Nigeria minister touts ‘quite good’ relationship with US
Jumoke Oduwole teased a forthcoming deal on critical minerals at Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion.
Nigeria's trade minister, Jumoke Oduwole, recently expressed a positive outlook on the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the United States. This assessment comes despite the imposition of a 12.5% tariff on Nigerian exports by the US in July, as part of a broader action targeting 60 countries. Speaking at Semafor's The Next 3 Billion, Oduwole stated, "The US-Nigeria relationship is actually quite good."
She explained that Nigeria handled the tariff in a methodical manner, avoiding a reactive stance and landing well overall.
Earlier, Nigeria had refrained from retaliating against the tariff, with Oduwole stating that the country would engage the World Trade Organization for mutually beneficial solutions. Instead, the country has been focusing on strengthening cooperation with the US in specific areas, such as critical minerals. The two nations are set to finalize a pact this week, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Oduwole hinted at the imminent announcement, saying, "We've prepared them and you will have some."
Oduwole further revealed that Nigeria had dispatched a delegation to the US for a closed-door roundtable with companies specializing in critical minerals. She highlighted that Nigeria possesses 26 of the approximately 60 minerals listed by the US as critical minerals in commercial quantities. Oduwole emphasized that Nigeria's condition for any partnership is focused on development and job creation on Nigerian soil, rather than the mere exportation of raw materials.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
