Africa needs to build an economic architecture that renders it immune to US extortion

There is a leaked memo stemming from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s desk. It was prepared by the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and it outlines, in the unsentimental language of US “diplomacy”, how the United States plans to bring Zambia to heel.

The current US tariff offensive is not just an economic shock — it is a test of African resolve. The continent’s response should be to build the kind of internal economic architecture that no external power can hold hostage. That means deeper intra-African trade, diversified partnerships, and a clearer-eyed approach to which alliances actually serve Africa’s long-term interests.