Trade relations between Nigeria and the United States has witnessed a marginal increase to $8.2 billion in 2022 against $7.3 billion in 2021, US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard has said. She said that in November 2022, United States exported $226M and imported $388M from Nigeria, resulting in a negative trade balance of $162M. Between November 2021 and November 2022 the exports of United States have decreased by $-71.7M (-24.1%) from $297M to $226M, while imports increased by $90.1M (30.2%) from $298M to $388M. The decrease in United States’s year-by-year exports to Nigeria was explained primarily by a decrease in product exports in Motor vehicles; parts and accessories ($-4.55M or -36.2%), Vinyl Chloride Polymers ($-4.3M or -61.6%), and Excavation Machinery ($-1.65M or -75.3%). But the increase in US year-by-year imports from Nigeria was explained primarily by an increase in product imports in Crude Petroleum ($77M or 69.1%), Spices ($51.3k or 186%), and Brochures ($31.2k or 59.6%).
According to her “The top exports of United States to Nigeria were Refined Petroleum ($81.5M), Cars ($38.3M), Petroleum Gas ($16.5M), Wheat ($12.2M), and Motor vehicles; parts and accessories ($9.95M) while the top imports of United States from Nigeria were Crude Petroleum ($350M), Petroleum Gas ($27.9M), Raw Lead ($2.35M), Cocoa Paste ($1.14M), and Commodities not elsewhere specified ($1.14M).
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard said that Nigeria also increased its exports under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), U.S. a trade preference programme for African countries, from $477 million in 2020 to $1.4 billion in 2021”. She however said that the US is committed to strengthening our trade relationship with Nigeria to create jobs and provide higher-quality goods at competitive prices in both countries. In an interview with the media, Ambassador Leonard said that the US supported the Nigerian government with over twenty-five million dollars through different programmes towards achieving free, fair, and credible elections and added that the US does not have a preferred candidate in the elections.
