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Editor's note: In this piece, Sami Tunji, a Free Trade Fellow astatine the Ominira Initiative, examines however the Sahel import levy imposed by breakaway states challenges Africa’s committedness to gathering a unified continental marketplace nether the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In March 2025, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a bloc forged by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, announced the imposition of a 0.5% import levy connected goods originating from respective West African nations, including determination heavyweight Nigeria. On the surface, it whitethorn look similar a humble fiscal adjustment—less than 1 per cent added astatine the border. But beneath that tiny percent lies a heavy fracture successful Africa’s expansive ambition: creating a unified continental marketplace done the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Source: Getty Images
The AES’s determination followed its ceremonial exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)—a politically charged determination successful effect to the bloc’s sanctions and expanding tensions implicit subject takeovers. Introduced arsenic a gross root to money the fledgling AES union, the levy efficaciously dismantles what was erstwhile duty-free entree for West African countries. It starkly highlights the fragility of Africa’s determination integration aspirations.
At its heart, this levy is much than conscionable a budgetary mechanism. It is simply a governmental statement—a declaration of separation from the corporate West African task and a rejection of economical interdependence arsenic a instrumentality for determination solidarity. For the AES, the levy is simply a sovereign assertion. For the broader African project, it is simply a imaginable stumbling artifact that exposes the responsibility lines betwixt authorities and trade.
A governmental divorcement with economical consequences
The West African portion has agelong harboured ambitions for deeper integration, with ECOWAS serving arsenic the fulcrum of economical and governmental cooperation. Although fraught with challenges, ECOWAS has, implicit the decades, maintained a communal outer tariff, promoted the escaped question of people and goods, and provided a forum for struggle solution and argumentation coordination.
The exit of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS and the consequent tariff imposition people a crisp deviation from this integrationist path. It is, successful essence, a reversal. Once incentivised done shared markets and lowered barriers, commercialized is present weaponised—a instrumentality of economical favoritism alternatively than unity.
The AES levy complicates commercialized betwixt its members and ECOWAS nations, deepens the administrative burdens astatine borders, erodes trust, and creates country for retaliatory measures. Traders operating on already hard trans-Sahelian routes present look uncertainty and accrued costs. At a clip erstwhile nutrient ostentation and logistics bottlenecks are already affecting millions, this determination risks exacerbating economical hardship.
A menace to AfCFTA’s credibility
The AfCFTA was launched successful 2021 with fanfare and the lofty extremity of establishing a seamless, continent-wide market. Designed to beforehand intra-African trade, promote industrialisation, and trim reliance connected outer partners, the AfCFTA has been hailed arsenic 1 of the continent’s astir transformative initiatives. But its occurrence hinges connected determination blocs functioning arsenic the gathering blocks of a broader continental integration.
Source: Getty Images
The AES levy sends a troubling awesome to different countries connected the continent: that short-term governmental disagreements oregon information interests can override semipermanent economical commitments. It reveals however susceptible the AfCFTA remains to the push-and-pull of determination politics. If subordinate states of the aforesaid determination economical assemblage cannot uphold commercialized commitments among themselves, however realistic is the imaginativeness of a afloat integrated African market? When Africa’s determination economical communities fracture, erstwhile 1 acceptable of countries retreats inward alternatively than builds outward, the full AfCFTA model suffers.
Landlocked but not isolated?
Interestingly, the AES countries—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—are each landlocked. Historically, they person depended heavy connected ports successful ECOWAS countries, specified arsenic Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria, to entree planetary goods. This dependence makes the tariff adjacent much puzzling, if not self-sabotaging.
By imposing levies connected goods passing done neighbouring coastal nations, the AES is efficaciously raising its citizens’ outgo of living. Everything from foodstuffs to substance and medicine—much of which comes done these routes—now faces further outgo burdens. It’s a determination that whitethorn service short-term fiscal goals but risks exacerbating socio-economic vulnerabilities, peculiarly successful regions already struggling with insecurity, mediocre infrastructure, and clime shocks.
One indispensable ask: Can these nations spend to isolate themselves economically portion grappling with interior and outer challenges? The AES enactment is betting connected interior cohesion and governmental solidarity. However, the economical outgo could beryllium overwhelming, particularly for a bloc that inactive relies connected its confederate neighbours for marketplace entree and humanitarian relief.
What this means for Nigeria and the region
With its immense marketplace and cardinal relation successful the region, Nigeria precocious signed and submitted its ECOWAS Tariff Offer to the AfCFTA, establishing zero duties connected 90% of goods traded wrong the continent. However, the state stands astatine the intersection of this determination dispute. As the largest trading spouse successful West Africa, Nigeria has a vested involvement successful a stable, integrated determination economy. The AES’s determination disrupts commercialized flows and threatens longstanding commercialized relationships, peculiarly for businesses on borderline towns and transit corridors that nexus Kano, Katsina, and Sokoto to Niger Republic.
The levy whitethorn look small, but its interaction accumulates for bulk goods and repeated transactions. More importantly, it sets a unsafe precedent that could cascade into different protectionist measures wrong and extracurricular the region.
Nigeria and ECOWAS, much broadly, indispensable tread carefully. Retaliation—through reciprocal tariffs oregon governmental isolation—could further destabilise the region. Instead, diplomatic engagement and originative incentives whitethorn beryllium needed to rebuild bridges and gully the AES countries backmost into a cooperative framework.
Source: Getty Images
A wake-up telephone for AfCFTA
Africa’s way to economical prosperity lies not successful fragmentation but successful unification. While rooted successful governmental expression, the AES import levy risks undoing decades of advancement successful gathering interconnected markets and spot betwixt nations.
The Sahel levy is, successful essence, a accent trial for AfCFTA. It highlights the disparity betwixt governmental aspirations and economical realities. African nations indispensable present reckon with a cardinal question: Are we genuinely committed to a continental market, oregon are we lone funny successful integration erstwhile it is politically convenient?
For AfCFTA to succeed, African leaders indispensable re-commit to its founding principles. They indispensable beryllium powerfully committed to resolving governmental disputes done dialogue, alternatively than imposing commercialized restrictions. It means putting successful spot quality solution mechanisms that tin pre-empt the benignant of breakdown we are witnessing successful West Africa. It means prioritising the semipermanent benefits of economical integration implicit the short-term allure of governmental autonomy.
The AfCFTA secretariat, based successful Ghana, indispensable besides prehend this moment. Rather than stay a bystander, it should beryllium a convener of dialog and coordination. The Sahel situation provides a unsocial accidental to clarify however commercialized disputes betwixt neighbours should beryllium handled nether AfCFTA, particularly erstwhile determination communities interruption down. Rather than viewing this arsenic a setback, the continent indispensable dainty it arsenic a wake-up call. The Sahel trial is here. How Africa responds volition signifier the destiny of its azygous marketplace for decades.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed present are those of the writer and bash not needfully bespeak the authoritative argumentation oregon presumption of Legit.ng.
Sami Tunji is simply a elder concern analogous astatine The PUNCH Newspaper and a Free Trade Fellow astatine Ominira Initiative.Source: Legit.ng
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