REFLECTIONS ON CONSUMER PROTECTION IN SENEGAL, WHAT POTENTIAL THREATS TO THE WELFARE OF CONSUMERS IN THE ECOWAS REGION AND IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA (AFCFTA) IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE AU’S COMMUNITY ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

Description

In Senegal, where consumer protection is the subject of legal action given in the Code of consumption, the institutions aim to enforce and to give consumers the means to defend their rights and interests. Despite these measures, however, disappointments and unfair practices are still common. Thus, with the application of the Common External Tariff of ECOWAS since 1 January 2015, many goods and services circulate more cross-border. Therefore, the Senegalese consumer should be better protected. Hence the creation of the COUNCIL OF HIGH CONSUMPTION, whose mission is to provide security, because it is necessary to strengthen the coordination of national enforcement authorities and to deal with the risks associated with globalization of production. For AfCFTA, the task of national legislators in their quest to protect the well-being of consumers will become increasingly difficult in the face of this agreement, which consolidates a market of 1.2 billion people. Already, this vast market would represent the largest trading bloc in the world by the number of participating countries if all AU member states ratified the agreement. So the Community legislator needs to be aware that the opening of this common market is an assurance of the diversity of choice of products, but can also be an opportunity for professionals to market products outside national territories likely to harm the health of consumers.