Escalating trade tensions following the Trump administration’s tariff announcement earlier this month are wreaking havoc on the world’s most debt-distressed countries.
While a 90-day pause on some of the highest levies offers some reprieve, experts warn that the damage from all the uncertainty is causing economic chaos and leaving nations with a lot of debt and few choices.
Low- to middle-income countries’ debt levels have more than doubled since 2009, according to an analysis by the One Campaign, and the cost of servicing that debt has grown with it. Outside of China, Russia, and Ukraine, low- to middle-income countries paid $311 billion in debt service in 2023. The Trump administration’s tariff war could make it worse.
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About the author
Jesse Chase-Lubitz
Jesse Chase-Lubitz covers climate change and multilateral development banks for Devex. She previously worked at Nature Magazine, where she received a Pulitzer grant for an investigation into land reclamation. She has written for outlets such as Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and The Japan Times, among others. Jesse holds a master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics.
