“Lift Forex Restriction on 41 Items” – LCCI Urges CBN

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to lift the foreign exchange restrictions it placed on 41 items.

The Chamber said the measure was no longer necessary, especially now that the regulator’s official forex window has been closed.

LCCI’s Director-General, Muda Yusuf, in a statement on Sunday, January 24, said the restrictions have caused considerable loss of jobs, insisting that “many more jobs are at risk as many firms run out of stock of their critical inputs for production,” adding, “for the sake of economic policy coherence, any product that is not on the official import prohibition list of the Federal Government should have access to the autonomous foreign exchange market.”

He agreed that import prohibition is a vital trade policy matter which should be undertaken in an integrated manner with inputs from other government agencies, including the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and the Nigeria Customs Service, among others, but cautioned however that the consequences of import prohibition are far reaching and go beyond the narrow perspective of conservation of foreign exchange.

“ The dimensions of inter sectoral linkages, employment implications, Customs revenue implications, breaches of regional and other international trade treaties should be taken into account,” pointing out that fiscal policy measures, such as taxation and import tariffs could be used, as and when necessary, to shape the behavior of economic operators as the policy thrust of government dictates.

The LCCI chief called for a proper understanding of the significance of the foreign exchange policy in the Nigerian economy, given the fact that the economy is not only highly import dependent, but also the fact that it is assuming greater integration with the global economy. In this regard, he called for transparency, and the need to ensure that there is adequate liquidity and stability in the administration of the foreign exchange market.