U.S. Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa Rose 23% to $22.6 Billion While USAID Funding Was Cut 83%

Nine of the 20 fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs Frank Garcia stated. Fox News reported that U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa increased 23 percent to $22.6 billion in 2025.

The Bureau of African Affairs has worked on 37 commercial transactions that closed since the start of the current Trump administration, representing $25.67 billion in total value. Embassies across the continent continue to advance hundreds of additional deals under the Commercial Diplomacy Strategy introduced at the beginning of the term.

The administration signed 34 bilateral global health memoranda of understanding representing more than $24 billion in new health funding, including more than $14.3 billion from the United States.

Twenty-four of those agreements were reached with sub-Saharan African countries. The administration decided to begin a phased drawdown of PEPFAR programming in South Africa after the country failed to demonstrate progress on policy requests. South Africa has the highest HIV infection rate in the world, according to UNAIDS.

The Trump administration cut USAID funding by 83 percent early last year. Ethiopia revised its 2026 growth forecasts upward despite the reduction. The International Monetary Fund projects sub-Saharan Africa will grow between 4.3 percent and 4.6 percent in 2026, ahead of Asia's overall forecast of 4.1 percent.