Africa-Press – Gambia. On 2 April, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order announcing that it will impose “reciprocal tariffs” on over 180 nations and regions, including The Gambia—the smallest nation of the African continent.
This unilateral move flagrantly violates economics and market principles, disregards decades of multilateral trade consensus, and weaponises tariffs to advance selfish interests under the veneer of “fairness.” By prioritising “America First” over global cooperation, US is engineering a zero-sum game that undermines the international trade order it has long benefited. Global South bears the brunt.
In this global tariff war that US provoked, China rolled out a series of countermeasures. On 4 April, China announced that it will impose an additional 34% tariff on all imported goods originating from US, based on the currently applicable tariff rates. On 5 April, China released “Chinese Government’s Position on Opposing US. Abuse of Tariffs,” declaring: ” As the second largest economy and second largest market for consumer goods, China is committed to opening ever wider to the world, no matter how the international situation changes. Economic globalization is the only way to human progress. Development is an inalienable right of all countries, not the exclusive privilege of a few. “
On 8 April, the US raised “reciprocal tariffs” on Chinese imports from 34% to 84%. China showed its strong determination to fight to the end. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, addressing the issue on 9 April, warned that “We will not let anyone take away the Chinese people’s legitimate right to development. We will not tolerate any attempt to harm China’s sovereignty, security and development interests. We will continue to take resolute and strong measures to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests. If the US decides not to care about the interests of the US itself, China and the rest of the world are determined to fight a tariff/trade war, China’s response will continue to the end.” On 10 April, China raised additional tariffs on all goods imported from the United States to 84 percent, and has added 18 US entities to China’s export control and unreliable entity lists. These are the latest measures yet, taken by the Chinese Government in order to counter the US’ unilateral tariff hikes.
China has not started this confrontation and doesn’t necessarily want to retaliate through trade or tariff wars. Chinese are not troublemakers, but they will not flinch when trouble comes their way.
History teaches that walls built to exclude others ultimately become prisons of oneself. In weaponising tariffs, America risks entombing itself in an isolation of its own making—a stark warning to those trading cooperation for confrontation.
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