Botswana‘s hands tied as Trump tariffs loom
Pauline Dikuelo | Friday August 1, 2025 10:21
Under previous advisories from the Trump administration, August 1, 2025 is the last deadline for Botswana and all other countries around the world to have reached a trade agreement or face the US’ own estimated levies.
President Donald Trump’s global tariffs were initially set for April, then postponed to July and finally to August 1 – and the American leader has vowed that there will not be any further extensions.
Under the original tariff structure, Botswana is scheduled to be hit with a 37% duty on its direct exports, which compose primarily of diamonds.
Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, confirmed Wednesday to Mmegi that Botswana and the US were in constant communication and even agreed on exchanging proposals during a recent meeting.
“We are still negotiating and have not yet concluded. The last time we met, they asked us to send them a proposal, and they also shared theirs. “There is nothing we can do as the deadline approaches as our hands are tied because the US is the ultimate decider. “However, we remain hopeful for the best outcome,” Ntsima said.
While Botswana’s direct exports to the U S are minimal, the country is expected to be hard hit through the diamond pipeline.
The US is the diamond industry’s primary market, accounting for more than 50% of sales and rough diamonds from Botswana are routed through centres in India, United Arab Emirates, Belgium and even Israel, before arriving as polished jewellery in America.
India, which processes approximately 90% of the world’s rough diamonds and plays a vital role in Botswana’s diamond value chain, was slapped with a tariff of 25% by Trump this week.
Meanwhile, China, a smaller diamond processing centre compared to India faces steep tariffs of up to 125%.
Trump imposed a 10% baseline tariffs plus a matching 10% reciprocal tariff on UAE imports in April.
Moreover, the U S and EU recently agreed a trade deal ending a months-long standoff between two of the world’s biggest economic partners.
The two agreed a U S tariff on all EU goods of 15%, which is half the 30% import tax rate Trump had threatened to implement.