As Africa braces for the fallout from sweeping new U.S. tariffs, the continent must accelerate efforts to boost internal trade and reduce dependence on global powers, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General World Trade Organization (WTO) warned Friday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, Okonjo-Iweala, however, downplayed the overall macroeconomic impact of the April 2 tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, noting that only 6.5% of Africa’s exports are U.S.-bound and just 4.4% of its imports originate from America.
Still, she said, the broader picture reveals a deeper vulnerability which is that Africa is not trading enough, either internally or externally.