Like other countries that have been ruing the impact of the unilateral percent tariffs imposed on them by United States president, Donald Trump, Nigeria is reportedly weighing all the options to mitigate the possible negative impact of the levy slammed on her imports by the United States.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun had at the launch of a corporate governance scorecard for government-owned enterprises in Abuja last week stated that members of the economic management team are already re-evaluating national economic assumptions in the light of the new tariff regime. He in particular, had referenced a multi-sectoral economic management team to critically analyse data, revenues, projections, opportunities and weak points in response to the development. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its part had stated that the government would consider all possibilities and respond appropriately.

These are certainly important steps to take in the current circumstances, even as we already know that a lot happened between then and now. For instance, the levy, initially set at 14 per cent, has since been paused for 90 days in favour of a more modest 10 percent, and with it the indications that things might change as President Trump deems fit. Given that indication, Nigeria, nay the international community, would seem to have neither the luxury to suffer any further illusions about President Trump’s avowed determination to upend the global trade system as the world has come to know it, nor could afford to be indifferent to the developments in a whole new world where the most powerful is wont to exert its might against the weak.

For Nigeria therefore, the issues at stake aren’t so much about the so-called will to respond as it deems appropriate as much as the nature of the response, given the limited options available to her, to protect its economy and to preserve its interests over the long haul. Yes, we know for a fact that U.S. total goods trade with Nigeria were $9.9 billion in 2024, and that US exports to Nigeria were valued at $4.2 billion, just as imports from Nigeria during the period stood at $5.7 billion. To be sure, the country currently enjoys a trade surplus of $1.5 billion in her favour.

Moreover, the United States is not necessarily Nigeria’s biggest trading partner. In fact, the top spot actually belongs to the European Union, followed by Asia, particularly India and China, and then the United States and Canada in that order.

So, Trump’s punitive tariff on Nigeria’s exports, particularly at this time, far from being a death sentence, would seem merely a clarion call on our policy makers to think more strategically and to chart a new path of self-reliance, with an aim on global competitiveness which is essentially two sides of the same coin. For us, the real challenge is to ensure that our products not only meet with global standards in every material particular but are as competitive as can be.

Put differently, we are saying that tariff or not, the problems that have hobbled our productivity, not least our export development and so have rendered our domestic products uncompetitive globally, actually inhere with us. It lies at the heart of why our grains and other food items are being rejected by the European Union and other countries across the globe. It also explains why countries like China, South Korea and India have chosen rather to see the current challenges as an opportunity at a time the rest of the world is moaning the destructive impacts of the tariffs; it is a lesson on how a country’s export-led growth strategy is not a walk in the park. (The Nation Editorial)