Zimbabwe’s grievance with the world’s most powerful nation may soon be addressed as Trump sends his team to the Southern African country

Relations between the United States and Zimbabwe have not been the best since the current US administration under Donald Trump took office.

• US-Zimbabwe relations deteriorated after Donald Trump cut aid and US support to African countries, including Zimbabwe.
• Zimbabwe rejected a US health deal, citing concerns about loss of autonomy over the programs.
• Recent meetings between President Mnangagwa and US officials in New York have sparked efforts to reset diplomatic and business ties.
• Zimbabwe is focusing on retaining value from its mineral resources, banning raw material exports and encouraging local refining, especially for lithium.

Since assuming office, Donald Trump has insisted on cutting aid from the US coffers to other countries without any substantial benefits.

His primary objective in this regard was the dissolution of USAID, an initiative responsible for providing food assistance, pharmaceutical supplies, and financial aid to nations designated as developing.

This decision affected a lot of African countries, including Zimbabwe, which responded by rejecting a US health deal that Washington insisted on.

Since then, both countries have not been on the best of terms, a development the United States wants to remedy with a delegation visit.

A recent report shows that Donald Trump is expected to send a delegation to the Southern African country to reset relations between the two countries.

The latest discussions followed President Emmerson Mnangagwa's meetings with American officials and business leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.

Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa said Mnangagwa held a meeting lasting more than an hour with Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana.

The meeting, held at Stutzman's request, reportedly focused on opportunities to deepen business and diplomatic relations.

Mutsvangwa said Stutzman later discussed the possibility of bringing a US congressional and business delegation to Zimbabwe.

"The American legislator described the discussions as eye-opening, cordial and promising," Mutsvangwa said.

"After the meeting with President Mnangagwa and reporting back to President Trump, he lost no time in broaching the idea of an impromptu congress-cum-business delegation to Zimbabwe," he added.

As seen on Bulawayo24, the policies of Zimbabwe’s current President Emmerson Mnangagwa ensure that “Zimbabwe is Open for Business”.

Zimbabwe intends to attract investors from major markets like China and the EU, and having a rift with the US hinders this objective.

The Southern African country, while attracting foreign investors, is also focusing on keeping more of the value from Zimbabwe's mineral wealth within the country.

As mentioned earlier, Zimbabwe rejected a US health deal, and the rationale for this was the country’s suspicion that it would have little to no autonomy on said programs should it sign up for it.

Also, Zimbabwe is one of the few African countries leading the push to ban the exportation of raw materials, and instead opt for the production and refining of its precious minerals.

As a result, earlier this year, the country banned the exportation of one of its most sought-after resources, lithium concentrates, and over the last few months has insisted that local and Chinese investors build lithium refining facilities inside the country’s boundaries.

On the US’s end, Washington has included Zimbabwe in its tariff-rate quota programme for raw sugar, giving the country an allocation of 813 tonnes for 2027 that can enter the US market without import duties.

The programme already covers several other African countries, including Eswatini, South Africa, Mauritius, Mozambique and Malawi.

For Zimbabwe, the access provides an opportunity to expand its sugar exports to the US while its government continues to seek stronger trade and investment links with Western economies.

Officials from both countries have also discussed possible high-level visits, while Washington's sanctions policy towards Zimbabwe remains an issue in bilateral relations.

The renewed engagement could allow both sides to address longstanding differences while exploring new opportunities in mining, trade and investment.