Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has shrugged off a new 10% reciprocal tariff imposed by the United States on Ugandan exports, saying he has no intention of pleading with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Don’t involve me in issues to do with Trump. That I should plead with Trump? I don’t have that time,” Museveni said during a public address in Kampala. “Trump may go, and another leader may come with a different mindset. Why can’t we build our own?”
The U.S. included Uganda on a list of countries facing new tariffs starting April 9, citing high trade barriers on American goods. This follows a broader 10% universal tariff on all U.S. imports introduced by Trump on April 5.
Museveni downplayed the impact, urging Ugandans to shift focus toward intra-African trade, regional integration, and economic self-reliance.
“Trump has put a tax. What shall we do? You have Africa—work on Africa,” he said. “We’ve been telling you this all along.”
Reaffirming the National Resistance Movement’s principles—love for Uganda, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy—Museveni said Uganda’s strength lies in unity, not tribalism or external dependency.
“Uganda is Africa,” he said. “In the next 30 years, Africa will be 2.5 billion people—a quarter of the world’s population. This is the future.”
While global economists warn of broader consequences from U.S. trade moves, Museveni remains firm: Africa must chart its own path.
