The United States’ Trade Adjustment Assistance program is a federal policy in this vein that supports workers displaced by trade, but it’s small and not enough for a political consensus on free trade. Related proposals have been made on issues like immigration and infrastructure (e.g. minute 53 here), but trillion dollar bills remain on the sidewalk.
The US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC presents an important opportunity to discuss the public good provided by African countries in hosting 7 million refugees. One critical tool that African and US officials should focus on and jointly advocate for is the World Bank’s Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR). Designed as an innovative financing mechanism, the WHR provides funding incentives for low-income countries to include refugees in poverty reduction efforts and other development programs and has a review framework to monitor and promote improvements in refugee policy.