Trump’s tariff blitz – up to 145 per cent on most Chinese imports, with tech-critical goods like non-EV lithium-ion batteries rising to 25 per cent by 2026 – was billed as a blow to Chinese dominance.

But the human cost is being paid here in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where three-quarters of the world’s cobalt – essential for smartphones, wind turbines, and laptops – is dug from the earth by underpaid workers in dangerous, unregulated conditions. Among them are more than 360,000 children.

Donald Trump’s tariffs are having an effect on all parts of the global supply chain. Credit: AP

As a journalist and human rights activist based in eastern DRC, I’ve seen first-hand how families caught between poverty and conflict are driven to mine cobalt simply to survive – risking cave-ins and toxic dust. This humanitarian tragedy is the predictable consequences of a global supply chain built on exploitation and environmental devastation.

Former child miners maimed in cobalt accidents and families of those who died took US tech giants such as Apple and Tesla to court, accusing them of profiting from their suffering. But the

© The Sydney Morning Herald