By the scheme, 99 per cent of total goods exported from
Nigeria are eligible for duty-free access to the country, the British High
Commission said in a statement it issued in Abuja yesterday.
The Commission noted that the scheme cut tariffs on hundreds
of more products exported from Nigeria and other developing countries, going
further than the European Union-generalised scheme of preferences.
This was in addition to the thousands of products which
developing countries can already export to the UK duty-free, the Commission
said in a statement.
It explained that the scheme would ensure a wide variety of
products – from clothes and shoes to foods that are not widely produced in the
UK, including olive oil and tomatoes – would benefit from lower or zero
tariffs.
It added that the scheme would ensure that British
businesses can benefit from more than £750 million per year of reduced import
costs, leading to more choices and lower costs for UK consumers to help with
the cost of living.
“DCTS will boost trade with 65 developing countries, support
jobs and growth at home and abroad, and reinforce our economic security,” the
statement read.
The acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill
Atkinson, said Nigeria would automatically benefit from enhanced preferences
under the DCTS, assuring that the scheme can save up to £500,000 of tariffs.
Atkinson said, “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. It
removes some seasonal tariffs, meaning more options for British supermarkets
and shops all year round. For example, cucumbers, which can’t be grown in the
UK in the winter, will now be tariff-free during this period for the majority
of countries in the scheme.
“This work is part of a wider push by the UK to drive a free
trade, pro-growth agenda across the globe, using trade to drive prosperity and
help eradicate poverty.”
The Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie
Trevelyan, said in the statement, “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.
“The DCTS replaces the UK Generalised Scheme of Preferences,
which was rolled over from our EU membership, and will come into force in early
2023. The scheme covers 37 countries in Africa, 18 in Asia, eight in Oceania
and two in the Americas, representing varied and exciting trade opportunities
around the world.”
Key aspects of the DCTS are making product specific rules
and rules on accumulation more generous and easier to follow for least
developed countries; ensuring that goods which are genuinely competitive in the
UK do not get preferential tariffs; and making it simpler for developing
countries to get the enhanced trade preferences in the scheme.
It includes powers to suspend a country on the grounds of
human rights and labour rights violations.
Nigeria’s exports to the United Kingdom was $1.12 billion in
2021, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.
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