All man must collect
Trump is slamming a 10% tariff on Nigeria for something the BRICS said
Good morning, Big Brains. We have officially entered the part of the rainy season that’s so intense that laundry stays outside for about a week before it’s dry. Not a fan.
- Chigor
Word count: ~ 1,200
Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Trump is slamming a 10% tariff on Nigeria for something the BRICS said
NIMET is warning over 15 Nigerian states to watch out for floods in July
The Big Deal
Trump is slamming a 10% tariff on Nigeria for something the BRICS said
If you grew up with a Nigerian mother or aunt, you'll agree that one of their favourite warnings is to avoid keeping company that will put you in trouble. Nigeria just became a victim of association, not because it’s been keeping bad company, but because it’s rolling with the big boys.
On Sunday, July 6, the US President, Donald Trump, took to his Truth Social account to announce that “Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff…” Yours truly, Nigeria unfortunately falls under this category.
BRICS is a group of countries from the Global South positioning themselves through diplomatic coordination to match up to the West. The alliance was originally made up of five countries— Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa— but it later opened its doors to interested countries. In January 2025, Nigeria joined and became BRICS’ ninth partner country, behind Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
During its 17th summit on Saturday, July 5, BRICS’ Finance Ministers made a joint statement condemning trade policies like unilateral tariffs (which the US is guilty of) without mentioning names, but Trump caught the sub and announced the 10% tariff.
One thing to note: even before the recent BRICS summit, Trump had never been a fan of the alliance because of the threat that it poses to the US's global economic dominance. Back in 2024, when BRICS discussed the possibility of a new global currency to challenge the US dollar, Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on the bloc’s member parties. Knowing the US President, there’s a chance that he’ll continue making (and carrying out) threats like these.
Why is this a big deal?
A 10% tariff like the one Trump just threatened would have a huge impact on the Nigerian economy. Nigeria generates the majority of its revenue from oil, which in turn means that the majority of its exports to the US are crude petroleum, oils, mineral fuels, and gas products.
Nigeria’s trade with the US is so massive that in the last two years, we have made an average of $5 to $6 billion annually from exporting to them. Last year specifically, Nigeria’s exports to the US stood at $3.8 billion.
While we imported butanes, used vehicles, motor spirits, ethyl alcohol, and more from them, they only imported petroleum oils, petroleum gas, urea, refined lead, flour, and soya beans from us. If you think the products weigh out each other, you might be surprised to find out that over 90% of Nigeria’s $3.8 billion export to the US was oil and oil products, while non-oil products made up only 2-3% of our export.
As of 2024, the US was the fifth among the top ten countries with which Nigeria traded. With this, we might argue that the US is not that important in the grand scheme of things. Yet, we can’t ignore how much Nigeria makes from the US and how a 10% tariff could impact the competitiveness of Nigerian products in the American market.
NIMET is warning over 15 Nigerian states to watch out for floods in July
The rainy season is a lovely period in Nigeria, but it can also get really scary, especially when its uglier side, flooding, comes unannounced. Luckily, Nigerians don’t have to deal with uncertainty this time because the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) has announced some of what to expect.
On Monday, July 7, the agency released its flash flood risk alert for the month, which warns that states such as Sokoto, Lagos, Edo, and Benue are at risk of experiencing flash floods.
States liKe Kaduna, Zamfara, Yobe, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Nasarawa, Benue, Ogun, Ondo, Lagos, Delta, Edo, Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom are also at risk of the floods, while Sokoto, according to NIMET, “ has a high risk” of experiencing it.
Nimet strongly advises that residents temporarily relocate from the areas if they can. They can also take other precautionary measures, like clearing out drainage systems, turning off electricity and gas during the flooding, and carrying out awareness campaigns at the community level so that more people can be safe.
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