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US hits Africa with new tariff rates

Aug 1, 2025, 8:39am EDT
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US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters

US President Donald Trump slapped a 30% duty on imports from South Africa after the continent’s largest economy failed to secure a trade deal, but other African nations fared relatively well from Washington’s long-awaited tariff announcement.

South Africa’s central bank governor recently warned that the tariffs could cause around 100,000 job losses, mostly in the agriculture and automotive sectors. The US is South Africa’s second-largest export market.

The outlook was less bleak for other nations. Lesotho, which had been braced for a 50% levy that threatened its textile industry, will now face a 15% tax on its exports. A 10% duty remains in place for Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy.

“When you look at some of the countries we compete with on textile and apparel, like Sri Lanka and Vietnam, their export tariffs are comparatively higher,” Kenyan Trade Minister Lee Kinyanjui told Semafor.

Beyond South Africa, analysts have noted that because there is relatively little trade between the US and Africa, the continent is unlikely to be as badly affected as other regions. Ghana’s central bank governor, responding to questions from Semafor, said just 3.5% of the country’s exports went to the US, so the “impact will be minimal.”

A chart showing the new US tariffs on sub-Saharan African countries.
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