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### Viewing cable 04ABUJA2080, NATIONAL TRADE ESTIMATE REPORT, NIGERIA

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
04ABUJA2080 | 2004-12-16 10:24 | 2011-08-25 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Abuja

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ABUJA 002080

    SIPDIS

    USTR/G. BLUE AND EB/MTA/MST

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: ECON EFIN ETRD NI
    SUBJECT: NATIONAL TRADE ESTIMATE REPORT, NIGERIA

    REF:  STATE 240980

    Below is the National Trade Estimate Report for Nigeria,
    ¶2005.

    Begin report.

    TRADE SUMMARY

    The U.S. trade deficit with Nigeria was $9.4 billion in
    2003, an increase of $4.5 billion from $4.9 billion in
    ¶2002.  U.S. goods exports to Nigeria in 2003 were $1.0
    billion, down 9.1 percent from the previous year.
    Corresponding U.S. imports from Nigeria were $10.4 billion,
    up 73.3 percent from 2002.  Petroleum products accounted
    for 91 percent of these imports from Nigeria. Nigeria is
    the 52nd-largest export market for U.S. goods and the
    leading sub-Saharan African exporter to the U.S market.
    Nigeria accounted for 40.5 percent of total U.S. imports
    from sub-Saharan Africa in 2003.  U.S. foreign direct
    investment (FDI) in Nigeria in 2003 was $2.1 billion at
    historical cost, up from $1.5 billion in 2001.  U.S. FDI in
    Nigeria is concentrated in the petroleum sector.

    IMPORT POLICIES

    Tariffs

    Tariffs provide the Nigerian Government with its second-
    largest source of revenue after oil exports.  In its last
    major tariff revision in March 2003, the Nigerian
    Government cut duties on 230 tariff line items (mostly raw
    materials, base metals, and capital equipment) to as low as
    2.5 percent, while raising them on 30 line items (largely
    plastic, rubber, and aluminum articles) to as high as 65
    percent.  Tariffs on agricultural products such as corn and
    rice were also raised to 70 percent and 100 percent,
    respectively. President Obasanjo announced in October 2004
    that Nigeria will begin harmonizing its tariff structure
    with that of the Economic Community of West African States
    in January 2005, for implementation in July 2005.  Items
    banned would remain so until sometime in 2007, when the
    bans would be replaced by tariffs.  Frequent import regime
    changes and uneven duty collection make importing difficult
    and expensive and occasionally create severe commercial
    bottlenecks.  This problem is aggravated by Nigeria's
    dependence on imported raw materials and finished goods and
    affects foreign and domestic manufacturers.  Many importers
    resort to under-invoicing and smuggling to avoid tariffs or
    bans.

    Non-tariff trade barriers

    The Nigerian Government continues to violate WTO
    prohibitions against non-tariff trade barriers.  Bans on a
    variety of items  sorghum, millet, wheat flour, cassava,
    frozen meat and poultry products, vegetable oil (in bulk),
    biscuits, pasta (including spaghetti), bottled water, fruit
    juice in retail packs, cookies, confectionery and chocolate
    products, beer, kaolin, gypsum, mosquito repellent coils,
    printed fabrics, used clothing, cars more than eight years
    old, and bagged cement  continued into 2004.  Men's
    footwear, leather bags and plastic bags (excluding ladies
    purses), all textiles and yarn, furniture, toothpaste,
    household plastic ware, soap and detergents, fresh and
    plastic flowers, and fresh fruits were added to the list of
    banned items in 2004.

    Customs barriers

    Nigerian port practices continue to present major obstacles
    to trade.  Importers face long clearance procedures, high
    berthing and unloading costs, erratic application of
    customs regulations, and corruption.  The Nigeria Customs
    Service (NCS) stepped up its enforcement of a 100-percent
    physical inspection program in an attempt to reduce
    smuggling and under-valuation of imports, but officials
    admit they do not have the resources to inspect every
    incoming container.  The NCS operates a preshipment
    inspection regime under which contracted inspection
    companies at ports of origin issue inspection reports
    (sampling inspections) that their Nigerian counterparts use
    to indicate the value of items shipped, and applicable
    customs duties.

