By Mariatou Ngum
The Directorate of Industry and Investment under the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE) in collaboration with ECOWAS National Office (ENO) on Thursday, 6th October, held a daylong sensitisation workshop on the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), held at the Senegambia Beach Hotel.
The workshop aimed at providing stakeholders with an overview of the ETLS scheme, create awareness in terms of procedures and application processes as well as discuss some of the challenges being faced by the enterprises trying to access the regional markets. The workshop also provided a platform for stakeholders to share their experience on trading across the borders and the opportunity for potential ETLS holders to gain first-hand information about the implementation of the scheme.
Mr. Aziz Bala-Gaye, Principal Economist at the Directorate of Industry and Investment at MoTIE explained that ETLS is the main ECOWAS operational tool for promoting the West Africa Region as a Free Trade Area. The ETLS, he went on, is a mechanism for ensuring the free circulation of goods in the ECOWAS region without the payment of custom duties and other charges with equivalent effect on community originating imports.
He informed the participants that ETLS came into existence in 1979 and at that time, agreement was reached on only agricultural, artisanal handicrafts and unprocessed products to benefit from the scheme and that it was expanded in 1990 to include industrial products. He noted that the expansion brought about the need to formulate rules related to the definition of the notion of ECOWAS originating products.
On the ECOWAS Certificate of Origin (CO), he said it is a proof of the community origin of the products.
“Agricultural and livestock products, as well as hand-made products, with or without the aid of tools, instruments or devices operated directly by the manufacturer, are exempted from the CO. The Certificate of Origin is issued by the competent authority of the Member State of origin designated for this purpose and endorsed by the Customs Service of the said State,” he said.
