Nigeria is said to be losing huge foreign exchange revenues and about four million jobs annually due to the country’s failure to fully maximise the benefits of a United States’ duty-free trade policy, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The scheme was signed into law on May 18, 2000 by the former American President, Mr. Bill Clinton, to assist the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and improve economic relations between the US and the region.
After its initial 15-year validity period, the success of the scheme in increasing trade volume and value between the United States and some African countries prompted former President Barack Obama to extend the implementation by 10 years to 2025.
Through AGOA, Nigeria can export 6,500 products duty free into the United States, an opportunity unprecedented considering the huge market under consideration.
Some of the products that Nigeria can leverage on are garlic, natural honey, potato, onion, tomato, cucumber, vegetables, cabbage, peas, beans, corn, okra, kola nuts, guava, mango, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, papayas among many others.
Despite the AGOA window, Nigeria has not seen a steady rise in exports - including non-AGOA qualifying exports - to America as shown by data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) from 2013 to 2016.
In 2013, Nigeria exported goods worth N2.91 trillion to the American continent and in 2014, the exports dipped to N2.23trn while in 2015 and 2016, the export value further dropped to N1.29trn and N1.66trn respectively.
The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has called for the urgent review of Nigeria’s utilisation of the AGOA window immediately after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.
The Chamber’s President, Tony Ejinkeonye, advised the Federal Government to make a quick review of the scheme to enable the Nigerian business community benefit maximally from the scheme.
Source: dailytrust.com.ng
