This study examined the impact of trade policy and exchange rate dynamics on manufacturing sector output in Nigeria from 1981 to 2022. Manufacturing sector output was proxied by real manufacturing gross domestic product while import to GDP ratio, export to GDP ratio, index of energy consumption (IENEC), monetary policy rate (MPR), per capita income (PCI), exchange rate (EXR) and dummy variables for structural adjustment (DSAP) served as explanatory variables. The study used the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique to analyze the model. The results revealed that imports as a ratio of gross domestic product (IMGDP) impacted negatively on real manufacturing output (RMO) in both the short and long run periods while exports as a ratio of gross domestic product (EXGDP) exerted significant positive impact on RMO in both the short and long run periods. Trade liberalization proxied by DSAP exerted significant positive impact on real manufacturing output in the long run but insignificant positive impact on RMO in the short run. Exchange rate exerted negative impact on RMO in the long run but positive impact in the short run. It is recommended that trade policy in Nigeria should be designed by the federal government in line with export promotion industrialization strategy to enhance manufacturing output