Sunday 18 October 2026
ECOWAS logo ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) Free trade among the 15 Member States

About the ETLS

Between 2018 and 2021, ECOWAS revised its legal instruments on rules of origin, origin recognition procedures and certification of origin.

The revision updates and simplifies the texts governing the ECOWAS trade liberalisation regime, taking into account developments at continental level and the commitments made by Member States to international organisations such as the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

These legal texts are available in the “Resources” section.

Origin recognition procedure

  1. Application

    The company submits its application to the National Committee for Recognition of Community Origin.

  2. Review by the national committee

    The national committee selects the products that meet the Community origin criteria.

  3. Approved files sent

    The committee sends the list of products recognised as originating to the ECOWAS Commission.

  4. Member States notified

    The Commission notifies the other Member States of the products recognised as originating.

Recent reference texts

See the documents

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Member States