Trump’s tariffs target some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries.

Some of US President Donald Trump’s most punishing tariffs will target the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries, including those in the throes of deadly civil wars and emerging from suffocating economic crises.

Five countries singled out by the US for tariffs above the 10% minimum — the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11%), Madagascar (47%), Mozambique (16%), Malawi (18%) and Syria (41%) — are among the world’s 26 poorest economies. Collectively, these economies are responsible for just 0.5% of global output and income but are home to nearly 40% of the world’s poor, according to the World Bank.
In Madagascar, an island of about 25 million people off the coast of Southern Africa, more than 80% of the population lives in extreme poverty and survives on less than $2.15 per day.

Its exports to the US, its second-largest export market, totaled almost $800 million in 2024, consisting of mainly vanilla, apparel, titanium and cobalt.

Venezuela (15%), which also suffered from an economic collapse and humanitarian disaster, relies on the US as its biggest trading partner. The US imported $6 billion worth of goods from the South American country in 2024.

Among other countries singled out with the highest tariff rates is Myanmar (44%), a Southeast Asian nation recently hit by a massive earthquake that has killed more than 3,000 people. The country has also been embroiled in civil war for four years. Sparked by a military coup, the fighting has seen junta forces battle rebel groups across the country.

Madina Mammadova//EDnews