ABSTRACT
In the wake of large-scale borrowing, the accumulation of its debt, and the global economic recession at the beginning of the 1980s, Nigeria found itself unable to meet its debt obligations and entered into negotiations for a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Nigerian economy has long been characterized by high levels of import demand, and the oil income fueled an explosion of consumer-goods imports during the 1970s. It also reinforced the development of a heavily import-intensive manufacturing sector in the country. The Nigerians argued that the elimination of the trade licensing scheme could lead to the dumping of goods on the Nigerian market, which could destroy the capacity of the country's infant industries and lead to the potential importation of hazardous substances. The Nigerians resisted trade liberalization because they argued that without import controls and other restrictions, the Nigerian propensity to import everything would flood the domestic market with goods.
