Why Nigeria Must Sign Trade Treaty with U.S. – Brandon Smith …Hails, Tasks FG on Passports

Segun Atanda/

The Vice President of International Business Development for the US-Nigeria Council, Mr Brandon J. Smith has revealed the benefits that Nigeria will derive by signing a Trade treaty with the United States (U.S.).

Smith, who has been tasked with generating new economic growth opportunities throughout Nigeria by leveraging existing relationships in the U.S., along with the U.S.-Nigeria Trade Council USA, urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to sign the trade treaty and take bilateral advantage of the E1 (Nonimmigrant Treaty Traders) and E2 (Nonimmigrant Treaty Investors) visa program.

“With the E1 / E2 treaty, high-volume traders or investors who add value to the American economy through job creation and business growth are issued visa in the E1/E2 category. This is less complicated than the more known EB5 immigrant investor (green card) program,” Smith reveals in a statement sent to NewsmakersNG.

He explained further: “An E1 Treaty Trader Visa holder can remain indefinitely within the USA for as long as he or she fulfils the conditions required by this visa. Several Nigerians, by their investment and trade in the United States qualify for this simple visa category. However, Nigeria is not in on this, since no such trade treaty exists between Nigerian and the United States. It is vital that Nigeria and the United States sign such trade treaty.

Smith and the Council also commended the Nigerian Government on the recent launch of the red diplomatic international passport with a 10-year validity, with expectation that the standard Nigerian passport with 10-year validity period will be rolled out soon.

Smith stated: “The 10-year validity of Nigeria Passport is long overdue. It is in keeping with the standard practice by other countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Philippines, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, and 93 other countries.

Passports with longer validity will complement the efforts of the Nigerian Immigration Service to address the long queues and ease the backlogs in both application and release of passports.

The new passport will save Nigerians in the Diaspora, particularly in the United States, the time needed to frequently visit the Nigerian embassy and Consulates for new passports, freeing up human and material resources for other areas of consular work.

The U.S.-Nigeria Trade Council, USA (www.usnigeria.org ) is dedicated to strengthening and enriching the vehicle of investment and trade between the United States of America and Nigeria. The Council provides a bilateral forum on key economic, commercial and professional initiatives, as well as business opportunities of interest to American companies operating in or exploring business opportunities in Nigeria, as well as Nigerian companies planning trade ties and business expansion to the U.S. Markets.

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