As the United States under a second Trump presidency doubles down on economic protectionism, the global south—Nigeria included—must resist the temptation to limit its responses to traditional frameworks. The Trump administration’s past—and likely future—use of aggressive tariffs has been largely directed at physical goods, often justified as a means to protect American manufacturers and restore “fair trade.” But this narrow lens of trade misses the true scale and structure of the U.S. economy—and more importantly, its biggest global exports: services.
At the heart of this overlooked domain lies the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry. U.S. companies dominate this space. According to available data, roughly 17,000 American companies command 60% of the global SaaS market share. This includes everything from enterprise software solutions to productivity tools, cloud infrastructure, digital advertising, streaming services, and security software. Products from giants like Microsoft, Google, Meta, Adobe, and Salesforce are deeply embedded in the operations of Nigerian businesses, government agencies, and individuals alike. And yet, these services flow freely, untouched by tariffs, duties, or customs checks.
While countries like Nigeria remain vulnerable to punitive tariffs on oil, cocoa, textiles, and other physical exports, the United States continues to reap immense profit from untaxed digital services. The tariff debate, unfortunately, remains fixated on goods that move through seaports—containers that can be inspected, levies that can be tracked. But the 21st century economy, especially the U.S. economy, has evolved far beyond that.
The Service Economy Blindspot
In 2025, services account for an astounding 79% of U.S. GDP. That’s nearly four-fifths of the entire economy. Additionally, about 137.7 million people, or 80% of the American working population, are employed in service-providing industries. This includes finance, insurance, healthcare, software, education, and especially digital services—the true face of American economic imperialism.
Yet when U.S. politicians talk about “unfair trade,” they rarely acknowledge this asymmetry. Tariffs are used to punish other countries for their competitive advantages in manufacturing and natural resources, while the U.S. keeps raking in profits from services that are often protected by complex licensing, intellectual property regimes, and global dependencies on American tech infrastructure.
Rebalancing the Equation: A Digital Response
So what can a country like Nigeria do? How can we respond not only with resilience, but with strategy?
The answer lies in imposing landing charges and tariffs on digital and allied services. For decades, these services have operated in an untaxed grey zone, moving invisibly across borders through broadband and satellite connections. But the digital age offers tools to regulate, metre, and monetize these flows—just as we do with oil pipelines and shipping lanes.
If Donald Trump or any future U.S. leader chooses to impose harsh tariffs on Nigerian exports or restrict trade, Nigeria and other African nations have every right to counter by implementing software tariffs, licensing surcharges, or digital infrastructure fees on U.S.-origin services.
This is not far-fetched. Already, countries like India, France, and Australia have introduced digital service taxes (DSTs) targeting revenues earned by foreign companies like Google and Facebook in their local markets. The OECD has also debated global frameworks to ensure that companies pay fair taxes in the countries where they derive their revenues—not just where they’re incorporated. Nigeria can take a similar route, tailored to its own needs.
Opportunities for Digital Tariff Policy
Let’s consider a few strategic options:
Tariffing Software Use: Businesses using Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Salesforce, or similar services could be required to pay a usage-based digital landing charge, collected either through local ISPs or through a licensing mechanism managed by a government digital authority.
Taxing Ad Revenue: Google Ads and Meta Ads have become essential tools for Nigerian businesses. Yet the billions they generate in Nigeria are largely untaxed. A targeted tax on digital advertising revenues could help Nigeria retain a fair share of the value created within its own borders.
Infrastructure Access Fees: U.S. tech companies rely heavily on undersea cables, cloud servers, and local content delivery networks to operate in Africa. Nigeria could introduce infrastructure maintenance or access fees based on bandwidth use or commercial scale.
Data Sovereignty Charges: As countries push for greater control over their data, Nigeria could follow the example of data localization laws and charge foreign entities for accessing, storing, or transferring user data collected locally.
Why Now?
The urgency of this conversation is underscored by global shifts. As deglobalization intensifies, countries are prioritizing their own interests, often at the expense of international cooperation. The return of Trumpist trade ideology would accelerate that process.
If Nigeria fails to prepare, we risk being cornered once again—facing tariffs on our physical exports while continuing to subsidize U.S. profits from software, digital infrastructure, and cloud services.
But with the right digital tax and tariff policies, Nigeria can assert sovereignty in the digital space, protect local industries, and ensure a fairer economic exchange with the U.S. and other digital superpowers.
Looking beyond the obvious is no longer an option—it’s a necessity. While physical goods dominate the headlines in trade disputes, services are where the real money is made. Nigeria must recognize the leverage it holds in the digital economy and act boldly.
A second Trump presidency may bring fresh trade aggressions—but it also brings an opportunity. It’s time to rethink tariffs. It’s time to expand our toolkit. And most importantly, it’s time to look beyond the obvious.
