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US trade tariffs enter into force
On Thursday, the new US tariff regime came into force. Almost 70 countries worldwide are affected by the new tariffs, including numerous African states. Algeria, Libya and South Africa are particularly hard hit, facing steep 30 percent tariffs on their exports to the U.S.. Tunisia faces a 25 percent tariff burden, while 18 other African states, including Angola and Nigeria, are now subject to 15 per cent tariffs.
US President Donald Trump had already announced in April the introduction of a uniform basic tariff of 10 per cent on almost all imports, as well as additional reciprocal tariffs for certain countries with trade surpluses. According to the US government, the measure is intended to correct existing trade imbalances and protect US industries. While the basic tariff was introduced in May, Washington initially suspended the higher reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow for negotiations.
While some countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the EU managed to conclude bilateral agreements to mitigate the tariff increases, negotiations by African governments have so far been unsuccessful. Nevertheless, there were deviations from the originally threatened rates. Lesotho, for example, was only charged 15 per cent instead of the initially planned 50 per cent. Nevertheless, the economic consequences for the kingdom are serious. Like many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Lesotho had previously been allowed to export textiles and other selected products to the United States duty-free under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). In July, the government declared a national state of emergency as a result of the economic strain.
South Africa, Africa’s largest economy in terms of GDP per capita, is now subject to the full 30 per cent tariff. Relations between Pretoria and Washington have recently become increasingly tense, partly due to South Africa’s BRICS membership and its stance on the Gaza war. President Cyril Ramaphosa criticised the US decision as not being based on data and as a ‘lack of reciprocity,’ but announced further negotiations. The US is one of South Africa’s largest trading partners alongside China and Germany; according to the central bank 100,000 jobs are now at stake, particularly in the automotive and agricultural sectors. On Monday, the South African government presented initial support measures for local companies affected by the US tariff. Government sources also said that they would look for new markets in Asia and the Middle East. In particular, important progress had recently been made with China, which is also a member of BRICS, and Thailand. Other African countries are also increasingly turning to China, which announced in June that it intended to lift import tariffs for almost all African countries (Press Review CW 24/2025). On Wednesday, Kenya’s president reported on a successful agreement with China, according to which all tariffs on important Kenyan agricultural exports will be abolished in future.
The new tariffs regime raises questions for many African countries not only about short-term economic adjustment, but increasingly also about their long-term position in US trade policy. While China is consistently expanding its duty-free market access for African products, the US is increasingly relying on protectionist instruments. If the AGOA trade law, which expires at the end of September this year, is not extended or replaced by reciprocal agreements, the US could lose not only its economic but also its strategic presence on the continent.
Final list for presidential election in Cameroon determined
On Tuesday, Cameroon’s Constitutional Court handed down its final rulings on the list of candidates approved for the election published by the ELECAM electoral commission. Following these final rulings on 35 appeals, the final list of candidates for the presidential election has now been determined. It includes eleven male candidates and one female candidate, including incumbent President Paul Biya, who is running for a fourth term. The most prominent exclusion from the presidential election on 12 October concerns opposition leader Maurice Kamto. On Monday, dozens of supporters protested outside the courthouse, prompting police to use tear gas. Several arrests were made, as confirmed by a police spokesperson.
The 71-year-old’s exclusion was justified on the grounds of an inadmissible multiple nomination by the Mouvement africain pour la nouvelle indépendance et la démocratie (Manidem) party. In addition to Kamto, whose candidacy was supported by Manidem President Anicet Ekane, Dieudonné Yebga, who describes himself as the elected party chairman, had also submitted his application. The electoral commission rejected both applications; Yebga’s subsequent appeal to the Constitutional Court was also unsuccessful. Kamto had joined the party only a few weeks earlier, after surprisingly announcing on 19 July that he was leaving the Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC), the party he had founded. This was preceded by ongoing discussions about the legal admissibility of an MRC candidacy: the Ministry of Territorial Administration had repeatedly emphasised that, following its boycott of the 2020 parliamentary and local elections, the party lacked the formal basis for a candidacy, as it could not demonstrate any mandates at the national or local level.
Following the ruling, Kamtos’ lawyer Hyppolite Méli announced that they would accept the decision, even though the court had prioritised political considerations over legal ones. The vice-president of the MRC described the exclusion as a ‘massacre of Cameroonian rule of law and democracy,’ and representatives of civil society also expressed strong criticism. Last week, Human Rights Watch had already criticised the election commission’s decision and expressed doubts about the credibility of the electoral process.
Before the final ruling, six of the registered candidates signed the ‘Foumba Declaration of August, 2 2025’, in which a total of ten opposition parties committed themselves to nominating a joint candidate. Among the signatories is Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a long-time confidant of Biya who broke with the ruling party and is now running for the FSNC (Press Review CW 29/2025). Other prominent opposition figures such as Kamto, Cabral Libii (PCRN) and Bello Bouba Maïgari (UNDP) have not yet joined the alliance. Maïgari, also a former confidant and cabinet member of Biya, is considered one of the leading candidates following the final exclusion of Kamto, who came second in the last elections in 2018 with 14% of the vote.
With the exclusion of one of the most prominent opposition politicians, the question of whether the opposition will succeed in presenting a united and effective front this time around takes on greater significance. Although the ‘Foumba Declaration’ signals the beginnings of an agreement, the absence of key players continues to point to existing divisions. President Biya, who himself is confronted with internal tensions within his ruling party, is likely to benefit from the changed situation. Against this backdrop, the situation ahead of the upcoming election remains complex and marked by uncertainty.
In other news
At this year’s Tour de France Femmes, which ended on Sunday, Mauritian cyclist Kim Le Court-Pienaar impressed with a strong overall performance and finished 16th in the general classification. Le Court-Pienaar had already made headlines during the tour: the 29-year-old became the first African woman ever to win a stage of the prestigious race. On Stage 5, the longest of the race at 166 kilometers, the Mauritian prevailed against the competition in a mass sprint and briefly took the overall lead and with it the yellow jersey. On the penultimate stage, the queen stage to Col de la Madeleine, she unfortunately crashed and fell back in the overall standings. France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot ultimately took the overall victory. Still, the result marks a significant success for Le Court-Pienaar. She already raced in Europe back in 2015–2016, but was unable to make her mark at the time and had to put her career on hold partly due to financial reasons. It was in South Africa that she found her way back into competitive cycling and, 10 years later, she ventured back to Europe – with success: earlier this spring, she won the demanding classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège, followed by a stage victory in the Giro d’Italia Donne in July.