Implementing the ECOWAS Common External Tariff : Challenges and Opportunities for Nigeria
The common external tariff (CET) for Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was adopted at a Heads of State Summit in October 2013 in Dakar. This paper assesses the potential impact on Nigeria of implementing the new ECOWAS CET. It uses...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/06/19732830/implementing-ecowas-common-external-tariff-challenges-opportunities-nigeria http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18935 |
| Summary: | The common external tariff (CET) for
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was
adopted at a Heads of State Summit in October 2013 in Dakar.
This paper assesses the potential impact on Nigeria of
implementing the new ECOWAS CET. It uses the World
Bank's tariff reform impact simulation tool (TRIST) to
simulate three scenarios: (i) keeping in place current
import bans and levies which are charged in addition to
tariffs, while implementing the CET tariff rate on
non-banned products, (ii) removing the import bans and
implementing the CET rate on all products, but keeping the
additional import levies in place, and (iii) fully
implementing the CET on all products and completely removing
import bans and levies. The paper suggests that implementing
the CET will have significant and largely positive effects
on Nigerian consumers and producers. This note is intended
to enrich the debate by presenting projections on the likely
effects of CET implementation. To the extent possible with
the limited available data, it gives a comprehensive
overview of the effects to be expected on government
revenue, the welfare of consumers, and the performance of
Nigerian firms. It also discusses new opportunities for
Nigerian firms to benefit from the regional market that are
likely to arise if the CET is implemented. The note is
organized as follows: section one gives introduction.
Section two describes Nigeria's current trade profile
with a particular focus on trade with the ECOWAS region.
Section three makes use of the World Bank's TRIST to
analyze the impact of implementing the CET in Nigeria in
terms of changes in the level of protection by industry,
government revenue from taxes levied at the border, consumer
welfare, and the competitiveness of Nigerian firms. Section
four shifts the focus beyond Nigeria's borders to look
at the regional market within ECOWAS. |
|---|