Avoid Trade War With US, Focus On Managing Economic Shocks, Teriba Tells FG

The Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, Ayo Teriba, has warned the federal government against any action that will worsen the 14 per cent tariff imposed by the United States.

The CEO said President Donald Trump treated Nigeria mildly with only 14 per cent tariff compared to over 30 per cent to 60 per cent tariffs imposed on other countries including those in Africa.

Last week, Nigeria was slammed 14 per cent tariff while Trump announced 34 per cent tariffs on China and 10 to 45 per cent on others.

This has disrupted global trade with oil prices dropping to $60 per barrel while Asian stocks fell to a 10-year low.

Shanghai Composite was down more than 8 per cent on Monday at one point, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped more than 13 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down by 7.8 per cent.

The development has caused panic among central banks, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Some countries have threatened to reciprocate the tariff.

But Teriba warned the Nigerian government against joining the fight, saying that the 14 per cent imposed on Nigerian goods was fair.

Teriba said, “You don’t want to attract Trump’s attention to yourself.

“You don’t want to join this war. You don’t want to be targeted. You have a choice of taking part in any war, or staying out of the war.

“We are not among the worst offenders, or the ones that got 30, 40 per cent. We are not seen by Trump as a bad offender.”

He said the least was 10 per cent while Nigeria was slammed 14 per cent.

He advised the government to focus on the implication of the global disruption on foreign exchange.

“What Nigeria needs to do is to ignore the 14 per cent tariff or 14 per cent reciprocative relief imposed by America and concentrate on the likely threat to the foreign exchange market and the exchange rate.”

Teriba lamented likely threat to the stability of the financial market, citing the sellouts in global stock markets.

“Investors might pull their portfolio funds out of Nigeria, fearing the uncertainty.

“Nigerian government should concentrate more on managing that,” said Teriba.

Avoid Trade War With US, Focus On Managing Economic Shocks, Teriba Tells FG is first published on The Whistler Newspaper