Nigerian exports to the United States will now attract a 15 percent tariff, following the signing of a July 31 executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, which modified America’s reciprocal tariff system.
The new tariff which will take effect from August 7, formally places Nigeria among about 40 countries penalised for having what Washington considers an “unbalanced” trade relationship with the U.S.
Trump had formerly imposed a 14 percent tariff on Nigerian imports in April as part of a spate of tariff strikes expected to boost U.S. manufacturing and punish other countries for what he called years of unfair trade practices.
The duties were suspended for 90 days and extended for another one-month to allow negotiations. Nigeria did not.
Under the new structure, countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit will now face a default 15 percent duty on all goods entering American borders, while nations with a U.S. trade surplus, by contrast, will pay a lower 10 percent.
The latest data shows Nigeria is the second-largest U.S. export destination in Sub-Saharan Africa with a trade surplus of up to $3.29 billion with the U.S., according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
Trump’s executive order says tariffs are being rebalanced to “restore fairness” and prevent what the administration calls “systemic trade abuse.”
In addition to the reciprocal tariffs, the new trade policy establishes a 40 percent additional penalty on transshipments–goods that are shipped from a high-tariff country to a low-tariff country and then re-shipped to the United States.
While such rerouting is often used to manage logistics or costs, U.S. authorities have increasingly flagged transhipment as a tactic to evade tariffs.
Trump’s executive order empowers Customs and Border Protection to investigate and penalise such practices more aggressively.
