Emmanuel Ukudolo l November 17, 2016
Abuja, Nigeria – China, Afreximbank and EXIM Bank have committed a total of $ 1 billion to the development of six Special Economic Zones (SEZ) which the Nigerian government will be setting up in the six geopolitical zones.
The essence of the zones, according to the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah is to help overcome the infrastructure disadvantages faced by local manufacturers and promote the cluster effects gained by locating similar manufacturing businesses together.
According to him, apart from the funding secured in the Budget for SEZs, other financial partners such as Afreximbank and EXIM bank of China have committed $1bn to the project.
He said the first phase of the 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) will be launched in 2017 and that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is currently running a feasibility study for the development of the 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) and securing funding in the Nigerian budget for the first development phase to be launched in 2017.
He said the Nigerian government is Negotiating Free Trade Agreements, Updating Trade Policies and Examining the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET).
CET is a regional tariff structure for West Africa on the basis of which products are imported within the region. It came into effect in 2015 with a transitional period of implementation to 2020.
He explained that the challenge for the Nigerian economy is that manufacturers and industrialists have taken a strong position that the negotiation that resulted in the CET did not take into account the sensitivities of the Nigerian industrial and manufacturing sector.
“The pre-existing sensitivities have now been compounded with the onset of the recession and other vulnerabilities. Stakeholders have taken the position that the Nigerian economy would be damaged if the CET is implemented in 2020 and that the situation would be compounded if Nigeria signs the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.
“As a consequence therefore, producers, manufacturers, industrialists and others have requested for the postponement and negotiation of the CET and for the EPA not to be signed. The government is thus, seriously working on these concerns”, he said.
He explained that Export Expansion Grant (EEG) will also Resume in 2017 and said the government is in the process of negotiating 21st century Nigerian free trade agreements, with the goal of expanding market opportunities for Nigerian companies as well as looking into the ECOWAS CET that has been quite controversial.
He explained that the Export Expansion Grant (EEG), which was suspended in 2014 following allegations of widespread abuse and the accumulation of significant liability on the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCCs), is also expected to resume in 2017.
Enelamah said the ministry is updating Nigeria’s trade policy priorities by working to correct imbalances in the country’s trade relationships and reversing negotiating failures.
