The United States Trade Representative on Monday, criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This came shortly after President Donald Trump introduced tariffs on goods entering the US, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The statement posted on its X platform reads,
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts U.S. exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit U.S. market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for U.S. businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market,” the agency said via its X handle.
The country’s reaction comes at a time when tensions are rising over its sweeping tariffs imposed on several countries.
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
Last week, the Trump administration imposed various tariffs ranging between 10 per cent and 65 per cent on different countries across the world, including Nigeria which got a 14 per cent tariff on its exports to the United States.
Nigerian stocks on Monday recorded their biggest drop in recent times following the impact of U.S President Donald Trump’s tariffs on global trade markets.
Investors lost about N659 billion at the close of trading after the Nigerian Exchange’s All Share Index (ASI) decreased by 1.23 percent, its biggest single-day decline this month.
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Stocks like Oando and Honeywell Flour Mills helped to push the market lower. Oando decreased the most, from N42 to N37.80, down by N4.20 or 10 percent, while Honeywell dropped from N11.32 to N10.19, losing N1.13 or 9.98 percent.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation decreased from the preceding day’s 105,511.89 points and N66.147 trillion, respectively, to 104,216.87 points and N65.488 billion. The Nigerian market’s return this year has decreased to +1.25 percent.
Countries such as China have since said they would retaliate from the imposed tariffs.
China vowed on Tuesday to “fight to the end” against fresh tariffs of 50 percent threatened by US President Donald Trump, further aggravating a trade war that has already wiped trillions off global markets.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, on Monday said that the Federal Government will boost non-revenue as a means of cushioning the adverse effects to trade tariffs imposed on countries by President Trump.
Edun also assured that the Economic Management Team (EMT) will meet to assess the likely impact of the 14 per cent tariff on goods exported from Nigeria to the United States.
He said the EMT will afterwards, make recommendations to cushion its impact on the nation’s economy.
Edun, who was speaking at an event organised by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated on Monday, said that while the adverse effect on Nigeria will be through an oil price plunge, the government is intensifying efforts to ramp up oil production and boost non-oil revenues.