President Donald Trumps’ recent hike in tariff on United States imports have divided Nigeria’s Ministers of Finance and Coordinating Minster of the Economy Wale Edun, and Minister of Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole.
As one of the US trading countries, Nigeria is among those hit with Trump’s tariff war, which has been widely criticised globally, even though Trump claimed he took the action because his country have been ‘cheated; for years by countries who imposed as much as 65 percent on goods coming from the US.
According to the details of the new Tariffs released by the US leader , on April 2, exports from Nigeria, including the oil and none-oil sectors will now attract 14 percent tariffs.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday, Edun said the new US tariffs regime will not have much impact on Nigeria’s exports, considering that the oil sector which constitutes over 90 percent of Nigeria’s export to the US is mostly insulated, unlike the non-oil sector which contributes 10 percent of US imports from Nigeria.
His counterpart in the Ministry of Trade and Investment had earlier claimed that the tariff hike will destabilise Nigeria’s $6 billion export to the US.
Oduwole said, “Nigeria also exports smaller quantities of agricultural products such as live plants, flour, and nuts, which account for less than 2 per cent of our total exports to the U.S.
“While oil has long dominated Nigeria’s exports to the US, non-oil products—many previously exempt under AGOA—now face potential disruption.
“A new 10 per cent tariff on key categories may impact the competitiveness of Nigerian goods in the U.S. For businesses in the non-oil sector, these measures present destabilising challenges to price competitiveness and market access, especially in emerging and value-added sectors vital to our diversification agenda.”
But speaking on Monday during the corporate governance forum organised by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, MOFI, in Abuja, the nation’s capital Edun said the nation’s oil sector is insulated by Trum’s sweeping tariffs.
According to him, the broader impact of the tariff will affect Nigeria because of the declining crude oil prices in the international market, adding that the Tinubu economic reform policy will go a long way to help Nigeria navigate the impacts of the new US tariff regime.
The minister pointer out that whatever the revenue shortfall as a result of the tariff, the federal government will make up using revenue form the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, adding that the administration is also considering as priority budget adjustment, expenditure prioritisation, and innovative non-debt financing strategies to suit the current realities.
Edun said, “Nigeria-US trade has been in surplus in the last three years (2022-2024).”
Adding, “Consequently, the tariff effect on exports is negligible if we sustain our oil and minerals export volume.
“The adverse effect on Nigeria will be through oil price plunge, and we are intensifying efforts to ramp up crude oil production to curtail any price effect.
“We are also focusing on non-oil revenue mobilisation by FIRS and Customs.
“Budget adjustment and prioritisation where possible, and also innovative non-debt financing strategies.”
Meanwhile, economic experts insist that the federal government must ensure that all hands are on deck to counter the new US tariff, to the nation’s benefit as other countries are currently doing, adding that Nigeria must face the reality of the dangers posed by the new regime to the nation’s economic progress.
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