According to the envoy, the DCTS is among the world’s most generous schemes since it removes tariffs on thousands of products worldwide to make free trade easier.
He said that having visited the different regions in Nigeria, he has come to realise that the country has at least 3,000 tariff-free products that it could export.
Montgomery said the enhanced partnership signed between the two countries last February is aimed at attracting more investment to the agricultural sector, adding that Nigeria could boost trade with the UK by exporting more of the sector’s products. “In agricultural exports, Nigeria can export cashew, cotton, or cocoa from the middle belt,” he said.
There are more products that the country could export under the new partnership. According to him, “There are lots of commercial farmers involved in vegetables, which can be processed, and there is also timber.
“And we think that there’s a big potential for commercial agriculture in the future in Nigeria. You have the land, you have the people.
“The new trading scheme should be an opportunity for Nigeria. We can do more in financial and legal services.”
He said new technologies are entering the financial services sector which will greatly improve the sector.
When all these are considered, Montgomery believes that trade relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom could increase beyond the current £7bn, which he said was relatively balanced. An analysis of the trade relations shows that “the UK exports about £4 billion worth of goods and services to Nigeria while Nigeria exports to the UK about £3 billion worth of goods.”
He expressed the belief that this can be improved. Hear him: “We need to do more because if you look at last year’s figure compared to the penultimate, there was not much of an increase in trade volume. It was an increase of about two per cent. So trade in the last few years has changed.
“And the aim of our enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership is to boost trade and investment between both countries and also to raise these numbers.”
Nigeria and the UK signed a new agreement on enhanced trade and investment partnership, as well as agreed to work in the agriculture, creative, legal, financial services, and education sectors.
