Abu Dhabi, Oct. 22, 2025 – Rich countries should not approach trade with Africa as a game of Minecraft in which they secure supplies of natural resources, but rather as a relationship based on mutual respect and the need for Africa to develop, Nigeria’s foreign minister said. Yusuf Tuggar also said that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and a crude oil exporter with chronic problems such as a huge power deficit, was less affected by U.S. trade tariffs than other countries due to its scale and its other trading …
China hits back at US on shipping with Hanwha curbs, probe
Washington, Oct. 14, 2025 – China has threatened further retaliatory measures against US curbs on its shipping sector, after sanctioning American entities of a South Korean shipping giant. The Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday it was placing limits on five US entities of Hanwha Ocean Co., one of South Korea’s biggest shipbuilders. The company’s shares dipped as much as 8% in Seoul, their biggest decline in about two months. The moves are a marked escalation in a long-standing dispute between the world’s two largest economies over maritime dominance. It …
OPEC+ plus to raise oil production by 137,000 barrels a day in November
London, Oct. 6, 2025 – Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of (OPEC+) on Sunday decided to raise their production quotas by 137,000 barrels per day in November, as they continue to push for greater market share. “In view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories, the eight participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 137 thousand barrels per day” from October’s levels, the group said in a statement after an on-line meeting. The increase …
Trump Tariffs’ Boomerang: U.S. prices climb on imported goods
Washington, Oct. 6, 2025 – The impact of the large-scale import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump has begun to appear in U.S. prices, particularly across a wide range of imported goods from soup cans to auto parts, the British daily Financial Times, FT, has reported. This is attributed to companies that had been holding inventory absorbing the cost increases from tariffs no longer being able to withstand the burden and beginning to pass it on to consumers. “The effect of the Trump tariffs is beginning to show …
Africa’s trade dream endures – Prof. Oramah
By Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU & Solange BANSON Accra, Oct. 3, 2025 – Professor Benedict Oramah, outgoing president and chairman of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has declared that Africa’s trade and integration project remains alive and thriving despite persistent structural and financial challenges across the continent. Delivering his farewell lecture at the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Prof. Oramah argued that trade finance has become the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) lifeblood – bridging the gap between high-level treaties and day-to-day business transactions. “The nexus between trade finance, …
AfCFTA signals new chapter for Intra-African trade, tourism development – Nketia
Accra, Oct. 2, 2025 – Alexander Kwame Nketia, Member, AfCFTA Committee on Trade in Services, says the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents a bold and transformative leap towards achieving Africa’s long-sought economic sovereignty and sustainable growth. He said the agreement was far more than a trade deal, but a historic catalyst for deeper integration, tourism promotion, and job creation across the continent. “AfCFTA is a strategic reset, a recalibration of Africa’s trade priorities to favour internal growth. With it, we are creating not just a market, but …
TikTok in focus as Trump-Xi try to break trade deadlock
Washington, Sept. 19, 2025 – President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will look to reach an agreement on Friday that will help keep the video app TikTok in the US and ease tensions between the two major economies that are currently locked in a standoff over trade. US officials said the agreement, which is at the top of the agenda, is expected to be discussed on Friday morning. China has yet to confirm plans for the call, but according to Reuters, it is expected to lead to a in-person summit between …
US trade deficit expands more than expected – official
Washington, Sept. 5, 2025 – The US trade deficit expanded more than expected in July, government data showed Thursday, on a surge in imports analysts expect was driven by a rush to beat another wave of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The overall US trade deficit jumped 32.5 percent to $78.3 billion in July, the Department of Commerce said. This came on the back of a 5.9-percent rise in imports to $358.8 billion, while exports edged up just 0.3 percent to $280.5 billion. A Briefing.com consensus forecast had expected a smaller …
Trump says India offered to reduce tariffs on US goods to nothing
Washington, Sept. 2, 2025 – United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that India has offered to reduce its tariffs on US goods to zero amid deteriorating ties between the two countries. While calling the US’s relationship with India “one-sided”, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “They have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago.” The Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Trump’s comments, which follow the implementation of total duties as high as 50 …
India shores up ties with China, Russia in defiance of Trump
London, Sept. 2, 2025 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his first trip to China in seven years to reset relations with India’s powerful neighbor while also seeking to strengthen ties with Russia as President Donald Trump ratchets up tensions with New Delhi. Modi held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin on Sunday at a regional security and economic summit, with both sides pledging to be partners, not rivals. They discussed border issues, resuming direct flights and increasing trade, according to official readouts. On Monday, Modi met President …