Developing Nations Face Harder Export Path as US Targets 16 Economies and EU Expands CBAM
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jul 29
Developing Nations Face Harder Export Path as US Targets 16 Economies and EU Expands CBAM
2 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Jul 29
Summary
US preliminary duties on Indian solar cells and a new petition against Ethiopia highlight a broader squeeze on developing-country access to rich consumer markets, undermining export-led industrialisation as a route out of poverty.
Washington’s shift goes beyond classic rule-breaking cases: after a court struck down broad emergency tariffs in February, it turned to other tools, including Section 301 probes into “structural excess capacity” across 16 export-oriented economies.
The tougher stance is spreading. Biden-era metals cases and IRA sourcing rules already pointed the same way, while the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism adds a new cost hurdle for carbon-intensive imports from countries such as India and South Africa.
China offers only partial relief: it has granted zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries, but its manufacturers still dominate many low-end sectors, limiting poorer countries’ ability to gain share in third markets or at home.
Regional trade blocs such as Africa’s 54-country AfCFTA and Asia’s RCEP, along with harder bargaining over minerals, ports and market access, may offer alternatives as the old rules-based export ladder narrows.