Trump’s minerals gamble in Africa

The U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump is moving on multiple tracks to accelerate access to critical minerals, which are central to the energy, technology, and defense industries, amid intense competition with China over global supply chains, particularly in Africa, which holds some of the world’s largest strategic reserves.

The Africa Intelligence reported that Trump has established a coordination framework resembling a “task force” for critical minerals, in an effort to “align” the work of a broad network of U.S. actors, including diplomats, financiers, and security officials. The report noted that Washington is lagging behind Beijing in the race for African minerals.

This move comes as the United States seeks to reduce its dependence on supply chains dominated by China, a dominance that is especially evident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and electronics. In March 2025, the U.S. State Department said it was “open” to exploring partnerships in the critical minerals sector with the DRC in line with the “America First” agenda, at a time when Kinshasa is fighting an insurgency by the M23 movement in the east of the country.

Reflecting the merging of the minerals file with a regional stability agenda, the Associated Press quoted Trump’s adviser on African affairs, Massad Boulos, saying that Washington and the DRC had “agreed on a path forward” to develop a minerals-related agreement. He noted that this could involve “billions of dollars in investments,” alongside commitments to operate “transparently” and stimulate the local economy.

In parallel, regulatory decisions within the United States show that critical minerals have become embedded in the White House’s decision-making structure. In February 2025, Trump issued an executive order establishing the “Energy Dominance Council,” tasking it with advising the president on improving permitting, production, and distribution processes, including those related to “critical minerals,” with coordination as needed with the national security team and economic portfolios.

In May 2025, a new batch of critical minerals production projects was also added to the Federal Permitting Dashboard under the FAST-41 transparency mechanism. U.S. officials said the move aims to accelerate domestic production and reduce regulatory complexity, with the Energy Dominance Council playing a direct role in nominating these projects.

However, this approach is not without political and human rights sensitivities, particularly in Africa. In a letter sent by members of Congress to Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in August 2025, lawmakers warned of a “lack of transparency” surrounding any potential minerals agreement with the DRC, pointing to risks related to human rights, labor conditions, and environmental standards in the country’s mining sector, including child labor and forced labor.

As Washington bets on turning “critical minerals” into an economic lever and a tool of geopolitical influence, the success of the U.S. “task force” ultimately depends on the administration’s ability to strike a difficult balance: securing supplies quickly while ensuring transparency and governance standards in producing countries, so that deals do not become a political liability or a factor that fuels conflicts rather than containing them.