Regional Info: ECOWAS
Bilateral Trade by Sector: United States - ECOWAS
Value ('1000 dollars), US 'domestic exports' *, US 'imports for consumption' / Includes year-to-date data AGOA beneficiary countries only
Economic Background
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region.
Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, the organization was founded in order to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trading bloc through an economic and trading union. It also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region. The organization operates officially in three co-equal languages – namely French, English, and Portuguese.
The West African Economic and Monetary Union (also known as UEMOA from its name in French, Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine) is an organization of eight West African states, and a subset of the ECOWAS group. It was established to promote economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency. UEMOA was created by a Treaty signed at Dakar, Senegal, on 10 January 1994, by the heads of state and governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. On 2 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, became the organization’s eighth (and only non-Francophone) member state.
UEMOA is a customs union and currency union between the members of ECOWAS. Its objectives include the following:
- Greater economic competitiveness, through open markets, in addition to the rationalization and harmonization of the legal environment
- The convergence of macro-economic policies and indicators
- The creation of a common market
- The coordination of sectoral policies
- The harmonization of fiscal policies
Among its achievements, the UEMOA has successfully implemented macro-economic convergence criteria and an effective surveillance mechanism. It has adopted a customs union and common external tariff and has combined indirect taxation regulations, in addition to initiating regional structural and sectoral policies. A September 2002 IMF survey cited the UEMOA as "the furthest along the path toward integration" of all the regional groupings in Africa.
ECOWAS and UEMOA have developed a common plan of action on trade liberalization and macroeconomic policy convergence. The organizations have also agreed on common rules of origin to enhance trade, and ECOWAS has agreed to adopt UEMOA’s customs declaration forms and compensation mechanisms. [Source: Wikipedia 2013]
The trade data provided in this section relates to the UEMOA countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Niger, Senegal and Togo (Guinea Bissau and Mali are excluded as they are not currently an AGOA beneficiaries).
Download related documents
WAEMU - United States (TIFA) - french
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Government of the United States of America.
WAEMU - United States (TIFA) - english
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Government of the United States of America.
Read related news articles
The United States and Africa: Building a 21st Century Partnership (Speech by Secretary Blinken)
Speech by Anthony J. Blinken, Secretary of StateEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)Abuja, NigeriaNovember 19, 2021 SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much, Vice President Koroma. Thank you for the very kind introduction, but thank you especially for your leadership here at ECOWAS – not just today, but every single day. And it’s very good to be here at ECOWAS, which makes...
19 November 2021
Nigeria: AGOA a vital boost for Aba leather, garment cluster
In a bid to enhance the industrial value of manufacturers in Abia State, Fidelity Bank, in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Ghana-based West African Trade and Investment (WATI) hub recently held a capacity building workshop on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to sensitise the Aba leather and garment cluster on essential services targeted to build their businesses. Amby Uneze reports. As part of...
27 April 2017
Nigeria: Experts canvass measures to boost non-oil export through AGOA
Nigeria’s current economic situation, particularly the disparity between naira and U.S. dollar present huge opportunities that must force government and stakeholders to boost non-oil exportation through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), experts have said. The experts spoke on Tuesday, at a training organised in Lagos by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), to reverse Nigeria’s poor participation in the...
06 April 2017
Liberia: AGOA to help local entrepreneurs enter US market
A one-day informational session on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which aimed to help local entrepreneurs enter the United States market with value-added products, has ended in Monrovia. The forum, which brought together over 50 entrepreneurs in agriculture and business, was organized by the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC) and Building Markets in collaboration with USAID and the West African Trade and Investment...
27 January 2017
Sierra Leone: Local producers trained on AGOA trade benefits
The Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub yesterday organized a one day sensitization workshop for executives of local companies at the Hub Hotel Wilberforce in Freetown. Sharka Kawa Export Development Officer of SLIEPA spoke about the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and it export...
25 January 2017
US moves to boost AGOA in West Africa
The U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID)’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub, on Friday said that it recently trained coordinators in West Africa to boost business and trade with the U.S. The U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria said in a statement that the coordinators were drawn from the Republics of Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal. According to it, the Coordinators are to...
15 April 2016
West Africa: Rep. Bass to join US Secretary of Commerce Pritzker in visiting W Africa to promote trade
Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) announced today that she would join U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and 20 American companies, including two California companies, on an Energy Business Development trade mission to Nigeria. The California firms joining the mission are SolarReserve from Santa Monica and EEC from Burlingame. Following the trade mission, Congresswoman Bass and Secretary Pritzker will travel to Ethiopia to promote...
22 May 2014
How the ECOWAS-EU EPA could affect AGOA
In what could be a 'breakthrough' for both the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU), the EU announced that "the two entities reached a deal at the level of senior officials on EPAs, more than a decade after negotiations began. A final meeting to officially endorse the deal as it stands is foreseen in Brussels for early February. It will then have to be endorsed by West African Heads of State."...
14 February 2014
Obama vows "improved AGOA" during Africa visit
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to allow African countries to access the US market without paying duty will be "renewed and improved," US President Barack Obama says during his visit to Senegal."AGOA will end in two years time. But I will seek for modalities to renew and improve the law to regenerate more trade and employment opportunities," the US president told a joint press conference with his Senegalese counterpart Macky...
28 June 2013
West Africa: US and West African countries work towards trade deal
The United States is working with West African countries to reach a trade and investment agreement that supports efforts at economic growth and integration as American companies increasingly look toward Africa for business opportunities. U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told AllAfrica that discussions on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) took place last...
05 April 2013
TIFA will help ease trade in West Africa
The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) that is being considered by the US Government with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will help goods move more easily and faster within the sub-region, Sam Ntum, a Senior International Trade Specialist of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, has told the B&FT. Announced on March 29 by the acting United States Trade Representative (USTR),...
08 March 2013