The objective of the Bill, according to President Sirleaf, is to create the legal framework that allows Liberia to adopt a five-year migration plan to the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET).

President Sirleaf said in a communication accompanying the bill to both Houses of the National Legislature on Thursday that it was agreed among members of ECOWAS to adopt a CET for all imported products from outside the ECOWAS community with a view to establish a customs union.

She said the Act Ratifying and Adopting the CET in Liberia provides for a two-year transition period, thereby alleviating the immediate negative impact of the CET as it relates to basic householdconsumables and critical inputs.

The Liberian leader emphasized that due to the impact of the CET on national revenue, the ECOWAS authority has provided each country a five-year transition period to implement the tariff for certain commodities.

"The bill, when passed, shall repeal and replace the migration plan which was adopted under the CET implementation with a new Migration Plan," she noted.

President Sirleaf called on the National Legislature to enact the CET legislation because of its important nature.

Meanwhile, both Houses of the Legislature have forwarded the bill to their relevant committees for evaluation to subsequently report to the plenary of each house.
LINA WSG/TSS/PTK