Which U.S. Government Agencies Are Facilitating the Trump Administration’s Commercial Diplomacy in Africa

Commentary by Khasai Makhulo, Catherine Nzuki, and Oge Onubogu

Published December 19, 2025

The second Trump administration's formal approach to Africa is centered on commercial diplomacy, a "trade, not aid" approach to Africa that is in line with President Trump's dealmaking diplomacy. In the process of dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the broader U.S. foreign assistance architecture, however, platforms that facilitated U.S.-Africa trade and investment were swept along with it. The Africa Trade and Investment Activity (AITA) for example, was part of Prosper Africa, a six-year-old initiative created during the first Trump administration designed to bolster U.S.-Africa trade and investment. The AITA was housed in USAID. With the dissolution of USAID, the AITA went with it.

Some agencies that survived the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)-led government cuts remain, albeit on shaky ground. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which landed on the DOGE chopping block earlier this year, survived the cuts but a significant portion of its programs are set to be for cancellation. The U.S International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the United States' answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative, received a six-year reauthorization and expanded authorities under the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law by President Trump on December 18, 2025.

Beyond government agencies, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a preferential trade program that offered duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible goods from designated sub-Saharan African countries, also lapsed in October when Congress failed to renew the bill. Despite AGOA having bipartisan support, it was not renewed under the Biden administration. AGOA has also suffered under President Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, which functionally nullify the preferential trade treatment under AGOA. On December 10, 2025, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the AGOA Extension Act, legislation to extend AGOA until December 31, 2028. This clears the way for the bill to be considered by the House, although a timeline has not yet been determined. In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, while not a government agency, has been significantly active since January, hosting African heads of state and connecting U.S. and African private companies.

So, which U.S. government bodies are left to facilitate President Trump's commercial diplomacy strategy in Africa? The infographic below identifies the remaining major U.S. government agencies that work on U.S.-Africa trade, their mandate, and their status.

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