As Liberia gears up for another decision on whether it will qualify for a new Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Award, and plans to host a high level MCC mission in Liberia in a few days, it should look right next door for some guidance. Côte d’Ivoire just this week entered into a new Compact with the US Government.
A recent press release from MCC stated that, “MCC’s resulting portfolio will clearly align with the Trump Administration’s America First foreign policy and ensure that the agency continues to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.” The statement went on to say that “additional details will be conveyed in the coming weeks following the MCC Board process as well as engagement with Congress and our partner countries.”
To demonstrate this new policy direction, at a signing ceremony on Monday, September 10, in Washington, DC, the US Deputy Secretary of State joined Ivorian Government and MCC leadership to sign a Regional Energy Compact agreement to strengthen the Côte d’Ivoire energy sector and advance regional power integration in West Africa. The MCC sees this as both expanding access to reliable electricity while also creating new opportunities for American Companies and creating US Jobs. “The compact reflects President Trump’s commitment to smart, accountable development that advances U.S. interests.
A stronger energy sector in West Africa creates new markets for American companies, supports U.S. jobs, and contributes to regional stability that benefits us all,” Landau said, clearly emphasizing the paradigm shift at MCC to focus on how each compact addresses and supports US business interests. MCC’s prior compact in Côte d’Ivoire from 2017 to 2025 invested US$500 million in education and transportation infrastructure.
In additional comments made in Washington DC, MCC Acting Vice President added that the Ivorian compact will strengthen West African economies but made it clear that it will also “benefit American companies operating in Côte d’Ivoire and the region and open the door for U.S. businesses to find new trade opportunities.”
One industry observer notes that whereas the Obama and Biden Administrations were heavily focused on political rights, civil liberties, governance and anti-corruption issues, the Trump Administration is likely to focus heavily on what’s in it for America and how US interests are being served by the Compact and partner countries.
The MCC clearly pursues those compacts that benefit and expand commercial opportunities for US business interests in a mutually beneficial way, says a statement on its website. Economic Freedom issues including trade and fiscal policies are likely to take front and center with the Trump Administration. For example how open a country is to global trade, especially those identified as in the US interests.
In essence, under Trump, if a country cannot demonstrate how its policies, actions and the very Compact it seeks will have a return on investment to the US economy, they are likely to face challenges for a compact.
“Gone are the days of free money, it’s all about trade and not aid under the new US policy arena” says one Liberian Government official with deep knowledge of Liberia’s ongoing engagement for a new Compact. The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), which is the lead agency of the Liberian Government negotiating for a compact, has announced that a team from MCC will visit Liberia the week of September 22 on an assessment mission ahead of a planned meeting on Liberia scheduled for December of this year. Liberia will learn then if it qualifies under the Trump Administration for a new MCC Compact.
In the July White House Summit attended by President Joseph N. Boakai and four other African Presidents, President Boakai told Trump that Liberia was open for US Business Investments and said he believed in the Trump agenda. Liberia also recently signed a rail access agreement with American company Ivanhoe Atlantic, which grants access to the Yekepa Rail to Buchanan Port under a plan for the rail to be operated independently of all users including the sole user for the last 20 plus years, Arcelor Mittal.
There are reports that at least one U.S. company has already expressed interest in investing in the rail and being the independent operator to expand access.
The Ivanhoe deal was announced first by the US Embassy in Monrovia and also endorsed by the U.S. State Department and the Senior Advisor to President Trump on African Affairs. The Liberian Legislature is expected to take up the Ivanhoe Atlantic investment in October when it returns from its recess.
More African countries are shifting emphasis given the dismantling of USAID and Trump’s emphasis on Trade and Investment. In another example of this, on a recent interview in Washington, DC, the Minister of Mines for another Mano River Union neighbor, the Republic of Guinea, Honorable Bouna Sylla was emphatic in his calls for increased U.S. investment and partnership with Guinea, just as President Boakai and the other four Heads of State called for during their meeting with Trump.
