WASHINGTON, USA – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has urged African nations to enhance intra-regional trade and work towards greater self-reliance in response to the tariffs imposed by the United States (US) on certain African goods.
Speaking on Friday, April 25, 2025, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington DC, Okonjo-Iweala addressed the potential impact of the recent tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, Trump introduced tariffs of at least 10 percent on all goods entering the US, with Nigeria facing a 14 percent tariff.
While Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged that the overall impact on Africa would be limited, she emphasized the continent’s low level of trade with the US—only 6.5 percent of Africa’s exports are directed to the US, and 4.4 percent of its imports come from there.
She noted that the problem lies in the lack of intra-African trade, which she described as insufficient and concerning.
“The problem is that within Africa, there are a handful of countries that are severely impacted by reciprocal tariffs. These are poorer countries,” Okonjo-Iweala said, highlighting Lesotho as a case study.
Lesotho, which exports textiles worth $200 million to the US, faces a 50 percent tariff, which could cost the country half a percentage point of its GDP growth.
Despite benefiting from some export diversification, the country could lose much of its US market share.
The WTO chief called for waivers on tariffs for the least developed countries, especially those with high exposure to these tariffs, such as Ghana, which faces a 10 percent tariff, and Cote d’Ivoire, which exports nearly a billion dollars worth of cocoa to the US and faces a 21 percent tariff.
“Lesotho is exporting $200 billion worth of textiles to the US, but Africa is spending $7 billion importing textiles,” Okonjo-Iweala noted, questioning why Lesotho could not redirect these exports to African markets.
She urged African nations to focus on increasing intra-continental trade, which currently accounts for only 16-20 percent of total African trade.
Okonjo-Iweala’s comments come as part of a broader call for Africa to mobilize domestic resources and reduce reliance on aid, advocating for investment-driven growth.
She stressed the importance of removing bureaucratic barriers to attract investment and create job opportunities.
“Aid is disappearing, and we need investment. When you need investment, you have to do so much more in terms of mobilizing domestic resources to put infrastructure in place,” she concluded.
She pointed out that Africa’s share of global trade is a meager 3 percent, further underlining the need for the continent to shift towards value-added production and more regional trade.
In terms of Lesotho’s export performance, the country has seen growth, with exports increasing from $1.01 billion in 2018 to $1.14 billion in 2023, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). However, the country’s reliance on external markets, including the US, remains significant.
