The Nigeria-U.S. trade appears to have suffered a setback as official data has revealed a massive drop in trade volume and revenue in the first five months of 2025.
Official data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that the Nigeria-U.S. trade tensions have triggered a $527 million drop in Nigerian exports to the United States in the first five months of 2025, a 20% decline compared to 2024.
According to the data, U.S. imports from Nigeria fell from $2.65 billion to $2.12 billion. That figure fell to $2.12bn between January and May 2025.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that though the reason for the drop remains sketchy, it comes as a wave of renewed measures spearheaded by U.S. President Donald Trump, since his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States.
The roots of the massive drop in trade revenue could also be traced to April 2, 2025, when Trump signed an executive order imposing a 10% tariff on imports from most countries, including Nigeria.
This policy, aimed at bolstering U.S. industries appears to have hit Nigeria’s export market hard. The tariffs were further intensified by Trump’s threat of an additional 10% levy on nations perceived to align with the BRICS economic bloc, which Nigeria has recently engaged with as a potential member.
Adding fuel to the fire, the U.S. recently implemented a visa policy change, reducing the validity of non-immigrant visas for Nigerians from five years to three months with single-entry access.
All these, coupled with other immigration and trade measures appeared to have contributed to the $527 million drop in Nigerian exports to the United States.
Further breakdown of the data revealed that Nigerian exports, including agricultural and manufactured goods, have been affected by the uncertainty generated by the new trade policy.
This shift is evident in the trade data, which shows that U.S. imports from Nigeria in May 2025 stood at $400m, a sharp drop from $517m recorded in May 2024.
Also, oil shipments, though not subject to the tariff implemented by Trump, have shown signs of weakening. Data revealed that in the first five months of 2025 U.S. imported 17.39 million barrels of Nigerian crude oil, valued at $1.3 billion based on customs value.
This marked a drop from the 20.4 million barrels worth about $1.52bn imported during the same period in 2024.
This data appears to suggest that the U.S. is looking at other producers of oil. However, despite the drop, Nigeria remained the largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S. from Africa, ahead of Libya, Angola, and Ghana.
It was also gathered that crude oil imports from Nigeria alone accounted for over 62 per cent of total U.S. crude purchases from Africa in the first five months of 2025. By value, Nigeria’s oil exports to the U.S. stood at $1.34bn (customs value) and $1.38bn (C.I.F. value), reflecting its central role in energy trade, even if overall exports have declined.
The rest of Africa contributed $811m in crude oil exports in the same period, with Libya, Angola, and Ghana trailing far behind Nigeria in both volume and value.
On the other hand, the data revealed that the U.S. exports to Nigeria increased significantly from $2.05bn in the first five months of 2024 to $2.42bn in the same period of 2025.
This 17.8 per cent growth in U.S. exports, combined with the fall in imports, led to a complete reversal in the trade balance between both countries.
Data show that in the first five months of 2025, the U.S. exported $426m worth of motor vehicles and parts to Nigeria.
This included $312m worth of passenger cars, $29m worth of trucks and buses, and $86m in parts. The sector alone accounted for nearly 18 per cent of total US exports to Nigeria.
In May 2025, the U.S. shipped $95m worth of motor vehicles and parts to Nigeria, slightly lower than the $100m recorded in April but still indicative of consistent demand.
The breakdown shows $70m in passenger cars, $7m in trucks and buses, and $19m in parts. These figures highlight the continued appetite for imported vehicles in Nigeria.
It was also observed that while the U.S. had a trade deficit of $596m with Nigeria in the first five months of 2024—meaning Nigeria exported more to the US than it imported—that position flipped in 2025.
By the end of May 2025, the US held a $295m surplus over Nigeria. This swing in trade balance marks a turning point in Nigeria-U.S. trade relations, as Nigeria transitioned from a net exporter to a net importer in the bilateral context.
