By: Getahun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia –U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a new round of tariffs on international trade, affecting multiple countries, including Ethiopia. In a statement released from the White House on Wednesday, Trump confirmed the implementation of additional trade duties as part of his “America First” policy, aimed at reducing trade deficits and protecting U.S. industries.
Under the new tariff measures, duties ranging from 10% to 49% have been imposed on various nations, with Ethiopia facing a 10% tariff. The move is part of a broader effort by the U.S. government to address trade imbalances and strengthen domestic production.
The United States and Ethiopia have maintained strong economic ties, with bilateral trade in goods totaling approximately $1.8 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. State Department. U.S. exports to Ethiopia primarily consist of aircraft, engines, and machinery, while Ethiopia exports coffee, textiles, and leather products to the U.S. However, Ethiopia lost its eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in January 2022 due to human rights concerns, limiting its access to preferential trade benefits.
Despite Ethiopia’s long-standing economic relationship with the U.S.—which includes a 1951 Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations, later updated in 1994—there is currently no formal bilateral trade or investment agreement between the two countries. A decision on whether Ethiopia will regain AGOA trade privileges for 2024 remains pending.
The newly announced tariffs could further impact Ethiopia’s trade with the U.S., adding another layer of complexity to the evolving economic relationship between the two nations.
As of the time of publication, the Ethiopian government has not issued an official response to the new tariffs.
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This article reads like a masterclass in imported panic.
While I am responding directly the above piece, take, I have seen similar echoes from fellow and familiar diaspora intellectuals on the same subject. So, I offer this reflection not just as a rebuttal, but as a broader perspective on a familiar pattern.
The moment President Trump announced a 10% tariff on Ethiopia, a familiar tremor swept through the diaspora lecture circuit. Within minutes, the usual suspects; diaspora intellectuals with two passports, emerged to warn us about the impending economic apocalypse.
“This is a turning point for Ethiopia,” they say, adjusting their glasses and looking meaningfully at a bookshelf behind them. Yes, because nothing says economic catastrophe quite like an additional 10% duty on goods we’re barely exporting in the first place.
We are being told this tariff will “further complicate” Ethiopia’s trade with the U.S…..as if coffee, leather, and handmade scarves were the lifeblood of the American consumer economy. As if Ethiopian ports were bracing for supply chain riots in Kansas.
And what do our experts cite as proof? The 1951 Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations; because nothing screams relevance in 2024 like an agreement signed when Haile Selassie still had a functioning throne and most Ethiopians didn’t have a radio.
Let’s be honest…If Ethiopia’s trade with the U.S. is a river, it’s a modest trickle.
And the tariff?
A leaf floating downstream; dramatic to watch, but barely changing the flow.
Yet here we are, treating the tariff like a geopolitical earthquake, while ignoring the daily domestic disasters we authored ourselves.
Where was this panic when Ethiopia lost AGOA due to internal policies? Where is this analytical clarity when local producers are buried in bureaucracy, or when half the market doesn’t even trust its own currency?
We are always quick to blame America’s 10%;
but silent about the 90% damage we do with corruption, inefficiency, and tribal economics.
But here’s the real irony:
We are the cradle of civilization. The birthplace of Lucy. The land of ancient alphabets. But the minute a Western country sneezes in our direction, we act like barefoot orphans waiting for a customs waiver.
So yes, let’s write long articles, hold transcontinental panel discussions, and quote treaties older than our airports.
But in the spirit of honesty…let’s also admit…our real export isn’t coffee or leather. It’s panic, nostalgia, and imported outrage.
We are proudly stuck in the mud….where every foreign policy ripple becomes a national earthquake, and every internal crisis becomes a footnote… until CNN covers it.
Mamo
Proudly Stuck™. All rights reserved.
That’s some poetic commentary by Mamo.
Ethiopia has far more important macro-events to deal with vs. export tariff, I suppose the US consuming less from the world causes unknown ripples throughout the world.