Trade: Trump Imposes 10% Customs Duty on Togolese Exports

Economic governance

Friday, 04 April 2025 17:03

Trade: Trump Imposes 10% Customs Duty on Togolese Exports

(Togo First) - On April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new wave of customs duties targeting imports from several African countries, including Togo. Togo will face a basic tariff of 10% on all its exports, effective on April 5, 2025.

This measure will particularly impact Togo's agricultural exports, such as coffee, cocoa, shea butter, and soya beans, which are crucial under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The increased tariffs could slow the growth of Togolese exports to the U.S. market, which have risen significantly from $20 million in 2021 to over $90 million in 2023 and $97 million in 2024, according to UN data.

Togo's textile industry, which recently began shipping garments to the U.S. from the Plateforme Industrielle d'Adétikopé (PIA), is also likely to be affected.

While Togo faces a 10% tariff, Lesotho is hit with a 50% rate, making it the worst-affected country on the continent.

This announcement comes as the future of AGOA remains uncertain, with its expiration set for September 2025. African countries are pushing for a 10-year extension, but Trump's tariffs could complicate this effort.

In response, Togo might strengthen ties with China, which has abolished customs duties on 98% of products from Togo and eight other African countries (Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Guinea, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Sudan) since September 2022.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

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In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

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Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.