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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2004           New tariff takes effect next year - Waziri The Federal Government will next year introduce a new tariff structure that would include harmonisation with the ECOWAS tariff regime. The minister of commerce, Amb Idris Waziri,announced this Thursday in Abuja at the third meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council.Waziri said the purpose of the Council was to enable Nigeria and the U.S. government review progress on trade, investment and other economic issues, including some of the challenges that may affect bilateral relations between both countries. He said that the new tariff structure consist of four tariff bands of zero per cent for necessities, 5 per cent for primary products, 15 per cent for intermediate goods and 20 per cent for finished products. According to him, all products except banned items will phase into this new regime by the end of June 2005 while banned items would be phased into the tariff bands with effect from January 2007. ``On the whole, the new policy has reduced Nigeria's unweighted tariff from 29 per cent to 18 per cent,'' he said. On the ongoing port reforms, the minister said that concessioning of the terminals would be done in phases starting with the Apapa port in the first quarter next year. He disclosed that a new structure on the implementation of AGOA had been adopted with the creation of the presidential Council on AGOA (PCA) headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said the new strategy under the AGOA was aimed at increasing the manufacturing capacity of existing companies, taking advantage of the intra-AGOA trade by vigorously marketing and supplying Nigerian yarn and fabrics. It is also intended to attract new foreign direct investment through joint-venture agreements of establishment of factories to manufacture some of the AGOA eligible products, the minister stated. SITE TOOLS Print This Page   EMAIL THIS PAGE Friend's Name: Friend's  Email: Your Name: Your Email:           � Triumph Publishing Company Limited 2004

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