What a Donald Trump win could mean for Ghana and Africa as a whole
As the possibility of Donald Trump winning the US elections draws closer, it might be the best time to what a win for the US presidential candidate on the bill of the Republican Party.
Generally, there's a fair understanding of what would happen to the United States of America and some neighbouring countries, but Donald Trump's plan for African countries are generally very vague. Trump has not really spoken of this continent – and definitely not Ghana.
But US being that world power that it is, whoever wins the elections would have a direct impact on Ghana. Whoever wins will be responsible for foreign policy and America’s relationship with Ghana, and that will have a trickle down effect on people here in Ghana.
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One of the many things that hang in the balance and faces possible cancellation in the Trump government is African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a United States Trade Act, enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress. AGOA has since been renewed to 2025. The legislation significantly enhances market access to the US for qualifying Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.
Through it, Ghana has exported millions of dollars of products to the USA, and been able to import products from the USA in return.
The US has stated cocoa and cashew exports from Ghana to the US went up by 300 percent within a period of 13 years under the AGOA initiative, which would have had huge impacts through Ghana. Unlike NAFTA or the Trans-Pacific Partnership, AGOA has not been a campaign issue. Trump would gain little by removing trade benefits from all African countries.
Since most African exports to the US are either natural resources or low-value goods, lobby groups rarely argue that AGOA has hit American jobs, he states.
If there is controversy and pressure, chances are Trump would take an “aggressive stance.”
Ghanaians in the USA who have obtained lawful permanent residence increased from 5,337 people in 2004, when George Bush was president, to 7,610 in 2008, his last year. Under Obama, from 2009 the number was 8, 401 in 2013, (the most recent number available) there were 10,265 Ghanaians given permanent residency.
The number of Ghanaians naturalized in the USA has also increased significantly under Obama. Under Bush in 2004 there were 3, 577, under Obama, in 2009 the number was 4, 819 and in 2013 5, 105.
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However, Ghanaians caught to be illegally in the country have increased under Obama, in 2004 there were 135 people this jumped to 422 in 2009, however, in 2013 the number dropped to 272. Donald Trump has very strict laws on immigration. He has constantly proposed to build a wall around the US border to keep Mexicans out and we can only think this stand might apply to Africans over a period of time.
Trump doesn't talk about Africa, except when he mispronounced the nation of Tanzania when speaking about terrorism in April this year, what a win for Trump means over here, is a dark unknown.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
