Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are set to launch the regional Common External Tariff (CET) on January 1. The new tariff will apply to Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, members of ECOWAS.

The launch of the new tariff was approved this week in a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, following nine years of negotiations. The CET is an important milestone on the road to the creation of a customs union for West Africa.

CET represents one of the instruments for harmonising the policies of member states, thereby strengthening the framework for the realisation of a common market.

Apart from the expected improvement in customs revenue in the region, the primary sectors of member countries would get a measure of protection with this new policy.

The CET is expected to boost national productivity through the considerable reduction of customs duties on raw materials required for industrial production.