President Biden’s visit to Angola highlights ongoing colonial legacies and Africa’s dependence on resource extraction. The proposed Lobito Corridor project aims to enhance mineral exports but perpetuates commodity dependence, risking economic integration. The visit seeks to secure critical minerals for green technology while countering China’s influence in the region. To benefit, Africa must prioritize long-term sustainable economic development over short-term resource gains.
In early December, President Joe Biden’s visit to Angola marked his inaugural trip to Sub-Saharan Africa as President and likely his last official overseas visit. This trip highlighted the enduring colonial legacy of resource extraction that continues to afflict African development. The proposal for a transnational railway, dubbed the Lobito Corridor, was central to Biden’s agenda, aimed at efficiently exporting essential minerals from Central Africa through Lobito, Angola.
Despite indicating a new phase of U.S. engagement with Africa, this project exemplifies a volatile development model fixated on resource dependence. According to UNCTAD data, Africa’s commodity exports constitute 90% of its total merchandise exports, a statistic that highlights a troubling dependency stunting economic growth and integration into global supply chains. Such reliance brings significant economic and social threats, from escalating unemployment to intensified migration pressures driven by climate change impacts.
Transport corridors built during colonial times, which link mines to ports, symbolize the historical exploitation embedded in Africa’s infrastructure. The main goal of these networks was to enable resource extraction for European markets rather than support local development. As a result, natural resource-rich nations have often become peripheral players, reliant on exports that sustain structural deficits while the technology monopoly belongs to developed nations.
The Lobito Corridor will connect Zambia’s mineral-rich Copperbelt and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s critical mines to Lobito, Angola. This initiative, backed by the United States and the European Union, seeks to facilitate the swift transport of crucial minerals necessary for manufacturing electronic products and electric vehicle batteries. This restructuring of supply chains aims to mitigate vulnerabilities stemming from geopolitical tensions affecting commodity resources.
Biden’s visit aimed to secure critical minerals for green technology and counter growing Chinese influence in Africa, a notable concern given China’s dominance in infrastructure investment and trade within the continent. While China’s position as Africa’s largest trading partner has solidified since 2009, U.S. imports from the region have drastically decreased, particularly post-2012, signifying a significant shift in trade dynamics.
The export patterns remain consistent with the colonial extraction model, where primary goods dominate Africa’s trade, including substantial exports to China. The imbalance continues, exacerbating trade deficits that have strained African economies, particularly as dependency on China for manufactured goods grows. One Chinese official candidly remarked, “Africa must have things to sell [for China to buy],” emphasizing the persistent structural challenges.
Despite various trade initiatives like the African Growth and Opportunity Act, African trade with the United States remains minimal, accounting for less than 1% of total U.S. trade. This contrasts sharply with countries like Vietnam, which not only actively engages in high-value manufacturing but has significantly raised its economic profile and improved living standards through diversified production.
The historical resource extraction model has brought considerable disadvantages to the African continent regarding economic growth and balance of payments stability. The current transition towards net-zero emissions presents an opportunity to shift this paradigm, promoting local processing, enhancing value addition, and creating pathways for economic diversification.
Pursuing domestic value addition aligns with both environmental and economic priorities in today’s global context. This strategic shift not only aims to bolster Africa’s position in global value chains but also to alleviate long-standing trade frictions and enhance sustainability throughout the entire supply cycle, thus improving the economic landscape of the region.
For the Lobito Corridor to truly benefit the region, stakeholders must prioritize long-term sustainable development over short-term gains from resource extraction. By doing so, African nations may transcend their colonial past and emerge as dynamic contributors to global trade.
In conclusion, President Biden’s Africa trip illuminates the ongoing challenges posed by colonial legacies in resource dependency and underscores the urgency for a paradigm shift in Africa’s economic strategies. The Lobito Corridor serves as a crucial opportunity for Africa to enhance its integration into global supply chains while prioritizing sustainable development. By focusing on value addition and diversified economic growth, African nations can break free from the cycle of dependency and foster resilience against global economic fluctuations.
Original Source: www.cnbcafrica.com
