Biden revives Trump's Africa business initiative; eyes future digital project
27/07/2021 11:00
By Doyinsola Oladipo and Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on
Tuesday will announce a new push to expand business ties between
U.S. companies and Africa, with a focus on building needed
digital, health and physical infrastructure on the continent, a
senior U.S. official said.
U.S. industry executives welcome the interest, but say
dollar flows will lag until the Biden administration wraps up
its lengthy review of Trump administration trade measures and
sets a clear policy on investments in liquefied natural gas.
Dana Banks, senior director for Africa at the White House
National Security Council, will kick off a U.S.-Africa business
summit, with a pledge to "re-imagine" and revive Prosper Africa,
an initiative unveiled by the Trump administration in 2018.
President Joe Biden, who requested nearly $80 million for
the initiative in his budget proposal in May, aims to focus the
initiative on women and equity, with an expanded role for small-
and medium-sized businesses, she said.
Banks said the administration's goal was to "reinvigorate
Prosper Africa as the centerpiece of U.S. economic and
commercial engagement with Africa," with more details to be
released soon on a companion initiative called Digital Africa.
"This is an area that is a priority both at home and
abroad," Banks said, adding that African countries were eager to
expand their cooperation with the United States and its
companies.
U.S. business executives warn the United States is in danger
of being overtaken by China and Europe, which are already
investing and concluding trade agreements across the continent.
"We can't wait another year to devise an Africa policy; we
need to be bold in our thinking," said Scott Eisner, president
of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-Africa Business Center.
Eisner said that many companies had started to eye
investments in Kenya given the Trump administration's talks with
Kenya on a bilateral free trade agreement, but that those plans
were on ice until the Biden review of that policy was completed.
The U.S. Trade Representative's office had no immediate
comment on the status of the review.
Another hurdle is uncertainty about the administration's
policy on LNG projects.
Nigeria and other countries https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nigeria-seeks-1-bln-key-gas-pipeline-it-awaits-chinese-lending-2021-07-16
are eager to secure U.S. investment in such plans, but are
waiting to see whether the administration will back LNG
investments even as it seeks to halve U.S. fossil-fuel
emissions.
U.S. LNG exports have surged under Biden. Meeting Biden's
goal of halving fossil fuel emissions would require the United
States to stop building natural gas power plants and exporting
LNG, experts say.
Biden's policies are energy-neutral, and administration
officials have been tight-lipped about any specific plans on LNG
investments. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation had no
immediate comment on its policy on backing LNG projects.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Doyinsola Oladipo; additional
reporting by Valerie Volcovici; editing by Tim Ahmann and Gerry
Doyle)
((andrea.shalal@tr.com; +1 202-815-7432;))