How should African Leaders respond to this unilateral Trade War triggered by the United States?

It was only a month ago, during President Trump’s first address to Congress he proclaimed – “$8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of” – in his effort to prove wasteful expenditure by the USAID, an agency he has since gutted down.

Less than a month later, Lesotho has found itself to be at the very top of Mr. Trump’s tariff fines, with a severe levy of 50% – the highest in the world.

To make sense of these punitive measures by the United States, take Norfolk Island, a group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to penguins not spared hit with 10% on all goods.

Truth is these aren’t tariffs but a tax on trade deficits. Which explains why Madagascar a poor island nation was slapped with a 47% tariff. It exports more goods to the U.S. (vanilla, spices etc.) than it imports from them, thus the tariff is worked out as a percentage of the US. Trade deficit divided by imports which is not a tariff by W.T.O standards. It’s a tax on poor countries.

South Africa was not spared, in yet another sign of deteriorating diplomatic and economic relations between Pretoria and Washington. The truth is, African nations have borne the biggest brunt of this unilateral trade war triggered by the U.S.

There are some headwinds, South Africa’s economy has shown resilience by returning to pre-pandemic GDP levels. However, this recovery is tempered by persistent structural constraints including low productivity. The South African Reserve Bank forecasts GDP growth rates of 1.6% in 2025, 1.8% in 2026, and 2.5% in 2027, averaging 2% over the next three years.

Not only have these international trade policy changes by the U.S. introduced uncertainties, they have also sparked fears of a global trade war, leading to significant economic disruptions as seen by the sell-offs in the stock markets.

For South Africa, this presents an opportunity to reassess and diversify trade partnerships globally and strengthen regional ties within Africa.

Perhaps it is time for Africa to look within and develop mechanisms to strengthen its economic relations amongst its 54 nations of over 1 billion citizens.