Botswana is actively engaging the United States of America (USA) on the issue of trade tariffs and President Duma Boko is confident that a “reasonable settlement” will be reached in due course.
In an interview with international media in Hungary over the weekend, President Boko underscored the importance of fair and equitable trade across all global blocks, noting that Botswana remains committed to deepening its trade ties not only with the US but also with China, the European Union (EU), and other trading partners.
“Trade must deepen between the UN, China and any other trading block. The terms of engagement must be fair and equitable to all parties,” Boko said.
The United States’ recent tariff adjustments have stirred concern amongst markets, including Botswana, whose key exports such as diamonds are deeply exposed to U.S trade policy.
“The imposition of tariffs by the USA is a matter in which we are engaging. We believe very soon we will reach a reasonable settlement on the matter,” Boko stated.
Whilst the potential impact of these tariffs on Botswana’s broader trade outlook is yet to be fully seen, Boko reaffirmed the country’s strategy of managing bilateral relationships independently, with a focus on strategic diversification.
“How that affects trade with other partners we will see," he said. “We are a supplier of beef to the EU. We separate our relationship with the EU, which has been growing over time, from any other relationship we have with others.”
Botswana’s longstanding trade relationship with the EU, particularly in agricultural exports, has seen steady growth over the years. Meanwhile, the US and China remain major markets for Botswana’s diamond exports.
“The USA is a huge market for our diamonds, in the same way China is,” Boko emphasised.
Speaking in Las Vegas last week, the President expressed strong confidence that a deal would be settled upon with the U.S, specifically to grant natural diamonds tariff-free entry into the U.S. The U.S represents the world’s leading market for diamonds, accounting for about 54% of annual demand.
“We have a good relationship with the U.S and I had a very good meeting with (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio a few weeks ago. “That was a preclude in my view to outcomes that we will achieve from our sustained engagement with the Trump administration. “So I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that we will be able to navigate and overcome these tariff blips and get to a point soon where we will have zero tariffs on natural diamonds,” he said.
Boko added: “I am certain in my mind that we will get there; we definitely will because it’s the only reasonable, and logical position.”
The President met with Rubio a few months ago in one of the Secretary of State’s few engagements with African leaders.
Over the weekend, Troy Fitrell, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of African Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, revealed stunning details of the closed-door meeting between Rubio and Boko.
“I don’t think I’m breaching any confidence when I say that Secretary Rubio described it as the single best meeting he’d ever had. It was all positive. But this is what happens when you work with a government that really wants to do things the right way,” Fitrell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Africa.
