Sampson Ahi, the deputy minister of trade, revealed that President John Mahama has instructed them to take all necessary steps to address the contentious 10% tariffs that US President Donald Trump placed on Ghana’s exports.
The Bodi MP stated on Monday, April 7, on Joy News’ PM Express that the President views the issue as one of national interest and has fully supported any diplomatic and strategic endeavour to lift the levy, which many Ghanaians believe is unwarranted.
Speaking in the interview, Mr. Ahi disclosed, “President John Mahama has tasked us to ensure that efforts have been made to ensure that this problem of Trump tariffs slapped on the country is addressed.”
The Deputy Minister’s remarks came after a high-level discussion earlier in the day with Virginia Palmer, the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana.
Although the United States does not produce cocoa, the Trump team’s decision to include the country’s top export commodity, cocoa, in a list of goods targeted for higher tariffs served as the impetus for the meeting.
Mr. Ahi went on to say, “Once we have his blessings, I am sure that if he has to intervene, he will certainly do.” This suggests that the President is willing to become involved at the highest levels to safeguard Ghana’s economic interests.
Given that the United States has no domestic cocoa business to defend, he said the Ghanaian delegation questioned the rationale behind targeting cocoa with a 10% tariff.
Ahi contended, “If you want to tax commodities to stay competitive, you would do so based on the commodities in which you have a competitive advantage over us.”
“Even though the United States does not produce cocoa, they have imposed a 10% tariff on its exports.”
Ambassador Palmer, according to Ahi, seemed surprised that cocoa was included in the tariff plan and recommended that Ghana seek a resolution at a higher diplomatic level.
“She was taken aback,” Ahi remarked.
She believed that a commodity like cocoa could be free from the 10% tariff if we pursued it. She believes that we ought to get involved at a higher level, which would entail inviting the President to participate at the highest level of government.
According to Sampson Ahi, the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are also getting ready to reply jointly, thus Ghana is not fighting this battle alone.
We are also aware that we Africans have decided to combat this together. In order to examine this matter, AfCFTA is setting up a meeting with African trade ministers on the 14th of this month.
He made it clear that Ghana will not back down from its pursuit of what he called a “unfair” trade decision.
This issue impacts our economy, our farmers, and our export revenue. We do not take this issue lightly.
