70% off EU trucks, fuel and cement. The last big wall just fell.
Since 4 August 2026, duties on commercial vehicles, fuel, cement, paint and industrial packaging from the EU and the UK are down 70%. This is the eleventh step of Cameroon’s EPA. It is also the step that fills RoRo ramps, tankers and conventional holds at Douala and Kribi.
The calendar was set years ago
Three groups. Three speeds.
Group 1 started 4 August 2016 at 25% a year. Duty free since 4 August 2019: pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, chemicals, computers, tractors, lab gear.
Group 2 started 4 August 2017 at 15% a year. Duty free since 4 August 2023: clinker, generators, machinery, trucks, trailers, vehicle parts.
Group 3 drops 10 points a year. It is now at 70%. Full exemption is scheduled for 2030. These are the high-yield lines: commercial vehicles, fuel, cement, paint, industrial packaging.
Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé signed the statement the same day, 4 August 2026. Earlier CNSC and customs notices already showed the path: 50% in 2024, 60% in 2025, 70% in 2026.
The Treasury lost less than feared. Collections kept rising.
Cumulative duty forgone under the EPA is about CFA 103 billion over ten years, a little over CFA 10 billion a year. Official figures to end-2024 were CFA 88.3 billion. Customs receipts crossed CFA 1,000 billion in 2023. The leak is still under 1% of the take.
2024: CFA 1,055.9 billion collected.
2025: CFA 1,155 to 1,155.6 billion, about CFA 19 to 20 billion above target.
2026 target: above CFA 1,200 billion (planning figure around CFA 1,243 billion). Motazé said so in Bafoussam on 19 January 2026.
At 1 EUR = 655.957 FCFA, CFA 103 billion is about €157 million. CFA 1,155 billion is about €1.76 billion.
China already took the machinery berth
The 2024 Competitiveness Committee report under MINEPAT is blunt. China’s share of machinery and equipment imports rose from 23.8% in 2016 to 52.5% in 2024. That is 28.7 points. The EU fell from 50.1% to 29.3% in 2023, then recovered to 32.3% in 2024.
China’s Ministry of Commerce put bilateral trade at USD 4.72 billion in 2024. Chinese exports: USD 3.64 billion. Machinery, electrical kit and vehicles are a large slice. INS put Cameroon’s machinery and electrical imports at CFA 786.4 billion in 2024 and CFA 757.4 billion in 2025. China has been Cameroon’s largest bilateral partner since 2013.
A cheaper European tariff is one line on the invoice. Lead time, credit and spare parts decide the rest. Those have often gone to China.
What this does at the ports
These products are not box cargo. They are RoRo, tankers and conventional.
Kribi’s polyvalent terminal handled about 1.276 million tonnes in 2025. Clinker alone was 67.6%, or 862,302 tonnes. Inbound bulk jumped. Containers hit 555,398 TEU in 2025. Douala still takes most ship calls and most traditional RoRo and conventional traffic. Vehicles move faster than tankers.
The 70% cut lands on the same cargo that already fights Chinese trucks, machines and construction inputs for space at the quay.
Of 1,021 firms that used EPA preference by end-2023, fewer than 5% took about 75% of the tax gain. Large companies took about 80%. Origin papers and the declaration circuit still keep occasional importers out.
For operators
70% off Group 3 since 4 August 2026. Zero due in 2030.
The cargo is the heavy stuff that fills Douala and Kribi.
The fiscal hit is small next to rising customs receipts.
China already holds the majority in key industrial lines.
Duty is not the landed cost. VAT, port charges and freight sit outside the deal.
Sources
Motazé statement, 4 August 2026. Competitiveness Committee / MINEPAT 2024 report. Customs and Motazé revenue figures. China’s Ministry of Commerce 2024 trade data. INS trade notes 2024-2025. Kribi traffic releases and transport statistics.
