Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, three neighboring West African countries, have announced a new 0.5% levy on imported goods. This decision aims to finance their newly formed three-state union after exiting a larger regional economic bloc, according to a statement from the countries. The Alliance of Sahel States was established in 2023 as a security pact among the military leaders of these three nations, all of whom came to power through recent coups. The alliance has since evolved into a prospective economic union, with plans for biometric passports and closer economic and military cooperation.
The levy was agreed on Friday and will take effect immediately. It will affect all goods imported from outside the three countries, but will not include humanitarian aid, the statement said. It will “finance the activities” of the bloc, it said, without giving details. The move ends free trade across West Africa, whose states have for decades fallen under the umbrella of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and highlights the rift between the three states that border the Sahara Desert and influential democracies like Nigeria and Ghana to the south.
The juntas of the three countries announced plans to leave ECOWAS last year, accusing the bloc of failing to assist in their fight against Islamist insurgents and ending insecurity. ECOWAS had imposed economic, political and financial sanctions on the three in a bid to force them to return to constitutional order, to little effect.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are some of the poorest countries in the world and have been overrun by an armed Islamist insurgency over the past decade. The violence, committed by groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State, has killed thousands, forced millions to flee, and eroded faith in the democratically elected governments that initially struggled to contain it.
Source: Reuters
