The Senate President Bukola Saraki has cautioned against flooding ECOWAS free trade zones with foreign goods in a predatory manner to kill the local industry.
The ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) is the main operational tool for promoting the West African region as a Free Trade Area.

The scheme was aimed at the total elimination of Customs duties and taxes of equivalent effect, removal of non-tariff barriers and the establishment of a Common Customs External Tariff to protect goods produced in Member States.

Saraki said the ECOWAS member states must be vigilant to guard against the misuse of the sub-region’s framework for liberal trade engagement to the detriment of its internal industralisation policy direction.

Speaking at the 1st Ordinary Session of the Fourth Legislature of the ECOWAS parliament in Abuja, Saraki said member states must block leakage in their intra sub-regional trade engagements especially in the area of agriculture.

The intra sub-regional trade in West Africa is among the lowest in the world, standing at less than 10%.

ECOWAS, the Senate President said, needs to look inwards and forge a stronger trade bond among the member states.