United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement on most trading partners, including several in Africa, will affect businesses and people across the continent and likely force more producers to trade with China, experts have warned.Trump’s “Liberation Day” declaration on Wednesday threw markets into chaos, as the US took its strongest turn to protectionist policies since the 1930s, weakening a global trade system the US helped build and strengthen.
The tariffs, which include a baseline, universal 10 percent duty on all US imports as well as additional tariffs on “worst offender” countries like Nigeria and South Africa, will also likely override a decades-long open trade agreement that has seen African manufacturers export goods to the US duty-free and that has been credited for creating tens of thousands of jobs, analysts say.
Established in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) framework helped grow the continent’s exports of textiles, steel, and agricultural products, among others, to the US. Advertisement
The AGOA was set for a second renewal this year, but is now likely to be jeopardised by Trump’s trade war, according to analysts.
Here’s what to know about how African countries were hit and what the likely effects could be:
Matumelo Manosa, centre, works in a garment factory in Maseru, Lesotho, Thursday, February 24, 2022 [Neo Ntsoma/AP]
Which African countries have been hit and by how much?
Africa’s largest eco …
