₦airaland Forum

Nigeria has no cause to over react to the wave of new import tariffs introduced by the Trump administration in the United States, economic experts warned yesterday.

The experts spoke as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moved to safeguard the economy from the effects of the new tariff regime.

The apex bank announced its intervention at the foreign exchange market with the sale of US$197.71 million to authorized dealers to boost liquidity and maintain orderly market functioning.

The naira had suffered a blow in the foreign exchange market on Friday, closing at N1,625 against the US Dollar, down from N1,570 recorded the previous day.

The slide is blamed on the US new import tariffs regime.

Other financial markets across the world are also affected in one way or the other.

Assessing the US tariff onslaught last night, Nigerian economist, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said Nigerians have little to worry about the signals from Washington.

“There is very little to negotiate about because when we compare the tariff imposition on Nigeria to the tariff imposition on other countries, even in Africa, we’ll see that Nigeria has one of the lowest in terms of this Trump tariff imposition,” Yusuf told The Nation.

“Secondly, in terms of our direct exposure, in terms of export trade, export destination, our export exposure to the United States is just about 10% or less. So we are not too strategically dependent, or we are not strategically dependent on the United States.

“For most of our exports, I think, even as we speak, Europe is our major trading partner. Then, of course, we have Asia. So it’s not actually that strategic but I’m not saying that percentage is something that we should dismiss.

“But what I’m saying is that unlike many other countries, the United States is not such a strategic trade partner to Nigeria.

“Thirdly, most of our exports are oil and gas. About 90% of our exports are oil and gas. And, of course, lately, fertiliser. Now, from what we have read about this trade, Trump trade tariff, energy products are exempted from this tariff.

“So the basket of our exports that accounts for 90% of exports is already exempted, because they are energy products.”

Yusuf, who is the Chief Executive Officer at the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), however warned that nothing should be taken for granted.

He would not rule out the possibility of a change of heart by Trump at some point.

He said: “We are still seeing a lot of retaliatory measures that are being rolled out. There’s a lot of resentment from Americans themselves.

“The U.S. Congress has not spoken properly on this. So there’s even a possibility for a review, because there’s likely to be pushback both from the major trading partners and from the citizens and from the American corporate or business community.

“A lot of pushback is likely to happen, which may cause a review of this tariff policy. So we need to give them time to sort themselves out, to see the kind of actions and counter reactions before we even begin to talk about any form of discussion at all.

“But I don’t see any basis for us to worry so much about this war. What we need to worry about is the implications for the global economy, the implications for crude oil price.

“And we should also be looking at the opportunities that it creates, because this crisis is also creating opportunities, because those who are having problems with the United States may be looking for other countries through which they can trade.

“So that is part of the things we should be looking at.”

Besides, he noted that the trade war and the subsequent retaliatory tariffs would trigger inflationary pressures in the United States.

This, according to him, may result in elevated costs for imports into Nigeria from the United States.

Mr. Olawale Falolu, an international trade analyst, shared Yusuf’s views.

His words: “I can tell you without any iota of doubt that Nigeria’s total merchandise export from the USA as at last year was valued at $50.4 billion and Nigeria’s export to the United States the same year was $5.7 billion. So it is unlikely to cause a major upset in the Nigerian economy.”

Other major export destinations for Nigeria products are Spain, France, Netherlands, and Italy oil and gas products account for close to 90% of Nigeria’s exports.”

In his own assessment of the situation, Prof. Jonathan Aremu, economist and international trade expert, said: “If somebody is making you his enemy, there are so many other friends in the global economy. Because the USA is behaving that way, many other countries will be looking for partners as well.

“So, this can be a coincidence of wants in which Nigeria can have a better partner to be able to sell things that will be profitable.

“It’s all the countries in the world that the USA is doing that. So, you are going to be seeing a lot of realignment of trading partners, realignment of economic partnership agreement, realignment of economic integration agreement, and in the end, a reshaping of the world trade organisation we imagine. So, Nigeria should not actually keep silent.

