The departure of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Republic poses a potential threat to the Economic Community of West African States’ $277.22 billion trade with the world, based on 2022 data. The ECOWAS region’s total trade volumes, inclusive of imports and exports, reached this amount.
The multilateral agency, the International Trade Center (ITC), relies on data from the region’s Trade Information System (ECOTIS) portal, which has not been updated for 2023.
The military leaders of the aforementioned countries recently announced their withdrawal from the economic bloc, jeopardizing the trade figures.
Despite the move, ECOWAS is yet to receive formal notification, and the commission remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse.
