The Federal Government has called on business owners in the Southeast to take advantage of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) to boost cross-border trade and expand their markets across West Africa.
Director, ECOWAS National Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olawale Emmanuel Awe, made the appeal on Tuesday in Enugu during a one-day sensitisation workshop on the scheme, organised to enlighten Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region with the theme: “Increasing intra regional trade through ETLS”.
He explained the ETLS was designed to promote economic integration among member states by allowing goods produced within any ECOWAS country to be traded freely within the sub-region without payment of customs duties.
“The ETLS is primarily made for business people, particularly MSMEs, big entrepreneurs, and petty traders who have products that can be sold within the West African region,” Awe said.
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“Once registered under the scheme, Nigerian manufacturers can export their products to the 12 ECOWAS countries without paying customs duties.”
According to him, the scheme, which is one of the protocols underpinning ECOWAS’ founding vision in 1975, aims to achieve free movement of goods and services and foster regional prosperity through economic integration.
Awe stressed that businesses must, however, complete the required registration process to benefit from the initiative.
“Any businessperson manufacturing in Nigeria must first register with us. They will need to submit samples of their products, after which the National Approval Committee—comprising the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade, SON, NAFDAC, Customs, MAN Export Group, and NEPC—will conduct factory inspections to confirm that the products are genuinely made in Nigeria,” he said.
He warned that the scheme does not permit re-export of foreign goods. “We don’t want a situation where someone imports from China and re-exports. Only products made in Nigeria are eligible,” he added.
Awe noted the sensitisation workshop was necessary because many business owners in the South-East were still unaware of the benefits of the scheme despite the region’s thriving entrepreneurial base.
“We are doing this to enlighten our businessmen to leverage this opportunity and earn more profit. Once you don’t pay customs charges, you are as good as selling within Nigeria,” he said.
