Latest news with #Mroueh
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
New Generation of African Chocolatiers Gets Hobbled by U.S. Tariffs
Dana Mroueh, a small-business owner in Ivory Coast, was negotiating to introduce her organic chocolate bars into stores in New York and Washington when President Trump announced new tariffs on all U.S. imports last week. Ivory Coast is the world's biggest cocoa producer, and the United States is the world's largest consumer of chocolate, though most of it comes from Canada and Mexico. Ms. Mroueh wants more chocolate from Africa to break into the American market. Her company, Mon Choco, is part of a new generation of West African chocolatiers striving to create jobs and wealth at home by transforming raw cocoa beans into processed delicacies. 'We were hoping to start exporting within the next few weeks,' she said. Now, along with the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocoa beans imported by the United States from Ivory Coast annually, her mango, ginger and coffee flavored chocolates are facing a 21 percent levy that she fears will badly hurt her business. The tariffs are expected to hobble several African economies that had long seen in the United States a welcoming market. It is not just cocoa. Car parts from South Africa and apparel from Madagascar will also be hit, and Lesotho, the southern African nation that provides denim used in jeans, is poised to bear some of the highest levies, at 50 percent. 'We're definitely going to face some issues,' Ms. Mroueh said. The tariffs come as African nations are still reeling from the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The agency, which provided crucial foreign aid on the continent for more than six decades, was gutted shortly after Mr. Trump took office in January. 'The United States' credibility in Africa had already been damaged by the sudden closure of aid programs,' said Karen Mathiasen, a project director at the Center for Global Development. 'Now the tariffs will only add to that, because there's no methodology and no clear signal for African countries on what to do to get rid of the tariffs.' In Ivory Coast, farmers have been picking cocoa husks this month as part of the semiannual harvesting season. Nearly six million people rely financially on cocoa in the West African nation, which produces about 45 percent of the world's crispy sour beans that are turned into sweet treats. Global cocoa prices have nearly tripled over the past two years because of low supplies caused by poor weather in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world's second-largest producer. Yet most West African farmers live in poverty, with intermediaries reaping the benefits of the lucrative industry. Global chocolate manufacturers like Mars, Hersheys and Cargill, did not respond to a request for comment on how the new U.S. tariffs might affect their imports. Europe, not the United States, remains the main destination for Ivorian cocoa, and Asia has been a fast-growing market in recent years. Still, the American tariffs only add to the uncertainty of the African cocoa sector, which has struggled in recent years to increase its value by producing semi-processed and processed goods like cocoa paste and chocolate. 'Are we going to export less because consumers might consume less?' asked Olga Yenou, an Ivorian entrepreneur whose company, Tafissa, exports more than 20 percent of its production of cocoa paste and butter to the United States. Before this week, more than 30 African economies had been exporting goods to the United States duty free as part of an agreement called the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The legislation supporting the act expires in September. On the other end, China eliminated tariffs for goods from 33 African countries in December last year. At $295 billion last year, its level of trade with African economies was four times higher than U.S.-Africa trade. African leaders and analysts studying the continent's economies have called on the United States to renew the free-trade agreement, though the new tariffs have effectively ended it already, economists say. 'Africa isn't shielded by the trade agreement it had with the United States,' said Zainab Usman, the head of the Africa program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. 'But that means that it might be possible to negotiate a new future for U.S.-Africa trade relationships.' In Ivory Coast, cocoa prices have fallen by more than 10 percent since last week. There are concerns among exporters that more U.S. chocolate makers will now turn to cocoa-producing countries like Ecuador, which is facing lower tariffs, to do business. For artisanal chocolate makers like Ms. Mroueh, a once-alluring market suddenly looks confusing and volatile. 'We're a bit lost now,' she said.
