Impact of Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers on Food Security in ECOWAS Region

The paper investigates the impact of trade tariff and non-tariff barriers on food security in the ECOWAS region. The paper relied on fixed and random effects approach to empirically capture the effects of tariff and non-tariff barriers alongside relevant trade-related macroeconomic variables on food security among ECOWAS member countries during 2010-2022. Major findings from the fixed effect model revealed that non-tariff barriers have significant negative impact on food security in the ECOWAS region. Further findings revealed that trade regulatory environment and food price inflation have significant positive impact on food security in the ECOWAS region. The paper concludes that regardless of its context, intention and deepening, non-tariff strategic trade policy reduce food security of ECOWAS member countries with a major implication that whether ECOWAS member countries pursue a policy of food self-reliance or food self-sufficiency, adherence to a common customs policy would help eliminate major delays in the movement of essential food items, agricultural labor and machinery across borders, hence, improving food security in the region.