Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said the 14 per cent tariff imposed by the United States on Nigerian exports will have a negligible effect on the Nigerian economy.
He made this known at the inaugural Corporate Governance Forum organised by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) in Abuja, on Monday.
The position of the finance minister, however, contradicts that of Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, who said in an earlier statement that many of Nigeria’s oil and non-oil exports are set to face adverse effects and that the tariff could potentially weaken the competitiveness of Nigerian products in the United States market.
Edun said in spite the seriousness of escalating global tariff conflicts, Nigeria remains relatively insulated from severe impacts, given the exclusion of oil and mineral exports—Nigeria’s primary exports to the US—from the tariff.
“Nigeria’s exports to the US were N1.8tn, N2.6tn and N5.5tn in 2022-2024, respectively. Fortunately, oil and mineral exports accounted for 92 per cent, implying oil and mineral exports amounted to N5.08tn in value, while non-oil was just N0.44tn. Consequently, the tariff effect on exports is negligible if we sustain our oil and minerals export volume,” the minister said.
He pointed out that the 14 per cent tariff was favourable and comparatively moderate when placed alongside Vietnam’s 46 per cent and China’s 34 per cent tariffs.
However, Edun admitted the government’s economic management team is closely monitoring the global situation.
“We are going back to the drawing board to look at our budget all over again because we have to see what changes have been made in the assumptions that underlay the production of that budget and the reality over the first quarter and even projected into the future,” he added.
