Angola's president, João Lourenço, basically picked a side at the seventh EU-African Union Summit in Luanda by signing off on language that takes shots at American trade policy. The declaration complains about tariff chaos and unstable trade moves while hyping up Europe as the stable partner offering predictable rules for African countries. Lourenço seems to be rolling with whatever Brussels is selling him right after former US president Joe Biden made a historic visit, where everyone was talking about breakthroughs in relations and investments.
The whole thing gets messy because Trump had recently congratulated Angola on 50 years of independence and was talking up energy collaboration while inviting Lourenço to Washington. The declaration might just be diplomatic theater for the moment, but Angola's leader is potentially torching American ties by betting everything on European promises, which could backfire hard if those guarantees turn out more expensive than dealing with Washington's unpredictability.
The whole thing gets messy because Trump had recently congratulated Angola on 50 years of independence and was talking up energy collaboration while inviting Lourenço to Washington. The declaration might just be diplomatic theater for the moment, but Angola's leader is potentially torching American ties by betting everything on European promises, which could backfire hard if those guarantees turn out more expensive than dealing with Washington's unpredictability.
