Market News
Nigeria, UAE scrap tariffs on over 13,000 goods - PUNCH
BY Arinze Nwafor and Stephen Angbulu
The Federal Government has announced that Nigeria has eliminated tariffs on 6,243 products imported from the United Arab Emirates, and the UAE has removed tariffs on 7,315 products imported from Nigeria, as part of a new trade pact aimed at expanding market access for Nigerian goods, businesses, and professionals.
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment disclosed this on Tuesday via a document on the Nigeria–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in January 2026.
According to the ministry, the agreement will “expand market access opportunities for Nigerian products, businesses, and professionals into the UAE while facilitating investment flows,” marking a major step in Nigeria’s non-oil export drive and economic diversification agenda.
For trade in goods, the ministry said Nigeria has committed to eliminating tariffs on 6,243 products imported from the UAE. The UAE also committed to eliminating tariffs on 7,315 products imported from Nigeria.
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Under the agreement, Nigeria will immediately remove tariffs on 3,949 products, representing 63.3 per cent of the total, while phasing out tariffs on 2,294 products over five years. Nigeria excluded 123 products from tariff liberalisation.
On its part, the UAE will immediately eliminate tariffs on 2,805 products, representing 38.3 per cent of the total, remove tariffs on 1,468 products within three years, and on 3,042 products within five years. The UAE excluded or prohibited 593 products.
The two countries signed the CEPA on January 13, 2026, following negotiations led by Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr Jumoke Oduwole with support from the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Nigeria Customs Service.
Oduwole and the UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, signed the agreement in the presence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, and the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The ministry described the pact as “a pragmatic and comprehensive agreement expected to deliver significant economic and strategic benefits,” including expanded trade opportunities, improved market access for exports, increased flows of high-quality investment and job creation, particularly for young Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government noted that the tariff elimination would open the UAE market to a wide range of Nigerian agricultural, primary, industrial, and manufactured goods.
Under agricultural and primary products, the UAE will immediately remove tariffs on fish and seafood, cereals and milling products, oil seeds, live animals and meat products, fruits and nuts, raw hides and skins, cotton and vegetable textile fibres, and other animal products.
Tariffs on cocoa and cocoa preparations, coffee, tea & spices, mineral fuels, wood and wood articles, precious stones and metals, and animal and vegetable fats and oils will be removed over three to five years.
For industrial and manufactured goods, the UAE will immediately remove tariffs on pharmaceutical products, organic and inorganic chemicals, paper and paperboard, printed books, and newspapers. It will also phase out tariffs on machinery, vehicles, electrical equipment, apparel, furniture, footwear, ceramics, and glass over three to five years.
However, the UAE will maintain import prohibitions on 35 products, including pork and pork products, narcotic substances, used tyres, and asbestos-containing products.
On the Nigerian side, the agreement provides market access for UAE industrial and consumer goods. Nigeria will immediately remove tariffs on mineral fuels, machinery, vehicles, electrical equipment, iron and steel, plastics and related articles, while phasing out tariffs on fish, fruits, vegetables, and apparel over five years.
The ministry noted that Nigeria excluded 123 products from tariff elimination, including meat and dairy products, certain vegetables, vegetable oils, cocoa preparations, cereal and flour products, tomato paste, alcoholic beverages, soaps and detergents, and some cotton yarns and fabrics.
“Nigeria’s Import Prohibition List remains in effect as a separate measure,” the statement added.
Beyond goods, the ministry said the CEPA would also deepen services trade and investment flows. Nigeria’s commitments cover 99 specific services across 10 sectors, while the UAE’s commitments cover 108 services across 11 sectors.
“Nigerian business visitors can enter the UAE to explore trade and investment opportunities in the sectors covered under this agreement,” the ministry said, adding that Nigerians could also “establish corporate entities to operate in the UAE.”
The Federal Government added that it secured the agreement to enable Nigerian businesses “to move with confidence, seize opportunities in the UAE, and benefit from robust protections,” noting that the pact would accelerate non-oil exports and support the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
It added that the agreement would also address impediments to foreign direct investment from the UAE into Nigeria and reinforce Nigeria’s position as “the preferred destination for international investors and the gateway into the markets of the ECOWAS sub-region and the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
The government explained that the CEPA aligns with Nigeria’s obligations under the World Trade Organisation, the AfCFTA, and the Economic Community of West African States, and does not prejudice Nigeria’s commitments under existing regional and continental trade frameworks.
Following the signing, the government has pledged to work with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, to implement the agreement and facilitate increased trade and investment flows between the countries.
It advised exporters and investors to seek further information on product coverage, services, rules of origin, and export procedures from the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, and other relevant agencies.
