US President Donald Trump has imposed a 14% reciprocal tariff on all Nigerian goods entering the United States, marking the official implementation of the highly anticipated “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Trump had previously announced that countries would face tariffs set at half the rate they charge on US goods, with a minimum tariff of 10%. The calculation also includes non-monetary trade barriers and currency manipulation.
For Nigeria, the new 14% tariff responds to the 27% tariff the country charges on US goods.
These new tariffs, which affect 185 countries, signal the end of months of uncertainty that had impacted stock markets across the US, Europe, and Asia. The tariff increase is part of an ongoing trade war, which also includes plans to impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made vehicles in the coming week.
Alongside the 10% baseline tariff on all countries, Trump has increased tariffs on specific nations he considers “bad actors.”
Some countries, like Lesotho, face tariffs as high as 50% on exports to the US. Trump noted that while he could have imposed even higher tariffs, he chose not to in order to avoid hardship for countries that were unwilling to negotiate.
“The tariffs will not be fully reciprocal,” Trump said. “I could have gone higher, but it would have been tough for many countries who didn’t want to do that.”
The 25% auto tariffs are scheduled to take effect tomorrow as planned.
Nigeria’s total exports to the US, valued at N4.59 trillion, may be affected by the new tariffs.