By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Harare – President Emmerson Mnangagwa has suspended tariffs on US imports in what he called a strategic bid to boost trade with Washington, days after President Donald Trump slapped an 18 percent duty on Zimbabwean goods.
In a statement posted on X, Mnangagwa said the decision would “facilitate the expansion of American imports within the Zimbabwean market, while simultaneously promoting the growth of Zimbabwean exports destined for the United States.”
Trade between the two countries is modest, totaling $111.6 million in 2024, with Zimbabwe mainly selling tobacco and sugar to the US.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of decades of strained relations. Since the early 2000s, Washington has imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe over alleged human rights abuses and corruption. Although the Biden administration scrapped the old sanctions regime last year, it introduced new targeted measures against Mnangagwa and senior ZANU-PF officials.
Mnangagwa has repeatedly denounced the restrictions as “illegal and unjustified,” blaming them for Zimbabwe’s prolonged economic collapse.
Journalist and activist Hopewell Chin’ono dismissed the tariff suspension as a “knee-jerk reaction,” saying it risked sidelining Zimbabwe’s main trading partners the UAE, South Africa and China in pursuit of closer ties with Washington.
“Does Zimbabwe even export enough to the US to justify trying to appease Trump’s administration in this way?” Chin’ono wrote on X, adding that unilateral action could undermine regional cooperation through the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Economists say the suspension may make US goods cheaper for Zimbabwean consumers but is unlikely to significantly expand Zimbabwe’s exports to the American market.
Still, the move signals Mnangagwa’s willingness to recalibrate ties with Washington — potentially testing the limits of Zimbabwe’s diplomatic balancing act between the West and its traditional allies in Asia and Africa.