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The U.S. government pointed to the major stumbling blocks in Nigeria’s trade and investment.
According to U.S. authorities, corruption is the main obstacle to preventing transactions and investments in Nigeria.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said in its latest 2025 National Trade Estimate Report that corruption and lack of transparency in the bidding process are major issues for U.S. companies.
It said: “U.S. companies have difficulties in their daily operations due to officials’ requirements to “promote” payments.
“Efforts to strengthen anti-corruption measures have been hampered by inter-religious infighting and partisan politics.
“There are also questions about the ability of the Nigerian judicial system to achieve convictions and appropriately measure offenses.”
Nigeria also blames the ongoing delay in import licenses for U.S. agricultural products, which U.S. authorities say is a long-standing trade barrier that hinders people’s access to Nigerian markets.
According to the report, despite repeated efforts to secure market access, Nigeria has not taken action on several pending requests for importing food and agriculture from the United States.
“Since 2019, the United States has been trying to import licenses for exporting U.S. food and agricultural products. Nigeria has been slow to approve these requests,” the U.S. National Trade Estimate report said.
“Nigeria is not consistent in the implementation of technical regulations and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, which can cause confusion and disrupt compliance.
“Nigeria retains the merger duties and other related import costs of 50% or more on 79 tariff lines.
It added: “That includes 17 tariff lines, joint duties and other related import fees that meet or exceed the 70% limit set by Ecowas.”
