Trump Administration Renews Ethiopia-Related National Emergency











Trump Administration Renews Ethiopia-Related National Emergency, Citing Ongoing Horn of Africa Instability

The White House has decided to keep in place a key foreign-policy tool first deployed under President Joe Biden, extending for another year the U.S. national emergency that targets Ethiopia’s still-fragile peace. The move underscores Washington’s enduring concern that the conflict and political turbulence in the Horn of Africa remain a direct threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.

In a formal notice issued Wednesday, President Donald Trump confirmed that the emergency—initially proclaimed on 17 September 2021 under Executive Order 14046—will remain in effect beyond 17 September 2025. The order was originally crafted at the height of Ethiopia’s civil war, when fighting in the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions spiraled into one of Africa’s most brutal conflicts in decades.

“The situation in and in relation to northern Ethiopia, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa region, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the White House notice stated.

Origins Under Biden

Biden’s 2021 executive order invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, declaring that the violence—characterized by atrocities, ethnic-based attacks, sexual violence and obstruction of humanitarian aid—constituted “an unusual and extraordinary threat.” The order allowed the U.S. Treasury and State Departments to impose sanctions on individuals and entities accused of fueling the conflict or hindering humanitarian operations.

Two years later, in September 2023, Biden broadened the measure, adding new sanctions authority against those seen as obstructing peace and humanitarian relief even as Ethiopia and Tigrayan forces moved toward a negotiated ceasefire.

A Persistent Flashpoint

Although the 2022 Pretoria Agreement between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front eased large-scale fighting, the Horn of Africa remains volatile. Tensions between regional militias and the federal government continue to spark sporadic clashes, and humanitarian agencies warn that millions remain vulnerable to famine and displacement. Neighboring countries—including Sudan and Eritrea—have their own political upheavals that can spill across borders.

For Washington, those conditions still amount to a strategic risk. The Horn sits astride key maritime routes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where global trade lanes converge and where U.S. naval operations help protect shipping from piracy and regional conflict.

Legal Mechanics and Next Steps

Under section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, a national emergency automatically expires after one year unless the president renews it. Trump’s renewal ensures that Executive Order 14046 remains active, keeping intact the U.S. government’s ability to freeze assets, restrict travel and impose targeted sanctions. The White House said the notice will be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to Congress.

The decision signals continuity across administrations on U.S. policy toward Ethiopia—despite the change in the Oval Office—highlighting bipartisan consensus that the region’s instability still poses a “continuing and unusual threat.”