Global Conference on Trade, Tariffs, and Development in Africa

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The recent tariff wars, ignited by President Trump after he returned to the White House in January 2025, have raised several important questions for Africa, especially in the arena of trade and tariffs and their impact on the continent’s economic development. Such questions include, among others:

What will define Africa’s place in the global trading system over the next generation?
Can trade and tariff regimes accelerate inclusive development, or do they reproduce structural inequalities?
How should African economies navigate an era of shifting global power, contested multilateralism, and renewed protectionism?
What forms of trade governance will define the future of development across the continent and beyond?

On 18-19 June 2026, the Collaborative Research Groups on Governance, Entrepreneurship, and Inclusive Development (GEID) and Africa in the World- Rethinking Africa’s Global Connections, based at the African Studies Centre, Leiden University, will host a high-level international conference on Trade, Tariffs, and Development in Africa. The event will gather top scholars, policymakers, practitioners, diplomats, journalists, investors, students, and representatives of regional and global organizations. It will analyze the political economy of tariffs and free trade from various analytical and disciplinary angles. The conference will look at how trade policy affects development outcomes in African economies and within the global trading system. Special focus will be given to how domestic policy choices, regional integration, and global trade governance interact. It will act as a global platform for meaningful debate and will promote evidence-based dialogue among academic, policy, and practitioner communities.

Interested participants are invited to submit abstracts for paper presentations that address themes that broadly relate to trade, tariffs, and development in Africa. Examples include:

• The political economy of tariffs and trade liberalisation in Africa
• The  implications of recent United States tariff policies for African economies
• Intra-African trade and tariff regimes
• Trade and tariffs within African sub-regional economic communities
• The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and its implementation challenges and opportunities
• Trade relations between African regional blocs and global partners, including the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Economic Partnership Agreements between African regional groupings and the European Union
• The role of African (state/ business/ civil society) actors in international trade and tariff negotiations  
• Africa and the global trade governance system, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). 
 
 
Attendance
The preferred mode for participation in this conference is physical attendance.
After the conference, selected paper presenters will be invited to submit full papers, which will be refereed for possible inclusion in a specialist edited book on trade, Tariffs and development in Africa. 

Fees
There will be no conference fee for this event, and lunch will be provided for all participants.

Conference Organisers 
Dr. Ayokunu Adedokun (LUC, Leiden University), Professor Dr. Mayke Kaag (ASC, Leiden University), and Professor Dr. Chibuike Uche (ASC, Leiden University). 

Funding
This conference is funded by the ASCL and Leiden University's Global Fund.

Photo: Markus Winkler on Unsplash.

Date, time and location

18 June 2026 to 19 June 2026
Herta Mohr Building / Faculty of Humanities, Witte Singel 27a, 2311 BG Leiden
Room 1.80
African Studies Centre, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

Registration

Click here to register for this event
Posted on 9 February 2026, last modified on 16 June 2026