Business
Report: US imported $643m Nigerian goods in two months
According to data from the United States International Trade Commission, the U.S. imported goods worth $643.1 million from Nigeria during the first two months of 2025, prior to the new tariffs set to be implemented by the Trump administration.
The tariffs, scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, have raised concerns about their potential effect on Nigeria’s trade. However, oil and minerals are exempt from these new tariffs, offering some relief to Nigeria’s main export sectors.
Data from the Trade Commission shows that Nigeria’s customs-based imports for February 2025 were valued at $286.3 million, a sharp drop from the $423.6 million recorded in February 2024. This represented a decrease of 32.4%. On a year-to-date basis, imports on a customs basis fell from $951.6 million in 2024 to $643.1 million in 2025, marking a 32.4% decline. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s imports on a Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) basis in February 2025 amounted to $298.4 million, down from $436.3 million in February 2024, a 31.6% decrease. Year-to-date CIF-based imports fell from $979.6 million in 2024 to $666.3 million in 2025, reflecting a 32% drop.
The customs basis refers to the value of goods at the point of entry into the U.S., excluding insurance and freight costs, while CIF includes the total value of goods along with insurance and shipping expenses.
Despite the drop in imports, Nigeria’s trade balance for customs imports in February 2025 improved significantly, reaching a surplus of $187.2 million, up from a deficit of $77.3 million in February 2024, an increase of 142.2%. On a year-to-date basis, the trade balance shifted from a deficit of $158.8 million in 2024 to a surplus of $44.3 million in 2025, a recovery of 127.9%. The total trade between the U.S. and Nigeria in the first two months of 2025 amounted to approximately $1.33 billion, including both imports and exports, underscoring the strong trade relationship between the two nations.
Nigeria’s exports on a domestic and foreign Free Alongside Ship (F.A.S.) basis totaled $473.6 million in February 2025, down slightly from $501 million in February 2024, reflecting a decline of 5.5%. Year-to-date F.A.S.-based exports fell from $792.8 million in 2024 to $687.4 million in 2025, marking a decrease of 13.3%. Additionally, the U.S. recorded a trade deficit with Nigeria only in January 2025, as reported in the U.S. Trade in Goods report. In January, the U.S. posted a deficit of $143 million but recorded a surplus of $187 million in February, resulting in a year-to-date surplus of $44 million.
The data showed that Nigeria’s exports to the U.S. surged in February, rising to $474 million from $214 million in January, marking an increase of 121.5%. Year-to-date, Nigeria’s exports to the U.S. totaled $687 million, indicating a strong recovery after a slow start to the year. However, U.S. imports from Nigeria decreased in February, valued at $286 million compared to $357 million in January, reflecting a 19.9% decline. Year-to-date, U.S. imports from Nigeria reached $643 million, indicating a drop in import volume compared to the previous month. This shift in trade dynamics from January to February indicates a reversal of the deficit trend seen earlier in the year.
In the first two months of 2025, the U.S. imported crude oil worth $413.57 million from Nigeria, according to the U.S. Trade in Goods report. This crude oil constituted about 64.31% of the total imports from Nigeria, which totaled $666.3 million. The data highlights the major role of crude oil in Nigeria’s export portfolio to the U.S. In February 2025, U.S. imports of crude oil from Nigeria were valued at $142.2 million, with a volume of 1.8 million barrels, a significant drop from January when the volume was higher at 3.5 million barrels, valued at $271.4 million. This reflected a month-on-month decrease of 47.6% in the value of crude oil imports.
The year-to-date customs value of crude oil imports from Nigeria stood at $413.6 million as of February 2025. The CIF value of crude oil imports in February was $146.2 million, compared to $278.2 million in January, marking a 47.4% decrease month-on-month. The cumulative CIF value for crude oil imports in the first two months of 2025 was $424.4 million.
While oil and mineral exports remain exempt from the new tariffs, analysts have raised concerns about the potential impact of the new tariffs on other sectors of Nigeria’s economy.