VZCZCXRO3035
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #2340/01 3361412
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011412Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4577
INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 0349
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 002340 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO USTR-AGAMA AND GARDE; AID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWETZ; AND 
SBA FOR SMITH 
TREASURY FOR PETERS AND HALL 
DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS AND 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/DHARRIS 
USDA/FAS FOR MAURICE HOUSE, DOROTHY ADAMS 
DOJ FOR KOUAME 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ECON KIPR EAGR EINV EAID PGOV NI
SUBJECT:  NIGERIA: GOVERNMENT AND EXPORTERS ARE OPTIMISTIC ON 
DEEPENING US/NIGERIA TRADE AND INVESTMENT 
 
REF: A. ABUJA 2302 
      ¶B. ABUJA 2295 
      ¶C. ABUJA 2278 
      ¶D. ABUJA 2223 
      ¶E. ABUJA 2197 
 ¶F. ABUJA 2177 
 ¶G. ABUJA 2146 
 ¶H. ABUJA 1977 
 ¶I. ABUJA 1925 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  During the November 17 - 20 visit of Laurie-Ann 
Agama, Director for African Affairs in the Office of the United 
States Trade Representative (USTR), Government of Nigeria (GON) 
officials reiterated Nigeria's commitment to the U.S. - Nigeria 
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), improving Nigeria's 
non-oil export performance under the African Growth and Opportunity 
Act (AGOA), and negotiating a bilateral investment treaty (BIT). 
They agreed that the U.S. - Nigeria trade and investment 
relationship should be enhanced beyond AGOA.  The GON acknowledged 
there are obstacles to improving Nigeria's non-oil export 
performance and business climate, but remain optimistic that the 
obstacles are not insurmountable.  In the Ambassador's November 26 
meeting with the President's Chief Economic Advisor Tanimu Yakubu, 
she pushed for better engagement on the BIT and further reduction on 
the import bans.  Yakubu responded that the GON would send a 
delegation to the U.S. to discuss BIT and look again at bans.  End 
Summary. 
. 
Meeting With the Ministry of Commerce and Industry 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
. 
¶2. (SBU) Laurie-Ann Agama, Acting EconCouns and EconSpecialist met 
with officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) led by 
the Permanent Secretary, Elizabeth Emuren on November 17, 2008. 
Emuren reiterated Nigeria's commitment to the TIFA, AGOA, BIT and 
trade reforms.  She underscored that collaboration and dialogue is 
necessary to making more progress on the U.S. - Nigeria trade 
agenda. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Agama commended the GON on its recent tariff policy changes 
that resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of items on 
the import prohibition list and reductions in the tariff rates.  She 
also commended the reduction in the tariff on goods in the fifth 
tariff band from 50% to 35%.  Agama asked for clarification whether 
Nigeria's West African neighbors have or will accept the fifth 
tariff band and its applicable duty in the Economic Community of 
West African States (ECOWAS) Common External Tariff (CET) template. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) In response to Agama's question, Badeji Abikoye, Director 
of Trade at MCI, stated that the fifth tariff band introduced by 
Nigeria has been ratified by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, and 
negotiations are ongoing between Nigeria and its ECOWAS neighbors on 
the issue.  Abikoy related that to the best of his knowledge there 
was no timeline to conclude the negotiations.  (Note: Agama and 
Acting EconCouns attended part of a three-day conference at ECOWAS 
regarding implementation of the fifth band.  The GON notified ECOWAS 
of the products to be included in the fifth band, reported that 
these products were included to promote industrial development and 
it was open to further negotiations.  End Note). 
 
¶5. (SBU) Agama stressed the need for the GON to deepen reforms to 
improve the business environment.  She cited the violation of 
Marriott International's trademark and the U.S. Export-Import Bank's 
relationship with U.S. company EarthCare Technologies as examples 
that illustrate the challenges of doing business in Nigeria. 
Abikoye agreed with Agama on the need for further reforms and said 
he would work with the relevant agencies to resolve the Marriott 
issue. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Regarding Nigeria's AGOA strategy and focus sectors, 
Abikoye said that an inter-agency group is presently working on it, 
and he opined that the focus products will include shea butter, 
handcrafts, and seafood.  He expressed concerned with technical 
barriers to trade such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) 
and requested the USG certify either the National Agency for Food 
and Drug Administration and Control or the Standards Organization of 
Nigeria laboratory as adequate for quality assurance tests for 
 
ABUJA 00002340  002 OF 003 
 
 
Nigerian exports rather than having Nigerian exporters take their 
goods to Accra, Ghana, for testing.  Agama said she will pass on the 
request to the relevant U.S. government agencies.  She also 
mentioned that the West African Trade Hub plans to enhance the 
Nigeria AGOA Resource Center in Lagos. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Regarding the date for the next TIFA council meeting to be 
held in Washington, D.C., Emuren agreed with Agama to reschedule the 
meeting for late January after the new U.S. administration has been 
inaugurated. 
. 
Bilateral Investment Treaty - Way Forward 
----------------------------------------- 
. 
¶8. (SBU) Regarding the BIT process, Agama explained that an 
"exploratory process" should first be embarked upon by both parties 
to better understand the contents of the BIT in order to decide 
whether to launch negotiations.  The GON reported that it already 
established a ministerial committee chaired by the Chief Economic 
Advisor to the President to study the U.S. Model BIT text, and make 
comments while comparing it with the Nigerian model Investment 
Promotion and Protection Agreement text.  MCI officials acknowledged 
the explanation provided by Agama but advised that the explanation 
should also be provided to the Chief Economic Advisor, in order to 
avoid dissipating so much energy on an issue the exploratory process 
could easily resolve. 
 
