Accra, July 18, GNA - The inaugural meeting of the Joint ECOWAS/UEMOA Management Committee of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), an advisory committee on the management and monitoring of the process for the harmonization of the tariff regime for imports into West Africa, opened on Monday at the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat in Abuja.
A statement received in Accra on Tuesday said Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS approved the Committee, which comprises representatives of the 15 Member States, the ECOWAS Secretariat and the UEMOA Commission- the West African Economic and Monetary Union-, during their January 2006 summit in Niamey, Niger.
Launched in 2000, the ECOWAS CET is a four-band tariff structure, ranging from zero per cent to 20 per cent, for various categories of imports into the Seb-Region.
The statement said this was expected to become fully operational in January 2008 after a two-year transitional period that would end by December 2007.
The eight Member States of UEMOA already operate this tariff structure for their imports.
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) is working to harmonise the tariff structure in the other seven countries with those obtainable in these countries through a two-tier implementation strategy.
The week-long meeting of the Joint Management Committee would evaluate the progress in the harmonization process; advise the Executive Secretariat on measures to facilitate implementation and review the UEMOA experience in the operations of the four-band tariff regime.
The Acting ECOWAS Deputy Executive Secretary for Policy Harmonisation, Mr Gilles Hounkpatin said the application of a common tariff regime would enhance integration through the creation of a free trade zone and customs union as part of the process of liberalizing regional trade.
He praised the non-UEMOA countries for the progress they had recorded towards complying with the requirements of the new tariff structure.
He added that the greatest challenge confronting the Sub-Region would be its ability to comply with the 31st December 2007 deadline for concluding the construction of a comprehensive and concise CET for the Sub-Region.
