Ghana will be among the least affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by the US tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.
According to Fitch Solutions, the country will be ranked 42nd in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The US imposed a 10% reciprocal tariff on Ghana. The goods that would be the hardest hit are cocoa, textiles and some agricultural products.
According to the UK-based firm’s Effective US Reciprocal Tariff Rates, DR Congo will be the hardest hit in Sub Saharan Africa and will be followed by Somalia (2nd), Sao Tome and Principe (3rd), Niger (4th) and Eritrea (5th).
Equatorial Guinea will be the least affected Sub-Saharan Africa country.
The effective US reciprocal tariff rates account for other tariffs and exemptions.
Fitch Solutions warned that Sub-Saharan Africa oil-exporting markets will be the hardest hit should global oil prices fail to recover.
“We believe that SSA’s oil-exporting markets will come under significant pressure should global oil prices fail to recover. Brent crude prices have dropped by around 14.9% since April 2 [2025] with rising fears of a global economic slowdown being exacerbated by the decision by OPEC+ to accelerate the return of its cut barrels to market”.
Among the larger markets in SSA, Angola and Nigeria are particularly vulnerable given their structural dependence on oil as a source of both government revenue and foreign exchange.
From a fiscal perspective, Fitch Solutions said Angola and Nigeria based their 2025 budgets on Brent crude prices averaging US$70 per barrel and US$75 per barrel, respectively, an assumption that now appears highly unlikely.
During his second presidency, United States President Donald Trump enacted a series of steep protective tariffs affecting nearly all goods imported into the United States. Between January and April 2025, the average effective US tariff rate rose from 2.5% to an estimated 27%—the highest level in over a century.
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