Push For ‘Africa First’ Response to Trump Tariffs
Finance, trade and international development experts weigh in on how Africa should respond to the new US trade policy, insisting on prioritising an ‘Africa first’ approach – without burning bridges with its trade partner – ahead of a meeting of African Ministers of Trade
Conrad Onyango, bird story agency
As African Ministers of Trade and Industry prepare to gather in Kinshasa, DRC, calls are intensifying for a unified approach that prioritises an ‘Africa first’ in response to the challenges posed by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
The pivotal meeting in Windhoek aims to explore innovative strategies for enhancing trade and investment across the continent, aligning with the objectives set forth in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
African Development Bank Group President, Akinwumi Adesina cautioned African leaders against imposing retaliatory tariffs in response to new U.S. trade policies. Adesina urged leaders to adopt a perspective of opportunity and prioritise openness in trade discussions, highlighting Africa’s significant investment potential in sectors vital to the global economy.
Delivering a thought-provoking lecture themed “Advancing Africa’s Positioning within Global Development and Geopolitical Dynamics,” at the 14th Convocation Ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja, Adesina called for a renewed focus on the continent’s abundant human and mineral resources.
“Africa must chart its future, relying not on the benevolence of others but on its own determination for self-reliance, building reliable alliances, leveraging opportunities in the global dynamics, while putting Africa first. Only then will Africa be great again,” Adesina said.
Some 47 of 54 African countries have been placed under higher U.S. tariffs, exposing those economies to significant challenges, including a sharp reduction in exports and foreign exchange availability, weakening local currencies.
That is expected to push up inflation rates due to increasing costs of imported goods, while local currencies may devalue against the U.S. dollar and the cost of servicing debt will rise as a share of government revenue.
The recent dismantling of the official development aid agency in the U.S., as well as similar anti-aid stances in Europe, Adesina said, points to an end in the old development models that Africa has relied on for decades.
He urged leaders to position the myriad of critical challenges facing the continent, including the declining development aid, restrictive immigration policies, undervalued natural capital, and global tariff wars as opportunities for Africa to redefine its global standing.
“Africa must overhaul its approach to achieving fast-paced growth and development… for the continent to spur growth it should rapidly ensure the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” he said.
He challenged countries to focus more on greater value addition to everything Africa produces, from oil to gas, minerals, metals, rare earth and agricultural products as pathway to wealth creation and cautioned that Africa must also endeavour to carefully negotiate its engagement in the global geopolitical rush for critical minerals and rare earth elements.
“Africa can be competitive in these global value chains. It must move away from exporting raw minerals and move into processing and value addition to benefit from the high returns at the top of global value chains,” the bank’s president said.
South African presidential advisor and agricultural expert Wandile Sihlobo has regularly pointed out the intra-African trade opportunities in the agricultural sector, recently focusing on the country’s immediate neighbours as a major opportunity.
“While other countries have taken a confrontational tone in trade policy, SA must continue strengthening relations and widening export opportunities for all the export-reliant sectors of the economy. Agriculture is one sector that largely depends on exports and has benefited immensely from the trade opportunities the SA authorities have successfully negotiated in recent decades,” he wrote in a regular column.
“SA must make an accelerated effort to maintain relationships and strengthen friendships. One region that requires some attention is the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), a free-trade customs union that includes Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini.”
Last week, AfCFTA Secretariat Secretary General Wamkele Mene described Trump’s tariffs as a wake-up call for Africa to accelerate its own economic self-sufficiency, even as it continue to pursue trade and investment partnerships with the US ‘based on mutual respect and mutual benefits.’
“We obviously will not be in a position to condone or support America first and everybody else last. If you’re a business owner, we will pursue what is in Africa’s best interests, not last interest,” he said in reference to a memorandum of understanding he signed with the National Bar Association of the U.S. aimed at deepening cooperation between U.S. and Africa.
The National Bar Association is the U.S.’s oldest and largest global network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges, representing the interests of approximately 67,000 lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students.
International Development experts at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), are calling on African leaders to take the trade policy shifts incredibly serious and avoid any knee-jerk, accommodative, or retaliatory reactions.
“This is because Africa has some cards in crafting a response to this new development and should seek to play them strategically and carefully,” said the experts in a commentary published on their website.
In a raft of proposals the experts urged leaders to seek to diversify export markets by accelerating internal implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and engage with their U.S. counterparts to make a stronger case for new trade preferences for Africa.
“Just like Canada and Mexico were exempt from the reciprocal tariffs due to the United States’ national interest, a similar case can be made for Africa in terms of market access and critical minerals supply chain security,” explained the experts.
The experts say the African Union and African leaders should seek to demonstrate that preferential trade with the continent, serves U.S. national interests.
In their argument, they say as Africa has the youngest population and will be home to over 25 percent of the global population in the next few decades, the U.S should support preferential access for African goods to the U.S. market as a market-building strategy.
Similarly, African countries have a strong endowment of critical minerals, – with at least 24 African countries that are greatly dependent on mining, and minerals taking up over 75 percent of total export earnings- offering a huge bargaining chip for the continent.
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