By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:Eswatini has reacted to a decision communicated by newly inaugurated United States(US) President Donald Trump, imposing ten percent(10%) tariffs on goods imported from the tiny Kingdom situated in Southern Africa.

Mancoba Khumalo, the Kingdom’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade says, “the new tariffs imposed by the United States will negatively impacts local exporters”.

But the Commerce Minister, in a press statement released on Thursday, expressed the country’s commitment to maintain strong international trade relations with countries including the United States.

“This decision is expected to negatively impact our exporters.In response, we are conducting extensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders to gather the necessary details that will help determine which products will be affected. The Ministry will formally inform our traders regarding this matter. Once we receive the official communication detailing the list of affected products, we will engage further with the impacted traders to discuss the implications and necessary actions. The Eswatini Government remains committed to maintaining strong international trade relations with the United States of America and fostering a business environment that supports economic resilience and growth,” reads the statement in part, released by the Commerce Minister on Thursday afternoon.

On another note, the decision by the US President comes at the time when eSwatini is facing a fiscal deficit, the country is relying heavily on the South African Customs Union(SACU) to fund it’s budget and according to previous reports released by the International Monetary Fund(IMF), the country’s domestic revenue cannot sustain the expenditure including the public sector wage bill.

But now, with the country’s largest trading partner-South Africa facing an escalating diplomatic and trade war with the US, “the latest decision by the US President imposing the 10% tariffs on eSwatini imports might negatively impact the economy”.

Eswatini is also a founding member of the Southern African Development Community(SADC), an organization promoting sustainable and equitable economic growth, socio-economic development and, regional integration through cooperation and good governance.

The change in the United States diplomatic and trade policies under the Trump administration might negatively impact the entire region.