The ongoing tariff war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump against countries such as Canada, China, Mexico, and the European Union offers valuable lessons for African leaders, according to Tunji Andrew, CEO of Awabah.
Speaking on Nairametrics’ podcast, Drinks and Mics, Andrew highlighted the importance of prioritizing national interests in policymaking.
Andrew, while expressing his reservations about Trump’s personality, commended the U.S. President’s “America First” approach.
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“This is what I find fascinating about Trump. He is the first person to put on his chest, ‘America First.’ And I do not believe any country in the world should think any differently. Love your neighbor as yourself. First, love yourself, and then love your neighbor equally. So, if you’re going to love Canada, if you’re going to love Mexico, you should give yourself that equal amount of love,” Andrew stated.
He added, “I don’t like the guy’s personality, but what he’s doing for the country is something I believe that a lot of African leaders can borrow a leaf from, standing strong on making their country great.”
The escalating tariff war has seen retaliatory measures between global economic powerhouses. On Wednesday, Trump announced a significant escalation in the trade dispute with Canada, doubling tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%. This move was in response to Ontario’s 25% surcharge on electricity exports to several U.S. states.
In retaliation, Canada announced it would impose 25% tariffs on over $20 billion worth of U.S. goods, including steel, aluminum, computers, sports equipment, and cast iron products. Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed the measures during a press conference.
Simultaneously, the European Union unveiled its own retaliatory trade measures, imposing tariffs on a range of industrial and agricultural products in response to the U.S. duties on steel and aluminum imports. The EU’s new tariffs, effective April 1, aim to counterbalance the Trump administration’s 25% levy on all steel and aluminum imports.
Andrew criticized Canada’s threats to cut electricity exports to the U.S., describing them as “ridiculous.”
He remarked, “What America has been doing to Mexico and Canada has been playing, essentially, Big Daddy for a long while. You’ve just given them a market, hundreds of millions of people to sell to for years. You have created a dependency, and your economy is beginning to suffer for it in the long term. I mean, look at the threats. You’ll switch off lights to people in America. It’s ridiculous. People that have been giving you revenue, billions in revenue for years.”
Defending Trump’s approach, Andrew stated, “There is nothing wrong in Trump trying to protect America’s economy. He has chosen to say this is the tariff I want to put to protect my own economy. Why is this such a bad thing?”
While the EU remains firm in its retaliatory stance, the United Kingdom, having exited the bloc, has opted against imposing similar measures. Instead, the UK expressed disappointment at Washington’s tariff decision.
Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum apply to all imports of the metals, not just those from Canada. Following their enactment early Wednesday morning, the European Union swiftly announced its own tariffs on over $28 billion worth of U.S. goods, set to take effect in April.
