INTERVIEW – Ivory Coast favors dialogue over confrontation in response to US tariffs: Foreign minister

• ‘In Ivory Coast … we did not speak of a rupture with France. Rather, we spoke of continuity in our relations by taking new pathways,’ says minister

ANTALYA, Türkiye

Ivory Coast’s approach to the sweeping US tariffs announced earlier this month is in favor of negotiations and dialogue, according to the country’s Foreign Minister Leon Kacou Adom.

“As all the countries in the world, we had some concerns that were quickly appeased by the postponement of the effective date of the tariffs for three months,” Adom told Anadolu at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025 in Türkiye.

Ivory Coast, the world’s leading cocoa producer, is among the African nations hit hardest by the new US tariffs, with rates expected to climb as high as 21%.

“We have time with our American friends to make the necessary adjustments so that the suffering is as minimal as possible,” he said.

“Our strategy is to always negotiate … and we think we can certainly get to understanding each other with dialogue.”

Relations with France and Sahel countries

Ivory Coast has also been navigating regional tensions and shifting partnerships following recent political developments in West Africa.

Neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso – both having experienced military coups – have distanced themselves from traditional Western allies, particularly former colonial power France, spurring a French military withdrawal.

The West African region has also seen fractures within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger withdrew from the bloc earlier this year, following their 2023 decision to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

In all of this, Ivory Coast has said it will continue military cooperation with France, even as the French military officially handed back its last base in the country in February.

“In Ivory Coast, we never talk about a rupture with partners … France is a friend … We did not speak of a rupture with France. Rather, we spoke of continuity in our relations by taking new pathways,” Adom explained.

Asked whether Ivory Coast would consider joining the AES bloc, Adom pointed instead to the value of broader regional unity.

“Do you think the AES countries would join the 12 other (ECOWAS) states? Because we are stronger with 15 than three,” he said.