U.S raises tariffs on Nigerian imports to 15%

Friday, August 1, 2025 - 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.

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Trump’s executive order empowers Customs and Border Protection to investigate and penalise such practices more aggressively.

But the tariff trouble is not over.

Recall that in the first week on July, Trump threatened additional 10 percent tariff on “any Country aligning itself with the anti-American policies of BRICS.”

This directly hit Nigeria, which officially became the ninth partner country of BRICS in January 2025, when Brazil announced the country’s formal admission.

“There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump said.

If taken seriously, this could raise Nigeria’s current 15 percent tariff on exports to the U.S. to 25 percent. This means additional burden on exporters.

Nigeria’s major export product to the U.S is crude and its by-products, from which it earns 90 percent of its foreign exchange. But the country has been trying to diversify its trade options, nudging its non-oil exports like cocoa, fertiliser and also value-added items into the U.S. market.

All these might now face increased landing costs in the U.S. market, as it is yet to be confirmed whether oil exports are excluded from the tariffs as they were on April’s “Liberation Day”.