Government of Ghana is committed to engage the USA on the current imposition of tariffs on Ghanaian products to avoid trade disruptions and investment decisions in the country.
The Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness & Industry in a statement copied to Newsghana.com.gh on Sunday, 6th April 2025, wishes to assure the Ghanaian private sector, especially major exporters, investors and the general public of government’s swift response to the situation.
The Ministry as a matter of urgency, is also going to engage relevant stakeholders to determine the extent of the effect and assess the full impact of the US tariffs on the country’s economy. However, various strategies are under consideration to mitigate the immediate impact on Ghana’s trade.
The statement further said, most Ghanaians who exports to the US market enjoy the duty-free, quota free market access through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is a nonreciprocal preferential trade agreement between the USA and eligible African countries, including Ghana.
According to the statement, “The USA announced on 2nd April 2025 the imposition of 10% universal tariff, effective April 5, 2025, covering imports from all countries including Ghana into the United States. However, goods that are on transit as of the date are exempt from the announced tariffs.
In addition, reciprocal tariffs were also imposed on over 50 countries with rates ranging from 11% to 50%, effective April 9, 2025.
According to the Executive Order, the tariffs are being imposed pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) due to economic
and national security implications of the country’s global trade deficits.
The Executive Order specifically exempts certain products from the universal and reciprocal tariffs. These products include copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors,
lumber articles, energy and energy products, and certain critical minerals.
The US market provides a ready- made complementary market destination for several important priority export products from Ghana, such as apparel, cocoa
derivatives, gold jewellery, shea butter, horticulture products including root crops (Yam), fruits, vegetables, cashew, etc.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the private sector is well informed on the details of the imposition to avoid trade disruption as well as ensure predictability of investment decisions in the country.
As an immediate step, the Ministers of Trade, Agribusiness & Industry, Finance and Foreign Affairs will engage the US Ambassador to Ghana on Monday, 7th April, 2025.”