Chicago Tribune
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Dominique Murphy, the 2024-25 Post-Tribune Boys Basketball Player of the Year, makes his mark in East Chicago
East Chicago Central coach Alaa Mroueh couldn't overstate Dominique Murphy's impact. 'What Dominique did this year was much bigger than basketball,' Mroueh said. Mroueh described a visit that Murphy, a 6-foot-6 senior guard/forward, made to a city elementary school with his teammates. 'We had to get escorted out by security because they were all over us, all over him,' Mroueh said. 'It was like he was a superstar. 'He helped reignite the pride of Cardinal basketball right in front of everyone's eye.' Murphy, the 2024-25 Post-Tribune Boys Basketball Player of the Year, led East Chicago Central back to regular-season success and, more notably, postseason glory. Murphy averaged 22.6 points and 8.3 rebounds this season. On Friday, it was announced he's an Indiana All-Star, and he had already been selected to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association's All-State Supreme 15. But as Murphy discussed those achievements, he tried to put himself in context. 'I feel like I had a good season,' he said. 'All of it contributed to my team winning. Without my team, there is no me. It all just contributed to my team winning.' To win, Murphy rose to the occasion, increasing his scoring to 25.3 points in the postseason. He helped the Cardinals (21-9) win their first regional title since 2007, when they were the Class 4A state champions. They then won their Class 3A semistate semifinal and pushed eventual state champion South Bend St. Joseph in the semistate final. 'We accomplished a lot,' Murphy said. 'Of course, we wanted to go all the way and win it all. But you can only do so much.' Murphy did plenty. In the process, he became the leading scorer in program and city history. He finished with 2,048 points in his career, moving past the 1,829 scored by the iconic E'Twaun Moore, who propelled the Cardinals to that 2007 state title before starring at Purdue and playing in the NBA. 'It means a lot,' Murphy said of setting the record. 'It's a big accomplishment. Being from the city, hearing about this record for so long and now I'm the owner of it, it means a lot.' Murphy said he was informed toward the end of his sophomore season that the record could be in his sights. 'I learned I was on track to break it,' he said. 'But I really didn't think too much of it because I'm not going to think about that while I'm trying to go out here and win the game.' Indeed, Murphy then led East Chicago Central to a 2024 sectional title, its first since 2017. 'All of that success accumulates, and he had a big part to do with it,' Mroueh said. The Cardinals went a combined 43-14 in the past two seasons. They hadn't won more than 12 games in a season since they went 15-10 in 2016-17. 'We were down for so long,' Murphy said. 'So to be back up, it means a lot.' Murphy excelled from the early stages of his career. He was an Indiana Junior All-Star and was picked for the inaugural Futures Game. But there's no question he reached another level this season. 'He was much more mature on the court,' Mroueh said. 'He just played like a veteran. He played at his own pace. It looked like he's been there before. It looked like he's been out there for three years, four years.' Murphy's playing career should continue for many years to come. He's in the process of 'surveying his options' for next season in a 'crazy college landscape,' Mroueh said. Wherever Murphy lands, his time with the Cardinals won't be forgotten. 'Dom's put in the work, and he's built a legacy at East Chicago Central,' Mroueh said.
Chicago Tribune
17-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Joseph Watkins may be ‘the underdog.' But don't underestimate him or semistate-bound East Chicago Central.
There will come a time when Joseph Watkins is heavily involved in the East Chicago Central boys basketball team's offense. Until then, the 6-foot-2 junior guard doesn't mind a role that's more focused on the other end of the court. Not when the Cardinals are winning. 'I've embraced it,' White said. 'I just got that scoring mentality out of my mind. But at the defensive end, I knew I had to take that role.' Watkins' willingness to handle that assignment has been an essential part of a deep postseason run for the Cardinals (20-8), who will play Delta (17-7) in the semifinals of the Class 3A Logansport Semistate on Saturday after winning their first regional title since E'Twaun Moore led the team to the 4A state championship in 2007. East Chicago Central coach Alaa Mroueh said he expects Watkins to find some way to factor into the result, even if it's not on the scoreboard, like he did during the 78-55 regional win against Hanover Central on March 15. 'He takes the toughest assignment that we can give him, and he rebounds at a high level too,' Mroueh said. 'His ability to crash the offensive glass was major for us in the first half, and he kick-started the other guys to join him in that area.' Watkins' numbers are modest this season, as he entered the regional ranked fifth on the team in most categories, averaging 4.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.7 steal. Playing alongside senior guard/forward Dominique Murphy, who is averaging a team-high 22.3 points and has passed Moore to become East Chicago Central's all-time scoring leader, Watkins knows scoring isn't what's needed from him yet. 'I'm just waiting for my time, and I can keep playing this role because it's still getting me the exposure that I want,' Watkins said. 'Because we have a scorer or two on the team, I can show more defensively this year. Then next year, they can know me as an all-around player, not just my scoring ability.' Mroueh made no secret of the expanded role that he expects Watkins to have next season, believing Watkins already has the tools to be a prolific scorer. 'He's just explosive,' Mroueh said. 'He's very gifted, and he can score at all three levels. I'd anticipate him averaging 16 to 20 points per game next season. He'll be taking the shots that Dominique is taking this season. But he's found so many different ways to impact the game this year.' Mroueh pointed to Watkins' emphatic breakaway dunk against Class 4A regional runner-up Portage on Jan. 11 that went viral on social media as evidence of Watkins' physical tools. 'He's going to be one of the next staples of this program, and we've already asked him to do so much for us because he has the ability to do so many different things,' Mroueh said. 'It's just good to see him out there producing.' East Chicago Central junior guard JeVaughn Wofford, whom Mroueh expects to join Watkins and junior guard Jamarie Pollard in larger roles next season, said Watkins' ability to thrive at both ends of the court stems from the consistent way he plays basketball. 'It's his motor,' Wofford said. 'He's just a competitive person who plays hard constantly and doesn't give up. He won't back down from anyone.' Watkins said he'll take that aggressive mindset to semistate with the belief that he can thrive on offense if the opportunity arises. 'Because of the attention that Dom and my other teammates get, I'm not really on scouting reports,' he said. 'I'm the underdog, and I like that because when I'm out there, I can show off my talents, that I can really hoop.'
