The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group has urged the Federal Government to prioritise intra-African trade as uncertainty mounts over Nigeria’s growing ties with BRICS nations and looming tariff threats from the United States of America.
In a virtual interview with The PUNCH, Chairman of MANEG, Odiri Erewa-Meggison, noted that the faceoff between the US and the economic and political alliance comprising the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa should encourage Nigeria to prioritise African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
President Donald Trump recently proposed to impose a 10 per cent tariff on countries aligned with BRICS. Nigeria is a BRICS partner country, and economic observers worry that this could negatively affect Nigeria’s trade and manufacturing outlook.
Erewa-Meggison said, “If the threatened tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on countries aligned with BRICS, Nigeria in particular, are implemented, it could disrupt trade relations and harm key sectors of the economy, such as agriculture and manufacturing.”
She warned that the proposed tariffs could strain Nigeria’s trade relationship with the U.S., particularly in critical imports like pharmaceuticals and agricultural products.
