African business owners have begun to express dissatisfaction with United States President, Donald Trump to impose to tariff on all imports from the continent and beyond.
The new tariffs will have a significant impact on Nigeria’s exports to the US, which totaled $6.29 billion in 2023, with crude petroleum being the primary export.
Nigerian exporters will now face higher costs when accessing the US market, which could lead to a decline in exports and a further strain on trade relations between the two nations.
Trump’s tariffs include a baseline 10% on all imports and much higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners. He claimed trillions of dollars from the reciprocal levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
This order came as the president showed a willingness to dismantle a global economic system that the United States helped build after World War II, stating the country has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again,” the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders, which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“And many people were looking to do us economic harm. Maybe not so obviously, but they were doing tremendous economic harm,” he said.
“They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once-beautiful American dream,” he said.
