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Basic InformationWTO Consideration ProcessRTA Provisions

Agreement name:	Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Coverage:	Goods	Type:	Customs Union
Status:	In Force	Notification under:	GATT Art. XXIV
Date of signature:	24-Jul-1993	Date of notification:	06-Jul-2005
Date of entry into force:	23-Aug-1995	End of implementation period:	2000
Remarks:	Notification WT/REG399/N/1 modifies ECOWAS legal cover from the Enabling Clause to GATT Art. XXIV.
Current signatories:	Benin; Burkina Faso; Cabo Verde; Côte d'Ivoire; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mali; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; The Gambia; Togo
Original signatories:	Benin; Burkina Faso; Cabo Verde; Côte d'Ivoire; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mali; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; The Gambia; Togo
RTA Composition:	Plurilateral
Region:	Africa
All Parties WTO members?	Yes	Cross-Regional:	No

Official Web Address

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Text of the agreement

Text of the agreement	E

Annexes & related documents

Annexes	E

Consideration status:	Awaiting data from the Parties

Related documents

Document series: WT/REG399

Document type	Symbol	Language
Notification (superseded)	WT/COMTD/N/21	E F S
Notification	WT/REG399/N/1	E F S
Agreement	WT/COMTD/54	E F S
Factual Abstract (under the Enabling Clause)		E

Document type	Language
Factual Abstract (G)	E

RTA Provisions Glossary

For details on these provisions, please consult the Glossary.

Last modified on: 14/05/2019

Topics
	All tariffs eliminated at end of implementation by at least one Party
	All quantitative import restrictions prohibited
	Rules of Origin (RoO)
		Change of Tariff Classification Criteria (CTC)
		Regional Value Content Criteria (RVC)
		Cumulation among Parties
	All Export Duties and Charges prohibited
	Technical regulations, standards, technical barriers to trade (TBT)
		Harmonization/alignement of TBT measures at the bilateral/regional level
	Safeguard Mechanisms (Goods)
		RTA-specific safeguard measures always permitted
	Anti-Dumping measures
	MFN Clause/Preferences extended from other RTAs (Goods)
	Sector-specific chapter/section or other legal instrument (Goods)


	Services
	Rendez-Vous/Review/Evolutionary clause (services)
	General Exceptions
	Security Exceptions
	Dispute Settlement (DS)
		Standing Tribunal
	Environment
	Labour
	Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
		Cooperation
	Gender
		Cooperation between the Parties