The Minister of State, Economy, and Finance of São Tomé and Príncipe, Gareth Guadalupe, stated that the tariff announced by the American President “will not pose any problem for the country’s economy.” The Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Ulisses Correia e Silva, noted that he expects minimal impact, as Europe is the primary support of tourism, the archipelago’s economic engine.
“We have a 10% tariff that was imposed on São Tomé and Príncipe, but it will not pose any problem for the São Toméan economy. It exists, but we will continue our lives because our currency reserves do not depend on what we exported to the United States,” said Gareth Guadalupe.
“We did not export anything” to the United States, declared the São Toméan minister at a press conference today in São Tomé.
The Cape Verdean Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, expressed to journalists on Thursday his concern about the announcements from the Trump administration, considering the context “unpredictable.”
However, the new tariffs are not expected to significantly affect Cape Verde, whose external goods trade is done primarily with Europe, from where the majority of the visitors to fuel the tourism economy also hail.
The U.S. hosts some of the main communities of the Cape Verdean diaspora, who contribute remittances that are crucial to the country’s economy, but the government leader said, for now, “there is no cause for concern.”
During a major event at the White House on Wednesday, the American President, Donald Trump, who called the day “Liberation Day” for the U.S., imposed a minimum tariff of 10% on dozens of countries worldwide and an additional tax on those Washington considers “worst offenders” for their barriers to American products.
“This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in the history of the United States. It is our declaration of economic independence,” emphasized the statesman.
In addition to São Tomé and Príncipe and Cape Verde, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, and East Timor were also included in the group subject to the 10% tariff, and other members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) were similarly targeted by Trump’s announcement, with Angola taxed at 32%, Mozambique at 16%, and Equatorial Guinea at 13%, while Portugal is included in the tariffs imposed on the EU.
