Patrick Assuming, an Associate Professor at the University of Ghana Business School, has warned that the trade wars sparked by former US President Donald Trump could have serious consequences for Ghana’s economy.
He expressed concerns about the global economic uncertainty, the possibility of recessions in key trading partner nations, and the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Professor Assuming cautioned that the ripple effects of these trade conflicts could hinder global economic growth, ultimately impacting Ghana’s trade opportunities.
” We know that the AGOA program, which is three to three quota free assets that you will give to elected goods from Africa, is up for renewal this year. We don’t know whether Mr. Trump will renew it or not. But even without knowing that, I think the escalating in the trade wars that we are seeing is only bad news for the global economy, and it’s also the bad news for Ghana because it’s going to bring more uncertainty. It can easily trigger recession.
And if you see a recession happening in major trading partners, that is going to have an indication. So while it is not clear the full extent of what Mr. Trump’s actions will be and the dire indications for the Ghanaian economy is not fully clear yet until you’ve seen the totality of what he’s planning to do.”
“You can already see the certainty that will bring the global economy and potentially reducing the already fragile growth from the global economy. We’ll definitely have a direct impact on that.
He urged Ghanaian leaders to prioritize building a resilient economy, warning that the country’s reliance on foreign aid and imports is unsustainable.
“We have to build our own economy in a resilient manner, and we need to begin to see to boost our own domestic production. I think that is a long term project, but that’s what we have to do. We didn’t learn from the COVID. Now it’s a Trump impact. We are seeing it’s only following his American first to finance our own development.
And however painful it will be, now is the time to start taking the action that will require that. We are building resilient economy, and we are building productive capacity to supply some of the things that we need to supply for our people
