Cómo Está Respondiendo África a las Políticas Arancelarias de EE.UU.

This research paper by Kholofelo Kugler and Tani Washington analyzes the impact of the Trump administration's 2025 tariff policies on African nations. It details the structure of the new tariffs, the specific vulnerabilities of countries like Lesotho and Madagascar, the potential advantages for Egypt and Kenya, and the precarious future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

• On April 2, 2025, Executive Order 14257 introduced a two-stage tariff regime for 190 countries and territories: a universal 10% ad valorem tariff starting April 5, 2025, and higher country-specific tariffs ranging from 11% to 50% for 57 countries starting April 9, 2025. These specific rates were calculated by dividing the US trade deficit with a country by its total 2024 imports and dividing the result by two.
• Twenty African countries are subject to the higher country-specific tariffs, with Lesotho facing the highest increase at 50%. Other high-tariff countries include Madagascar (47%), Mauritius (40%), Botswana (37%), Angola (32%), Libya (31%), and Algeria and South Africa (both 30%). Conversely, 29 African countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, and Kenya, are only subject to the 10% basic increase, while Burkina Faso, Seychelles, and Somalia are not subject to any increase.
• Many African nations may receive significant relief because the Executive Order exempts over 1,000 products essential to the US economy, including oil, critical minerals, metals, rare earths, and organic/inorganic chemicals. These categories constitute the primary export basket for mineral-exporting countries such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia.
• The tariffs pose severe risks to specific industries, particularly Lesotho's textile and garment sector, which employs approximately 40,000 local workers (mostly women) and was developed using AGOA preferences. South African motor vehicle exports are also vulnerable due to a specific 25% tariff on passenger vehicles.
• Egypt and Kenya may find a competitive advantage in the US textile market because their 10% universal tariff is lower than the rates applied to Asian competitors like Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam. In 2022, US exports of textiles and clothing from Egypt totaled USD 1.5 billion (over 30% of its exports of these products), while the US market represented nearly 70% of Kenya's textile exports.
• African government responses have varied: Zimbabwe offered to unilaterally remove tariffs on US imports, Uganda focused on national economic resilience, and Lesotho, Madagascar, and South Africa sought bilateral agreements. Additionally, six African WTO members (Cape Verde, Cameroon, Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone) joined a group of 39 'Friends of the System' on April 10, 2025, to collaborate on the future of global trade.
• The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), set to expire on September 30, 2025, is in a precarious state. While it provided duty-free access to the US market for sub-Saharan Africa since 2000, its beneficiaries are not exempt from the new Trump tariffs. Experts suggest the US could strategically use a modernized AGOA to secure critical minerals from Africa to reduce dependence on China.

APA

Kugler, K., & Washington, T. (2025). Cómo Está Respondiendo África a las Políticas Arancelarias de EE.UU. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/africa-response-us-tariff-policies

Chicago

Kugler, Kholofelo, and Tani Washington. Cómo Está Respondiendo África a las Políticas Arancelarias de EE.UU. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2025. https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/africa-response-us-tariff-policies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kugler |first1=Kholofelo |last2=Washington |first2=Tani |title=Cómo Está Respondiendo África a las Políticas Arancelarias de EE.UU. |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2025 |url=https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/africa-response-us-tariff-policies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kugler2025cmo, author = {Kugler, Kholofelo and Washington, Tani}, title = {{Cómo Está Respondiendo África a las Políticas Arancelarias de EE.UU.}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/africa-response-us-tariff-policies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }