ETLS is a trade instrument aimed at encouraging duty free trade among ECOWAS Member States. It seeks to eliminate Customs Duties and Taxes of equivalent effect together with other instruments, to protect goods produced by and emanating from Member States. It is often referred to as ECOWAS’ Flagship Program.

In line with ECOWAS  objective of promoting cooperation and regional integration and as a step towards the creation of a common market which, the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, prescribes should be established through “the liberalization of trade by the abolition, among Member States, of customs duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition among Member States, of non-tariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at the Community Level“, ECOWAS adopted the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme. The ETLS was first implemented in 1979 with only agricultural products, handicrafts and crude products being allowed to benefit from the scheme. In 1990, however, product list considered under ETLS was expanded to include industrial products.

The evolution of international trade and the adoption of a new agreement on rules of origin by the World Trade Organization, necessitated the need for ECOWAS and UEMOA to adopt and comply with the same rules of origin criteria under ETLS.

The ECOWAS protocol A/P1/1/03 of 31st January 2003 defines the concept of originating products and origin criteria applicable for the free circulation of industrial goods. The Council of Ministers further adopted the Regulation: REG./3/4/02 of 23rd April 2002, which presented new procedure in order to ease the process for approval of industrial products.
This new procedure led to the creation, in each Member State, a National Approvals Committee (NAC) responsible for examining applications for approval of products.

The first step in the ETLS approval process is for an NAC to approve companies and products that meet the originating product criteria. The second step is for the Member States’ to communicate these to the ECOWAS Commission. The third step requires the ECOWAS Commission to notify all Member States of the approved companies and products. The approved products can then be exported freely within the region.

In 2016, an ETLS task force was set up to promote the implementation of the community texts by Member States and have been instrumental in all ETLS related situation including the organization of a tripartite high level meeting between Nigeria, Benin and Niger in 2019 to proffer lasting solution to the closure of Nigeria’s land borders.

Visit ETLS website for more information