WTO Urges Africa to Boost Internal Trade, Reduce Dependence on Global Powers

Washington: As Africa braces for the fallout from sweeping new U.S. tariffs, the continent must accelerate efforts to boost internal trade and reduce dependence on global powers, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), warned Friday. Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, Okonjo-Iweala downplayed the overall macroeconomic impact of the April 2 tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, noting that only 6.5 percent of Africa’s exports are U.S.-bound and just 4.4 percent of its imports originate from America.

According to Ethiopian News Agency, Okonjo-Iweala highlighted a deeper vulnerability within Africa’s trade practices, noting that the continent is not trading enough, either internally or externally. ‘We are not trading much, which is not a good thing,’ she told reporters attending the meetings. ‘And within Africa, a handful of countries are very severely impacted.’ Among the hardest hit is Lesotho, a small, low-income country that could see its GDP growth reduced by nearly half a percentage point. The country exports roughly 200 million USD in textiles to the U.S., while importing just 3 million USD in return. Under the new reciprocal tariff regime, Lesotho faces levies as high as 50 percent on its outbound goods.

Okonjo-Iweala noted that if these tariffs are implemented, Lesotho will lose a significant portion of its exports to the U.S., and even if it manages to export elsewhere, the net loss remains substantial. Ghana and C´te d’Ivoire also face steep challenges. Ghana was hit with a 10 percent tariff, while C´te d’Ivoire, which is an agricultural powerhouse exporting nearly 1 billion USD in cocoa to the U.S., saw a 21 percent duty imposed. The WTO chief warned that such measures could destabilize West African economies heavily reliant on a narrow range of exports. ‘C´te d’Ivoire’s cocoa income will disappear across the border if you have differential reciprocal tariffs,’ she cautioned.

While appealing to Washington to consider exemptions for the poorest nations, Okonjo-Iweala emphasized that the continent must not wait for outside leniency. She conveyed the message that Africa must become more self-reliant. ‘Aid is disappearing. We need investment,’ she stated. To achieve this, she stressed the urgent need to mobilize domestic resources, streamline regulatory bottlenecks, and, above all, deepen intra-African trade, which currently accounts for only 16 percent to 20 percent of the continent’s commerce. ‘We can’t afford to remain at the mercy of external shocks,’ Okonjo-Iweala said. ‘This is a wake-up call.’