Market access
From Sierra Leone, a producer can reach more than a billion consumers on preferential terms through regional and international trade agreements.
Markets reached
| Agreement | Size of market |
|---|---|
| African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) | 1.3 billion |
| Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) | about 400 million |
| EU Cotonou Agreement and Everything But Arms (EBA) | 446 million |
| United States, African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) | 310 million |
Market sizes are those published by NIB.
The agreements
European Union
Under Everything But Arms, in force since March 2001, all products except arms enter the EU duty-free and quota-free. The Cotonou Agreement adds trade cooperation between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
United States
AGOA gives eligible African countries duty-free access to the US market for many products. Its terms are set by the United States and have been renewed for limited periods, so check the current position before planning exports.
ECOWAS
Sierra Leone belongs to the Economic Community of West African States, a regional market of roughly 400 million people with free movement of goods and people.
African Continental Free Trade Area
Signed in March 2018 to remove tariffs on 90% of goods and to open up trade in services. Fully in force, it will form a single African market of over a billion people with a combined GDP above US$3 trillion. Sierra Leone is a party.