Nigeria to face additional 10% tariff for aligning with BRICS, says Trump

 President Donald Trump has announced that Nigeria will be among countries facing an additional 10% tariff for aligning with what he described as the “anti-American policies of BRICS.”

The BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran. The grouping describes itself as “a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries from the Global South and for coordination in the most diverse areas.”

The U.S. president made the declaration on Sunday via a post on Truth Social, adding fresh uncertainty to global trade relations.

Trump’s announcement, which did not elaborate on any specific policy of BRICS, came as the group’s meeting is underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Brazilian government, on January 17, 2025, announced the formal admission of Nigeria as a partner country of the grouping.

Nigeria became the ninth partner country of BRICS, joining Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. This partner-country category was created during the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan in October 2024.

The bloc’s leaders appeared to take aim at Trump’s sweeping tariff policies in a joint statement on Sunday, warning against “unjustified unilateral protectionist measures, including the indiscriminate increase of reciprocal tariffs.”

Without calling out the U.S., the leaders voiced “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules,” warning that the “proliferation of trade-restrictive actions” threatens to disrupt the global economy and worsen the existing economic disparities.

“Any Country aligning itself with the anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social Sunday evening, stateside.

At the Summit, President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the BRICS partnership and the Global South.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu declared: “Nigeria, therefore, associates with what I have heard today and all that has happened in BRICS. The next issues are financial restructuring and reevaluation of the global structure.”