US Slaps 12.5% Tariff on Nigerian Imports Over Forced Labour Concerns
The United States has imposed a 12.5 per cent tariff on imports from Nigeria following allegations that the country has not effectively prohibited the importation of goods produced through forced labour.
The new trade measure, announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), forms part of a broader policy targeting 60 economies that Washington says have failed to enforce bans on products linked to forced labour.
Punch newspaper reports that According to the USTR, countries that have implemented or committed to implementing effective forced labour import prohibitions will instead face a lower 10 per cent tariff. Those countries include India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
The decision follows investigations launched in May 2026 under Section 301 of the US Trade Act, covering 60 of America’s largest trading partners. The agency said it reviewed more than 1,600 public submissions, heard testimony from over 100 witnesses and consulted more than 45 governments before reaching its decision.
Explaining the tariff structure, the USTR stated: “10 percent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duties for investigated economies that impose a forced labour import prohibition, have committed to impose and enforce such a prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, or have imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the importation of certain forced labour goods.”
For Nigeria and other countries that do not meet those conditions, the agency said “12.5 percent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duty for all other investigated economies.”
A Federal Register notice issued by the USTR confirmed that Nigeria’s exports to the United States would attract a 12.5 per cent tariff, except for products covered by specific exemptions.
The notice stated: “Based on the findings in the investigation of Nigeria… the Trade Representative has determined to impose 12.5 percent tariffs on products of Nigeria, except as provided in Annex I and Annex II, Part A, of this Notice.”
It further explained that the tariffs and exemptions were designed to encourage the elimination of the trade practices identified during the investigation.
The latest action follows President Donald Trump’s decision to invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to introduce temporary universal tariffs after the US Supreme Court blocked his administration’s wider tariff policy under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Defending the move, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the policy was intended to push trading partners to strengthen their laws against forced labour.
“President Trump recognises that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labour from global supply chains,” Greer said.
He added, “The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.”
Despite the new tariffs, the USTR said certain products would remain exempt, including raw materials that could create domestic supply shortages in the United States, goods capable of causing broader economic disruptions, products unavailable in sufficient quantities from American or alternative suppliers, and selected items from countries that have adopted or pledged to adopt forced labour import bans.
