ECOWAS Trade Libralisation: Is West Africa Really Changing The Narrative?
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
West Africa has a population of over 400 million people, with a vast natural resources, and a growing entrepreneurial sector.
Trade barriers, poor infrastructure, and inconsistent government policies however, continue to militate against regional economic integration.
With the launch of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), ECOWAS has renewed its promise to create a single market. The question is, is it delivering on that promise?
The ETLS was introduced to eliminate tariffs and promote free movement of goods and services. But, inconsistent implementation has led to bottlenecks which come in various ways such as:
Multiple border checkpoints: Traders still face delays, bribes, and harassment from security officials.
Poor transport infrastructure: Roads connecting key trade routes, such as Lagos-Abidjan and Dakar-Bamako, are in bad shape, increasing business costs.
Customs duty challenges: Some countries still impose unofficial tariffs, undermining regional agreements making the arrangements “constant work in progress”
Some traders have stories to tell.
At the Seme border between Nigeria and Benin, a textile merchant, Aisha Mohammed, tells the story of the high cost of transporting goods across borders. “Each checkpoint means another payment. It’s frustrating because ECOWAS says we should trade freely,” she says.
At Ikom, the border between Nigeria and Cameroun, the story is the same as a fish dealer, Anwulika Favour says there is no free movement of goods between the countries.
In Accra, Ghana, a businessman, Kofi Adjei is struggling to export processed cocoa to Senegal.
According to him, “The paperwork is a nightmare. If ECOWAS is serious, they should harmonise trade rules,”.
Will it then be correct to say ECOWAS and AfCFTA are competing instead of complementing each other?
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), launched in 2021, aims to boost intra-African trade by reducing tariffs and standardising trade policies making many wonder if AfCFTA will overshadow ECOWAS’s own trade efforts.
An economist at the Harvard Kennedy School, Dr. Ngozi Egbuna, believes the two frameworks can work together. “AfCFTA provides a bigger continental framework, but ECOWAS remains key in regional trade facilitation. What we need is better synergy between the two,” she says.
What Must Change for ECOWAS to Succeed?
For ECOWAS to succeed in fulfilling its economic integration goal, it must:
Improve cross-border infrastructure (roads, railways, ports), harmonise trade policies to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, enforce penalties on member states that violate free trade agreements, leverage digital solutions for customs clearance and trade facilitation.
If all these ate done, it will showcase that
ECOWAS has the potential to transform West Africa into a thriving trade hub, but without real commitment from governments, trade has remained a theoretical ambition rather than an economic reality.
So, will ECOWAS finally match its promises with action? Your response is as good as mine.
