JOHANNESBURG—With reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States expected to kick in on July 9, African governments have appointed special envoys to be dispatched to Washington to negotiate with President Donald Trump’s representatives before the deadline.
African countries, which make up the world’s poorest region, would soon be hit with duties as high as 50 percent. Many will no longer be able to afford exporting to the lucrative American market, according to trade specialists, who said the countries should negotiate a path toward lower tariffs.
This cuts billions of dollars from their budgets as the United States was for many their largest international trade partner after China, which has invested heavily in Africa since 2013 under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing has often been accused of using the BRI infrastructure development agreements to extract African resources and trap the continent in debt….