The United States has imposed a fresh 12.5 per cent tariff on products imported from Nigeria after determining that the country failed to establish and effectively enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
The new measure was announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in a notice issued on Thursday
This follows a Section 301 investigation into the trade practices of 60 economies, including Nigeria.
According to the USTR, Nigeria was among 54 economies found to have failed to establish and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or partly with forced labour.
As a result, Nigerian exports entering the United States will now attract an additional 12.5 per cent tariff, except for products covered by specified exemptions in the notice.
The new duties took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on July 24, 2026, although goods already in transit will benefit from a short grace period before the tariff applies.
Explaining the decision, the USTR said countries that had enacted and effectively enforced forced labour import bans, committed to doing so through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), or introduced partial restrictions on such goods would instead face a lower tariff rate of 10 per cent.
The agency stated, “Nigeria was among 54 economies found to have failed to establish and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or partly with forced labour.” It added that the higher tariff would apply to those economies that had not taken sufficient steps to prohibit the importation of goods made with forced labour.
The investigation that led to the decision was launched in March 2026 under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974. It examined whether the targeted economies had laws banning the importation of goods produced with forced labour and whether those laws were being effectively enforced.
According to the USTR, the investigation attracted more than 1,600 public comments and included testimony from over 100 witnesses representing governments, industry groups, domestic producers and non-governmental organisations before the agency reached its final determination.
The U.S. government also noted that several countries, including Cambodia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago, introduced forced labour import prohibitions during the investigation, while Jordan committed to implementing similar measures through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade.
The notice provides exemptions for certain imports, including informational materials, donations, accompanied baggage, products already subject to Section 232 tariffs and other specified items where additional duties could disrupt U.S. supply chains or prove ineffective in addressing the identified concerns.
The latest action comes months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s 2025 “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were illegal, saying the emergency law did not give the president unilateral authority to impose such sweeping import duties without congressional approval.
However, the court made it clear that its ruling applied only to those specific tariffs and did not prevent the U.S. government from imposing duties through other legally established trade mechanisms.