“What America is doing is going to lead to a lot of realignment. Realignment is that we need to find new partners. Not to actually throw away our national priorities and opportunity because of the fact that America is trying to actually put a ban or something from import duty on our product and then our product will not be able to go there.

“Because, I repeat, and I repeat again, in the global economy, nobody gives you what you deserve. You only get what you negotiate.

“So, in negotiating our new partners, either in economic integration, regional partnership, or in a partnership agreement outside the US into other countries of the world, whether it is Australia, whether it is Asia, or whether it is South Africa, we must make sure that we negotiate properly.”

Managing Director, Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teriba, said while Nigeria was not specifically targeted by the Trump administration’s new import tariff regime, it should not move solely to react and sanction US over the tariffs.

Teriba said Nigeria should get on the table with other African countries and make a block demand on the US on how the tariffs should be reversed.

He said: “As long as Nigeria was not singled out on the tariffs hit, Nigeria should not single itself out with its reactions. Such move could lead to massive deportation of Nigerians from the US, and other adverse impact.”

Teriba said the question should be what can Africa do, and Africa should respond as a block, adding that Nigeria should not hasten to respond or worry, because the tariffs may likely be reversed as the impact hits the American economy.

He said: “What Trump is doing is not economics. He is fighting a political war with tariffs and taxes. America is already feeling the impact, as seen in the decline in stock and oil prices, prompting the thinking that what he is doing may likely be reversed by the US court, or Senate”.

Speaking on the impact on local banks, he said drop in equities prices could lead to major losses for Nigerians with investment in global companies, and as more people sell off their stock, that could lead to global recession.

Teriba said foreign investors with portfolio investment in Nigeria may pull out their funds, to cover losses at home.

He said some Nigeria banks with investment in US stocks, would also record huge losses as global equities prices nosedive.

On his part, an economist and Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismark Rewane, said oil prices have slipped as Trump’s higher-than-expected tariffs are expected to reduce demand.

Rewane explained that a decrease in oil prices will reduce oil revenue and deplete external reserves for Nigeria. Also, an increase in price of PMS and diesel will increase transportation and logistics costs, thereby stoking inflationary pressures.

He said the new tariffs could weaken oil demand and further reduce prices.

Already, Nigeria’s net external reserves stood at $23.11 billion in 2024, as gross external reserves declined by 6.24 per cent year-to-date to $38.33 billion.

Rewane however said rising prices of cocoa will raise Nigeria’s export earnings and improve cocoa farmers’ income.

Analysts at Cordros Securities said global stock markets extended losses last week, as US President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on most imports into the United States reignited fears of a full-blown trade war and a global economic slowdown.

At present, US equities dropped significantly, reflecting selloffs in blue-chip names, such as Apple, Amazon and Nike, as higher levies on key production hubs, most notably China and Vietnam, stoked concerns around input cost pressures and potential earnings erosion.

Similarly, European equities were on track for their steepest weekly decline in three years, as risk aversion intensified following Washington’s reciprocal tariff measures on the region.

President Trump himself yesterday warned Americans of pain ahead on account of his tariff regime.

He was however optimistic of historic investment and prosperity.

“We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He added: “This is an economic revolution, and we will win. “Hang tough, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”

Effective Wednesday, April 9, around 60 trading partners — including the European Union, Japan and China – will face even higher rates tailored to each economy.

Although Nigeria and some other African countries are not on Trump’s supplementary list, the 10% baseline tariff on imports from all countries still affects them.

The tariffs are expected to boost America’s manufacturing and punish other nations for what Trump claims are years of unfair trade practices.

Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the U.S. from all countries. However, countries with trade surpluses with the U.S. will have higher rates.

The CBN, in an update yesterday, acknowledged that the US tariff measures have sparked volatility across international markets and the effects of these protectionist policies are becoming evident in the performance of several currencies in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).

“The recent announcement of new import tariffs by the United States government on imports from several economies has triggered a period of adjustment across global markets,” the CBN said.

Between April 3 and 4, 2025, movements in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market reflected broader global macroeconomic shifts, the bank explained.

