Two Months After Trump’s 10% Tariff Policy, Nigerian Exports to the US Take Major Hit
The trade relationship between Nigeria and the United States has experienced a notable downturn, with US imports of Nigerian goods dropping by $527 million in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This marks a nearly 20% year-on-year decrease, according to data from the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In the January–May period of 2024, US imports from Nigeria stood at \$2.65 billion. That figure fell sharply to \$2.12 billion during the same period in 2025, coinciding with growing trade tensions between the two countries.
The decline follows the introduction of a sweeping 10% import tariff by President Donald Trump, announced on April 2, 2025, through an executive order. The policy, dubbed the “Liberation Day” tariff framework, imposed a higher 14% rate specifically on Nigerian goods, citing the country’s past trade surplus with the US.
Though Nigeria remains one of America’s top trading partners in Africa, the fallout from Trump’s revived protectionist approach is beginning to show. The situation was further strained by Trump’s threat of an additional 10% tariff on nations perceived as aligning with the BRICS bloc—a group Nigeria is considering joining.
While crude oil and other energy-related exports, which form the bulk of Nigeria’s US-bound shipments, were explicitly exempted from the tariffs, the overall slump in exports suggests a broader slowdown across other sectors. The impact of these policies appears to have dampened US demand for a wide range of Nigerian products.
