Nigeria To Enjoy Duty-Free Exports To UK
Nigeria will from early next year be eligible for duty-free access to the United Kingdom (UK), the British High Commission in Abuja has said.
The commission said this to announce the launch of its new Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).
The scheme will ensure that the UK benefits from more than £750 million per year of reduced import costs, leading to more choice and lower costs for its consumers to help with the cost of living.
Senior Communications and Public Diplomacy Officer, Atinuke Akande-Alegbe said the scheme will extend tariff cuts to hundreds of more products exported from Nigeria and 64 other developing countries.
It explained that 99 per cent of the goods to be imported from Africa will be duty-free to the UK, which include a wide variety of products like clothes, shoes, foods, olive oil, tomatoes and others, not widely produced in the UK, would benefit from lower or zero tariffs.
The Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, was quoted as saying, “As an independent trading nation, we are taking back control of our trade policy and making decisions that back UK businesses, help with the cost of living, and support the economies of developing countries around the world.
“UK businesses can look forward to less red-tape and lower costs, incentivising firms to import goods from developing countries.”
Also, the Acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Atkinson, added, “Nigeria will automatically benefit from enhanced preferences under the DCTS. This means 99 per cent of total goods exported from Nigeria are eligible for duty-free access to the UK, saving £500,000 of tariffs.
“As an example, cocoa butter exporters will save £180,000. It’s great to see that the new DCTS will also simplify seasonal tariffs, meaning additional access for Nigeria’s exports to the UK.”
The DCTS covers 65 countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas including some of the poorest countries in the world, the statement added.
Comments are closed.