Article 35 of the Revised Treaty relating

liberalisation of trade within the region; customs duties.

to the

Article 36 of the Revised Treaty relating to the

Article 54 of the Revised Treaty relating to the

establishment of an Economic Union.

Protocols and regulations on the Free Trade Area.

OBJECTIVES
Article 3 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty
The liberalization of trade by the abolition, among

Member States, of customs duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition among Member States, nontariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at the Community level; The adoption of a common external tariff and a common trade policy vis--vis third countries; The removal between Member States, of the obstacles to the free movement of persons, goods services and capital, and the right of residence and establishment

Rules of origin
protocol A/P1/1/03 relating to the definition of the concept of the products originating from member States of ECOWAS

Wholly produced good (cf article 3 of the Protocol) Goods not wholly produced in Member States where their

production requires the use of material classified under a different tariff heading from that of the product production requires the use of materials which have received a value added of at least 30% of the ex factory price of the finished goods

Goods not wholly produced in Member States where their

Goods transformed within the framework of economic

or suspensive Customs regimes or certain special regimes involving the suspension, or partial or total exemption from Customs duties on imports, shall in no case be considered originating products.

 23 April 2002- adoption of a new procedure on ETLS by the Council of Ministers. Entry into force 2003 Creation of the National Approval Committee (NAC) in Member States

Composition of the NAC: Ministry of Trade; Ministry of Industry; Ministry of Finance ( Department of Customs) The ECOWAS National Unit (or Ministry of integration); The National Chamber of Commerce and Industry All such structures or institutions as are deemed appropriate. Enterprises wishing to benefit from the trade liberalisation scheme shall complete an application form, the prototype of which is attached to this regulation, and submit it to the chairperson of the National Approvals Committee.

Approval procedure for originating products (contd) regulation C/REG.3/4/02

Process at ECOWAS Commission

Receipt of applications approved by the NAC Study of the applications

Notification to member States

THE ECOWAS TRADE LIBERALIZATION SCHEME: Proof of origin The proof of origin of a product under the scheme is the certificate of origin
Regulation C/REG.4/4/02: certificate of origin

A certificate of origin shall not be required for: Agricultural and livestock products Hand made articles The certificate is issued by the competent authority designed for that purpose by the member State.

CONCLUSION
the development with support from the Computer Centre of ECOWAS

and the German cooperation Agency (GIZ) a website to enable the concerned authorities of countries to access the list of companies and products approved by ECOWAS, the notification letters to member States, the ETLS procedure Annual meeting with the National Approval Committees members (NAC) Consolidating partnerships with NGOs operating in the area of intraregional trade such as USAID West Africa Trade Hub and Agri business Trade Promotion on capacity building and enhancing advocacy on free flow of intra- regional trade Regional training of trainers (National Approval Committee member) on the ETLS mechanism Harmonization and review of the ETLS mechanism with the UEMOA Commission Creation of a new tool for a wide awareness of the concerned population