Togo extends trade incentives to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger

Togo has extended favorable trade conditions to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, as the statistical fee on goods from these countries transiting through the Port Autonome de Lomé (PAL) has been temporarily suspended. This decision, announced by the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR) on February 19, aims to foster stronger economic ties within the Sahel States Alliance (AES).

The suspension of the statistical fee is applicable to maritime-bound goods arriving at the Port of Lomé and declared in transit to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

For these landlocked AES member countries, the fee, originally set at 2% and later reduced to 1% under the ECOWAS common external tariff, had been provisionally waived since 1975.

«The specific code 981 designated for this suspension should only be utilized during the processing of transit declarations (IM8) within the divisions of the Directorate of Customs Operations of Lome-Port (DODLP)», instructed Philippe Kokou Tchodie, Commissioner General of the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR).

Given the closure of the border between Benin and Niger due to ECOWAS sanctions, goods bound for Niger now traverse Ouagadougou, capitalizing on the suspended fee.

This fee, a levy on imports and exports, finances statistical activities such as data collection, processing, and dissemination of economic and trade information.

Furthermore, to mitigate the security risks in northwest Benin, goods en route to Burkina Faso from the Port of Cotonou enter Togo at Pagouda, proceed to Kara, and then travel to Ouagadougou.

Togo’s decision not only seeks to boost financial resources but also encourages economic operators from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to directly transport their goods to the Port of Lomé. Simultaneously, it aims to dissuade operators who unload goods at neighboring ports, transiting through Togo before following the Lomé-Ouaga-Niamey-Bamako corridor.

Chantal TAWELESSI