Originally Posted by Skaligojurah

[offtopic]Wild hair grows under the river if you feed it a goblet of breadcrumbs[/offtopic]

Originally Posted by s_k

Equally brilliant .
I have no ideas how you guys make this up

Originally Posted by s_k

Mali should diversify its exports, lower the charges levied on exports and extend its WTO commitments in order to take advantage of multilateral trade liberalization and attract foreign investment.

A new report by the World Trade Organization, the first one on Mali's trade policies and practices, underlines the major liberalization efforts unilaterally carried out by Mali, particularly in the agricultural and mining sectors. It notes, nevertheless, that taxes, special authorizations and prohibitions are unlikely to encourage exports.

The WTO Secretariat's report and the general policy statement submitted by the Government of Mali will be used as a basis for the review of Mali's trade policies and practices, which will take place at the same time as the review of Burkina Faso, on 18 and 20 November 1998.

The WTO report states that, since 1988, the Government of Mali, with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, has carried out a number of reforms to open up the economy and strengthen the role of the private sector. As part of these reforms, the Government has privatized public enterprises, lightened the tax burden, dismantled non-tariff barriers and significantly simplified the structure of import duties and taxes. In order to boost exports, Mali has eliminated export duties and taxes on a large number of products, introduced a value-added tax (VAT) and established free zones.

The major exports are cotton (50 per cent of its merchandise export earnings), of which it is the biggest producer in sub-Saharan Africa, gold (17 per cent) and livestock products. The report indicates that there is a chronic deficit in Mali's trade balance, and exports only cover about half of imports. This is a contributory factor in the structural deficit of the current account, sustained by the negative balance in services caused by large outgoings for insurance and interest on the debt, which

increased as a result of the devaluation of the franc of the Communauté financière africaine (African Financial Community).

Mali levies several duties and taxes on imports, including a customs duty of 0 or 5 per cent, a fiscal import duty of 0, 10 or 25 per cent, a service provision contribution of 3 per cent on petroleum products and 5 per cent on other products, a short-term import tax of 55 per cent on sugar. The simple arithmetic average of these duties is 22.1 per cent, with a minimum of 3 per cent and a 35 per cent maximum, rising to 75 per cent on sugar. Import duty rates are not highly dispersed and show a generally negative escalation from unprocessed products to semi-finished goods. In addition to import duties and taxes, value added tax at two rates (10 per cent and 15 per cent) has been in force since 1991.

Mali's main trading partners are Côte d'Ivoire, the European Union and Senegal. More than half of its export earnings derive from developing countries, in particular those of the West African subregion. Switzerland is a major outlet for Malian cotton.

Mali is a founder member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The aim of this organization is to create an economic union by bringing about the convergence of economic policies and the harmonization of fiscal legislation. Monetary integration, with a central bank and a common currency, has already been achieved. The next stage is the creation of a customs union with a Common External Tariff (CET) with four rates (1 per cent, 6 per cent, 11 per cent and 21 per cent). Implementation of the CET, which should lessen the number of duties levied began in July 1998 and should be completed in January 2000. Mali is also a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) whose treaty also provides for the creation of a customs union.

Under the Lomé Convention and the generalized system of preferences, Mali enjoys the preferential treatment granted to developing countries. The report notes, however, that the scope of this non-reciprocal preferential treatment is limited owing to the small number of products exported by Mali, namely raw materials that are generally subject to zero or very low MFN (most-favoured-nation) import duties in the importing countries.

Agriculture accounts for about 48 per cent of Mali's real GDP and 80 per cent of employment of the active population. Though Mali has undertaken substantial liberalization reforms in this area, there is still State participation in the cotton sector and State enterprises are also involved in the production and marketing of livestock products and rice. There are several prohibitions and special export authorizations, in particular for certain cattle, hides and skins.

The manufacturing sector remains undeveloped in Mali and contributes only some 13 per cent of GDP. Mali has substantial potential in the textile and agri-food industries, but the negative escalation of import duties does not favour the development of this sector. The introduction of the CET should reduce import duties on raw materials.

Dominated by informal trading, the services sector accounts for about 40 per cent of GDP. Owing to the low level of commitments at the multilateral level, Mali is not fully benefiting from the liberalization efforts it has already made unilaterally. For the moment, Mali's limited bindings do not guarantee investors, and in particular foreign investors, that the liberalization reforms will be irreversible.

The report states that the mining sector in Mali has been revived through the exploitation of gold deposits. The guarantees and various advantages, including tax and customs advantages, offered by the 1991 Mining Code have helped to revive mining in Mali. The State, however, reserves the

right to hold up to 20 per cent in the capital of mining enterprises. Exports of precious substances in the unprocessed state are prohibited, and sales of these substances in the processed state are subject to the 3 per cent service provision contribution. The report suggests that the provisions on State holdings and the prohibition on unprocessed precious substances be reviewed because they may discourage investment and foster the proliferation of informal activities.

Intellectual property rights are protected in Mali by the Bangui Industrial Property Agreement signed by some 15 African countries (the African Intellectual Property Organization (AIPO) was set up under this Agreement) and a 1984 Copyright Law. Work is going on within the AIPO to bring the provisions of the Bangui Agreement into conformity with the obligations of WTO Members under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Counterfeiting in Mali primarily concerns medicinal products, audio tapes, sporting goods and leading brands. There are few convictions for piracy and counterfeiting. Aware of the increase in consumption of counterfeit medicines owing to the higher cost of imports following the devaluation of the CFA franc, the Malian authorities have decided not to levy import duties and taxes on essential medicines.

The report concludes that the introduction of the CET could increase nominal tariff protection and effective rates of protection in Mali. As fiscal concerns generally outweigh the protectionist intent in Malian import duties, the complete elimination of export levies could be expected if the CET brings in more substantial Government revenues. Apart from fiscal concerns, it is the lack of information on the range and scope of the WTO Agreements, and on the contours of Members' obligations, that explains the introduction of measures such as the service provision contribution, which is not included in the list of other duties and charges bound by Mali. Accordingly, assistance aimed at enhancing awareness of the contents of the WTO Agreements could help to ensure Malian compliance.