Europe can be a stable and trusted partner for Africa at a time when US President Donald Trump’s tariff war has created uncertainty in global trade, according to an European Investment Bank official.
“In a world that is more and more turbulent, where big powers suddenly can turn your back on you, I think there is an awareness that Europe is there” offering serious, long-term partnerships on an equal-footing basis, Thomas Ostros, a vice president at EIB said in an interview in Nairobi, where he was attending the EU-Kenya Business Forum.
With China, which has been the Africa’s biggest trading partner for more than a decade, scaling back investments in the continent after reaching a peak in 2018, and countries facing the threat of higher US tariffs, Ostros said Europe can be a “beacon” of stability for its partners around the world. Tariffs are bad for the economy and will erode the wealth of a lot of nations, primarily the US, he added.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies says 29 African countries will face the baseline US tariff of 10%, while another 22 countries will face charges of as much as 50% for most of their products excluding items such as critical minerals deemed necessary to the US economy.
The EIB, which lends as much as €5 billion a year to the continent, says it’s also looking at a raft of investment opportunities, including the much-anticipated rapid bus transportation system in Kenya. It also will provide a €100 million loan to Family Bank Kenya, which finances small businesses, particularly in trade and agriculture.
In the meantime, the European Union has been stepping up its presence in Africa. It recently set up the European Chamber of Commerce in Kenya.