China has now dropped tariffs on imports from every African country
except 1
[May 02, 2026] By
GERALD IMRAY
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A China policy giving Africa's biggest
economies tariff-free access to its market for the next two years came
into effect Friday while its economic rival the United States seeks to
impose new import taxes under President Donald Trump's push for
protectionism.
The China deal covers Africa's 20 largest economies, including South
Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and Kenya. China had already dropped
tariffs on 33 poorer African countries, meaning 53 of the continent's 54
nations are now eligible for “tariff-free treatment” for their goods,
according to China.
The country not eligible is the small nation of Eswatini because it is
the only one in Africa that maintains formal diplomatic ties with
Taiwan.
China says it'll help mutual development
The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council in China said the
agreement would promote the common development of China and Africa.
China's official Xinhua News Agency said a shipment of 24 metric tons of
apples from South Africa that cleared customs in Shenzhen in the early
hours of Friday was the first batch of goods to enter under the new
zero-tariff policy.
According to Xinhua, China's Commerce Ministry said it would especially
benefit African products like cocoa from Ivory Coast and Ghana, coffee
and avocados from Kenya, and citrus fruits and wine from South Africa,
which used to face tariffs of between 8% and 30%.
Ivory Coast is by far the world's biggest cocoa producer and it and
Ghana account for more than 50% of the global supply. South Africa is a
major citrus fruit exporter.
African nations looking away from the US
Several of Africa's top economies said they would look for new markets
for some of their U.S.-bound products after the Trump administration
imposed reciprocal tariffs a year ago — at one point with rates of 30%
for Africa's leading economy, South Africa, and higher than 40% for some
other African countries.
“South Africa looks forward to working with China in a friendly,
pragmatic and flexible manner,” South African Trade Minister Parks Tau
said in February during bilateral talks in China.
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China's President Xi Jinping, right, and Mozambique's President
Daniel Chapo attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the
People in Beijing Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (Haruna Furuhashi/Pool
Photo via AP)
 While the U.S. Supreme Court struck
down Trump's far-reaching global tariffs as unconstitutional in
February, the Republican president said his administration had "very
powerful alternatives” and promptly rolled out temporary import
taxes to replace them.
China is already the biggest trade partner for Africa, a continent
of 1.5 billion people that's expected to nearly double to 2.5
billion by 2050, according to the United Nations, when it would have
more than a quarter of the world's people.
China dominates a large trade imbalance with Africa
China hailed its tariff-free deal as promoting common development,
but there is a large trade imbalance between it and Africa, while
African nations owe Beijing billions in debt repayments.
China-Africa trade reached a record $348 billion in 2025, though
China's exports to Africa increased by around 25% to $225 billion,
while its imports from Africa increased by only around 5% to $123
billion, widening the trade deficit for Africa.
China has long imported raw materials from Africa and sent back
manufactured goods. Thierry Pairault, a China-Africa expert at
France's National Center for Scientific Research, said that while
the new policy might have some benefits for agricultural products,
most African raw material exports like oil and minerals already had
tariff-free access to China.
“(Chinese leader) Xi Jinping is positioning China as the antithesis
of Western protectionism. This gesture is intended to appeal to both
African public opinion and global markets,” Pairault wrote in an
assessment published by the China Global South Project, which
analyzes China's relationship with poor countries.
But the policy “only applies where it costs (China) almost nothing,”
Pairault wrote.
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