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🎬Retaliatory tariffs
Happy Friday. Today is National Walk to Work Day, the one commemoration we suggest everyone disregards, especially if you live in Lagos and your home is separated from your workplace by 12km of fish-viewing platform.
If you must observe it, however, here’s a tip: If you have a wearable, divide your daily average heart rate by your daily steps. The lower the ratio, the better. Higher ratios suggest a risk for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes.
Starting to reconsider option 1, huh?
— Ayomide Obafemi, Edna Akanni.
Currency exchange rates as of market close yesterday. Here’s what these numbers mean
Trump ushers in new status quo with retaliatory tariffs
Haiyun Jiang/New York Times
With the kind of pomp and pageantry usually reserved for any Afrobeats artist’s entrance to their show at the O2 Arena in London, this week President Trump flipped the economic status quo that’s existed for decades on its head with the announcement of a minimum 10% tariff on all exporters to the US—plus higher reciprocal rates on countries he said maintain unfair trade barriers for American products.
Reciprocal. That means they do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple,” Trump said. Though the reciprocity won’t be exact: The president said the US would be imposing only half of what other countries levy on US imports, but that the figure being halved would include “the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers, and other forms of cheating.”
Holding up an extremely memeable chart with a list of countries and their tariff rates on US goods, the president addressed some of the most significant new rates. Scheduled to kick in at midnight on April 9, they include:
A 14% tariff on Nigeria. A response to the 27% tariff imposed by Nigeria on all US imported products. With Nigeria’s primary export being petroleum products, this can affect the country’s primary revenue driver.
Egypt’s rate will be 10%, Ivory Coast, 21%, and South Africa will edge out at 30%.
Surprisingly, the country Trump hasn’t heard about, Lesotho, will suffer the largest tariff rate of all affected countries with a 50% retaliatory tariff, which is likely to upend the global citrus economy, per Africanews.
Everyone’s having a moment…including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who in response to the tariffs, urged countries to strike bilateral trade deals with the US to avoid loss of revenue from reduced exports.
For everyone else, the threat of a $2,300 iPhone just became real. According to Rosenblatt Securities, Apple may pass on the resulting cost increase from tariffs on its China-manufactured iPhones to the final consumer. -EA, OA.
Meta is gearing up to fight, literally
UFC
TKO Group’s UFC reached a multimillion-dollar, multiyear sponsorship deal with Meta to integrate the mixed martial arts league across the Big Tech company’s products and platforms. In return, Meta will be UFC’s “official fan technology partner” and have its branding displayed in the Octagon ring for UFC’s events. If you’re up to date on your Zuck lore, the partnership isn’t out of nowhere: The Meta founder practices mixed martial arts, attends UFC events, and, lest we forget, said that corporate culture would benefit from more “masculine energy.” Meta might not be on the same page — the company noted its CEO’s affinity for combat sports as a potential risk factor in its annual report.
“If every female dog is a bitch, every male dog is a son of a bitch.”
Around the continent
WIRED
South Africa’s coalition parties have stalled the country’s budget bill over a disagreement on a VAT increase.
White Afrikaaner separatists in South Africa have asked for Trump’s help to become a standalone state. Trump already offered them asylum in the US.
The US is considering DR Congo’s “minerals for peace” proposal per Reuters.
Nigeria’s Transport Workers’ Union has said it will boycott InDrive after multiple security concerns have surfaced.
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