A Tariff Waiting Game: Sierra Leone’s Vulnerability In A World Of Trade Wars

President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone (left) and Donald Trump

By Mahmud Tim Kargbo

In a world where powerful countries weaponise tariffs to advance geopolitical agendas, Sierra Leone finds itself economically exposed and institutionally unprepared.

US President Donald Trump’s use of executive authority to impose trade tariffs without Congressional approval set a global precedent, one that Sierra Leone must heed with caution.

We do not possess the fiscal leverage or geopolitical influence to retaliate in kind; however, we can protect our national interest through legal adherence, institutional patience and governance transparency.

The European Union’s response to Trump’s tariff policies offers a powerful lesson. Strength can lie not in retaliation but in restraint guided by law.

Retaliation Is Economic Self-harm For Small States

When Trump launched tariffs against China, the EU and Canada, many US economists advised strongly against tit-for-tat measures.

Retaliatory tariffs may serve political optics but often raise domestic prices and limit access to key goods.

For Sierra Leone, which imports over 85 percent of its consumables, such a move would be catastrophic.

According to Statistics Sierra Leone’s Consumer Price Index report from February 2023, national inflation surpassed 40 percent, largely due to rising import costs.

http://www.statistics.sl/images/StatisticsSL/Documents/CPI/2023/Consumer_Price_Index_February_2023.pdf

Imposing retaliatory tariffs in our context would exacerbate inflation and deepen hardship.

It is a policy option best avoided.

Executive FIAT: From The White House To State House

Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs bypassed Congress and sparked legal scrutiny for violating Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution.

That section assigns Congress the exclusive authority to regulate commerce.

In Sierra Leone, our 1991 Constitution mirrors this principle.

Section 40(4) requires all international treaties and agreements to be ratified by Parliament.

http://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf

Yet successive governments have often entered into multimillion-dollar agreements without adequate legislative scrutiny.

The Mamamah Airport Project, valued at over 318 million US dollars, was signed without full parliamentary oversight and was later cancelled in 2018 by the Bio administration due to debt and transparency concerns.

http://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leone-government-cancels-mamamah-airport-construction-project/

Like Trump’s informal trade arrangements, such executive overreach in Sierra Leone fosters instability and legal ambiguity.

Agreements made outside the constitutional process are not only reversible but also undermine democratic legitimacy.

The TRC’s Warning On Secret Trade

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), formed after Sierra Leone’s civil war, clearly warned that secretive and unregulated trade in resources like diamonds and timber fuelled impunity and conflict.

The report called for stronger parliamentary scrutiny and civil society engagement in economic governance.

http://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-two/item/volume-two-chapter-two?category_id=9

Where legal structures are ignored, trade becomes a tool for elite bargains and foreign exploitation.

Trump may have exploited a loophole in US law, but Sierra Leone’s fragile institutions make such abuse potentially more damaging.

A Crisis Of Trust In Trade Governance

Afrobarometer’s 2022 survey revealed that 63 percent of Sierra Leoneans lack trust in the Executive’s ability to manage the economy in the national interest.

Parliament fared no better, with most citizens believing it fails in its oversight role.

http://www.afrobarometer.org/publications/ad442-governance-in-sierra-leone-public-perceptions-of-authorities-performance/

Audit Service Sierra Leone’s 2022 report highlighted a persistent pattern of contracts, tax waivers and concession deals lacking transparency and due process.

http://www.auditservice.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Audit-Report-2022-Final-Web.pdf

In such an environment, transparency is not optional. It is essential for legitimacy.

EU Patience Strategy: A Model For Sierra Leone

In response to Trump’s tariffs, the EU did not retaliate immediately.

Instead, it prepared a legal mechanism (the Anti-Coercion Instrument) while waiting for judicial or political resolution in the US.

That patience paid off, as courts ruled Trump’s use of IEEPA unlawful.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20231211IPR15363/anti-coercion-instrument-parliament-gives-green-light-to-eu-defensive-tool

Sierra Leone should emulate this approach.

The solution to exploitative trade deals is not reactive posturing, but legal resilience.

Our primary defence lies in constitutional enforcement, public disclosure and civil engagement.

Comparative Legal Frameworks: US vs Sierra Leone 

Who has authority to set tariffs?

United States: Congress (Article I, Section 8)

Sierra Leone: Parliament (Section 74)

Can the Executive impose trade rules unilaterally?

United States: Only with Congressional delegation

Sierra Leone: No. Section 40(4) requires parliamentary ratification for all international agreements

Are informal agreements legally binding?

United States: No. Not without Congressional approval

Sierra Leone: No. Unconstitutional without parliamentary ratification

Despite these legal safeguards, both nations have seen executive overreach.

However, the institutional fragility in Sierra Leone makes such overreach far more consequential.

Recent Cases Of Trade Misgovernance In Sierra Leone 

Mamamah Airport Project, Cancelled in 2018, highlighting lack of feasibility studies and proper ratification.

http://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leone-government-cancels-mamamah-airport-construction-project/

Timber Export Licences, A shifting policy landscape from 2017 to 2021 saw bans and approvals issued without explanation or public review.

Fisheries Surveillance Contract, A 55 million US dollar deal signed in 2020 with a Chinese firm was flagged by civil society for lacking transparency and competitive bidding.

In all three instances, the absence of public scrutiny and legislative validation led to waste, controversy or contract failure.

Policy Recommendations To Strengthen Trade Governance

Establish an Independent National Trade Oversight Commission, including MPs, civil society, legal and economic experts.

Mandate full online publication of all trade and concession agreements, with summaries in plain language.

Amend the Public Procurement Act to explicitly cover international trade and concession deals.

Fully implement TRC recommendations on transparency and civic participation in economic governance.

Require anti-corruption certification from the Anti-Corruption Commission before any trade deal is ratified.

The Cost of Executive Overreach

Trump’s tariffs may yet be undone by US courts or future administrations.

The same impermanence applies to any executive deal made without legislative consent.

For Sierra Leone, where public institutions remain fragile, it is critical that trade agreements follow the rule of law.

Rather than mimic the playbook of global powers, Sierra Leone must chart its own course. One defined by constitutional fidelity, patient diplomacy and inclusive governance.

This is not merely strategic. It is existential.

References

Sierra Leone Constitution (1991):

http://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf

TRC Report, Volume II, Chapter 2:

http://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-two/item/volume-two-chapter-two?category_id=9

Audit Service Sierra Leone Report 2022:

http://www.auditservice.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Audit-Report-2022-Final-Web.pdf

Budget Advocacy Network – 2023 Budget Analysis:

http://www.budgetadvocacynetworksl.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/BAN-Analysis-of-2023-Budget-Implementation.pdf

Afrobarometer Report (2022):

http://www.afrobarometer.org/publications/ad442-governance-in-sierra-leone-public-perceptions-of-authorities-performance/

Europarl Anti-Coercion Instrument:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20231211IPR15363/anti-coercion-instrument-parliament-gives-green-light-to-eu-defensive-tool

Sierra Leone CPI Report (February 2023):

http://www.statistics.sl/images/StatisticsSL/Documents/CPI/2023/Consumer_Price_Index_February_2023.pdf

Mamamah Airport Project Cancellation:

http://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leone-government-cancels-mamamah-airport-construction-project/

US Chamber of Commerce on Tariffs:

http://www.uschamber.com/international/us-tariffs-are-taxing-american-farmers