TRADE POLICY REVIEW:

Concluding remarks by the Chairperson

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Trade Policy Review: Mauritania
  

This joint review of Guinea and Mauritania has allowed us to better understand their recent trade developments, and the challenges they face. Our discussions have benefited from the participation of Honourable Mr. Mohamed Dorval Doumbouya (Minister of Commerce), head of the delegation of Guinea; and H.E. Mr. Cheikh Ahmed Ould Zahaf (Ambassador), head of the delegation of Mauritania. I am also grateful to H.E. Ambassador Omar Hilale for his valuable contribution as discussant, and to Members for their constructive engagement in this review.

Guinea and Mauritania have recently experienced serious political turmoil which has severely affected their macroeconomic performance. As a result, the annual growth rate of the Guinean economy has remained below 5% since 2005; Mauritania has not performed far better, except in 2006 when the annual growth rate jumped to 11% following the launch of new oil fields.

Members praised Guinea and Mauritania for having organized democratic elections respectively in 2009 and 2010, and for their legal and institutional reform efforts. Some Members noted that investment in the largely untapped potential of Guinea and Mauritania would benefit from sustained reforms to improve their business environment. To this end, both countries are invited to, inter alia, fight corruption, facilitate trade and effectively enforce legislation, and strengthen their commitments under the GATS. This, together with further assistance, mainly in human and infrastructural capacity building, would help diversify their economies and further reduce poverty.

On the basis of the numerous statements made in the course of this joint review, it appears that there remains room for further improvement of the trade and trade related policies of Guinea and Mauritania. Areas where reforms could be beneficial to their domestic economies and would serve their commitments to the multilateral trade system include:

    Trade facilitation: Members expressed concerns about the large number of documents required for import and export clearance; the costs related to preshipment inspection; and the delayed implementation of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement by Guinea and Mauritania.

    Bound and applied duties: Noting that, on a significant proportion of tariff lines, applied rates exceed the bound levels, Members urged Guinea and Mauritania to take steps to fully comply with their binding commitments, and to simplify their tax systems.

    Intellectual Property Rights: Members encouraged both Guinea and Mauritania to improve protection of IPRs by, inter alia, strengthening their institutional frameworks.

    Government Procurement: Members welcomed the efforts undertaken by both Guinea and Mauritania to adopt new procurement laws which are more transparent and respectful of international codes of good practices, and called for their prompt and full implementation.

    Sectoral policies: Members expressed the hope that the agricultural policies of Guinea and Mauritania achieve their food security objective, and their sectoral policies (in mining and fisheries in particular) contribute to the sustainable exploitation of their resources, and to the development of their economies.

    Notifications: Members urged Guinea and Mauritania to comply with their notification obligations to the WTO.

Members appreciated the responses provided by the delegations of Guinea and Mauritania.

In conclusion, I believe that this Review has given us a comprehensive update on the trade regimes of Guinea and Mauritania. Both members are encouraged to pursue their reforms, and to further adhere to WTO rules and improve their multilateral commitments with a view to enhancing the transparency and predictability of their trade regimes and contributing to attracting foreign investment. I advocate that Members support Guinea and Mauritania in their continued efforts by providing further market access to their goods and services, and by being attentive to their requests for technical assistance.

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