What Africa needs, a friend of mine is fond of saying, is an African Trump: an “Africa first” leader who is not afraid of rubbing the rest of the world up the wrong way, someone willing to rip up traditional alliances, forgo historic links, forge a united and common purpose among Africa’s diverse nations, and then make their own needs – unambiguously – the priority.
It’s a surprising way to frame things, but these are surprising times, and political ideologies are upside down. Protectionism is having a moment in the sun, in a useful reminder of the degree to which our perception is skewed of which countries practise competitive capitalism and which do not.
Protectionism is often associated with, and criticised in, the policies of poorer countries. It’s what Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Iran do, and why they are ranked among the least competitive business environments. Yet it is these countries from which Trump now takes inspiration. Indeed, it was India’s fondness for protectionism – imposing 100% duties on US motorcycles while the US had zero duties on motorcycles imported from India – that ostensibly justified Trump’s renewed passion for tariffs on imported steel.
Source : theguardian
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