Workshop On Ecowas Trade Liberalization Scheme Opens in Abuja

26 September 2011
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Abuja — A capacity building workshop for regional experts on the mechanism and procedure for operationalising the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) opened in Abuja on Tuesday, 27th September 2011. It is part of a three-phase train-the-trainers workshop for members of the National Approval Committees (NAC) to ensure effective implementation of the ETLS. Three members each from six Member States - Cape Verde, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone - will be trained under this first phase of the workshop which will also be attended by representatives of the Accra-based West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) as well as the United States Agency for International Development and its Germany counterpart, GIZ, two ECOWAS partner organizations.

The workshop is expected to improve the knowledge of participants on the basic texts, procedures and application of the ETLS and enable the NAC experts in turn to train other members of the Committee in their home countries. Through the training, the ECOWAS Commission also seeks to reduce the delays experienced by border operatives and the general public over poor interpretation and implementation of the ETLS.

The second and third phases of the workshop will take place before December 2011 in Banjul, The Gambia, and Accra, Ghana, respectively. The workshops are part of the recommendations in June 2011 by a joint meeting of the Commissions of ECOWAS and UEMOA (Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa) about the mechanisms for improving the implementation of the ETLS.

The ETLS was launched in 1990 as part of the process for creating a Customs Union among of the 15 Member States through the elimination of Customs duties and taxes of equivalent effect, removal of non-tariff barriers and the establishment of a Common External Tariff to protect community produced goods. Items covered under the scheme include unprocessed products such as livestock, fish, plant or mineral products that have not undergone any industrial transformation; traditional handicraft products as well as industrial products of Community origin. Products entitled to benefit from the ETLS enjoy concessions such as total exemption from import duties and taxes; no quantitative restriction on volume; and non-payment of compensation arising from loss of revenue through exemption from import duties and taxes, among others

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