US, Nigeria Deepen Trade Ties As $13bn Partnership Gains Fresh Momentum
As Nigeria intensifies efforts to diversify its economy beyond oil, fresh momentum is building around trade, investment and private sector growth following high-level engagements between Abuja and Washington.
The United States and Nigeria have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening commercial ties under the U.S., Nigeria Commercial and Investment Partnership (CIP), a five-year framework aimed at expanding two-way trade, boosting investment and unlocking private sector, led economic growth.
The renewed commitment was highlighted on Thursday in Lagos, where the U.S. Department of Commerce and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment co-chaired the CIP Ministerial.
The meeting was led by Bradley McKinney, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Commercial Service, alongside Jumoke Oduwole, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The Ministerial brought together interagency experts in trade financing, promotion and project development to review priority reforms proposed by three CIP Working Groups, Agriculture, Digital Economy and Infrastructure, made up of U.S. and Nigerian private sector leaders.
The reforms are designed to improve the business environment, remove trade barriers and deliver long-term economic impact.
McKinney said the meeting reflected “significant advancements” in the bilateral relationship, noting that over the past six months, the Working Groups had developed “practical proposals to unlock trade and deepen the commercial relationship between the United States and Nigeria.”
Oduwole, in her remarks, welcomed U.S. businesses to invest in Nigeria’s priority sectors and tap into wider African markets.
She stressed that a key national priority is accelerating non-oil export diversification and enabling more Nigerian businesses to access U.S. markets in a “competitive, sustainable and inclusive” manner.
She added that since the launch of the CIP Working Groups in June 2025, Nigeria has sustained momentum on business climate reforms, improved competitiveness and strengthened trade and investment policy alignment.
Senior U.S. officials at the meeting included Keith Heffern, U.S. Mission Chargé d’Affaires; Jason Hafemeister of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Heather Lanigan of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
Nigeria was represented by Nura Rimi, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and Gertrude Orji, Director of Investment.
Under the CIP framework, both countries will continue consultations on trade in goods and services, while encouraging increased investment flows to drive growth, prosperity and job creation on both sides of the Atlantic.
Nigeria remains the United States’ second-largest trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade in goods and services nearing $13 billion in 2024.
U.S. foreign direct investment in Nigeria also reached $7.9 billion in the same year, representing a 25.2 per cent increase from 2023.
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