As part of its routine monitoring, the CBN said it observed increased pressure on the local currency, influenced by not only tariff-related disruptions but also a significant drop in crude oil prices.

Dr. Omolara Omotunde Duke, Director of the Financial Markets Department at the CBN, said the prices of crude oil, Nigeria’s top foreign exchange earner, has fallen sharply in recent days.

“Crude oil prices have also weakened — declining by over 12 per cent to approximately US$65.50 per barrel, from the projected US$75 per barrel — thus presenting new dynamics for oil-exporting countries such as Nigeria,” she said.

The combined effects of lower crude oil prices and shifting capital flows have placed additional strain on Nigeria’s exchange rate environment. In response to the mounting pressure, the CBN intervened in the market on Friday with the sale of US$197.71 million to Authorised Dealers to boost liquidity and maintain orderly market functioning.

“This measured step aligns with the Bank’s broader objective of fostering a stable, transparent and efficient foreign exchange market,” Dr. Duke said.

The intervention represents the CBN’s proactive approach to calming the market amid a turbulent international economic backdrop. It also signals the bank’s intention to shield the Naira from further abrupt swings while providing the necessary support to ensure that genuine foreign exchange needs are met.

The CBN spoke of its readiness to continue observing developments in both global and domestic markets and assured stakeholders that Nigeria’s foreign exchange framework was designed to respond to fundamental changes and remains robust enough to withstand ongoing economic shocks.

While confidence remains in the resilience of the FX framework, the CBN asked Authorized Dealers in the country “to adhere strictly to the principles outlined in the Nigeria FX Market Code and to uphold the highest standards in their dealings with clients and market counterparties.”

Source: https://thenationonlineng.net/how-nigeria-can-survive-new-us-import-tariffs-by-experts/

Instead of compelling your govt to immediately reduce it's high import tarriffs you are writing epistle ...Nigerias import tarriffs are too high and they are an extortionist tax on Nigerians .. Reduce Taffiff to 15 percent and Trump reduces his own to 7.5 and everyone smiles

SalamRushdie:
Instead of compelling your govt to immediately reduce it's high import tarriffs you are writing epistle ...Nigerias import tarriffs are too high and they are an extortionist tax on Nigerians .. Reduce Taffiff to 15 percent and Trump reduces his own to 7.5 and everyone smiles

Salam the chief trump butt licker.

Your master trump is on the track to sending the US economy into recession.

As of yesterday over 6 trillion dollars wiped out from stock market.

His MAGA slogan will soon change to "Make Americans cry again" by the time cost of living start biting as a result of retaliatory tariffs.

Thundafireseun:
This is too much to comprehend….

Those that scroll down without reading this long episode plz gather here

Meanwhile.....

SalamRushdie:
Instead of compelling your govt to immediately reduce it's high import tarriffs you are writing epistle ...Nigerias import tarriffs are too high and they are an extortionist tax on Nigerians .. Reduce Taffiff to 15 percent and Trump reduces his own to 7.5 and everyone smiles

Nigeria import too much. It is beyond shocking.

AmazingGenius:
Source: https://thenationonlineng.net/how-nigeria-can-survive-new-us-import-tariffs-by-experts/

US trade with Nigeria has been shrinking over the years. Our money spinners are the trades with China, E.U , India and Africa. Whoever is hyping trade with US is wasting time. We should increase our trade with our good customers.

LordBiden:
Salam the chief trump butt licker.

Your master trump is on the track to sending the US economy into recession.

As of yesterday over 6 trillion dollars wiped out from stock market.

His MAGA slogan will soon change to make Americans cry again by the time cost of living start biting as a result of retaliatory tariffs.

Don't mind the dunce.
He has been lying everywhere about high import tariff and when
you challenge him, he runs away.

Most Trump worshippers don't know that the Trump tariff board
was complete fabrication and has nothing to do with tariff but trade surplus.

Beautiful analysis

Nigeria is not too dependent on US and energy products are exempted.

