English / French
High-level regional roundtable on Non-Tariff Measures
14 - 15 June 2016, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Agenda
Tuesday 14 June 2016, 8.30–17.30
08:30 Registration
09:00 Opening Ceremony
09:45 Item 1: Presentation of the main findings and regional insights from the NTM Surveys in ECOWAS countries
10:45 Key NTM-related trade obstacles within ECOWAS
13:30 Item 2: Thematic roundtables to discuss and define recommendations to address regulatory and procedural trade obstacles
16:45 Item 3: Summary of round table discussions by the rapporteurs of each round table
17:30 Closing of official programme of Day 1
19:30 Dinner
Wednesday 15 June 2016, 9.00–12.30
09:00 Item 4: Presentation of key recommendations and development of an action plan
10:45 Item 5: Validation of an action plan to reduce NTM-related trade cost to boost intra-regional trade
12:00 Closing
Overview
In the framework of the commitments to Africa’s regional integration and the Transparency in Trade Initiative, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Ministry of Commerce of Côte d’Ivoire are taking the initiative to organize a high-level regional roundtable on NTMs in Abidjan, on 14-15 June. The event will bring together delegates from the participating ECOWAS countries and relevant regional organizations to exchange views on opportunities to boost intra-regional trade by tackling regulatory and procedural trade obstacles.
The discussions will build on the various ongoing efforts within the region to facilitate trade and will be informed by the results of exporter surveys conducted by ITC in partnership with national stakeholders in 6 countries in the region, which document private sector experiences with NTMs.In the framework of the commitments to Africa’s regional integration and the Transparency in Trade Initiative, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Ministry of Commerce of Côte d’Ivoire are taking the initiative to organize a high-level regional roundtable on NTMs in Abidjan, on 14-15 June. The event will bring together delegates from the participating ECOWAS countries and relevant regional organizations to exchange views on opportunities to boost intra-regional trade by tackling regulatory and procedural trade obstacles.
This event is intended for high-level representatives from trade ministries, customs authorities and standards and quality management Institutions as well as representatives of regional organisations and development partners. The objective is to formulate concrete actions aimed at reducing trade costs often associated with NTMs.
For further information on the Roundtable event,
contact us at ntm@intracen.org.
Venue:
African Development Bank Group, Immeuble CCIA, Plateau, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Official Event Documents
Terms of reference: Facilitating Trade Integration in ECOWAS — EN ¦ FR
Discussion paper:
Facilitating trade in ECOWAS: Insights from the ITC business surveys on NTM
Discussion paper for the high-level regional round table on NTMs in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on 14-15 June 2016
The present paper takes a closer look at regional integration in the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS). With the aim to inform the ongoing discussion on further integration potential, insights from comprehensive surveys on exporters’ and importers’ perspectives on non-tariff measures (NTMs), carried out in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Senegal under the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) NTM programme, are used to highlight remaining trade obstacles in the region and possibilities to overcome these. More specifically, the paper serves as background document for the high-level regional round table on NTMs, held in Abidjan on 14-15 June 2016. The paper was prepared in a collaboration between ITC and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Additional Resources and links
(Please check regularly for updates)
Non-tariff measures (General)
- Company Perspectives on Non-Tariff Measures in:
Burkina Faso ¦ Guinea ¦ Ivory Coast ¦ Senegal
- The Invisible Barriers to Trade – How Businesses Experience Non-Tariff Measures
- Trade Obstacle Alert Mechanism
Session summaries:
- Forthcoming
Press Release: