President Yoweri Museveni has dismissed the United States’ recent move to impose a 10% reciprocal tariff on Ugandan exports, saying he will not waste time pleading with U.S. President Donald Trump and instead urged Ugandans to focus on building intra-African trade and self-reliance.
“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 comments come after the U.S. listed Uganda among countries facing new reciprocal tariffs starting April 9, citing high tariffs and non-tariff barriers placed on American goods. President Trump also introduced a blanket 10% universal tariff on all imports into the United States beginning April 5.
Museveni, however, waved off the significance of the move, insisting that Uganda’s future lies not in lobbying foreign powers but in embracing Pan-Africanism, regional integration, and economic transformation.
“Trump has put a tax. What shall we do?” he asked. “You have Africa—work on Africa. We’ve been telling you this all along, but you insist on tribes, religion… okay, let them solve your problem now.”
“Uganda is Africa”
Emphasizing the four core principles of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM)—love for Uganda, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy—Museveni reiterated that Uganda must position itself within the larger African context, not through fragmented identities or dependence on external markets.
“Uganda -Africa. Other people tell you: Buganda, Buganda… but we tell you: Uganda and Africa, Uganda-East” he said. “Africa is the future. You can fit India into Africa 12 times. In the next 30 years, Africa will be a quarter of the world’s population—2.5 billion people. This is what the NRA has been telling you all this time.”
A Call for African Unity in the Face of Global Shifts
Museveni’s message is clear: stop seeking validation abroad, and instead, channel energy into strengthening African economies, trade networks, and political unity.
While economists warn that U.S. tariffs could hurt exports and raise costs globally, Museveni appears unfazed—choosing instead to double down on a vision of African resilience and independence.
