Cote d'Ivoire will move from January 1st, 2021 to the second phase of tariff dismantling as part of the implementation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union, the government announced on December 9th.

More concretely, the country will have to apply tariff exemptions on a new wave of products imported from the EU. According to the government spokesman, this is a list of "1,115 product lines" that are affected.

As a reminder, Abidjan has since December 9th, 2019 begun the effective implementation of the EPA with the first phase of tariff dismantling. A first list also of 1,155 goods imported from Europe has since been exempted from the payment of customs duty when they are imported into the Ivorian market.

Signed in 2008 by Cote d'Ivoire, the EPA takes over from the EU-ACP agreements that allowed African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to export their raw materials to EU countries without customs duties. However, with the evolution of rules at the WTO (World Trade Organization), which enshrine the principle of reciprocity of trade benefits, the ACP States are obliged to grant the same advantages to European countries.

In West Africa, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana are the first two countries to implement the EPA's free-trade agreement. The challenge here is to keep their exports competitive in EU markets, their main outlet.

It should be noted that in 2018, according to UNCTAD data, Cote d'Ivoire exported €4.7 billion worth of goods to the EU compared to €3 billion worth of imports, thus generating a surplus trade balance of €1.7 billion.

Last October, following Brexit, Cote d'Ivoire and the United Kingdom agreed on an EPA modeled on the one currently underway with the EU.

Publié le 09/12/20 16:15

Jean Mermoz Konandi