¶9. (SBU) On November 26 the Ambassador met with the President's 
Chief Economic Advisor Tanimu Yakubu and conveyed this point to 
which he agreed.  Yakubu said beginning in January 2009 the GON 
would send a team to Washington first, followed by participation in 
5-8 digital video conference sessions afterward.  Yakubu commented 
that his government was committed to moving forward on this issue 
and that he was supportive of reducing bans even further.  The 
Ambassador gave the recent example of her trip to Taraba State in 
early November as an example of how bans hurt Nigeria's trade 
(reftel C).  She explained that many items, such as Taraba's 
highland tea which need better packaging and inputs to make them 
trade competitive, are banned by the GON.  Yakubu took this on board 
and said he would look at the issue. 
. 
NEPC Already Forging Ahead 
-------------------------- 
. 
¶10. (SBU) On November 18, 2008, during a meeting with Sidi Aliyu and 
Opeyemi Abebe of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), both 
said the NEPC is focusing on the supply-side bottlenecks faced by 
exporters.  Specifically, NEPC has engaged the services of 
consultants to provide training to Nigerian exporters on product 
development, while the consultants are also assisting with marketing 
the products in the U.S.  Abebe reported that there is a new focus 
to target U.S. consumers through online channels rather than 
focusing on attracting established U.S. importers.  Agama responded 
by commending the NEPC but also advised that while assisting 
exporters in product development, it is also important to consider 
product design so that the products will be appealing to U.S. 
customers.  She promised to put the NEPC in contact with U.S. 
consultants that can assist in this area. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Aliyu and Abebe also stated that a report on the AGOA 
focus sectors has been completed and sent to USAID for comments. 
The focus sectors include handcrafts, shea butter, and leather. 
NEPC also plans to draft an AGOA strategy in conjunction with other 
stakeholders in the GON and the private sector.  The workshops will 
be held during the first quarter of 2009 and NEPC requested USAID 
play a role.  Agama advised that NEPC should take the lead, 
initiative, and ownership of the project, and the USG will find a 
way to collaborate. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Abebe signified NEPC's interest in signing up for the U.S. 
Department of Commerce's e-learning toolkit on "Industry Analysis 
and Trade Policy" which is available to developing countries trade 
policy officials.  Agama promised to liaise with the Department of 
Commerce on the request. 
. 
SMEDAN EAGER TO WORK WITH SBA 
----------------------------- 
. 
 
ABUJA 00002340  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) Agama and EconSpecialist met with officials of the Small 
and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), led 
by Acting Director General Wale Fasanya.  Fasanya stated that SMEDAN 
has established "Business Support Centers" in some states in 
collaboration with state governments, and "Business Information 
Centers" in collaboration with local governments, community groups 
and business associations.  Through these centers SMEDAN provides 
enterprise development services to small businesses.  The enterprise 
development services include training on how to write business 
plans, accounting, marketing, selling techniques, legal and 
regulatory framework for doing business, registering products, how 
to access finance (psychology in approaching banks for loan), 
operational aspects of production, and product quality. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Fasanya reported that SMEDAN is also collaborating with 
the National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP) and the Office on 
Millennium Development Goals to provide entrepreneurship training to 
individuals that benefit from the NAPEP loan scheme.  Moreover, 
SMEDAN plans to organize small businesses into clusters and enhance 
their capacity to produce and export. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Regarding AGOA and TIFA, Fasanya said that the December 
2007 TIFA in Abuja was the maiden participation of SMEDAN in issues 
relating to the TIFA and AGOA.  He noted that SMEDAN is 
collaborating with the NEPC and other GON agencies to improve the 
capacity of small businesses to export not only within the region 
but to developed markets in the U.S. and Europe. 
 
¶16. (SBU) Fasanya underscored that SMEDAN is interested in building 
a robust relationship with the U.S. Small Business Administration 
(SBA).  He said that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed 
between SMEDAN and SBA in 2004/2005 but it was not implemented.  He 
hoped that a partnership can be established.  Agama promised to pass 
the request to SBA officials in Washington. 
. 
Nigerian Exporters Eager to Take Advantage of AGOA 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
. 
¶17. (SBU) On November 17, 2008 Laurie-Ann Agama, Acting EconCouns 
and EconSpecialist met with Joseph Idiong, President of the Nigerian 
Exporters Association, who said that Nigerian exporters want to take 
advantage of opportunities available under AGOA to export to the 
U.S.  He said that he organized several trade missions to the U.S. 
in the past and plans to do more in the future.  He also asked for 
further information on U.S. trade groups that his association could 
partner with to establish collaboration aimed at attracting 
investment and improving Nigeria's export performance.  Idiong also 
requested advocacy training for Nigerian exporters. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Idiong mentioned that though the private sector is willing 
to explore the U.S. market under AGOA, inconsistency in government 
trade policy and focus remains a problem.  Specifically he stated 
that successive Ministers of Commerce have their personal focus 
sectors and projects they want to implement but unfortunately there 
is no continuity in implementation whenever a new minister is 
appointed.  Idiong also said that there is lack of coordination 
among various GON agencies responsible for trade policy formulation 
and implementation. 
. 
Comment 
------- 
. 
¶19. (SBU) Past USG assistance and GON efforts have improved AGOA 
awareness in Nigeria.  USG assistance will achieve better results if 
the Nigerians can take leadership and ownership of their programs 
while the USG only steps in to complement their efforts.  Despite 
many challenges to improving non-oil export performance, there are 
some GON officials and the private sector that are optimistic that 
achievements are possible.  An update from the GON at the January 
2009 TIFA Council Meeting should provide a strong indication of 
whether the GON has taken the initiative. 
 
SANDERS