UN trade agency urges US to exclude poor states from tariffs

15/4/2025 7:28

The U.N. Trade and Development agency urged U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Monday to exclude the poorest and smallest economies from reciprocal tariffs because it "would have minimal impact on United States trade policy objectives."



Trump imposed steep import tariffs from 11% to 50% on 57 trading partners - including the European Union - on April 9 only to pause the duties hours later for 90 days for all of them but China. The pause has cut the rate for those states to 10%, a level he had imposed on nearly all other countries.



The U.N. agency, known as UNCTAD, said the pause offered a "critical moment to consider exempting" small, vulnerable economies and least developed countries "from tariffs that offer little to no advantage for U.S. trade policy while potentially causing serious economic harm abroad."