UK to eliminate tariffs on more than 3,000 exports from Nigeria

The UK government will eliminate tariffs on more than 3,000 products it imports from Nigeria in a bid to boost trade with Africa’s largest economy. 

Nigerian exporters of cocoa, cotton, plantain, flowers, fertilizers, tomatoes, frozen shrimp and sesame seed are among those that will benefit from the new tariff regime outlined in the UK’s new developing economies trading scheme, which targets 65 countries globally.  

“Nigeria is one of the UK’s most important partners in Africa and the UK government is committed to working with Nigerian businesses and exporters to boost trade between our two great nations,” UK Deputy High Commissioner Ben Llewellyn-Jones said in an emailed statement. 

Total trade volume between the UK and Nigeria stood at £5.5 billion ($6.8 billion) in the second quarter of 2022, according to a report from the UK’s international trade department published last week. Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude producer, is among the countries the UK has target to expand trade with since exiting the European Union in 2020. 

The average existing tariff on the 3,000 goods covered by the program is 7%, according to the statement. The levies will be eliminated once the new trade terms comes into effect this spring, making products from Nigeria more competitive. The UK said it has made it simpler for Africa’s most populous country to get and retain these enhanced tariffs by removing the need “to ratify and implement certain international conventions.” 

“The overarching aim of the new scheme is to grow free and fair trade with developing countries, boosting the economy and supporting jobs in those countries, as well as in ours,” Llewellyn-Jones said.