Nigeria and the US have a $10 billion yearly economic relationship, according to Will Stevens, consul general of the US Consulate in Lagos, Nigeria.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the African Growth and Opportunity Act workshop with Proper Africa on Monday in Lagos, Steven revealed this.

The workshop’s goal is to give export-ready Nigerian companies, the Nigeria Customs Service, trade officials, and other pertinent players the information and abilities they need to optimise AGOA’s advantages and enhance its application in Nigeria.

According to Steven, trade between the US and Nigeria is quite balanced.

Nigeria and the United States have an almost 50/50 trade relationship, indicating that we are equal partners. Thus, the yearly trade relationship is about $10 billion, with $5 billion going from the US to Nigeria and $5 billion from Nigeria to the US. However, oil-related products account for $3.8 billion of AGOA’s total, and we want to see more,” he stated.

He claimed that although though the two nations have a balanced economic relationship, the oil and gas industry accounts for the majority of their AGOA commerce.

“Where is the rest of your economic activity, and why is it not being exported to the United States?” he said, pointing out that the oil and gas industry accounts for less than 8% of Nigeria’s GDP.

Steven emphasised that the State of California is the third largest economy in the world and clarified that AGOA provides exporters with unrestricted access to the US market, which accounts for 27% of the global economy.

“I believe that the economies of Texas and New York are the seventh and ninth largest, respectively,” he stated.

Therefore, you are gaining access to a fourth of the world economy when you are granted duty-free entry to the US market, which is a form of unilateral trade concession. Therefore, obtaining 1% of the market in New York State is more significant than almost the whole Nigerian economy, the consular general clarified.

He stated that the United States remains dedicated to the AGOA effort and added that one benefit of Prosper Africa is that it unites the whole U.S. government.

Steven underlined that Prosper Africa contributes to the expansion of bilateral investment and trade between the United States and Africa.

Not only do we sell you our products, but we also assist you in selling us yours. “That’s Prosper’s cool feature,” he said.

We are concentrating on both areas. We are aware that when you enter our market and start exporting, you bring in hard dollar and improve the quality of the things you are making because if you can do well in the U.S. market, you can do well in Asia and Europe. Therefore, please consider how you may use AGOA, bring your business to the United States, and establish relationships with one another,” Steven said.

Nigeria and other African countries have a wonderful chance to join the U.S. market duty-free under AGOA, according to Osvaldo Gomez-Martinez, the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for Africa.

He clarified that Nigeria has the ability to greatly boost its exports to the US as it is one of the biggest economies in Africa and has a diversified and quickly expanding private sector.

“The future lies in expanding beyond this sector and embracing the full spectrum of AGOA eligible products,” he added, adding that the oil industry has long dominated commerce between our countries, making up around 98% of Nigeria’s $3.8 billion in exports under AGOA.

According to Gomez-Martinez, if Nigeria wants to protect its economy from the instability it presently experiences, it is crucial to diversify its export base away from oil and, consequently, increase the sources of other inflows.

He emphasised that Nigeria has enormous on-topic potential to diversify its export base under AGOA in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

According to Gomez-Martinez, “Nigeria manufacturers and producers have a unique opportunity to gain access to the U.S. market duty-free again, giving their products a competitive edge.”

He said that in order to fulfil this potential, several conditions must be met, including adherence to US laws, market norms, and logistical difficulties.

According to Gomez-Martinez, the US is still dedicated to helping Nigeria’s economy expand in order to fulfil the two countries’ common objectives of boosting two-way trade, generating excellent employment, and promoting more prosperity.

“We must establish long-term, sustainable trade partnerships in a number of industries, particularly those that have not historically been the main focus of Nigerian-American trade,” he stated.

Mr. Charles Odii, the director-general and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, acknowledged that despite some obstacles, small and medium-sized businesses continue to operate at their peak efficiency.

“At the moment, they have financial resources at their disposal. I would want to express my gratitude to the President for mentioning N200 billion for Nigerian firms, N75 billion for major businesses, N75 billion for small businesses, and N50 billion for incentives for nanobusinesses.

If you ask small firms, one of the main reasons they haven’t grown in the past is government rules. And all of it is being eliminated. In order to make doing business easier for our small enterprises throughout Nigeria, we established the National Council of SMEs,” he stated.

In addition to the more than 5,000 items that qualify for duty-free access under the Generalised System of Preferences program, AGOA grants qualified sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the US market for more than 1,800 products.

A national security effort led by the US President, Prosper Africa aims to increase two-way investment and commerce between the US and Africa to transformational and strategic levels. In order to improve the security of the global supply chain, better integrate African suppliers and producers into international markets, including the US, generate employment, and support equitable economic growth, Prosper Africa seeks to expand trade at transformational levels between the US and African nations.