In essence, while the new US tariffs have triggered economic ripples globally, Nigeria's direct exposure is limited. Still, the country must stay alert, diversify trade partners, and manage its economic vulnerabilities wisely.

Summary

Nigeria has little reason to overreact to the new U.S. import tariffs introduced by the Trump administration, as economic experts note the country's limited trade exposure to the U.S. and the exemption of key exports like oil and gas. Despite some pressure on the naira and global market volatility, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened by injecting nearly $198 million into the forex market to maintain stability. Experts suggest that Nigeria should focus on new trade partnerships and potential opportunities arising from the global trade realignment, rather than reacting unilaterally. However, concerns remain over falling oil prices, inflationary risks, and the broader impact on investor confidence and economic stability.

Trump already destroyed US economy!

LordBiden:
Salam the chief trump butt licker.

Your master trump is on the track to sending the US economy into recession.

As of yesterday over 6 trillion dollars wiped out from stock market.

His MAGA slogan will soon change to make Americans cry again by the time cost of living start biting as a result of retaliatory tariffs.

Nigeria doesn't need to do anything.
Any move we make will be a negative for us.
Let the big boys deal with Trump.

If e no touch you directly,

E go still touch those wey be your direct trading partners like the Europe and Asia wey you mention

And those European and Asian countries go still find ways to push the deficit on your own economy

FreeStuffsNG:
US trade with Nigeria has been shrinking over the years. Our money spinners are the trades with China, E.U , India and Africa. Whoever is hyping trade with US is wasting time. We should increase our trade with our good customers.

Ermm, everything here is made in China. What exactly does China buy from Nigeria?

The people who are shouting are people who do not know anything about business, If you import stuffs from the US, come to Nigeria and pay tariff money for those goods, the prices increase, and the increment gets passed on to the final consumers or buyers, but if there are no tariffs, then the goods will be cheaper and from the human psychology, you will see that people will tend to buy more, which means you sell more, you make more money in a shorter period of time, the same goes for your own products that you export to America, both parties do more exchange for that given period of time, which leads to more activities, more wealth generated. Instead of taking like, 3 months top sell a whole container, you will clear it in like, 3 weeks or a month and a week. You see, things move much quicker. So what Nigeria has to do is to become more productive. Produce more goods, especially finished goods, even Dangote fuel will be cheaper if Nigeria drops the tariff from American oil.

May God help this country

DaddyCoool:
Ermm, everything here is made in China. What exactly does China buy from Nigeria?

Smh. Please go and find out since you are obviously ignorant of it.

FreeStuffsNG:
Smh. Please go and find out since you are obviously ignorant of it.

I went to China and NEVER saw a single thing made in Nigeria, not even food items

SalamRushdie:
Instead of compelling your govt to immediately reduce it's high import tarriffs you are writing epistle ...Nigerias import tarriffs are too high and they are an extortionist tax on Nigerians .. Reduce Taffiff to 15 percent and Trump reduces his own to 7.5 and everyone smiles

Is that what you proffer as a solution to Nigeria present economical challenges? Do you consider blanket reduction of import tariffs as a quick fix? this approach of yours is fundamentally flawed my dear friend.

Omofaye99:
Is that what you proffer as a solution to Nigeria present economical challenges? Do you consider blanket reduction of import tariffs as a quick fix? this approach of yours is fundamentally flawed my dear friend.

Your country is very unproductive

Omofaye99:
Is that what you proffer as a solution to Nigeria present economical challenges? Do you consider blanket reduction of import tariffs as a quick fix? this approach of yours is fundamentally flawed my dear friend.

Nigeria needs to reduce import tarriff to fight inflation, the high import tarriff has done nothing but trigger Inflation and weaken the Naira , it has helped create industries , it hasnt increased Made in Nigeria production so let's stop deceiving ourselves, even the govt is importing petrol even though Dangote has a local refinery

Nigeria is the only country that bans product they don't have substitute for

Tell me why is there a ban in frozen turkey? Do we have any substantial turkey industry?

