Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has called on President John Dramani Mahama and his colleague African heads of state to ensure that Ghanaians and other Africans are not hit by the negative impact of the tariffs announced by the US President Donald Trump.
In the view of Mr Oppong Nkrumah, the time to act against the possible impact is now.
The former Minister of Works and Housing wrote on Facebook that “It is welcoming that a number of ministers are engaging the US ambassador on the matter of the 10% tariffs on Ghana after calls from Ghana.
“Importantly however the President and his colleague Presidents in affected African countries will have to take this up to ensure that Ghana and Africa aren’t negatively hit by the obviously negative impact that these tariffs will have on the Ghanaian and african economies. Time to act is NOW.!!”
His comments follow the invitation that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa extended to the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, to his office on Monday, April 7.
The purpose of the invitation is to gather information regarding President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose a 10% tariff on goods imported from Ghana.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a set of tariffs, including a 34% levy on imports from China and a 20% tax on goods from the European Union. The decision has also impacted Ghana which has been hit with a 10% baseline import tax.
In a statement posted on X on April 4, Okudzeto Ablakwa said the meeting would provide an opportunity for Ambassador Palmer to offer explanations regarding the rationale behind the tariff.
“I can confirm that I have invited US Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Virginia Palmer to my office on Monday morning to provide clarifications and reasons for President Trump’s imposition of 10% tariff on Ghana,” he said in his statement.
Meanwhile, Immediate past National Coordinator of AfCFTA, Dr. Fareed Arthur has suggested that the tariff is an opportunity for African markets to review its trading patterns to benefit from the 1.4 billion population the continent boasts of.
Commenting on the development, Dr. Fareed Arthur noted that the decision by the US will force African countries to seek alternative markets, a problem he believes the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) provides solutions to.
