From his first term onward, Donald Trump fundamentally reshaped United States policy to confront China, which he sees as the primary threat to American dominance.
The Trump administration made breaking China’s hold on rare earths an absolute strategic priority. For this push, it is relying on GreenMet.
GreenMet’s CEO, Drew Horn, was in Yaoundé a few months ago for a low-key meeting. Horn, a former national security official under Trump who served as senior adviser to the Director of National Intelligence, is the public face of an American program whose partners include former close Trump associates and confidants—namely George Sorial (former Trump legal adviser) and Keith Schiller (former director of security for the Trump Organization).
At the heart of the US strategy, championed by Horn and GreenMet, a delegation of senior American officials traveled to Cameroon to sign Memoranda of Understanding whose contents were never disclosed by the US group. What is known is that American Renaissance Minerals (ARM), directly linked to GreenMet, now holds pole position for the Nkamouna nickel and cobalt project. And that is not all: Washington also has rare earths in its sights.
Donald Trump is so committed to his Cameroon ambition that he bypassed a US congressional restriction that excluded Cameroon from AGOA. The American president is now using the American Chamber of Commerce in Cameroon (AmCham) for trade agreements.
Unlike China, which is present in the DRC for strategic minerals, the United States—which aims to invest in processing to reduce its carbon footprint—has conditioned its support for the government on transparency in extractive and legal matters. US intelligence reportedly stepped in after EITI revelations about illegal gold trafficking; Washington is now working with Yaoundé to expose those behind the plunder.
And the US does not intend to stop there. American diplomacy has cut by more than half the number of African countries allowed to issue US visas. Among the 20 countries selected out of 50 in Africa is Cameroon. On the security front, within eight months, President Paul Biya hosted in Yaoundé: General Dagvin Anderson, then AFRICOM commander, in September 2025, and Lieutenant General John William Brennan Jr., deputy AFRICOM commander, in May 2026.
Improving the business climate is a priority for Washington: “I would sincerely like to see more American companies invest in Cameroon, develop trade ties, and create partnerships, including joint ventures between US and Cameroonian firms. This benefits both countries: it creates jobs in the US, supports American industry—a priority of President Trump—and also boosts Cameroon’s economy,” said Christopher Lamora early this year after a meeting with President Paul Biya.
Washington intends to take up the challenge from China, which has invested over $700 billion in 49 African countries. Some observers of Trump’s policy see it as an attempt to transform target countries—Cameroon, Nigeria, and Kenya—into modern-day “Asian dragons” (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore).
