US president-elect Donald Trump's automobile tax could teach us how to put Africa first, says Victor Kgomoeswana.
As much as I hate to admit it, US president-elect Donald Trump is going to dominate my radar at least for the next four years.
This patently obvious reality forced an uncanny inclusion among my many resolutions for the new year painstakingly finding Trump’s redeemable features.
It appears no pain will be necessary. Even before taking office, he has introduced his 2017 edition of "watch me nae-nae", and lots of Americans could soon be dancing along; African leaders take note.
By announcing his intentions to slap taxes on automobiles manufactured in neighbouring Mexico, Trump managed to win job-saving concessions from none other than the head honcho of the second-largest car maker, Nissan.
After opting for the lazy alternative of moving jobs to countries where it is easier to pay slave wages, Nissan and its peers are likely to have to forgo their usual savings in lower cost of production if they are to avoid import duties and continue selling cars in the US.
As an African, who has become accustomed to excuses about how the beneficiation of minerals or the manufacturing of chocolate from our cocoa produce is not commercially viable, I suspect Trump’s move could teach us how to put Africa first.
That is precisely how Nissan Motors' chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, describes Trump’s message. While in the US for the CES 2017 tech trade show, Ghosn did not bash Trump for anti-import isolationist economics. He did not rehash what most leaders of multinational corporations tell Africans when we ask for our due share of local content in the high-value electronic or automotive products that are made in First World countries from resources mined in Africa.
Where the likes of American electronic giants would have tried to justify sourcing coltan in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, only to assemble cellphones or tablets in Vietnam while keeping the eternal cash-cow called intellectual property in New York, Ghosn chose a more conciliatory and understanding option. In fact, he sounded like Trump’s spin-doctor.
He said that what he was hearing from the US president-elect with regard to taxing Mexican-assembled cars was: "We in the US have a very large market, and we want our fair share of the benefits both in terms of trade and jobs; I’m not hearing 'close the border'."
The boss of one of Japan’s most admired brands is kowtowing to Trump, and the man is not yet in the White House. Why should he not? Ghosn is a smart business strategist in charge of millions of livelihoods, and therefore a shrewd economic diplomat.
He is not complaining about the irrational stance of the American leader-in-waiting because he appreciates that sustaining the legacy of Nissan beyond Japan means an occasional compromise.
However, the true lesson from this statement - and Ghosn’s peers are going to have to follow suit - is that the customer is king; not always right. And kings are supposed to be obeyed.
Trump, on behalf of the US customer, decided to exercise his bargaining power. This will force Nissan, Toyota and even Ford to restore some of their automotive manufacturing to Detroit, Michigan, colloquially called Motown, from "motor town" - home to America’s motor industry.
African leaders, for centuries, have been scared to tell otherwise willing multinationals to locate the bulk of their manufacturing in African countries. No guts, that’s all; no guts or we are captured.
We continue to export cheaply precious metals to Switzerland in exchange for expensive jewellery imports.
Whose fault is it, if we are happy to bury fellow Africans dying in mines, working for resource-less countries that are allowed to own our extractive industries?
Who is to blame when Nigeria exports crude oil while running short of petrol at the pumps? Or when Africa exports platinum only to import it back in autocatalytic converters in our cars? It is entirely our own fault; and we do not qualify to whinge one teeny-weeny syllable.
Across the Atlantic, somehow, Trump could be onto something good - for the good of Americans.
* Kgomoeswana is author of Africa is Open for Business and hosts Power Hour from Monday to Thursday on Power FM. Twitter Handle: @VictorAfrica
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.