The Namibian government says the imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the US President, Donald Trump, requires a balanced approach from Southern African Customs Union member states, including Namibia, to find a workable solution.

This is in response to the 21% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Namibia as part of a series of sweeping reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners.

The statement from the Ministry of International Relations and Trade says that to mitigate the impact of the tariffs imposed, stakeholder engagements will be imperative to gauge and establish the extent of the effects imposed by the U.S.

"It is also worth noting that the imposition of tariffs could lead to decreased competitiveness of Namibian beef and fish exports in the U.S. market, potentially reducing sales volume and demand for Namibian products due to price increases attributed to the tariff. Overall, the tariffs could disrupt established supply chains and negatively affect Namibia's export earnings, impacting broader preferential stability for Namibian products under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) regime," the statement reads.

Namibia imposes a 42% tariff on goods imported from the U.S., which the ministry labels as maybe a contributing factor to President Trump's decision.

However, it added that not all goods from the USA into Namibia attract customs duties as per the SACU tariff structure.