Stop Abusing ECOWAS Protocol, Agents Told

• Stop Abusing ECOWAS Protocol, Agents Told

Importers and clearing agents at the land borders have been urged to stop abusing the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) to boost revenue and facilitate trade.

Speaking with journalists at Seme border, World Cargo Investment, Managing Director, Adesope Aderoju said ETLS was introduced by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to facilitate the integration of trade and commerce among member- states.

Aderoju said the scheme was set up to eliminate barriers and promote free trade.

ETLS, he said, allowed goods manufactured in member-states to move freely without payment of import/export duties within the region.

“The scheme has been subjected to unbridled abuse, especially by some unscrupulous importers and Asian businessmen. These unscrupulous people bring in goods from China and other Asian countries, ship them into the sub-region and land such goods in ports of neighbouring countries such as Benin Republic, Ivory Coast, Ghana and even lately Liberia. They subsequently change the labels on these goods and smuggle them through the land borders into the country.”

A source said the implications of this act are grave.Apart from the loss of huge government revenue, goods that find their way into the market in this manner gain unfair competitive price advantage over locally made products.

Apart from the abuse of the ETLS, which is mostly perpetrated through the land borders, many importers also disregard the country’s import policy. They bring in various goods, including those banned by the government through seaports.