West Africa Economic Community

CEAO (French: Communaut‚ Economique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest), created in
1974, includes: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, and Senegal. (Togo has observer status). The CEAO operates as a
free trade area for agricultural products and raw materials and as a
preferential trading area for approved industrial products, with a regional
cooperation tax (TCR) replacing import duties and encouraging trade among
members. A Community fund (FOSIDEC) promotes private lender Community
participation in advancement of the Community's least developed nations
(Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger). CEAO envisions eventual
creation of a customs union and coordination
of fiscal policies. Community headquarters are in Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso.