Africa
Trump Tariffs to Supersede US Congress-Backed Africa Trade Pact
A textile factory in Lesotho.
Photographer: Roberta Ciuccio/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs on most of the US’s trading partners will undermine a 25-year-old pact that gave many of the poorest African nations duty-free access to the world’s biggest economy.
Trump’s tariffs — as high as 50% on the kingdom of Lesotho — will supersede the African Growth and Opportunity Act, said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of the tariff plan. AGOA was endorsed by the US Congress and signed into law by former President Bill Clinton in May 2000.