Filling the Gaps in the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization
Scheme
The ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) establishes a regional free trade
area with clear rules governing the free movement of people, goods and vehicles. But to
bring the benefits it promises – greater economic growth, more jobs and lower
consumer prices – Member States have to implement it uniformly. Implementing the
ETLS would also empower local manufacturers to compete with cheap imported
products that may be dumped in the market.
The Trade Hub has interviewed hundreds of public officials and private company
managers in nine Member States – Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali,
Nigeria, Senegal and Togo – in order to analyze how well Member States are
implementing the ETLS protocols and develop recommendations on how to improve
their harmonization efforts.
The preliminary findings show that none of the ECOWAS Member States is fully
implementing ETLS protocols. Here are some examples:
•
On the border between Niger and Benin, a trader recently sought to export a 20foot container of cement. The cement was produced in Benin. There should
have been no duty paid, at least according to the ETLS. Nonetheless, the
Government of Niger collected $1,890 in duties on a valuation of $2,100.
•
The ETLS says that the ISRT logbook and the guarantee system are for transit
goods and are to be prepared and paid in the country where the transit
originates. But private sector respondents said the reality is different: A new
logbook and an additional bond are required at every border they cross with
transit goods. Today, a trader sending a truckload of maize from Ghana to Benin,
valued at $3,000, must purchase three logbooks and post a bond guarantee, one
at each border. Instead of one log book and bond payment, costing on average
$25 for each log book, a percentage of the value of the goods for the bond, and
requiring an unnecessary 2 hours delay for processing.
•
In Burkina Faso, $80,000 of cashew kernels was recently purchased from
farmers and sent to Togo for export. The Togo authorities charged $400 for a
customs bond, but under the ETLS, there are no customs fees for Togo on goods
produced in Burkina Faso, so there should have been no bond.
The Trade Hub will publish a full report of the gaps in the implementation of the ETLS
by Sept. 30, 2010 to help stakeholders pursue policies for a more successful regional
trade area.