Nigeria faces the risk of an additional 10% tariff after US President Donald Trump warned that countries supporting BRICS policies against American interests would be hit with the levy.
Trump, who has long criticised BRICS – an alliance comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – made the announcement on his Truth Social platform.
“Any country aligning themselves with the anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” he wrote.
Nigeria became BRICS’ ninth partner country in January, joining Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan under the alliance’s new partner-country category created at the 16th BRICS Summit in 2024.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently attending the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On Saturday, Tinubu called for greater focus on environmental degradation, climate change, and healthcare inequalities, emphasising that these issues slow growth and development.
Trump’s administration has set a July 9 deadline for countries to agree to trade deals, with tariffs scheduled to begin on August 1. Since January, Trump has imposed several import tariffs to boost American manufacturing and protect local jobs.
In April, he announced new taxes on goods from many countries, some as high as 50%, though he later suspended the most aggressive plans to allow for negotiations. During this period, a 10% tariff has been applied to imports from most international partners, with trade deals so far concluded only with the UK, Vietnam, and partially with China.
