Amid escalating global fears and concerns regarding the future of international trade, US President Donald Trump last Wednesday evening unveiled a new package of tariffs targeting imports from over 180 countries worldwide, including Libya.
US Tariffs Imposed on Libya:
White House data released via the “X” platform showed that the United States of America imposed customs duties of 31% on goods imported from Libya. According to the same US data, Libyan duties on trade with Washington amount to 61%.
Analysis of Libyan Tariffs on America:
The 61% figure mentioned in the US data does not necessarily represent accurate customs duty rates. In its calculation, the US administration relied on a mathematical equation based on dividing a country’s trade balance surplus with the United States by its country’s total exports, according to data from the US Census Bureau for 2024. The result is then divided by 2 to get the “reduced rate.”
Mechanism for Calculating Tariffs on Libya (Exclusive Analysis by Al-Manassa):
US data showed that the volume of trade exchange between Libya and the United States in 2024 amounted to approximately $2 billion, with Libya achieving a trade surplus of $898.3 million. A special analysis conducted by Al-Manassa, the data revealed that the US trade deficit with Libya constitutes 55.1%. This implicitly means that about 5.9% of the announced duties represent the average of the previous Libyan customs duties imposed by Tripoli on goods imported from Washington. By adding this percentage to the trade deficit (55.1%), the total reaches 61%, which is the figure stated in the US data. Dividing this total by 2 yields a duty rate of 30.5%. The American side then increased the customs duties by an additional 0.50%, bringing the total to 31%.
US Imports from Libya:
According to United Nations trade data, crude oil constituted the majority of Libya’s exports to the United States last year, with a value of $1.49 billion. It is worth noting that raw materials, such as oil, are often exempt from the customs duties recently imposed on various countries.
US Exports to Libya:
The United States primarily exports cars, electrical and electronic equipment, various machinery, pharmaceutical products, medical technologies, and other goods to Libya.
