“UK must stand with Global South against unfair US trade tactics” – ACTSA signs open letter to Government

Today, ahead of US President Trump’s new tariffs coming in on 1st August, ACTSA joined organisations in the trade justice movement calling on the UK government to do more to support the Global South against unfair US trade tactics. The open letter, signed by 10 others, highlights that the UK trade strategy’s goal of ensuring that prosperity can be fairly shared, both at home and overseas, is fundamentally threatened by US tariff proposals for countries in the Global South, and that Trump is dismantling principles that are core to international trade and entrenching injustice and poverty in the Global South. It calls on the UK to use its influence to oppose the tariffs, defend well-established principlesof Special and Differencial Treatment for Global South countries, and improve its own trade policies.

Southern Africa countries will be – and are already – severely affected by Trump’s upcoming trade tariffs facing some of the highest globally. The tiny nation of Lesotho faces the second highest tariff of 50% (after China) and its mostly textile exports to the US account for 10% of its GDP. It has already declared a state of disaster due to a predicted loss of 40,000 jobs. South Africa faces tariffs of 30%, Madagascar of 47%, Botswana of 37%, Mauritius of 40% and Angola of 32% . In contrast, the EU has just agreed a 15% tariff on EU goods entering the US.

Tricia Sibbons, Director of ACTSA, said: “Trump’s latest tariffs exemplify the economic dominance long exercised by the Global North to Southern Africa and the rest of the world as a continuation of colonialism. This traps countries in poverty and debt while extracting from them resources and labour. The Global South is already hugely disadvantaged by global trade and industry – and these tariffs coming in the wake of global aid cuts is devastating and will lead to more poverty, forced migration, austerity and conflict. Lesotho, a nation of 2 million people with high rates of poverty and unemployment, has been inexplicably hit with the second highest tariff of 50% and has declared a state of disaster ahead of losing an estimated 40,000 jobs. ACTSA calls on the UK to use its influence to protect poorer countries in Southern Africa from unfair trade.”

You can read the letter below: