our views

Published on National Interest December 14, 2022; by Rosa Whitaker 

African governments have made it clear that they wish to be active participants in the clean energy revolution. The United States should support the continent’s efforts beyond rhetoric. Before gathering for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit President Joe Biden is hosting in Washington this week, African heads of government caucused at an African Union (AU) summit in Niger’s capital, Niamey. The message from that meeting was that Africa does not plan on being a hapless victim of climate change, but rather a big part of the solution. African leaders and entrepreneurs see in global warming the catalyst for Africa’s own long-delayed industrial revolution—one without smokestacks.  Read on our blog.

Published on Africa.com; AllAfrica; Medium. June 14, 2022; by Rosa Whitaker 

If anyone has good reason to be appalled by Putin’s revanchist designs to raise the Russian empire from the ash heap of history, it is the people of Africa, having been for so long on the receiving end of the very kind of enslavement Putin is attempting to impose upon Ukraine. And now, thanks to Putin and his perverted dreams of restoring a mythical past, the lives of millions of Africans, already reeling from the COVID pandemic, are likely to be made even harder as his wicked war causes energy prices to soar and shuts down one of the world’s most important granaries.  Read on our blog.

The Africa Report, Oct 11, 2021; by Rosa Whitaker

A  prosperous, healthy and self-reliant Africa, on a sustainable,  carbon-neutral trajectory to industrialization and urbanization driven  by its extraordinary natural endowments, is not a nice-to-have. It is a  must-have. But the only people who can make it happen are Africans  themselves, unencumbered by the self-serving ministrations of colonial  powers, both the old and the new ones that pretend to be something else...We  must first listen to Africa’s collective aspirations and respond  impactfully, whether by creating tax incentives for private US  investments in Africa or by leveraging our bond market to support  Africa’s infrastructure development. Read on our blog.

Newsweek, May 25, 2021; by Rosa Whitaker

No country in the world has developed economically with an aid-based model—why would African countries be any different? Our economic policy toward Africa is faltering primarily because we continue to welcome and build a dysfunctional network of aid peddlers instead of properly incentivizing trade and investment—proven catalysts for job creation and income expansion on the ground where it is needed most. For post-COVID reconstruction, we must reimagine what is possible in U.S.-Africa trade and investment policy. We must disrupt the antiquated aid model and build a bold new approach. We must incentivize the U.S. private sector to invest in Africa in transformative and mutually beneficial ways. Read on our blog.

U.S. News & World Report, December 4, 2020; by Rosa Whitaker & Gail Strickler

Many are looking to President-elect Biden's administration to drive a positive trade agenda that respects stakeholder input on issues such as labor standards and the environment. Trade preferences, if well designed, and trade agreements, if skillfully negotiated, are powerful tools both for improving the competitiveness of our workers at home and raising labor and environmental standards globally. So, who should President-elect Biden nominate as his USTR to tackle these challenges? Our unequivocal — and unbidden — recommendation is Katherine Tai, the House Ways and Means Committee's chief trade counsel, who previously served as USTR's chief counsel for China trade enforcement . Read on our blog.