  
  
WT/REG 399/N/1  
 
6 May 2019  
(19-3108) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original:  English /French  
 
NOTIFICATION OF REGI ONAL TRADE AGREEMENT  
1. Member(s) notifying:  Nigeria on behalf of Benin, Burkina Faso, Ca bo Verde, Côte 
d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea -Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, 
Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, member S tates of  the Economic Community of West 
African States (ECOWAS)  
2. Date of notification:  2 May 2019  
3. Notification pursuant to  
[X] Article XXIV:7(a) of GATT 19941 
[ ] Article V:7(a) of GATS  
[ ] Paragraph 4(a) of the Enabling Clause  
4. Parties to the Agreement:  Benin, Burkina Faso, Ca bo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, 
Ghana, Guinea, Guinea -Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and 
Togo 
5. Date of signature:  Treaty of the ECOWAS signed on 28 May 1975 and revised on 24  July 
19932 
6. Date(s) of entry into Force:  The original Treaty entered into force on 20 June 1975. The 
revised Treaty entered into force on 23 August 1995.  
7. Brief description of the Agreement:   
The aims of the Community are to promote cooperation and integration, leading to the 
establishment of an Economic Union of West Africa, in order to  raise the living standards 
of its people, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among 
member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.  
 
ECOWAS has fixed for itself the objective of among oth ers having a common market 
through the creation of a customs union with the liberalization of trade among member 
States and a common external tariff applic able to goods originating from countries outside 
the Community . 
 
ECOWAS members adopted a common exte rnal tariff (CET) on 12 January 2006 with four 
tariff bands. In 2009, a fifth band was adopted . 
 
At the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of ECOWAS held on 30 September 
2013, Ministers agreed on the implementation of the CET from 1 January 2015.  
                                                
1 This notification replaces the previous notification of this Treaty pursuant to paragraph 4(a) of the 
Enabling Clause (WT/COMTD/N/21).  
2 The text of the revised Treaty has been distributed as WT/COMTD/54 . WT/REG 399/N/1  
 
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  8. Text and related schedules, annexes and protocols are:  
[ ] submitted to the WTO Secretariat (electronic format)  
[X] available from the following official Internet link(s):       
http://www.ecowas.int/ecowas -law/ 
 
• The revised Treaty, including annexes and Protocols, and  
• The decisions/regulations relating to the CET  
 