China scraps tariffs for all but one African nation

China is removing tariffs on imports from every African country except Eswatini, the only African state that maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Beijing said over the weekend. The policy, effective from June 1, expands a duty-free framework that previously applied to the continent's poorest economies and now covers exporters of every income level, from Nigerian oil to South African platinum and Ethiopian textiles.

Commerce Ministry officials said the move is intended to deepen the African Continental Free Trade Area's links to Chinese supply chains. Analysts said the timing — days before Trump's Beijing visit and weeks before the African Union's annual summit — was deliberate, framing China as the continent's primary trade partner just as Washington threatens to revert to higher tariffs on its African Growth and Opportunity Act.

African exporters welcomed the decision but warned the benefits could be uneven. Goods sectors that compete directly with Chinese manufacturing, such as light electronics and steel, are unlikely to gain much. Commodity exporters and agricultural producers, by contrast, expect immediate orders amid Iran-driven oil and shipping uncertainty.