Nigeria will now enjoy duty-free trade on 99 per cent of goods exported to the United Kingdom, the deputy British High Commission in Lagos said yesterday.

This development was necessitated by the UK Government launch of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in Nigeria. DCTS offers one of the most generous sets of trading preferences in the world and demonstrates the UK's commitment to building long term, mutually beneficial relationships with countries like Nigeria.

The launch took place yesterday in Lagos, and the DCTS will come into force in the Spring of 2023, replacing the UK's Generalised Scheme of Preferences, the statement noted.

"The DCTS benefits 65 countries, 37 of which are African, and will mean that Nigeria benefits from duty- free trade on over 9200 products. 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% of goods exports to the UK are duty free," the statement said.

Speaking at the launch, UK deputy British High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones said:"Nigeria is one of the UK's most important partners in Africa and the UK Government is committed to working with Nigerian businesses and exporters to boost trade between our two great nations. The UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme harnesses the power of trade to help Nigeria and other emerging economies grow and prosper.

"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."

This work is 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.