The Business NG - July 09, 2025

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BusinessNG Editorial Focus | July 8, 2025
Trump’s BRICS Tariff Blowback: Nigeria Must Reassess Exposure

Donald Trump’s declaration of a 10% tariff on exports from BRICS-aligned nations—including Nigeria—has triggered an immediate $3.7 billion exit by foreign investors from Nigerian Eurobonds, pushing yields to 8.54%. While Nigeria’s January 2025 alignment with BRICS was intended to foster South-South economic cooperation and reduce overdependence on Western financial systems, the country now finds itself in a precarious position—caught between a rebalancing world order and the real-time wrath of American trade retaliation.

Trump’s rhetoric, posted on Truth Social, leaves little room for ambiguity: any country embracing what he calls “anti-American policies” will pay. Nigeria, a major oil exporter with significant trade exposure to the U.S., must now reassess its strategic foreign alliances or risk broader economic fallout—especially in an election cycle that could return Trump to the White House.

This development, compounded by inflationary pressures at home—including a staggering 53% surge in cement prices despite manufacturers’ pledges—raises urgent questions about policy consistency and economic resilience. The dual shock of foreign investor retreat and domestic cost-of-living crisis threatens to undermine both infrastructure development and fiscal stability.

Nigeria must prepare a robust diplomatic and economic response, or risk becoming collateral damage in the brewing global power shift.