UK says its new trade scheme still in force in Nigeria

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has declared that the United Kingdom’s ambitious Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which launched last year and puts in place simpler and more generous trading terms for Nigeria is still in force.

Launched last June, the DCTS offers Nigeria one of the most generous sets of trading preferences in the world. The scheme cut tariffs for Nigeria so that over 3000 new products are duty-free.

This was disclosed in a statement to BusinessDay by Ndidiamaka Eze, Senior Affairs Officer at the British High Commission in Lagos over the weekend.

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The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Montgomery, reiterated the UK’s commitment to deepen bilateral trade ties between the UK and Nigeria.

The statement noted that with DCTS, a wide variety of products that aren’t widely produced in the UK, including food items such as cocoa, plantain, olive oil, tomatoes & other vegetables, yam, shrimp & prawns, and cashew nuts, could now benefit from lower or zero tariffs.

The statement quoted Montgomery as saying that, as an independent trading nation, the UK is one of the foremost champions of free, fair, and inclusive trade.

Montgomery further stated that the DCTS harnesses the power of trade to support Nigeria and other emerging economies’ ambition to grow and will boost Nigeria’s non-oil exports.

The High Commissioner added that there was an online facility called the Growth Gateway with a team ready to provide technical assistance and help partner agencies and businesses boost two-way trade between Nigeria and the UK.

“As the UK government, we’re keen to maximise uptake of the DCTS. In this respect, I’m happy that the recently signed Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) will help address underlying export challenges in more detail and thus improve exports and the economic and social wellbeing of both our nations, “Montgomery said.

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“For anyone who wants to know more about the UK’s new trading scheme, please search on the Internet for the “Department for Business and Trade and the Growth Gateway” and a website with more information will pop up.

“If you then add Nigeria to the search, you’ll get a country specific page and guidance links, “he added.