Time for Africa to rise to Trump’s tariff challenge

US President Donald Trump speaking to the press at his Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC, US on January 31, 2025.

Photo credit: Reuters

As US President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs took effect, sending shockwaves around the world, the reactions by global leaders were both consistent and varied.

As they condemned the United States’ attack on a global trading system, which has, over the decades, tried to create a fair balance of returns from the wealth generated by commerce, many in the Global North, were also ready to fight back with equal force.