Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that the new trade tariffs introduced by the United States under former President Donald Trump will have minimal impact on African economies.
Speaking to Nigerian journalists during the Spring Meetings of the World Bank in Washington D.C. on Friday, Okonjo-Iweala explained that Africa’s trade relationship with the United States is relatively small, meaning the continent would not feel much effect from the new U.S. trade policies.
“Only 6.5 percent of Africa’s exports go to the USA, while 4.4 percent of our imports come from them. So the impact on the continent as a whole is not significant,” she stated.
The WTO chief made it clear that although the direct impact of the tariffs may be minimal, Africa’s limited trade with the U.S. is not something to celebrate. In her words, the small trade volume shows that the continent is not taking full advantage of global trade opportunities.
She used the example of Lesotho, a small African country that exports $200 million worth of textiles to the U.S., to illustrate the challenges some African countries may still face. “Even though Lesotho exports to the U.S., it is affected by the shrinking of that market,” she noted.
Okonjo-Iweala pointed out a bigger problem — Africa spends about $7 billion every year importing textiles, while local producers like Lesotho struggle to find markets. She suggested that African countries should trade more among themselves instead of relying heavily on overseas markets.
She called for more efforts to boost intra-African trade, saying that only between 16 to 20 percent of Africa’s trade happens within the continent. In comparison, trade within regions like Europe and Asia is much higher.
“We cannot trade more externally, where our trade is only 3 percent of world trade, or internally, where intra-Africa trade is still underdeveloped,” she said.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also made an appeal to the U.S. government to consider the effect of tariffs on the poorest countries, many of which are in Africa. She asked for a review of tariffs placed on goods from least-developed nations to help them compete better in the global market.
The WTO boss warned that foreign aid is reducing and Africa must find its own path to sustainable growth. “We must make better use of our own resources and increase investment across the continent,” she advised.
Her comments come as African countries continue to work on deepening trade ties under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to make it easier for African nations to do business with each other.
In conclusion, Okonjo-Iweala stressed that Africa’s future lies in improving local production, investing in itself, and trading more within the continent rather than depending on foreign markets.
