An Awareness-Raising Session for Guinean Private Sector Players on The Trade Liberalisation Scheme (TLS)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in collaboration with the Private Sector in Guinea organized an awareness campaign on ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme on Thursday 17 October 2024 in Conakry – Guinea for a better understanding of the appropriation of the scheme.

A crucial challenge for regional economic integration, the Scheme aims to promote intra-community trade by eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers between ECOWAS Member States, thereby facilitating the free movement of goods and services within the Community.

The comprehensive presentation by Ms. Aïssata Yaméogo Koffi, Program Officer in charge of Rules of Origin and Community Preferential Treatment, provided valuable insights into the objectives, advantages, and opportunities presented by The ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS). This session significantly enhanced the understanding of participants about the benefits of the ETLS.

The ETLS aims to eliminate customs duties by gradually reducing import taxes on goods originating from ECOWAS member states. The scheme supports the growth of intra-regional trade by reducing barriers and providing national economic operators with easier access to regional markets.

For the private sector in Guinea, as in other ECOWAS member states, the ETLS offers numerous benefits, including access to a broader regional market, increased export opportunities, and reduced customs-related costs. However, challenges remain, such as the need to improve product quality and modernize industrial processes to compete effectively.

During the session, Maria Diané, Secretary General of the Guinean Employers’ Association, emphasized the importance of these opportunities for the Guinean private sector. She encouraged economic operators to capitalize on the advantages provided by the ETLS and use the knowledge gained during the session to better prepare for the regional market’s opportunities.

Ibrahima Diallo, Guinea’s Director General of African Integration, described the session as an important opportunity for Guinean operators to gain a deeper understanding of the SLE. He urged participants to actively engage, ask questions, and leverage the session to become more familiar with the provisions of the scheme.

Salifou Tiemtoré, Director of the Customs and Taxation Union at the ECOWAS Commission, praised the strong trade relations between Guinea and neighboring countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Mali. He stressed that the ETLS allows economic operators in ECOWAS countries to expand beyond national markets and tap into the regional market of over 400 million consumers.

Colonel Ibrahima Bah, representing Guinea’s Director General of Customs, reaffirmed the commitment of ECOWAS to help economic operators make the most of the regional market’s opportunities. He expressed optimism that sessions like this would enable Guinean products to access the regional market without customs duties, ultimately boosting Guinea’s market share in ECOWAS.

The session also covered key topics such as the conditions for obtaining approval under the scheme and the various trade facilitation mechanisms provided by ECOWAS, all aimed at supporting Guinean economic operators in their efforts to secure duty-free access to regional markets.