European Union (EU) goods to start flooding the Cameroonian market as the West African signed an agreement with the EU to reciprocate the duty free access it has to the EU market and dismantle trade barriers between the two parties reports The Cameroon Post line.
At least 1,760 goods from the EU, which include tractors, sewing machines, farm tools among others will enjoy the free access to Cameroon. Meanwhile Cameroon’s bananas, rubber, cotton, coffee and cocoa among other products will continue to gain free access to EU market.
Cameroon will lose a huge sum of custom revenue and witness a negative balance of trade in the deal since the West African nation exports raw materials; furthermore Cameroon is trading with 28 industrialised EU.
Cameroonian President Paul Biya, signed the agreement which see the products from the first group (industrial and high technology machines, such as turbines, cranes, sewing machines, sawmills, computers; but also basic products such as medicines, medical devices, basic chemical products) imported from the EU enter Cameroon with a customs tariffs reduction of 25% annually, leading to total tariff removal in four years. A 2nd group of products from the EU will be liberalised after 9 years and after 15 years a 3rd group of European products will enter the country duty-free according to the Business in Cameroon.