    The NCS had planned to replace its preshipment inspection
    regime with the physical inspection in port of all import
    shipments in 2002 and 2003, but the change was deferred
    after importers protested that NCS officials might use
    their positions as sole-valuation authorities to extract
    unauthorized facilitation fees.  Although the Nigerian
    Government now hopes to introduce such an inspection regime
    in early 2005, NCS risk-assessment and other databases are
    not fully operational.

    The Nigerian Customs Service is understaffed, and turnover
    of its port personnel is very high.
    STANDARDS, TESTING, LABELING, AND CERTIFICATION
    Rules concerning sanitary and phytosanitary standards,
    testing, and labeling are well defined, but bureaucratic
    hurdles slow the import-approval process.  Regardless of
    origin, all food, drug, cosmetic, and pesticide imports
    must be accompanied by certificates of analysis from
    manufacturers and appropriate national authorities, and
    specified animal products, plants, seeds, and soils must be
    accompanied by proper inspection certificates.  U.S.
    exporters may obtain these certificates from the U.S.
    Department of Agriculture.  By law, items entering Nigeria
    must be labeled exclusively in the metric system.  The NCS
    should prevent the entry of products with dual or multiple
    markings, but such items are often found in Nigerian
    markets.

    High tariffs and erratic application of import and labeling
    regulations make importing high-value perishable products
    difficult.  Disputes between Nigerian agencies over the
    interpretation of regulations often cause delays, and
    frequent changes in customs guidelines slow the movement of
    goods through Nigerian ports.  These events often result in
    product deterioration and significant losses for
    perishable-goods importers.

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and
    Control (NAFDAC) is charged with protecting Nigerian
    consumers from fraudulent or unhealthful products.  The
    agency recently targeted the illicit importation of
    counterfeit and expired pharmaceuticals for special
    attention, particularly imports from the Far East and South
    Asia.  NAFDAC's severely limited capacity for carrying out
    inspections and testing contributes to an occasionally
    heavy-handed or arbitrary approach to regulatory
    enforcement, and the agency has occasionally challenged
    legitimate food imports.

    U.S. products do not appear to be subject to extraordinary
    or discriminatory restrictions or regulations, but the
    widespread use of fraudulent documentation by non-U.S.
    exporters may put U.S. exporters at a competitive
    disadvantage.

    GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT

    The Obasanjo administration has made modest progress on its
    pledge to practice open and competitive bidding and
    contracting for government procurement and privatization.
    The initial stages of the tendering process tend to be
    transparent and even-handed, but as tenders move through
    the decision-making process, they often become opaque.
    Allegations by unsuccessful bidders of corrupt behavior by
    senior government officials and foreign companies are
    common, but they rarely provoke substantive reactions.

    New procurement and contracting guidelines were issued in
    January 2001, and a due-process office, the Budget
    Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit, was also
    established.  The unit acts as a clearing house for
    government contracts and procurement and monitors the
    implementation of projects to ensure compliance with
    contract terms and budgetary restrictions.  Procurement
    orders exceeding 50 million naira (about $385,000) are
    subject to "due process" review.  (Due process
    certification aims at ensuring that the procurement process
    for public projects adheres to international standards for
    competitive bidding.)  In December 2004, the Government
    submitted a bill to establish a Bureau of Public
    Procurement to the National Assembly.

    Foreign companies incorporated in Nigeria receive national
    treatment, and government tenders are published in local
    newspapers.  U.S. companies have won Nigerian Government
    contracts in several sectors.  Unfortunately, many
    companies who have won contracts have subsequently had
    difficulty getting them funded, and some companies having
    won contracts for which funds were allocated have had
    trouble getting paid.

