United States President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on American imports shocked governments and investors around the world, swiftly spurring threats of retaliation and trade war.
This follows imposition of a baseline 10 per cent tariff on all U.S. imports, alongside sharper, country-specific reciprocal tariffs aimed at nations that impose steeper duties on American goods.
Exports from Nigeria to the US will attract a 14% tariff compared to the 27% that the US government claims it receives from Nigeria.
Nigeria’s trade with the United States printed a combined N31.1 trillion from 2015 to 2024 (10 years), according to data from the NBS. Total imports within this period were N16.4 trillion or 8.7% of Nigeria’s global exports.
The announcement, made during a Rose Garden event tagged “Liberation Day,” marks a dramatic shift from decades of free-trade orthodoxy that has underpinned the global economy since World War II.
Trump declared the start of what he called a new era of “fair trade,” promising to “supercharge America’s industrial base” and force open foreign markets long accused of shutting out U.S. goods.
“This is one of the most important days in American history,” Trump said. “We will supercharge our domestic industrial base, we will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers.”
The new tariffs, which take immediate effect, apply to more than 50 countries. They include major trade partners like China, the European Union, India, and Japan, as well as developing economies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
The Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff policy is also set to impact several African nations, with countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Mauritius featured on the latest White House list of tariff adjustments.
According to the data, Nigeria currently imposes a 27% tariff on U.S. goods. Under the new policy, the U.S. will apply a 14% reciprocal tariff on Nigerian exports, marking a significant change in the trade dynamics between both nations.
While Nigeria is not among the highest tariff imposers, the adjustment signals that the U.S. is casting a wide net that includes not just economic rivals but also developing nations with whom it previously maintained preferential trade terms.
Mauritius is another major African economy affected, with the U.S. citing an 80% tariff burden on its exports.
A 40% reciprocal tariff has now been proposed—one of the steepest in the African bloc. Ghana and Ethiopia, by contrast, impose relatively low tariffs on U.S. goods (17% and 10% respectively), and will see the U.S. apply matching or near-matching tariffs in return (10% each).
Other African countries listed include
- Algeria: 59% tariff on U.S. goods; 30% reciprocal U.S. tariff
- Namibia: 42% vs 21%
- Lesotho: 99% vs 50%
- Kenya: 10% vs 10%
These adjustments could carry significant implications for African economies that depend heavily on U.S. trade preferences, such as those under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
For Nigeria and others seeking to diversify their export base beyond crude oil, this shift presents both a challenge and a wake-up call.
Without revisiting their own tariff regimes or negotiating new trade terms, many African economies risk losing access to the world’s largest consumer market—or face higher barriers to entry.
Key Country Tariff on US goods vs Proposed US tariff
- Vietnam 90% vs US 46%
- Cambodia 97% vs US 49%
- Bangladesh 74% vs US 37%
- China 67% vs US 34%
- Thailand 72% vs US 36%
- Indonesia 64% vs US 32%
- India 52% vs US 26%
- Taiwan 64% vs US 32%
- South Korea 50% vs US 25%
- Japan 46% vs US 24%
- Malaysia 47% vs US 24%
- South Africa 60% vs US 30%
- Sri Lanka 88% vs US 44%
- Israel 33% vs US 17%
- Philippines 34% vs US 17%
- EU 39% vs US 20%
- UK 10% vs US 10%
- Brazil 10% vs US 10%
- Singapore 10% vs US 10%
- Chile 10% vs US 10%
- Australia 10% vs US 10%
- Turkey 10% vs US 10%
- Pakistan 58% vs US 29%
- Colombia 10% vs US 10%
At the heart of Trump’s new trade doctrine is a concept his administration calls “reciprocal tariffs.” Under this framework, the U.S. imposes duties on imports equivalent to half the tariff rates those countries apply to American exports.
A chart displayed during the “Make America Wealthy Again” event listed countries deemed to be the worst offenders.
These include Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh, all of which levy tariffs above 70% on U.S. goods. Under the new plan, U.S. import tariffs on their goods will now range between 37% and 49%.=
Reactions by trading partners
However, major trading partners are preparing to retaliate: Canada has already imposed tariffs in response to Trump’s 25% levies on auto imports.
The European Union has threatened new tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods, including bourbon, which could lead to a 200% tariff on European alcohol.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned that an EU-U.S. trade war would have “heavy consequences” for both sides.
China has been hit particularly hard by the new tariffs, which take the total levy on Chinese imports to over 50%.
China’s commerce ministry called for Washington to “immediately cancel” the tariffs, warning they “endanger global economic development” and would hurt US interests and international supply chains.
“There is no winner in a trade war, and there is no way out for protectionism,” the ministry said. Beijing has promised countermeasures.
Japan, the biggest foreign investor in the U.S. and its closest ally in Asia, plans to assess the impact of the tariffs, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said, displaying a more conciliatory approach.
British Prime Minister Kier Starmer said his government would react with “cool and calm heads,” telling business leaders in London that he hoped to strike a trade deal with the U.S. that would see the tariffs rescinded.
“Nobody wins in a trade war, that is not in our national interest,” Starmer said.
The head of the World Trade Organization warned that U.S. protectionist measures will likely cause global trade volumes to drop by about 1% this year.
“I’m deeply concerned about this decline and the potential for escalation into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures that lead to further declines in trade,” said WTO Director-General Ngozi Iweala-Okonjo.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, ,“Europe did not start this confrontation, but we will respond if necessary.”
Even within the U.S., the tariff decision is drawing bipartisan criticism.
Democrats argue that the tariffs amount to a massive tax increase on American families. Representative Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) stated, “Trump promised to lower costs, but now he’s raising prices on everything.”
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, according to an Axios reporter, explained that Russia was excluded because it is already subject to US sanctions, which “preclude any meaningful trade” between the two nations. Leavitt added that Russia could still face “additional strong sanctions,”
Higher prices loom
The tariffs are not paid by the foreign countries they target, but by the U.S.-based companies that buy the goods to sell to Americans.
Now companies must decide whether to absorb the new taxes or pass them on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
The makers of Italy’s Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, for instance, say the new tariffs mean U.S. consumers will pay more for their crumbly pasta topping.
“Americans continued to choose us even when the price went up” after an earlier round of Trump tariffs in 2019, said Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmigian Reggiano Consortium. “Putting tariffs on a product like ours, only increases the price for American consumers, without protecting local producers.”
The Consumer Brands Association, which represents big food companies like Coca-Cola and General Mills as well as consumer product makers like Procter & Gamble, warned that although its businesses make most of their goods in the U.S., they now face tariffs on critical ingredients — like wood pulp for toilet paper or cinnamon — that must be imported because of domestic scarcity.
“We encourage President Trump and his trade advisors to fine-tune their approach and exempt key ingredients and inputs in order to protect manufacturing jobs and prevent unnecessary inflation at the grocery store,” said Tom Madrecki, the association’s vice-president of supply chain resiliency.
