Washington's trade relationship with Africa took a sharp turn on Monday when the United States said it would cut two of the continent's economies out of its flagship preference scheme. As reported by NYT > World > Africa, President Donald Trump is removing South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act. It is the latest in a series of measures against Pretoria, which his administration has accused of discriminating against white people. Al Jazeera reports that South Africa will lose duty-free access covering about $1.7bn worth of annual exports, including cars and farm products, and that Rwanda is being suspended as well. According to BBC News, the decision on Rwanda comes barely a week after the US Treasury placed sanctions on its defence ministry, which suggests that Kigali's standing in Washington is getting worse quickly.
The trade blow lands while South Africa's president is already under pressure at home. BBC News reports that a man has been found guilty of stealing cash from a farm owned by Cyril Ramaphosa. The case forms part of the "Farmgate" scandal, which has left the president caught up in an impeachment saga. A guilty verdict will not settle the political questions on its own, but it brings the affair back into the headlines at a moment when Pretoria can least afford distractions.
Elsewhere, questions of political openness and accountability came up across the continent. Al Jazeera reports that Human Rights Watch has urged Zambia to halt a post-election crackdown in which opposition figures have been arrested and disappeared since President Hakainde Hichilema claimed victory in August. In Egypt, an analysis from Democracy for the Arab World Now asks whether Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's departure would bring a democratic opening or further military consolidation. In East Africa, Daily News reports that Tanzania has taken its public awareness campaign on the draft constitution of an East African Community confederation to residents of Mtwara. Looking further back, Africanews reports that Britain's King Charles will address his country's role in the transatlantic slavery trade with what Buckingham Palace calls "unflinching honesty and sincere sorrow" in a speech to Commonwealth leaders.
North Africa produced a busy day of economic and strategic news, with Egypt at the centre of much of it. Daily News Egypt reports that Banque du Caire has debuted on the Egyptian Exchange after the largest IPO in the market's history. The same outlet reports that Cairo plans to cut government spending and build up strategic reserves because of regional tensions. Water remains a central concern. Forbes Middle East reports that Egypt and IFAD have signed $64.9m in financing for a Nile Valley water project, while Daily News Egypt reports that Egypt and Sudan have rejected unilateral Ethiopian management of the Nile dam and reaffirmed their water rights under the 1959 agreement.
Morocco is also widening its commercial ties. Morocco World News reports that Rabat and Cairo have identified three priorities for expanding bilateral trade. According to Aviation Week, Shell has signed a sustainable aviation fuel offtake deal in Morocco, which builds on an earlier agreement in Egypt. To the east, Africanews reports that Algerian military personnel escorted trucks carrying fuel into Niger over the weekend and arrived in Agadez. Algeria has also begun a second cleanup at a former French nuclear test site, according to Latest news from Azerbaijan.
Sport offered a lighter note. Senegal is hosting the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, the first Olympic event ever staged in Africa, and the head of the International Olympic Committee told Al Jazeera why that matters for the continent. Olympics has collected the colour of the crowds in the stands. On the sand, www.olympics.com reports that Brazil and Chile reached the beach volleyball quarterfinals, while the hosts went out in the rain. The Games are a source of national pride, and they arrive on the same day as a reminder that the continent's relationships with the wider world still carry a great deal of strain.