    EXPORT SUBSIDIES

    The Nigerian Export Promotion Council and the Nigerian
    Export-Import Bank administer export incentive programs
    that include tax concessions, export development funds,
    capital assets depreciation allowances, and foreign
    currency retention programs. Funding constraints limit the
    effectiveness of these programs.  Since many businessmen
    alleged that only favored individuals and businesses
    benefit, the government suspended indefinitely the export-
    expansion grant program in 2004 until government
    investigations into corrupt practices associated with its
    implementation are concluded. Aside from these incentive
    programs, Nigeria's non-oil export sector does not benefit
    from subsidies or other significant support from the
    government.

    To attract investment in export-oriented industries, the
    Nigerian Government established the Nigerian Export
    Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) in 1992.  Of five zones
    established under NEPZA, only the Calabar and Bonny Island
    (Onne) export-processing zones function.  NEPZA rules
    dictate that at least 75 percent of production in the zones
    be exported, but lower export levels are tolerated.  The
    Nigerian Government converted the Calabar export-processing
    zone into a free-trade zone in 2001.  It is unclear whether
    the new designation has improved its export performance.

    INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) PROTECTION

    Nigeria is a member of the World Intellectual Property
    Organization (WIPO) and a signatory to the Universal
    Copyright Convention (UCC), the Berne Convention, and the
    Paris Convention (Lisbon text).  Legislation pending in the
    National Assembly may establish a legal framework for an
    IPR system compliant with WTO rules.  At the moment,
    Nigeria's IPR laws afford protection that complies with
    most WTO provisions.

    The Nigerian Government's lack of institutional capacity to
    address IPR issues is a major constraint to enforcement.
    Relevant Nigerian institutions suffer from low morale, poor
    training, and limited resources; and fraudulent alteration
    of IPR documentation is common.  Despite Nigeria's active
    participation in the conventions mentioned above, its
    reasonably comprehensive IPR laws, and growing interest
    among Nigerians in seeing their intellectual property
    protected, piracy is rampant in Nigeria. Counterfeit auto
    parts, pharmaceuticals, business and entertainment
    software, music and video recordings, and other consumer
    goods are sold openly throughout the country.

    Patent and trademark enforcement remains weak, and judicial
    procedures are slow and subject to corruption.
    Nonetheless, recent government efforts to curtail IPR abuse
    have yielded results.  The Federal High Court of Enugu,
    Nigeria, issued an interim injunction on November 23, 2004
    against several firms infringing Honeywell International's
    patented Autolite spark plugs.  The court warned all
    distributors, dealers, and retailers in Nigeria that the
    sale of Autolite spark plugs not manufactured by Honeywell
    International is illegal and constitutes an offense
    punishable by fine or imprisonment.

    Nigeria's broadcast regulations do not permit
    rebroadcasting or excerpting of foreign programs unless the
    station has an affiliate relationship with a foreign
    broadcaster.  This regulation is generally respected, but
    some cable providers illegally transmit foreign programs.
    The National Broadcasting Commission monitors the industry
    and is responsible for punishing infractions.

    IPR problems in Nigeria's film industry worsened following
    the Nigerian Government's 1981 nationalization of the
    country's filmmaking and distribution enterprises as part
    of its campaign to "indigenize" the economy.  The
    legitimate film distribution market has yet to recover.
    Almost no foreign feature films have been distributed in
    the country in the last two decades, and only one multiplex
    movie theater operates in Nigeria.  Widespread pirating of
    foreign and domestic videotapes discourages the entry of
    licensed distributors.

    The Nigerian police force, working closely with the
    Nigerian Copyright Commission, nevertheless raided
    enterprises producing and selling pirated software and
    videos, and a number of high-profile charges have been
    filed against IPR violators.  Unfortunately, most raids
    appear to target small rather than large and well-connected
    pirates, and very few cases involving copyright, patent, or
    trademark infringement have been successfully prosecuted.
    Most cases have been settled out of court, if at all.