Why is there a ban in stock fish? Is there any stock fish in our waters?

Why should there be any tariffs on wheat

Why should we ban fish like Titus and kote? Even shawa... We have no local substitute


Our economic policy makes no sense

You want to grow poultry industry but u ban mazie import, worst soya bean import

The first rule of macro economics is you can't produce everything.... Pick the ones you can produce efficiently and import the rest


People are just suffering for nothing

Global price for a ton of chicken is 700 dollars... Nigerian produce at 2500 dollars yet it's an industry u think u can compete?

LordBiden:
Salam the chief trump butt licker.

Your master trump is on the track to sending the US economy into recession.

As of yesterday over 6 trillion dollars wiped out from stock market.

His MAGA slogan will soon change to "Make Americans cry again" by the time cost of living start biting as a result of retaliatory tariffs.

what are the things Nigerians export to US?

dometome:
The people who are shouting are people who do not know anything about business, If you import stuffs from the US, come to Nigeria and pay tariff money for those goods, the prices increase, and the increment gets passed on to the final consumers or buyers, but if there are no tariffs, then the goods will be cheaper and from the human psychology, you will see that people will tend to buy more, which means you sell more, you make more money in a shorter period of time, the same goes for your own products that you export to America, both parties do more exchange for that given period of time, which leads to more activities, more wealth generated. Instead of taking like, 3 months top sell a whole container, you will clear it in like, 3 weeks or a month and a week. You see, things move much quicker. So what Nigeria has to do is to become more productive. Produce more goods, especially finished goods, even Dangote fuel will be cheaper if Nigeria drops the tariff from American oil.

What are the aim of tariff?

Firstly, you mistakenly equates the removal of tariffs with an automatic decrease in prices and increased consumer purchasing, ignoring that many factors influence pricing, such as production costs and market demands.

So you want influx of cheaper imported goods with unguaranteed price reduction to saturate your market against an already struggling local production. How does that generates more wealth?

And your claim that dropping tariffs on oil will automatically lower fuel prices is funny when you are not considering the complexities of global oil pricing and supply chains.

DaddyCoool:
So I see all these countries ahead of China as destination for Nigerian exports. So how come all our imports are from China?
What, for example, do we import from Spain, our top destination?

Just download the NBS Reports to get the details. This is why most of you need to brace up for the seriousness it takes to run government. If you run down those in government and you are ignorant of what is going on, the people in government will not take your inputs seriously because they will easily see through your ignorance.

DaddyCoool:
I went to China and NEVER saw a single thing made in Nigeria, not even food items

That's not how it's assessed. If you want to know, download the NBS Reports to confirm. China has a comparative advantage in manufacturing because of her huge population and cheap labor so it's not fair to limit your assessment to just finished products on supermarket shelves.

Lol!

What can Nigerian leaders do?

Omofaye99:
What are the aim of tariff?

Firstly, you mistakenly equates the removal of tariffs with an automatic decrease in prices and increased consumer purchasing, ignoring that many factors influence pricing, such as production costs and market demands.

So you want influx of cheaper imported goods with unguaranteed price reduction to saturate your market against an already struggling local production. How does that generates more wealth?

And your claim that dropping tariffs on oil will automatically lower fuel prices is funny when you are not considering the complexities of global oil pricing and supply chains.

Bro! I am into that line in my small way ok? I do that for a living, once the government put more tariff on imported goods, we increase the price. No emotions attached, No need to hate Trump. No be him tell una to destroy una own economy

SalamRushdie:
Nigeria needs to reduce import tarriff to fight inflation, the high import tarriff has done nothing but trigger Inflation and weaken the Naira , it has helped create industries , it hasnt increased Made in Nigeria production so let's stop deceiving ourselves, even the govt is importing petrol even though Dangote has a local refinery

Your take that tariff is the trigger behind inflation is false, inflation is caused by various factors that are mostly beyond local control such as global price of goods, currency depreciation which is mostly tied to too much import in the case of Nigeria. So simply removing tariff won't solve anything.