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Article 35 of the Revised Treaty relating to theliberalisation of trade within the region;

Article 36 of the Revised Treaty relating to thecustoms duties.

Article 54 of the Revised Treaty relating to theestablishment of an Economic Union.

Protocols and regulations on the Free Trade Area.

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OBJECTIVES

Article 3 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty

«The liberalization of trade by the abolition, amongMember States, of customs duties levied on imports andexports, and the abolition among Member States, non-tariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at theCommunity level;

The adoption of a common external tariff and a commontrade policy vis-à-vis third countries;The removal between Member States, of the obstacles tothe free movement of persons, goods services and capital,and the right of residence and establishment »

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Rules of origin

protocol A/P1/1/03 relating to the definition of the concept of the productsoriginating from member States of ECOWAS

Wholly produced good (cf article 3 of the Protocol)

Goods not wholly produced in Member States where theirproduction requires the use of material classified under adifferent tariff heading from that of the product

Goods not wholly produced in Member States where theirproduction requires the use of materials which havereceived a value added of at least 30% of the ex factory priceof the finished goods

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Goods transformed within the framework of economicor suspensive Customs regimes or certain specialregimes involving the suspension, or partial or totalexemption from Customs duties on imports, shall in no

case be considered originating products .

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23 April 2002- adoption of a new procedure onETLS by the Council of Ministers. Entry intoforce 2003

Creation of the National Approval Committee(NAC) in Member States

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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 schemeshall complete an application form, the prototype of which is attachedto this regulation, and submit it to the chairperson of the National

Approvals Committee.

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Approval procedure for originating products (cont’d)regulation C/REG.3/4/02

Process at ECOWAS CommissionReceipt of applications approved by the NAC

Study of the applicationsNotification to member States

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THE ECOWAS TRADE LIBERALIZATION SCHEME:

Proof of originThe 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 productsHand made articles

The certificate is issued by the competent authority designedfor that purpose by the member State.

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CONCLUSIONthe development with support from the Computer Centre of ECOWASand the German cooperation Agency (GIZ) a website to enable theconcerned authorities of countries to access the list of companies andproducts approved by ECOWAS, the notification letters to memberStates, the ETLS procedure

Annual meeting with the National Approval Committees members(NAC)Consolidating partnerships with NGOs operating in the area of intra-regional trade such as USAID West Africa Trade Hub and Agri businessTrade Promotion on capacity building and enhancing advocacy on freeflow of intra- regional tradeRegional training of trainers (National Approval Committee member)on the ETLS mechanismHarmonization and review of the ETLS mechanism with the UEMOA CommissionCreation of a new tool for a wide awareness of the concernedpopulation