LIST: Trump puts new tariffs on 20 African nations

U.S President Trump has put new tariffs on twenty African countries set to begin in seven days – see how your country is affected in the full list below.

Trump signed the sweeping executive order on Thursday, the day before the end of a months-long pause on the first round of tariffs announced on April 2nd.

With the historic new trade barriers, Trump retains a 10% baseline tariff for countries where the U.S has a trade surplus and applies a minimum 15% tariff on countries where the U.S has a trade deficit.

“President Trump is using tariffs as a necessary and powerful tool to put America First after many years of unsustainable trade deficits that threaten our economy and national security,” the White House said in a statement.

The administration also said that it would wait a week to put the new tariffs into effect, to have time to prepare systems for the new duties.

African countries not on the list will maintain the 10% baseline tariff that the White House announced in April.

Algeria, Libya and South Africa round off the top three African countries with the highest U.S tariff rates after Thursday’s announcement.

Ties between Washington and Pretoria have experienced severe strains in recent months after Trump accused South Africa of discriminating against its white minority. A claim that has been repeatedly denied by SA President Ramaphosa.

Many more countries outside Africa were targeted by the new tariffs with Laos, Myanmar and Syria all receiving rates over 40%.

In addition to the country-specific tariffs, the White House said it would also establish a 40% additional penalty on so-called transshipments. Those are goods that are shipped from a high-tariff country to a low-tariff country before being sent to the United States.

By Anne Sandager