Zimbabwe Axes All Tariffs on US Goods

Zimbabwe’s main trading partners are South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and China, but it does export tobacco and rice to the United States.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson looks on as he addresses a press conference at State House in Harare on Aug. 27, 2023. JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images

The president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has suspended all tariffs on goods from the United States, a few days after the White House imposed an 18 percent rate on imports from the African country.

On Saturday, Mnangagwa wrote on X: “The principle of reciprocal tariffs, as a tool for safeguarding domestic employment and industrial sectors, holds merit. However, the Republic of Zimbabwe maintains a policy of fostering amicable relations with all nations, and cultivating adversarial relationships with none.”

He said, “In the spirit of constructing a mutually beneficial and positive relationship with the United States of America, under the leadership of president Trump, I will direct the Zimbabwean government to implement a suspension of all tariffs levied on goods originating from the United States.”

“This measure is intended to facilitate the expansion of American imports within the Zimbabwean market, while simultaneously promoting the growth of Zimbabwean exports destined for the United States,” he added.

Zimbabwe’s main trading partners are South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and China, but it does export tobacco and rice to the United States.

President Donald Trump imposed what he called reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world on April 2, declaring it “Liberation Day in America.”

The rates include a flat 10 percent levy, along with additional rates tailored to match each nation’s trade barriers on America.

Tariffs on African countries varied from 50 percent on Lesotho, 32 percent on Angola, 18 percent on Zimbabwe, and 10 percent on Sudan.

A top White House economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, said on April 6 more than 50 countries had contacted the Trump administration to initiate negotiations over tariffs.

In an interview with ABC News “This Week,” Hassett, head of the White House’s National Economic Council, said “there are more than 50 countries reaching out and trying to negotiate this new status with the president...They’re doing that because they understand that they bear a lot of the tariff.”

On April 4, Trump wrote in a post on social media platform Truth Social: “Just had a very productive call with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who told me that Vietnam wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the U.S. I thanked him on behalf of our Country, and said I look forward to a meeting in the near future.”

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc’s office said in a statement on April 4, Vietnam will continue to push for more purchases coming from the United States and will hold meetings on how to handle the new U.S. tariffs.

In Zambia, Mnangagwa took over as president after the country’s long-time leader, Robert Mugabe, was ousted, aged 93, in 2017.

Mnangagwa, who was re-elected president in Aug. 2023, uses the political slogan, “Restructure, Reform, Rebuild” and is seeking to repair the Zimbabwean economy after years of decline under Mugabe.

But the ruling ZANU-PF party has been accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

Last year the Biden administration cancelled sanctions that had been imposed on Zimbabwe since 2003, and replaced them with new measures that targeted specifically Mnangagwa, his wife Auxillia, and nine other individuals.

The then-deputy secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, said, “The United States remains deeply concerned about democratic backsliding, human rights abuses, and government corruption in Zimbabwe.”

In a statement on March 4, 2024, the Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) said Mnangagwa was, “involved in corrupt activities, in particular those relating to gold and diamond smuggling networks.”

It also claimed, “Mnangagwa provides a protective shield to smugglers to operate in Zimbabwe and has directed Zimbabwean officials to facilitate the sale of gold and diamonds in illicit markets, taking bribes in exchange for his services.”

On March 31, a rival faction within the ZANU-PF called for anti-government protests but the streets of the capital, Harare, remained largely empty as the call went largely unheeded.

The faction, led by Blessed Geza, and composed largely of veterans of the country’s 1970s war against white minority rule, is opposed to Mnangagwa running for office beyond the next presidential election in 2028.

Geza’s faction is backing Constantino Chiwenga, 68, to replace him as the ZANU-PF candidate.

Chiwenga, a former army general who led the coup that toppled Mugabe in Nov. 2017, has not commented on the leadership issue.

Geza, known as Comrade Bombshell, has become an online sensation with tens of thousands of people tuning in to his YouTube channel.

The ZANU-PF has expelled him and the police say he faces treason charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.