SADC expresses concern over the imposition of new import tariffs by the United States of America

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has noted with profound concern the imposition by the United States of America announced on 2 April 2025 of new tariffs on imported products, including those from SADC Member States.  A new baseline tariff of 10% on all imports will take effect from 5 April 2025, while “reciprocal” tariffs will enter into force on 9 April 2025

The new tariffs will affect all SADC Member States to varying degrees.  For example, products from Lesotho will be hit by a 50% “reciprocal” tariff, while 47% will be applied to imports from Madagascar.  While the US has announced a list of exempted products, this does not include products such as textiles and clothing, which are amongst those exported to the US by SADC countries.  The full list of reciprocal tariffs by the US are as follows:

Source:  White House (accessed at Annex-I.pdf)

Note: * indicates adjusted rate compared to rates originally announced

These reciprocal tariffs are additional to existing tariff rates. While SADC Member States, except for Seychelles and Zimbabwe, currently enjoy duty-free access to the US market under the US’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the reciprocal tariffs will nullify these benefits of AGOA.  The current term of AGOA was due to expire by the end of September 2025.

In response to these developments, SADC is carrying out a detailed assessment of the impact of the global geopolitical developments on the different sectors of the Region, for consideration by an extraordinary meeting of the SADC Council of Ministers to be held in June 2025. 

In addition, the SADC Secretariat will be carrying out a detailed assessment of the impact of the US measures on trade with the Region, for review by Ministers in forthcoming meetings of the Committee of Ministers of Trade (CMT) and the Ministerial Task Force on Regional Integration (MTF) in June 2025, which will recommend to the Council of Ministers meeting in August 2025 for decisions to be taken as a collective response by SADC Member States.  

SADC reiterates its commitment to further the objectives of the SADC Treaty through continued adherence to multilateral trade rules and fair competition administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and remains open to engagement with stakeholders on these matters. 

ISSUED BY THE SADC SECRETARIAT                                                                         

8TH APRIL 2025  

GABORONE, BOTSWANA