Under the auspices of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (TLS) Task Force, the ECOWAS Commission’s Customs Union and Taxation Directorate, in collaboration with the regional coordination of the West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), invited key stakeholders in charge of implementing the TLS in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to a training session on the new rules of the TLS of origin of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (TLS).

The meeting was held from 16 to 18 April 2024 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and comprised three phases: a consultation meeting between the ETS Task Force and the stakeholders and focal points of the institutions responsible for implementing the ETS; a field visit to the Liberia/Sierra Leone border; and a presentation of the TLS to private-sector economic stakeholders.

Through exchanges and, above all, the sharing of experiences, the capacities of government bodies implementing texts on trade in general and trade in agro-sylvo-pastoral products in particular were strengthened. In addition, private sector players were made aware of the need to better understand and take advantage of the benefits offered by the various trade texts, particularly the SLE. The meeting was also an opportunity to identify the challenges specific to the Mano River Union countries in the implementation of Community texts and to propose appropriate solutions to address them.

It should be remembered that despite the introduction of the SLE to facilitate the free movement of people and goods, those involved in cross-border trade, particularly drivers and transporters, face numerous difficulties along the various corridors. To these challenges must be added the lack of professionalism on the part of those involved, which is often reflected in the absence of the required documentation on loads and the non-conformity of means of transport, representing another factor in hassle and increasing the cost price at the final destination.

These practices have harmful consequences, such as unnecessary delays on the roads, higher transport costs for goods and limited access to product markets. In addition, the transport and marketing of agricultural and livestock products from the EU area are negatively impacted by these obstacles along trade corridors, thereby slowing down the movement of these products from production areas to consumption areas.

To find a solution to this situation, it was strongly recommended, among other things, to: continue to raise awareness among cross-border trade stakeholders so that they take full ownership of the ECOWAS protocols; strengthen the capacities of the National Committees for the Recognition of Community Origin (NRCVOC) of products; strengthen collaboration between the Focal Points of the institutions in charge of implementing the ETS, principally the customs administrations.