Trump’s new tariffs will protect monkeys used in US research
7 April 22:03
New tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump are likely to lead to a 40% increase in the cost of imports of long-tailed macaques from Mauritius, which are used by US pharmaceutical companies for clinical trials. This is reported by Komersant ukrainskyi with reference to Bloomberg.
Mauritius provided 60% of the primate needs of American pharmaceutical research in 2023 and exported 13,484 monkeys last year. The tariff rate that Trump has planned for Mauritius is 40% and is one of the highest in Africa. It will also negatively affect the sale of sugar and textiles, the country’s other two main exports.
Mauritius’ revenue from monkey sales last year was $86.6 million, up from $20 million a decade ago. Prices have risen to an average of $6,425 per monkey, up from $2,236 in 2014, according to Agriculture Minister Arvin Bullel during a March speech to parliamentarians.
The island nation receives $200 from each primate exported and uses the money for conservation initiatives, the minister said before the announcement of the US tariffs.
“This amount is relatively small, and I plan to review its size,”
– he emphasized.
From a biodiversity perspective, Mauritius considers long-tailed macaques to be an invasive species that also poses a danger to farmers and citizens.
So, the introduction of tariffs will definitely hit Mauritius and is expected to reduce the export of macaques from here. This means that more monkeys will remain alive and free.
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Long-tailed macaques: great masters of adaptation
Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), also known as crab-eating macaques, are among the most adaptable primates on the planet. With their distinctive long tails, often longer than their body length, these intelligent creatures have conquered ecosystems ranging from the humid jungles of Southeast Asia to urbanized environments. Extremely social and hierarchical, they live in groups of often up to 30 individuals, where dominant males control the territory and communicate through a complex system of gestures, facial expressions, and vocalizations ranging from soft murmurs to loud warning calls.
Despite their small physique (3-8 kg), these primates demonstrate impressive mental abilities, using primitive tools and solving complex problems in the wild. Particularly interesting is their ability to swim, which is rare among primates. This allows them to overcome water obstacles and collect food from the seabed. Their diet is strikingly diverse: from fruits, seeds and insects to mollusks, crabs (hence the alternative name) and even small vertebrates, making these macaques true masters of survival. Their ability to instantly adapt to new environmental conditions makes these primates a unique example of species success – sometimes even at the expense of the local fauna and flora in the areas where they were introduced by humans.
In the modern world, these monkeys have found themselves at the crossroads of science and ethics, becoming indispensable in biomedical research due to their close genetic relationship with humans. In Mauritius, where they are considered an invasive species, these macaques have paradoxically become an important export item.
Trump’s tariffs
on April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the introduction of “mirror” tariffs against almost all countries of the world (except Russia, Belarus, Cuba, and the DPRK). These tariffs, according to the White House, will be half of the tariff that a particular country has imposed on US goods. For example, China allegedly imposes a 67% tariff on US goods, so the US imposed a 34% tariff on Chinese goods.
For those countries that do not impose special duties on American goods, a basic tariff of 10% was introduced.
Trump called the introduction of such trade barriers “Liberation Day” and said that this day would go down in US history as the beginning of the restoration of the American economy and greatness.
Interestingly, the comparative table released by the White House provides data on tariffs against 185 countries, but Russia is not on the list. Instead, it includes the Herd and McDonald Islands, which were subject to a basic 10% tariff. The only thing is that there is not a single person on these islands.
