From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has identified corruption and lack of transparency in Nigeria’s tender processes as major barriers to trade and investment in the country.
According to the USTR, Nigeria has yet to act on several pending requests concerning food and agricultural imports from the United States despite repeated efforts to secure market access.
“U.S. firms experience difficulties in day-to-day operations as a result of inappropriate demands from officials for ‘facilitative’ payments. Efforts to strengthen anti-corruption measures have been hampered by inter-ministerial infighting and partisan politics,” the USTR stated in its 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.
The report noted that since 2019, the United States has sought to negotiate import permits for several categories of U.S. food and agricultural products, but Nigeria has been slow to approve these requests.
“Nigeria is inconsistent in the implementation of technical regulations and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, which creates confusion and undermines compliance,” it added.
It also highlighted that Nigeria maintains a combined duty and associated import fees of 50 per cent or more on 79 tariff lines, including 17 tariff lines where combined charges reach or exceed the 70 per cent limit set by ECOWAS.
Furthermore, the USTR report observed that the Nigerian justice system’s capacity to achieve convictions and appropriate sentencing for corruption-related crimes remains a major challenge hindering trade and investment.
“Questions also remain regarding the Nigerian justice system’s capacity to achieve convictions and appropriate sentencing for corruption-related crimes,” it stated.
