An onslaught of tariffs by the United States will send "shock waves" through African economies, the president of the African Development Bank said Friday, warning of reduced trade and higher debt-servicing costs.

The comments come as US President Donald Trump has upended global markets by pushing - and then retracting - a slew of tariffs in recent days.

A baseline 10-percent levy remains in place for all countries, along with higher tariffs on Chinese imports to the United States - scrambling decades of global trade policy.

Those new levies - with 47 African countries at risk of even higher tariffs - will cause local currencies to weaken on the back of reduced foreign exchange earnings, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said in a speech at the National Open University of Nigeria, according to prepared remarks that also touched on migration and decreased foreign aid.

‘Currencies devalue’

"Inflation will increase as costs of imported goods rise and currencies devalue against the US dollar," Adesina said in the capital Abuja.

"The cost of servicing debt as a share of government revenue will rise, as expected revenues decline."

As some observers watch for countries around the world to turn to other trade partners -- including China -- Adesina warned that Europe and Asia "will buy less goods from Africa" amid the global shocks.