Minister calls for decisive action on intra-regional trade

Accra, Aug. 27, GNA - Trade Minister Hannah Tetteh on Thursday called for a decisive action on the implementation of the Trade Liberalisation Scheme by member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to promote intra-regional trade. Speaking at the opening session of a two-day West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Trade Ministers Forum in Accra, Ms Tetteh said the inability of countries to implement the scheme had put to risk the economic and trade integration programmes in the region.

The ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme entered into force some 19 years ago with the aim to ensure the free movement of unprocessed goods and traditional handicraft products, which should be exempt from import duties and taxes.

It also involves the gradual removal of customs duties and equivalent taxes on industrial products of community origin and, thereafter, the lifting of non-tariff barriers to intra-community trade. However, the scheme has been fraught with challenges, making it difficult for the attainment of a Free Trade Area environment. Ms Tetteh said there was little gain for members to continue to liberalise trade with other regions when they could not use the ETLS as a vehicle for free trade among themselves. She therefore asked for national level commitment to the ECOWAS integration agenda, and urged member countries to approach the issue with a guided sense of urgency to ensure the implementation of the various protocols.

On the establishment of a second monetary zone, the Minister said the persistent failure of the various countries to meet the convergence criteria had been worsened by the inability to make progress in the entire regional integration process.

Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Guinea Conakry, four of the five countries in the zone, have consistently failed to meet the Convergence criteria of a single digit inflation rate, Central Bank financing of government deficit of less than 10 per cent of the previous year's revenue, Government budget deficit of five per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and Foreign Exchange Reserves of three months of import. Only the Gambia was able to meet all four criteria in 2007. Ms Tetteh said while it was generally accepted that in a regional integration process, a monetary union ought to be preceded by completion of Free Trade Area arrangements and the creation of a Customs Union, the effort of the region had been stalled by non-implementation of the various decisions and protocols.

She said concrete steps and actions were needed to move the integration process forward. Dr. Temitope W. O. Shikoya, Director General of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), stressed the need for attention to be focused on how to effectively implement regional decisions. The forum is being held on the theme: "Making ECOWAS Trade Protocols Work to Create a Thriving Private Sector for Growth and Development in West Africa." 27 Aug. 09