As new U.S. trade tariffs begin to ripple across the global economy, the World Trade Organization’s Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has issued a stark warning: Africa’s dependence on foreign markets is leaving the continent dangerously exposed.
Speaking at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, she called on African nations to reduce their vulnerability by investing in regional trade, industrialization, and internal economic integration.
While the newly imposed tariffs from the U.S.—spearheaded by former President Donald Trump—are not expected to cause major macroeconomic disruption to Africa in aggregate (given that only 6.5% of African exports go to the U.S. and just 4.4% of imports come from there), Okonjo-Iweala pointed out that the issue runs deeper. The bigger concern is Africa’s limited trade overall, both with the world and within its borders.
“Africa’s trade volumes are simply too low,” she emphasized. “That lack of engagement—especially intra-African trade—is what truly exposes us to global shocks.”
Small Economies Face Disproportionate Pain
Among the most vulnerable to these new tariffs is Lesotho, a landlocked, lower-income country in Southern Africa. Lesotho exports approximately $200 million worth of textiles to the U.S. annually. Under the revised U.S. trade policy, these goods are now subject to tariffs of up to 50%, while Lesotho imports only about $3 million in U.S. goods. For such an unbalanced trade relationship, the impact is severe: its GDP growth could shrink by nearly half a percentage point.
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, two key West African economies, are also feeling the squeeze. Ghana now faces a 10% duty on its exports to the U.S., while Côte d’Ivoire’s core cocoa exports—worth nearly $1 billion—are now subject to a steep 21% tariff. This could undermine the economic stability of a country that heavily depends on one commodity for a large share of its export earnings.
Okonjo-Iweala stressed that if such tariff asymmetries persist, they could destabilize entire regional economies and erode export revenues, particularly in sectors like agriculture and textiles that sustain millions of jobs.
A Call for African Economic Resilience
Despite these challenges, the WTO chief made it clear that Africa’s path forward should not be built on hope for exemptions or foreign aid. “We can’t keep waiting for favors,” she said. “Aid flows are drying up. What Africa needs is investment—homegrown and strategic.”
To that end, she outlined several critical steps for building long-term economic resilience across the continent:
- Mobilizing domestic resources to reduce dependence on external financing.
- Removing regulatory barriers that stifle entrepreneurship, foreign direct investment, and cross-border trade.
- Accelerating implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost intra-African commerce, which currently accounts for only 16% to 20% of Africa’s total trade.
The AfCFTA, if fully leveraged, could dramatically reduce Africa’s exposure to external volatility by creating new markets for African goods and services within the continent itself. It would also help diversify exports, promote regional value chains, and strengthen industrial capacity.
A Wake-Up Call for African Policymakers
Okonjo-Iweala’s message is clear: Africa must use this moment as a wake-up call. The continent cannot afford to remain tethered to unpredictable global trade dynamics or risk being sidelined in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.
Instead, African leaders must seize this opportunity to deepen regional ties, boost productive capacity, and turn the continent’s youthful population into a competitive economic advantage. With global trade becoming more volatile and polarized, building resilience from within is no longer optional—it’s essential.
“This is the time for Africa to stand up for itself,” she concluded. “We must not be content with being at the mercy of global headwinds. It’s time to chart our own course.”
