UK to strengthen trade relations with Nigeria using new trading scheme

The United Kingdom government has introduced a Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) that will help strengthen its relationship with Nigeria and 64 other countries.

The DCTS which will kick off in 2023, will replace the UK’s Generalised Scheme of Preference and offers one of the most generous sets of trading preferences in the world.

The scheme which was launched in Lagos on Wednesday and will benefits 65 countries, 37 of which are African, and will mean that Nigeria benefits from duty-free trade on over 9200 products.

Speaking on the launch, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, UK Deputy British High Commissioner in Lagos, said Nigeria was one of the UK’s most important partners in Africa and the UK Government was committed to working with Nigerian businesses and exporters to boost trade between both nations.

He added that the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme harnesses the power of trade to help Nigeria and other emerging economies grow and prosper.

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“One major benefit of this new UK trading scheme is that it abolishes tariffs on over 3000 everyday products that Nigeria currently exports including cocoa, cotton, plantain, flowers, fertilizers, tomatoes, frozen shrimps and sesame; the overarching aim of the new scheme is to grow free and fair trade with developing countries, boosting the economy and supporting jobs in those countries, as well as in ours,” he said.

Llewellyn-Jones said this work was part of a wider push by the UK to drive a free trade, pro-growth agenda across the globe, using trade to drive prosperity and help eradicate poverty.

“This is significantly more generous than both the EU’s GSP scheme and the US’ AGOA scheme and, based on current trade volumes, would mean that 99 percent of goods exported to the UK are duty-free,” Llewellyn-Jones added.

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