President Donald Trump of the United States of America has a knack for bamboozling and arm-twisting visiting heads of states to Washington into submission with his unending whining about the unfavourable trade barrier against the US but he met his match in President Buhari who visited him recently.
During their tête-à-tête in Washington last month, President Trump deployed his usual tough talk on trade calling on Nigeria to open his doors to U.S. farm products by “ripping down” trade barriers that protect the fragile and revamped Nigerian agricultural sector.
“We give Nigeria well over $1 billion in trade every year, and we have already started talking with the president Buhari about taking down the trade barriers, very substantial barriers to the United States trade,” Trump said, adding, “We think we are owed that.”
If Nigeria “rips down those trade barriers” it could pave the way for “growing our trade relationship on a principle of fairness and reciprocity,” the U.S. President added.
President Buhari not cowed responded by saying that although a lot of Nigerian oil was being sold to the U.S., American trade barriers also posed obstacles for Nigerian farm products seeking markets in the U.S.
The agricultural sector is critical to Nigeria in addressing the issues of ballooning unemployment and reduces reliance on crude oil. US-Nigeria is the biggest in Africa. Nigeria currently supports thousands of U.S. jobs through its export sales, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2015 (the latest data available), Nigeria supported an estimated 35,000 U.S. jobs—17,000 in goods exports and 18,000 in services exports.
President Buhari visit to the US was very productive as Nigeria signed a multi-billion dollar with General Electric in partnership with China’s Sinohydro, South Africa’s Transnet and APM Terminals of the Netherlands for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s railways.
