By Adeyemi Adepetun
International Trade Centre (ITC) has called on developing nations to prioritise three key areas to survive President Donald Trump’s of America’s trade tariffs.

It also underscored the need for diversification and value addition. Executive Director of ITC, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, said the body had been following the U.S. tariffs, in particular, the impact of the tariffs on developing countries and their small businesses.

She said the ITC initial estimates, developed with the French economics research institute, CEPII, calculated before the announcement of the 90-day pause and the additional tariff hikes on China, indicated that by 2040, the effect of the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs and initial countermeasures could reduce global GDP by 0.7 per cent, saying countries like Mexico, China, Thailand and countries in Southern Africa were among the most affected, alongside the United States itself.

According to her, global trade could shrink by three per cent, with significant long-term shifts in trade patterns and economic integration, noting, for example, that exports from Mexico, have been highly impacted.

Coke-Hamilton said some of the least developed countries rely heavily on the U.S. market for their exports, using preferences such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which had allowed imports from Sub-Saharan African countries to enter the U.S. market duty-free since 2000.

ITC said diversification was about exploring new markets to sell to reduce reliance on one or two big trading partners, saying it’s the concept of “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”.

In addition to value addition, the trade body said it required developing countries to move from selling commodities to focusing on the in-country processing of goods before export.