U.S. tariffs likely to weigh on SADC growth prospects: Zimbabwean minister

Growth prospects in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are likely to be weighed down by proposed U.S. trade tariffs, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said.

HARARE, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Growth prospects in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are likely to be weighed down by proposed U.S. trade tariffs, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said Thursday.

Ncube made the remarks while opening the Committee of SADC Ministers of Finance and Investment and the Peer Review Panel meetings in the city of Victoria Falls, to review progress on the integration of financial markets and the achievement of macroeconomic convergence in the region.

Ncube said resource-intensive countries in the region will be most affected, as geopolitical developments might potentially disrupt the region's economic stability, integration, and macroeconomic convergence.

"For instance, the drastically higher tariffs imposed by the United States on imports from most economies could have direct and indirect effects on the export earnings of the SADC region," Ncube said, adding that the ongoing geopolitical tensions have resulted in some countries re-evaluating their trading partners based on economic and national security concerns, while foreign direct investment flows are also being re-directed along geopolitical lines.

Also addressing the meeting, SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi urged the region to diversify trading partners and supply chains amid the shifting global tariff landscape.

"It is imperative to reduce vulnerabilities, avoid over-dependence on single producers or export markets, and ensure a more balanced sharing of risks and opportunities. For the SADC region, this is indeed a critical moment for deep introspection," Magosi said.

The SADC region must move swiftly and decisively to develop its own financial instruments to safeguard economic stability and advance regional integration amid the declining international financial flows, he added.

The SADC is a 16-member regional bloc, comprising Angola, Botswana, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. ■