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Nigeria gains wider UK trade access amid $1bn export dip

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  • Amarachi Orjiude-Ndibe

    Amarachi is a finance writer with a knack for turning complex economic data into compelling stories. With over half a decade of writing experienceโ€”spanning content creation, journalism, and on-the-ground reportingโ€”she found herself in finance by accident but stayed for the thrill of decoding numbers that shape economies. Now, she covers the policies, trends, and market shifts that drive Africaโ€™s financial landscape, making crucial information accessible to readers across the continent.

    At Finance In Africa, Amarachi delivers sharp, data-driven insights tailored for bankers, investors, and finance professionals. She analyses central bank policies, fiscal reforms, and regulatory shifts, translating their impact into actionable intelligence. Her coverage spans banking performance, inflation, currency movements, capital markets, fixed income, and corporate earningsโ€”helping industry players navigate risks and opportunities with confidence.

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The United Kingdom (UK) has expanded Nigeriaโ€™s preferential trade access, granting duty-free entry and reduced tariffs for more than 3,000 products, including cocoa, cashew, and textiles.ย 

The move comes as Nigeriaโ€™s exports to the UK fell to $2.6 billion in 2024โ€”a 28.3% decline, or about $1 billion in current pricesโ€”compared to the previous year, according to official trade data.

The new trade policy, part of the UKโ€™s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), was announced by Mark Smithson, Country Director for the UK Department for Business and Trade, in a recent video message.

โ€œUp to 3,000 products from Nigeria qualify for low tariff or no tariff access to the UK through the Developing Countries Scheme, one of the most generous trading schemes in the world,โ€ Smithson said.ย 

The start date of the new policy is yet to be announced.

Launched in 2023, the DCTS replaced the UKโ€™s Generalised Scheme of Preferences and aims to boost trade with 65 developing countries by cutting tariffs and simplifying trading rules.ย 

Nigeria is one of over 30 African countries eligible for preferential access under the scheme.

Before this announcement, Nigerian exporters already enjoyed duty-free access on 92% of product lines under the DCTSโ€™s Enhanced Preferences category, while the remaining goods were subject to reducedโ€”but not zeroโ€”tariff rates or the UKโ€™s standard Global Tariff.

The Enhanced Preferences tier covers 16 low- and lower-middle-income countries, as classified by the World Bank, that are considered economically vulnerable due to their narrow export base.ย 

As of April 2023, the coverage applied to over 8,000 imported goods.

According to Smithson, the UK has further simplified trade procedures for Nigerian exporters, expanding access to a broader range of goods under the updated scheme.

Smithson, therefore, encouraged Nigerian businesses to explore the opportunity: โ€œThe UK is open for business with Nigeria. So why donโ€™t you go to the website and find out more about the Developing Countries Trading Scheme and begin to trade with us?โ€

The UK is the second major economy, after China, to move to deepen trade ties with African nations amid a global trade war sparked by United States President Donald Trumpโ€™s sweeping tariffs announced on April 1.

Earlier in June, China granted duty-free access to all products imported from Ghana, part of its broader strategy to drive industrialisation and increase trade volumes across West Africa.

More deals of this nature are expected, as China has pledged to remove tariffs for all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations.

These moves stand in stark contrast to the protectionist stance of the United States, whose new tariff regime could impose duties as high as 50% on exports from some of Africaโ€™s smallest economies.

In addition, U.S. trade policies now threaten the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)โ€”a key piece of legislation that provides duty-free access for goods from 32 Sub-Saharan African countries to the U.S. market.

With the end of the 90-day U.S. tariff pause approaching, some African nations hit hardest by the new duties are scrambling to renegotiate trade terms with the worldโ€™s largest economy.

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