CITING trade disparity, United States President Donald Trump has announced that exports from Nigeria to the United States will now be subject to a 14 per cent tariff.
Trump made the announcement on Wednesday evening, April 2, during a ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ event at the Rose Garden, presenting it as part of a broader strategy to rebalance global trade and tackle perceived unfair trade practices.
The Trump administration remarked that Nigeria imposes a 27 per cent tariff on US exports, a disparity the US notes has long harmed American businesses and consumers.
Also in his speech, Trump portrayed the tariff as part of a broader effort to safeguard American industries and ensure that foreign nations adhere to “fair” trade rules.
He also announced the beginning of what he termed a new era of “fair trade,” vowing to “supercharge America’s industrial base” and compel foreign markets long accused of blocking United States goods to open up.
“This is one of the most important days in American history,” Trump said. “We will supercharge our domestic industrial base. We will prise open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers, and ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers.
“This will be, indeed, the golden age of Americans coming back. We’re going to come back very strongly,” he stated.
Along with the 14 per cent tariff on Nigerian exports, President Trump also introduced a broader trade policy that includes a standard 10 per cent tariff on all US imports.
According to the policy, the new tariffs, effective immediately, apply to over 50 countries, including major trade partners such as China, the European Union, India, and Japan, along with developing economies across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Although Nigeria is not one of the highest tariff imposers, this adjustment signals that the US is targeting a broad range of countries, including not only economic rivals but also developing nations with which it had previously maintained preferential trade terms.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.