Cameroon has signed four regional free trade agreements, notably within the framework of the African Economic Community with the other member countries of the African Union (Abuja Treaty in 1981 and the AfCFTA in 2018), the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (1964 and revised in 1994), the Economic Community of Central African States (1983 and revised in 2019), the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union (2008) and the Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Kingdom (2021).
CEMAC/ CEEAC free trade zones
In Central Africa, the regional integration process is conducted around two economic blocs or groupings: The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), which comprises six countries: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, CAR, Congo and Chad. The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) comprises five other countries in addition to CEMAC, including Angola, Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe.
As a member of the CEMAC zone, which is a customs union, Cameroon shares a Common External Tariff (CET) with the other countries, thereby guaranteeing the free movement of goods within the community. With a view to promoting the free movement of goods and raising the level of intra-Community trade, the CEMAC Council of Ministers, by Regulation No. 07/08-UEAC-133-CM-17, set up the Origin Committee, responsible for:
• Approve products originating in the CEMAC zone manufactured by industrial companies established in the sub-region on the basis of files compiled by the latter;
• Issue technical opinions on disputes concerning products originating in the CEMAC zone.
Community regulations also provide for the creation of National Committees in each member country. Since May 2019, ECCAS and CEMAC have agreed to harmonise CETs as well as approval procedures for preferential-tariff products in the two free-trade zones. In Cameroon, the National Committee for the Approval of Industrial Products Originating in CEMAC was set up by Order No 206/CAB/PM of 23 December 2010. Placed under the authority of the Minister in charge of Trade, its main mission is to implement CEMAC regulations on the free circulation of industrial products originating in this sub-region. As such, the Committee is responsible for examining applications for approval submitted by economic operators, and formulating opinion
Add comment