The regional meeting of the National Committees for the Recognition of the Community Origin (NRCVG) took place from November 27 to 29, with members of the Task Force reviewing progress on implementing recommendations from the Cotonou Declaration. This declaration addresses obstacles to trade in originating products within ECOWAS.
The Cotonou Declaration emerged from a ministerial meeting facilitated by the Task Force and supported by the ECOWAS Commission in October 2023. It aims to enhance traffic fluidity across borders and facilitate free movement of transit and community products. The meeting focused on applying ECOWAS regulatory texts concerning free movement and reviewed implementation progress regarding these recommendations.
Significant advancements include deploying the Goods Management Interconnection System (SIGMAT) along the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, extending it to other member states, launching an electronic Certificate of Origin on November 25, 2024, and enhancing capacity-building efforts for stakeholders involved in recognizing community origin products.
However, member states have shown inadequate progress in implementing these recommendations. Persistent issues include road harassment, poor cooperation between SLE points for authenticating Certificates of Origin, obligations imposed on economic operators for releasing approved products under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, and prohibition lists.
In response to these challenges, several recommendations were made:
To Member States:
- Reduce checkpoints along corridors as per ECOWAS regulations.
- Remove technical barriers that hinder intra-community trade.
- Utilize certificates of origin according to ECOWAS specifications.
- Raise awareness among economic operators about SLE advantages.
- Strengthen cooperation between SLE focal points to resolve issues related to Certificates of Origin.
To the Commission:
- Continue modernizing inter-state transit by expanding SIGMAT.
- Enhance capacities of NRCVGs for better mission execution.
- Ensure part of Community levy funds proper functioning of NRCVGs and raises ETS awareness among economic operators.
The Task Force plans to present these recommendations at upcoming statutory sessions scheduled for December 2024.
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