Monrovia — The Trump administration is adopting a new commercial diplomacy strategy for sub-Saharan Africa "based on what we've seen that actually works," the acting head of the Africa Bureau at the U.S. State Department, Ambassador Troy Fitrell, said in a briefing on Tuesday.

"We have for decades been defined by an assistance-led paradigm, and we are very directly and very intentionally shifting that toward an investment-led strategy," Fitrell told reporters following a week-long visit to West Africa.

U.S. ambassadors in the region were tasked to "go out and find commercial opportunities" and "to find opportunities to advocate for American companies." The envoys are also charged with identifying market reforms "needed to enhance the business environment" and engaging with governments on implementation. Fitrell hoped the new U.S. policy would attract private sector actors and "galvanise local economies".

Last week in Abidjan, Fitrell took part in the Africa CEO Forum, co-hosted by Jeune Afrique Media Group and the International Finance Corporation, and addressed the American Chambers of Commerce Business Summit 2025 - organised by the U.S. embassy in Abidjan and the U.S Chamber of Commerce  -  where he laid out a six-pronged action plan.

"For too long, we've prioritized development assistance over promoting U.S. commercial engagement in Africa," Ambassador Fitrell said in his address, noting that the focus going forward will be "trade, not aid".

The strategy makes commercial diplomacy the "core focus of U.S.-Africa engagement, with U.S. Ambassadors "now being evaluated on how effectively they advocate for U.S. business and the number of deals they facilitate".

The second action for the strategy is "to work with our African government partners in priority countries to implement the top five market reforms identified by the private sector." The third part of the strategy is "to build sustainable, high-quality infrastructure that will deliver lasting benefits" and is "commercially viable and attractive to U.S. business."

The fourth is commercial diplomacy trips "shaped by the private sector" with private sector participation. "We must do more to connect a greater number of U.S. companies to the opportunities in Africa - especially those that have yet to do business on the continent," Fitrell said in his Abidjan remarks. "So that's our fifth action, to connect a greater share of the nearly 300,000 export-ready U.S. companies and the $120 trillion U.S. capital market to the African continent."

The sixth action, he said, "is to advocate for structural reforms to U.S. trade promotion, project preparation and financing tools to better support U.S. companies"

In February, the Trump administration rescinded more than 90 percent of foreign assistance contracts by USAID, the U.S. principal foreign assistance agency. This resulted in an overall aid cut of nearly U.S. $60 billion, affecting humanitarian and development assistance programs in the region. Several sectors were impacted by the move, including critical funding for health and war-affected populations.

At Tuesday's briefing - in response to an AllAfrica question – Fitrell said boosting business was a stated priority of successive administrations in recent years. "Washington has an absolute love of rhyming slogans, and so the 'trade, not aid' just lends itself to that." The difference, he said, is that the administration is "putting it into practice with an investment-led approach that facilitates exchange between equals".

Hr said U.S. engagement with the region will lead to more jobs and the development of the middle class. "Just in the first hundred days of the administration, we've had 33 new deals worth more than $6 billion", including several that were concluded last week in Abidjan.

The Business Summit brought together American Chambers of Commerce from across West Africa, putting for the first time for many U.S. companies "a real focus on Francophone countries", the U.S. ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, Jessica Davis Ba, told the briefing. "Having a new office based in Abidjan with French speakers for the Development Finance Corporation, for the Department of Commerce, really enables us to use a range of tools in the U.S. Government tool chest," she said.

Asked to cite projects that are attracting significant U.S. investment, Fitrell spoke of the Lobito Corridor - a multi-billion railroad project connecting the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Angola with the port of Lobito in Angola - for the transport of essential goods and minerals. A top priority for the Biden administration, Fitrell said there were concerns whether U.S. backing for the initiative would continue. "The answer is an absolute resounding yes – that is exactly the kind of thing we want to do,"

Addressing questions about the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which has been the cornerstone of U.S. economic relations with dozens of African nations, Fitrell called himself a "big fan" of the agreement, and said AGOA's future rests with the U.S. Congress. "My expectation is if there's going to be a renewal of AGOA, it will probably reflect the modern world rather than the one from 25 years ago when it was first founded."

Fitrell was also asked about his announcement in Abidjan that another U.S. Africa Leaders Summit is planned for later in 2025. "I'm shooting for autumn in North America", adding that "the final decisions are to be made". The last Summit was hosted in Washington D.C. by President Joe Biden in December 2022.

Speaking about the peace talks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Fitrell said: "We want movement quickly. He said there is work going on behind the scenes to coordinate among all the parties and to move forward "rapidly" towards an agreement. The conflict impacts not only DR Congo and Rwanda, he said, but also all the neighboring states of Burundi, Uganda, Angola, and Zimbabwe.

"The region needs a peace agreement, Fitrell said.

Editing by Reed Kramer in Washington, DC.