Eswatini played ‘smart’ on transfer deal of convicted criminals with US
By Lwazi Dlamini
Eswatini’s decision to accept the five convicted criminals from the United States of America was a smart move which played a big role in the country being exempted from the recently announced trade tariffs.
On Friday, US President Donald J. Trump announced six countries including Eswatini that have been exempted from trade tariffs in goods entering the US. South Africa has been left with a 30 per cent tariff for its exports to the US.
Some South African economists have already labelled the decision by Eswatini to accept the five US Deportees as having been a smart from the country’s authorities.
FairPlay founder Francois Baird, in an interview with Newzroom Afrika, said South African farmers, workers and producers are now paying the penalty for their government alienating the biggest economy in the world over the last 15 years.
“If you look at what Eswatini did, very smartly, by doing a deal that’s not only about trade it but also about taking in illegal alien people from the US shows that some governments have not been asleep on the wheel but have been quite about how to negotiate.
Unless South Africa changes its political posture and alignment, the trade situation with the US will get worse,” Baird said.
US President Trump signed an Executive Order issuing 15 per cent tariffs on most African countries except for Libya and South Africa who will pay 30 per cent while Tunisia will pay 25 per cent.
The six countries who have been exempted from the tariffs are namely, Eswatini, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Senegal and Eswatini.
Friday’s announcement by Trump comes amid growing trade tensions globally. The exemptions granted to Eswatini and a few other nations have raised speculation, particularly given the Kingdom’s recent acceptance of five individuals, who were deported by US authorities.
Eswatini’s exemption coincides closely with the recent deportation of the five individuals by the US to the country. While government has not officially linked the tariff exemption to these extraditions, speculation suggests a possible connection with most Economists in South Africa highlighting it.
