The US State Department is reportedly undermining its Africa strategy by threatening to remove support from Zambia due to a leaked memo. The concerns stem from preferential access to Zambia's copper and cobalt reserves, which are being threatened as antiretroviral treatment for 1.3 million Zambians living with HIV. This move is seen as coercion dressed in the language of strategy and will fail on its own terms, as Zambia has rejected the deal. The State Department's approach also undermines the economic corridor strategy maintained by the administration. The administration's instinct to demand a return on foreign assistance is not wrong, as foreign assistance has always served donor and recipient interests alike. However, the approach makes life-saving assistance on mineral concessions look predatory and makes the entire U.S. offer less credible.