Okonjo-Iweala urges stronger intra-African trade amid rising US tariffs
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has called for increased intra-African trade and economic self-reliance in response to new US tariffs on African exports.
Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC, Okonjo-Iweala said the US tariffs—announced by President Donald Trump on April 2—pose limited threat to the continent as a whole, but severely impact specific countries like Lesotho, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Lesotho, which exports $200 million in textiles to the US and imports only $3 million from the country, faces a potential 0.5% GDP loss due to the new tariffs. Côte d’Ivoire, which exports nearly $1 billion worth of cocoa to the US, has been hit with a 21% tariff, while Ghana received a 10% tariff.
She urged the US to consider waiving tariffs for least developed countries, warning that reciprocal tariffs could devastate smaller African economies.
Okonjo-Iweala also highlighted the continent’s weak internal trade, noting that intra-African trade makes up only 16–20% of total trade, while Africa’s share in global trade remains at just 3%.
“Africa needs to do more to mobilize domestic resources, attract investment, and process its commodities to create jobs,” she said. Using Lesotho as an example, she lamented that the country exports jeans to the US but doesn’t sell them in Africa—despite the continent spending $7 billion annually importing textiles.
She called for reforms to remove bureaucratic barriers and build infrastructure that facilitates regional trade and value-added production across the continent.
