THE Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that United States President Donald Trump’s tariff tension would minimally affect African countries.

She said this while addressing Nigerian journalists at the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 25.

She noted that African trade exposure to the US was relatively small, limiting the direct economic impact of the US tariffs.

Okonjo-Iweala pointed out that only 6.5 per cent of Africa’s exports go to the US, while 4.4 per cent of its imports come from the US; as such, the impact of the tariff tension on the African continent would be minimal.

“The trade of the continent is minimal with the USA. We have done the analysis, and the impact on the continent as a whole is not significant,” Okonjo-Iweala said.

Citing Lesotho as an example, she said Africa must strengthen internal trade.

She stressed that despite Lesotho exporting $200 million worth of textiles to the US, the country faced challenges due to the shrinking US market.

Okonjo-Iweala further noted that Africa spent $7 billion annually on importing textiles, suggesting that Lesotho should instead focus on selling textiles within African markets.

Adding that Africa’s low level of trade with the US is not ideal and points to deeper structural challenges facing the continent, Okonjo-Iweala, therefore, called on African governments and policymakers to look inward by strengthening regional and intra-African trade.

She pointed out that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is critical to achieving the goal.

“We cannot trade more externally, where our share is only 3 per cent of global trade, or internally, where intra-African trade remains at 16 to 20 per cent at best,” she warned.

The WTO director-general also called for increased investment in Africa, pointing out that aid flows are declining, and the continent must build resilience through self-sustained growth.

She appealed to the US government to take into account the effects of its tariff policies on least-developed countries (LDCs), many of which are in Africa.

She also urged the US government to reassess reciprocal tariff arrangements for LDCs to avoid worsening their economic vulnerabilities.

The ICIR earlier reported that Okonjo-Iweala has expressed serious concern about the growing trade tensions between the US and China.

She had warned that the tensions could dramatically reduce the trade volume by 80 per cent between the two countries.

The Federal Government of Nigeria also has decried the US tariff imposition on the country, saying it would adversely impact its oil and non-oil export businesses.

It could also potentially disrupt trade relations and affect the competitiveness of Nigerian products in the US market, especially in sectors reliant on market access and price competitiveness, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, expressed.