A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF AGOA ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA-US RELATIONS FROM 2000-2015

Abstract

The application of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to United States (U.S.)–Nigeria’s trade relations is a watershed in bilateral trade experience. However, extant literature is inconclusive on the existential conditions of U.S.–Nigeria’s economic interactions which necessitated the emergence of AGOA. This study discussed the foundations for United States (U.S.)–Nigeria’s trade relations within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Data is obtained from primary and secondary sources. The centre-periphery brand of the dependency theory is used to x-ray U.S.– Nigeria’s economic prior to the commencement of the application of the provisions AGOA in 2001. The results indicate that though U.S.–Nigeria’s trade relations intensified in the years preceding AGOA there were built-in impediments to the bilateral trade. It establishes that an adequate appreciation of the pre-policy situation is needed for AGOA to make comprehensive impacts on U.S.–Nigeria’s bilateral trade. It recommends the need to bring Nigeria’s dependence on the U.S. to an end.