    SERVICES BARRIERS

    Foreign participation in the services sector is generally
    not restricted.  Regulations provide 100-percent foreign
    access to service sectors, including banking, insurance,
    telecommunications, and securities.  Central Bank of
    Nigeria directives stipulate minimum levels of paid-up
    capital.  At least three foreign banks operate in Nigeria,
    and several Nigerian banks have foreign shareholders.

    Professional societies in engineering, accounting,
    medicine, and law define minimum professional requirements.
    Nigeria imposes quotas on expatriate employment based on
    the issued capital of firms.  Quotas are especially strict
    in the oil and gas sector.  Oil companies must hire
    Nigerian workers unless they can demonstrate that
    particular positions require expertise not found in the
    local workforce.  Positions in finance and human relations
    are almost exclusively reserved for Nigerians; certain
    geoscience and management positions may be filled by
    expatriates with the approval of the National Petroleum
    Investment and Management Services (NAPIMS) agency.  Each
    oil company must negotiate its expatriate worker allotment
    with NAPIMS.

    INVESTMENT BARRIERS

    Under the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC)
    Decree of 1995, Nigeria allows 100-percent foreign
    ownership of firms outside the petroleum sector.
    Investment in the petroleum sector is limited to existing
    joint ventures or production-sharing agreements.  Foreign
    investors may buy shares of any Nigerian firm except firms
    on a "negative list" (such as manufacturers of firearms,
    ammunition, and military and paramilitary apparel).
    Foreign investors must register with the NIPC after
    incorporation under the Companies and Allied Matters Decree
    of 1990.  The decree prohibits nationalization or
    expropriation of a foreign enterprise by the Nigerian
    Government except in cases of the national interest.

    Despite efforts to improve the country's investment
    climate, disincentives to investing in Nigeria continue to
    plague foreign entrepreneurs.  Potential investors must
    contend with poor infrastructure, complex tax
    administration procedures, confusing land ownership laws,
    arbitrary application of regulations, corruption, and
    extensive crime.  The sanctity of contracts is often
    violated, and Nigeria's court system for settling
    commercial disputes is weak and sometimes biased.  Foreign
    oil companies are under much pressure to increase
    procurement from indigenous firms.  NAPIMS has set a target
    of 40 percent local content for oil-related projects by
    2005 and 60 percent by 2010.  How this is to be achieved
    whether it is to be based on the value of a contract or the
    nature of the goods and services used and whether a
    Nigerian partner or subcontractor will do, regardless of
    the origin of equipment or raw materials  remains nebulous
    and subject to negotiation project by project.

    Nigerian Government efforts to eliminate financial crimes
    such as money laundering and advance-fee fraud (or "419
    fraud" named after the relevant section of the Nigerian
    Criminal Code) have increased.  With the encouragement and
    cooperation of U.S. law enforcement agencies, the Nigerian
    Government is now prosecuting more "419" perpetrators.  But
    fraud, theft, and extortion remain rampant.

    International monitoring groups routinely rank Nigeria
    among the most corrupt countries in the world.
    Transparency International, for example, ranked Nigeria the
    third most corrupt nation in the world in 2004. While sales
    of U.S. goods and services to public-and private-sector
    enterprises are not restricted, some U.S. suppliers believe
    they lose sales when they refuse to engage in illicit or
    corrupt behavior.  Other U.S. exporters say Nigerian
    businessmen and officials understand that U.S. firms must
    adhere to U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and believe
    its restrictions help minimize their exposure to
    corruption.

    ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

    The growth of electronic commerce and telecommunications in
    Nigeria, albeit from a low base, offers opportunities for
    the provision of U.S. products and services.  While there
    are no trade restrictions against such U.S. services, the
    high technology industry suffers from the same constraints
    affecting other industries.

    ¶2.  End report.

    FUREY
    NIGERIA

`