Trump's Tariff War Brings Pain To African Economies

US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his fondness for tariffs - which he has frequently taken to branding "the most beautiful word in the dictionary."

It therefore could have come as no surprise to markets and policymakers when, speaking from the White House at the start of April, the President announced his "Liberation Day" measures imposing sweeping tariffs on countries around the world.

However, one might be forgiven for being surprised at the country which was singled out for especially harsh treatment: the tiny African nation of Lesotho. Lesotho, which primarily exports diamonds and clothing, received the highest "Liberation Day" tariff of 50.

Trump's tariffs were calculated by taking the US' trade deficit with each country, and then dividing that number by the total value of imports from that nation almost all countries face a blanket minimum of 10. Poorer nations such as Lesotho, which exports around 55m worth of diamonds annually to the US but imports barely anything, were found to be the "worst offenders."

Madagascar, which exports relatively modest amounts of vanilla and clothing to the US while importing very little, was similarly condemned under this calculation. The East African island was hit with a tariff of 47 as a result of the perceived trade disparity.