the US and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), mirroring a 2003 failure caused by an inflexible US trade template.
• Due to Trump's isolationist stance, foreign aid is unlikely to be a primary agenda item, leaving it uncertain whether Obama-era initiatives like Power Africa and the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit will be maintained.
• Trump has provided little insight into his broad engagement strategy for Africa, aside from a claim that he would "lock African dictators up," while the continent's geopolitical importance is growing through partnerships with China (FOCAC) and Japan (TICAD).

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2016). Trump presidency: first reflections on the impact for Africa. https://saiia.org.za/research/trump-presidency-first-reflections-on-the-impact-for-africa/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Trump presidency: first reflections on the impact for Africa. 2016. https://saiia.org.za/research/trump-presidency-first-reflections-on-the-impact-for-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Trump presidency: first reflections on the impact for Africa |date=9 November 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/trump-presidency-first-reflections-on-the-impact-for-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2016trump, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Trump presidency: first reflections on the impact for Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/trump-presidency-first-reflections-on-the-impact-for-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }