99-0270 MOREPRESS RELEASE
EMBARGO:  NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL
1300 GMT 28 JANUARY 1998
PRESS/TPRB/102
25 January 1999
 TOGO SHOULD INCREASE AND BIND ITS LIBERALIZATION EFFORTS
Economic reforms, with the simplification of the foreign trade regime, have contributed to an
improved growth performance in Togo of around 4 pe r cent in 1997 compared to sharp declines in the
early 1990s. However, the economy is still recovering from the 1991-93 social and political crisis
which undermined the effects of the previous unilateral liberalization efforts. A new WTO Secretariat
report on the trade policies of Togo states that although Togo's economy is among the most open in
the West African subregion, its main constraint remains investment, which has been at a low levelsince the crisis.
The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Togolese Government, will serve as a
basis for the trade policy review of Togo to take place at the WTO on 27 and 28 January.
The report states that Togo's economy is mainly dependent on agriculture. Togo imports food,
petroleum products, textiles and clothing, and exports phosphates, cotton, coffee and cocoa. Re-
exports represent over a quarter of the total of goods exported by Togo. Togo's main trading partners
are France, Canada, Brazil and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)
1
countries, with France remaining Togo's main supplier. The report notes that while Togo's trade
balance has recently improved, the current account balance is still in deficit.
Togo is a founding member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
This Organization's aim is to create an economic union through the convergence of macroeconomic
and sectoral policies and the harmonization of member countries' fiscal legislation. Monetaryintegration with a common central bank and a common currency – the African Financial Community
franc – has already been achieved. The structure of the Common External Tariff has been defined and
the transition towards implementation began in July 1998 and should end in January 2000. Togo is
also a member of the Economic Community  of West African States (ECOWAS).
                                                     
1 The countries members of WAEMU are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali,
Niger, Senegal and Togo.PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 2/3
MOREAs a signatory of the Fourth Lomé Convention,  Togo receives aid from the European Union
and many Togolese exports to the EU enjoy preferential treatment. Likewise, Togo's goods have
preferential access to the markets of other developed countries under the Generalized System of
Preferences. The report notes, however, that the scop e of this non-reciprocal preferential treatment is
limited, especially owing to the small number of products exported by Togo – namely raw materials
that are generally subject to zero or very low Most Favoured Nation (MFN) duties in the importing
countries.
Togo's trade policy is essentially based on duties and taxes. As part of its economic reforms,
Togo simplified the structure of its import duties. The entry duties currently levied on imports consist
of a fiscal import duty, an infrastructure protection tax, a statistical tax and community taxes. The
simple average of these import duties, exclusive of the infrastructure protection tax and the
Community taxes, is 19.5 per cent, with very low level of dispersion. The import duty rates show agenerally negative escalation. In addition to import duties and taxes, a value-added tax of up to 18%
was introduced in 1995. The report observes that Togo's WTO bindings only cover a small number of
products.
Agriculture accounts for about 40 per cent of the GDP, three quarters of the jobs and over half
the export earnings. Cotton accounts for about a quarter of these earnings. The report notes that under
its structural adjustment programme, the Togolese  government has liberalized the agricultural sector
and abolished price controls on most products.
The mining sector accounts for over a third of export earnings, of which phosphate
contributes about a quarter. Togo is the fifth producer of calcium phosphate and possesses large
reserves with a high phosphate content.
The manufacturing sector, mainly turned towards the domestic market, represents less than 10
per cent of the GDP. It is the most protected of all economic activities in Togo with a large number ofproducts subject to import duties of over 20 per cent. The report remarks that the negative escalation
of these duties, from semi-finished to finished products, could hold back the development of final
processing activities in Togo.
A considerable portion of the GDP – 44 per cent in 1996 – comes from the tertiary sector,
whose development has been assisted by transit operations through the port of Lomé, around which
the Togolese economy is organized. While Togo has made unilateral liberalization efforts in the
services sector, the report notes that Togo's limited commitment under the WTO's General Agreement
on Trade in Services (GATS) do not reflect these changes. The report also notes  that state-owned
enterprises are still preponderant in this sector.
Intellectual property rights are protected in Togo by the Bangui Industrial Property
Agreement signed by some 15 African countries. Work is in progress in the African Intellectual
Property Organization (AIPO) – set up under the Ba ngui Agreement - to bring provisions of the
Agreement into line with the obligations of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS).
The report concludes that technical assistance would enable Togo to identify the opportunities
offered by the multilateral trading system and gain a better understanding of the scope of its
undertakings so that they may be better respected. In addition, as the bindings carried out by Togo fall
short of the liberalization efforts undertaken by the country in trade in services, such assistance could
help widen the scope of the bindings with a view  to attracting investors by giving them confidence inthe irreversible nature of the reforms.PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 4
MORENotes to Editors
The WTO's Secretariat report, together with a policy statement prepared by Togo, will be
discussed by the WTO Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) on 27 and 28 January 1999. The WTO's
TPRB conducts a collective evaluation of the full range of trade policies and practices of each WTO
member at regular intervals and monitors significant trends and developments which may have animpact on the global trading system. The Secretariat report covers the development of all aspects of
each of Togo's trade policies, including domestic laws and regulations, the institutional framework,
trade policies by measure and by sector. Since the WTO came into force, the new "areas" of services
and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights are also covered.
To this press release are attached the summary observations from the Secretariat report and a
summary of the government report. The full Secretariat and government reports are available forjournalists from WTO Secretariat on request (call 41 22 739 5019). They are also available for the
press in the newsroom of the WTO internet site (www.wto.org). The Secretariat report, together with
the government policy statement, a report of the TPRB's discussion and the Chairman's summing up,
will be published in hardback in due course and will be available from the WTO Secretariat, Centre
William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Geneva 21.
Since December 1989, the following reports have been completed: Argentina (1992 & 1998),
Australia (1989, 1994 & 1998), Austria (1992), Bang ladesh (1992), Benin (1997), Bolivia (1993),
Botswana (1998), Brazil (1992 & 1996), Burkina Faso (1998), Cameroon (1995), Canada (1990,
1992, 1994, 1996 & 1998), Chile (1991 & 1997), Colombia (1990 & 1996), Costa Rica (1995), Côted'Ivoire (1995), Cyprus (1997), the Czech Republi c (1996), the Dominican Republic (1996), Egypt
(1992), El Salvador (1996), the European Communities (1991, 1993, 1995 & 1997), Fiji (1997),
Finland (1992), Ghana (1992), Hong Kong ( 1990, 1994 & 1998), Hungary (1991 & 1998), Iceland
(1994), India (1993 & 1998), Indonesia (1991, 1994 & 1998), Israel (1994), Jamaica (1998), Japan
(1990, 1992, 1995 & 1998), Kenya (1993), Korea, Rep. of (1992 & 1996), Lesotho (1998), Macau(1994), Malaysia (1993 & 1997), Mali (1998), Mauritius (1995), Mexico (1993 & 1997), Morocco
(1989 & 1996), New Zealand (1990 & 1996), Namibi a (1998), Nigeria (1991 & 1998), Norway (1991
& 1996), Pakistan (1995), Paraguay (1997), Peru (1994), the Philippines (1993), Poland (1993),
Romania (1992), Senegal (1994), Singapore (1992 & 1996), Slovak Republic (1995), the Solomon
Islands (1998), South Africa (1993 & 1998), Sri La nka (1995), Swaziland (1998), Sweden (1990 &
1994), Switzerland (1991 & 1996), Thailand (1991 & 1995), Trinidad and Tobago (1998), Tunisia
(1994), Turkey (1994 & 1998), the United States (1989, 1992, 1994 & 1996), Uganda (1995),
Uruguay (1992 & 1998), Venezuela (1996), Zambia (1996) and Zimbabwe (1994).PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 5
MORETRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY
TOGO
Report by the Secretariat – Summary Observations
THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
Situated on the west coast of Africa, Togo is a least-developed country (LDC) which became
independent on 27 April 1960.  In the second half of the 1970s the Togolese authorities undertook a
programme of public investment to diversify the economy that was strongly dependant on phosphates.
The difficulties encountered with the State-owned enterprises created for that purpose, together withTogo's natural difficulties as a LCD and the large public deficits associated with this investment and a
rapid expansion of the wages and salary bill led to a substantial increase in internal and external
payment arrears.  From 1979 onwards the authorities introduced a series of structural adjustment
programmes (SAP) intended to correct these imbalances.
The implementation of the programmes was interrupted several times, in particular by the
social and political crisis that Togo went through in 1991 at the beginning of its transition to
democracy.  In January 1994 the African Financial Community franc (CFA franc) was devalued:  its
parity changed from CFAF 50 to 1 French franc to its present level of CFAF 100 to 1 French franc.
Following the devaluation Togo introduced a new SAP for 1994-1997 intended to create anenvironment conducive to favourable economic activity.  To that end, the first stage of privatization,
which also involves the Togolese Phosphates Office (OTP), has been almost completed.
In general terms the reforms have led to a simp lification of the structure of import duties, and
the rates of these duties are now among the lowest in the West African Economic and MonetaryUnion (WAEMU), of which Togo is a member.  The improvement in the performance of the tax
authorities and customs administration and the tax components of the reforms made it possible to
increase the internal revenue from 10.9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1993 to
more than 18 per cent in 1996 and to about 16 per cent in 1997.  An upturn in real GDP was recorded
from 1994 onwards, at rates above 8 per cent, except in 1997 when growth was estimated at 3.9 percent, although these rates are partly a reflection of the process of catching up following the major falls
in the years 1992 and 1993.  The external balances also improved.  However, the Togolese economy,
having already been weakened by the crisis and the strong demand for local goods partly induced by
the substitution effect of devaluation, sustained inflation, whose rates had not, by 1997, returned to
their previous level.
The Togolese economy is mainly dependent on agriculture (cotton, cocoa, coffee and food
crops), which accounts for about 40 per cent of the GDP , three quarters of the jobs and over half the
export earnings.  Cotton accounts for about a quarter of these earnings.  Togo is the fifth world
producer of calcium phosphate and possesses large reserves with a high phosphate content.  The
subsoil also contains marble (now being exploited)  and iron ore (not exploited).  The mining sector
accounts for over a third of export earnings, of which phosphate contributes about a quarter.  Themanufacturing sector, mainly turned towards the domestic market (principally on account of the size
of the production units) represents less than 10 pe r cent of the GDP.  The food-processing industry is
the most important branch of the sector.  A considerable portion of the GDP (44 per cent in 1996)
comes from the tertiary sector, whose development has been assisted by transit operations through the
port of Lomé, from which an important road network leads to the land-locked countries to the north ofTogo.  In addition, the main supplier of jobs in Togo (396,000 jobs in 1997) is the informal sector
(excluding agriculture), which considerably developed during the crisis of 1991-1993.  It representsPRESS/TPRB/102
Page 6
MOREabout 33 per cent of the value added of the manufacturing sector, 52 per cent of the services sector
and 37 per cent of the trade sector.
Long in deficit, the Togo balance of trade was in surplus in 1994, 1995 and 1997 (estimate).
On the other hand, the balance of services is in chronic deficit, which sustains that of the balance on
current account.  The latter has increased since devaluation as a result of the increase in CFA franc
terms of the interest on foreign debt and expenditure on insurance and freight.  Togo's foreign trademainly involves the import of food and petroleum products and textiles and clothing and the export of
phosphates, cotton, coffee and cocoa.  Re-exports represent over a quarter of the total of goods
exported by Togo.
Togo's main trading partners are France, Ca nada, Brazil and the WAEMU countries.  South
Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia have become important outlets for Togolese products in recent years.
Togo exports phosphates to Canada (the main destination for Togolese products) and South Africa.Cotton is mainly sent to Chinese Taipei and Brazil and coffee to the European Union.  Despite a
decrease in its share of Togolese imports, France is still Togo's main supplier.  In all about one fifth of
Togolese imports come from countries in the West African subregion.  However, apart from the
increase of imports from Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, the devaluation of the CFA franc does not seem
to have favoured the substitution of goods from WAEMU countries for those of other suppliers.  Thesame is true of Togolese products going to other WAEMU countries.
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
In accordance with the provisions of the 1992 Constitution, Togo is a democratic State.  The
President of the Republic is the Head of State;  he is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term
renewable only once.  As the holder of executive power, he establishes the broad outlines of State
policy and appoints the Prime Minister and the other members of the Government.  The National
Assembly exercises legislative power.  An Econom ic and Social Council gives its advice on all
matters brought to its attention by the President of the Republic, the Government, the NationalAssembly or any other public institution;  it must also be consulted on every draft plan, programme or
instrument having an economic and social character.
Togo has no commercial code and French law is applied in many areas.  Nevertheless,
national laws and regulations do exist.  Coming  into force in 1989, the Investment Code (Code of
1965 revised on several occasions) is intended to encourage export-oriented investment, increase the
employment of Togolese workers, promote the establishment of SMEs, encourage the decentralization
of economic activities and make optimum use of the country's natural resources.  It guarantees the
same rights and obligations to national and foreign enterprises.  Similarly, it guarantees the freedom
of capital transfer and of income and salaries for foreign natural or legal persons.  Plans to revise it are
subordinated to the expected introduction of a community investment code in the WAEMU
framework.  In addition, in accordance with the provisions of the Mining Code of 1996, any natural orlegal person, whether Togolese or foreign, having the necessary technical and financial capacity, is
entitled to exploit mineral substances.  However, the right to engage in such operations can be
acquired only by virtue of mining titles issued by the Ministry of Mines.  The Code gives advantages,
especially fiscal advantages, to mining companies.  Finally, important advantages, including fiscal
and customs advantages, are granted under the free zone regime, which Togo has had since 1989.This regime is one of the most important in West Africa.
Togo became a Member of the WTO on 31 May 1995, after having de facto applied the
GATT from April 1960.  It grants at least most-f avoured-nation (MFN) treatment to all its trading
partners.  Togo, following the example of other WTO Members, has adopted in their entirety theresults of the Uruguay Round and entered into comm itments in the form of binding of duties and
measures relating to the modes of supply of certain services.  It has benefited from the treatment
granted to the least-developed countries, notably in the form of exemptions or delayedPRESS/TPRB/102
Page 7
MOREimplementation of certain provisions, and it should benefit in particular from the strengthening of
rules and disciplines in the multilateral trading system in sectors such as agriculture, which areparticularly important for the country.  Togo hopes that the integrated programme launched by the
WTO and other organizations at the High-Level Meeting held in Geneva in October 1997 will go
beyond the technical assistance objectives therein:  Togo's main concern is to increase and diversify
production so as to be able to take better advantage of the opportunities available as well as those
which should result from the continued liberalization at the multilateral level.
Togo is a founder member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
This organization's aim is to create an economic union through the convergence of macroeconomic
and sectoral policies and the harmonization of member countries' fiscal legislation;  monetary
integration, with a common central bank, the Centra l Bank of the West African States (BCEAO), and
a common currency (the African Financial Community franc), has already been achieved.  The
structure of the Common External Tariff (CET) with four rates (1 per cent, 6 per cent, 11 per cent and21 per cent plus the Community levies totalling 1 per cent) has been defined, and the transition
towards implementation began in July 1998 and should end in January 2000, by which date the
customs union should have been completed.  Togo is also a member of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) whose Treaty also envisages the creation of a customs union,
although the timetable for establishing the union has not been respected.
As a signatory to the Fourth Lomé Convention, Togo receives aid from the European Union
and benefits from the Stabilization System for Export Earnings (STABEX).  Under the Convention,
many Togolese exports to the EU enjoy non-reci procal preferential treatment in the form of
exemption from import duties.  Likewise, Togo's goods  enjoy non-reciprocal preferential access to the
markets of developed countries other than the members States of the European Union under the
Generalized System of Preferences.  The scope of th is non-reciprocal preferential treatment is limited,
especially owing to the small number of products exported by Togo, namely raw materials that are
generally subject to zero or very low MFN import duties in the importing countries.  As at July 1998,
Togo had not been involved in any dispute settlement proceedings under the GATT, the WTO or anyother trade agreement signed by it.
TRADE POLICY FEATURES
Trade policy instruments and their impact
Togo's trade policy is essentially based on duties and taxes.  The reforms introduced by Togo
as part of its structural adjustment programmes have enabled it to liberalize foreign trade operations,
abolish certain monopolies and simplify the structure of import duties.  In 1990 Togo adopted the
Harmonized System Nomenclature and has applied the 1996 version since 1 January 1998.  The entry
duties currently levied on imports consist of a fiscal import duty (DFE) of 5, 10 or 20 per cent; a
statistical tax (TS) at the single rate of 3 per cent;  an infrastructure protection tax (TPI) of CFAF
2,000 per tonne;  and community taxes levied on beha lf of WAEMU (PSC) and ECOWAS (PC) at 0.5
per cent each.  The simple arithmetic average of these import duties (excluding PCS, PC and TPI) is
19.5 per cent, with a minimum of 3 per cent and a maximum of 23 per cent.  With their very low level
of dispersion, the import duty rates show a generally negative escalation from semi-processed goods
to finished products.  The most heavily taxed goods are fishery products, tobacco, clothing, footwear,
leather goods and articles made of plastic.  On the other hand, mining products, printed matter andnon-electrical machines are the least heavily taxed goods.
In addition to import duties and taxes, value-added tax (VAT) at three rates (0, 7 per cent and
18 per cent) was introduced in 1995.  Certain products , principally medicines and medical equipment
and agricultural and fisheries, inputs are exempt.  Specific duties are also levied on imports ofbeverages, tobacco, flour, oils and fats, cement and industrial gas;  these taxes sometimes vary
according to the origin of the products (Togo, ECOWAS or other countries).  A tax on the
consumption of petroleum products (TCPP), in an amount of CFAF 50 per litre, is payable on allPRESS/TPRB/102
Page 8
MOREpetroleum products except paraffin for domestic use (which is exempted).  A down payment (of 1 per
cent for registered importers and 5 per cent for non-registered importers) on business profits and onthe corporate tax is also levied on importation on behalf of the Directorate General of Taxation.
Under the Uruguay Round, Togo has bound the import duties and taxes on agricultural
products (like other WTO Member countries) and those applicable to products coming under Chapters
43 (furskins and artificial fur), 75 (nickel and articles thereof) and 78 (lead and articles thereof) of theHarmonized System at the ceiling rate of 80 per cent.  Thus, the bindings cover a relatively small
number of products and leave Togo a great deal of room for manoeuvre in view of the large gap
between the bound rates and rates actually applied.  The other duties and taxes on these products have
also been bound:  the statistical tax at the rate of 3 per cent, the toll on sea cargo in an amount of
CFAF 200 per tonne and the customs stamp on the taxes collected at the rate of 4 per cent where the
product enters with exemption from the DFE.  With the introduction of the TEC, the WAEMU
Commission intends to renegotiate the tariff concessions of all Member countries.
Togo possesses 45 national standards, all of which have been approved, in particular on
water, building materials and tinned foods.  It has dismantled most of the quantitative restrictions on
imports and those currently in force are retained for reasons of health, security or morals.  However,
imports of potatoes can be prohibited from August to February, when local production covers localdemand.  The importation of gold requires prior authorization by the Minister of Finance and
Economic Affairs.  Furthermore, within the framework of the imports inspection programme,
execution of which was entrusted to the COTECNA company in 1995, all importers of goods of an
f.o.b. value exceeding CFAF 1.5 million in the case of those arriving by air or sea and CFAF 1 million
in the case of those arriving by land must complete an Intention to Import form and lodge it with theinspection company.  The COTECNA procedures connected with the Intention to Import take about
two weeks.  Togo has no national legislation re garding anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard
measures.
Except for phosphates, which are still subject to licensing, there are no longer any quantitative
restrictions on exports.  However, the export of local food products can be temporarily suspended in
case of shortage.  The only export duties and taxes still in force are levied on re-exports and transit
operations.  Thus, a special re-export tax (TSR) is levied on rice and sugar at a rate of 1 per cent and
on other products at a rate of 4 per cent;  vehicles  are exempt.  In practice, no taxes are levied on
transit operations to the land-locked countries of the Sahel, although the TS, the TPI and the customs
stamp (TD) are levied on transits to other countries.
In order to stimulate exports, the Togolese authorities have provided for advantages through
the Investment Code and established the free zone regime.  Thus, enterprises approved under the
Investment Code which export part of their produc tion are exempted on a portion of their profits (for
calculating the corporate tax (IS)) and on a portion of their turnover (for the calculation of the
minimum formula tax).  This is equal to a proportion of the turnover exported in the course of afinancial year as compared with the global turnover excluding VAT.  In addition, enterprises
processing raw materials and intermediate products of Togolese origin, representing in value at least
60 per cent of the total purchases of these materials and products entering their factories enjoy total
exemption from the minimum formula tax for seven years.   The enterprises with free zone status
(they must export at least 80 per cent of their production) enjoy, inter alia, partial exemptions fromcustoms duties, and tax exemptions, including corporation tax.  Additional advantages are also offered
to them, in particular, the possibility of having a foreign currency account, freedom to transfer capital
and preferential tariffs for port services and the consumption of water, electricity and
telecommunications services (e.g. 6 per cent discount for the telephone).
Since 1967 the prices of goods and services have been fixed freely by the economic operators
in Togo, except for the prices of water, electricity, petroleum products and gas, which are regulated.
A bill to organize competition in Togo has been placed before the National Assembly with a view toPRESS/TPRB/102
Page 9
MOREupdating the provisions of the price regulations and the rules applicable in matters of competition.
This provision, which is now being examined, envisages the establishment of a National Competitionand Consumption Commission.  In addition, new impetus was given at the beginning of the 1990s to
the programme of State disengagement from production and marketing operations, which had been
launched in 1983.
Intellectual property rights are protected in Togo by the Bangui Industrial Property
Agreement signed by some 15 African countries, under which the African Intellectual Property
Organization (AIPO) was set up, as well as by a law of June 1991 and  its application texts to protect
copyright, folklore and related rights.  Work is in  progress in AIPO to bring the provisions of the
Bangui Agreement into line with the obligations of the WTO Member countries contained in the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.  In Togo most of the disputes
concerning intellectual property (the most common infringements mainly relate to the counterfeiting
of a trademark) are settled privately:  the absence of coordination and the limited resources of theadministrative departments acting in this area (including those responsible for enforcement) are
probably the main reasons.
Policies by sector
The Togolese economy is organized around its main port, the Lomé Autonomous Port (PAL).
Most of Togo's foreign trade passes through this port, which serves as a transit point for goods
intended for the land-locked countries of the Sahel such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Exploitation of this position has encouraged the installation of communication networks linking the
port to the land-locked countries and, at the same time, the opening up of Togo to the outside world.The structure of the import duties, by encouraging the transit and importation of certain goods for
which there is a strong demand in the subregion, has also helped to ensure the preponderance of the
services sector within the Togolese economy.  The social and political crisis that Togo experienced at
the beginning of the 1990s impaired the dynamism of this sector, which the Government is currently
trying to restore.  However, the State continues to have a strong presence in the sector through itswholly owned enterprises.
The agricultural sector has been substantially liberalized and price controls on most products
have been abolished.  This liberalization has encouraged the arrival of private exporters in areas such
as coffee and cocoa.  However, cotton, Togo's main cash crop, continues to be dominated by a State-owned company, the Togolese Cotton Company, whic h intervenes in production (outreach action) and
marketing.  One of the chief problems facing agriculture in Togo is that of storing and preserving
produce, which is the reason for major seasonal price fluctuations (very low prices at harvest time and
excessively high prices during transition periods a nd drought years).  This problem is aggravated by
the lack of infrastructure which makes access to certain regions difficult (particularly during the rainy
seasons), including the main production areas.  Agriculture also suffers from the difficulty of access
of peasant farmers to credit.
Limited to the exploitation of phosphate and limestone, the mining activities, which so far
have been dominated by a State-owned company, the Togolese Phosphates Office (OTP), could be
developed with privatization, including that of part of this enterprise's capital, which is envisaged as
part of the measures formulated by the Government to attract investors into the sector.  The MiningCode was revised in 1996 to that end.  Furthermore, in terms of import duties, the mining sector is the
least protected in Togo.
Since 1989, the free zone regime has reflected the direction given to Togo's industrial policy,
namely the promotion of export-oriented enterprises (particularly industrial ones).  Despite thepotential of the Togolese economy for development of this sector, factors such as the social and
political crisis, the structure of the import duties, which the advantages offered by the various codes
should correct, the lack of integration of the various sectors and the increase in the cost of inputs as aPRESS/TPRB/102
Page 10
MOREresult of the devaluation of the CFA franc in 1994 have held back industrial development in Togo.
The manufacturing sector is the most protected (in terms of import duties) of all economic activities inTogo and, in fact, a large number of products of the sector are subject to import duties of over 20 per
cent.  However, the negative escalation of these duties, from semi-finished products to finished
products, could hold back, without prejudice to exemptions, the development of final processing
activities in Togo;  this could be an explanation for the predominance of the production of semi-
finished goods in the sector.
The preponderance of State-owned enterprises in the services sector is a reflection of the
slowness by the Togolese authorities in liberalizing this sector.  Moreover, the bindings carried out by
Togo remain limited to the measur es relating to the modes of supplying construction and related
engineering services, tourism and travel-related services and recreational, cultural and sporting
services;  this does not reflect the liberalization effort unilaterally carried out by Togo in this sector.
TRADE POLICIES AND TRADING PARTNERS
The major liberalization efforts unilaterally carried out by Togo were undermined by the
social and political crisis that shook the country from 1991 to 1993.  The Togolese economy is
recovering slowly from this experience, and Togo possesses the necessary potentialities to take upsuch a challenge.  Its economy, which is among the most open in the West African subregion, has
generally operated according to market rules, even at a time several State-owned enterprises were
operating there.  The main constraint remains investment, especially foreign investment, which has
been at a low level since the crisis.
The establishment of the WAEMU customs union could increase the nominal protective tariff
and the rates of effective protection in Togo.  Since the Togolese economy is already quite liberal in
comparison with those of other WAEMU countries, the advent of the union should not cause too
much anxiety to local producers:  Togolese products did not receive strong competition from products
from other WAEMU members following the devaluation of the CFA franc.  Given its currentadvantages, in particular, its infrastructure, Togo could become one of the poles of attraction for the
investment that the establishment of the customs union should encourage, with access to the markets
of the union being at stake.  However, the advant ages provided by Togo's free zone regime could be
compromised by the entry into force of the Commun ity Investment Code, since Togo is one of the
few countries of the union to have managed to establish one;  that regime is also greatly preferred byinvestors to that of the Investment Code.
Togo would like technical assistance to be provided so as to help the WTO Agreements
become better known.  In accordance with the wishes of the Togolese authorities, this assistance
should, inter alia, enable the country to identify th e opportunities offered  by the multilateral trading
system and gain a better understanding of the scope of its undertakings so that they may be better
respected.  In addition, as the bindings carried out by Togo fall short of the liberalization effortsundertaken by the country in trade in services, such assistance could help to improve its performance
in this area and, by giving investors confidence in the irreversible nature of the reforms, attract
finance, especially from abroad.PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 11
MORETRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY
TOGO
Report by the Government – Parts I and II
I. OVERVIEW
A. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
1. Towards the end of the 1970s, Togo experienced a deterioration in its internal and external
balances caused, inter alia , by a prolonged decline in the terms of trade attributable to the fall in
world prices of its principal exports.  In 1983, the Government therefore launched a process of
adjustment aimed at re-establishing economic viability through in-depth structural reforms, and atensuring renewed growth.  The successive programmes implemented by the Government were backed
by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other bilateral and multilateral
funding sources.
2. These adjustment efforts, which produced relatively satisfactory results from the point of
view of macroeconomic balances, were unfortunately seriously disrupted and undermined as from thelast quarter of 1990 by the socio-political disturbances which accompanied the process of
democratization.  The socio-political crisis culminat ed in 1993 with a general strike which lasted more
than nine months in some branches of activity.
3. The crisis was felt particularly strongly in the secondary and tertiary sectors whose production
units are for the most part located in and around Lomé.  Only the primary sector experienced growthas a result of the influx of labour as the urban population moved to the country during the
socio-political unrest.
4. Government revenue fell sharply, while expenditure did so to a lesser extent.  Thus, the
government budget deficit worsened seriously with the accumulation of internal and external arrears.
5. In this very poor financial and economic context, the exchange rate of the CFA franc against
the French franc was adjusted on 12 January 1994, initially aggravating inflation in the economy in
general.
6. In order to put a halt to the persistent deterioration in the economic and financial situation and
take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the devaluation of the CFA franc, the Government
decided to introduce three-year and medium-term ad justment programmes aimed at re-establishing
economic balances and fostering equitable growth.
7. In that connection, the Prime Minister defined the overall economic and trade policy
objectives of the country in his key-note address of September 1996 (see Section II.(1)).
8. Considerable efforts were then deployed to achieve the main macroeconomic objectives.  The
Togolese economy began to grow again with a relativ ely low inflation rate and an improved balance
in the external current account.  However, the rate  of investment remained low in relation to the
country's needs.
9. For the last few years, the country has had a relatively stable democratic political framework
featuring a multi-party system, a free private press and a number of democratic institutionsPRESS/TPRB/102
Page 12
MORE(Constitutional Court, high authority for audiov isual media and communication,  Supreme Council of
Justice, Court of Audit, Parliamentar y Court of Justice, Supreme Court).
10. To summarize, in this socioeconomic context, Togo achieved positive, variable growth rates
(16.4 per cent in 1994;  6.8 per cent in 1995;  9.1 per cent in 1996 and 4.7 per cent in 1997), while
remaining one of Africa's least-developed countries with a per capita GNP of US$320 in 1994.
B. GENERAL TRADE POLICY CONTEXT
11. In the framework of its overall economic and social development policy, Togo has for many
years now been implementing a liberal trade policy.
12. Although confirmed as an open-door policy in the 1970s, this liberal option has been
punctuated with interventionist measures, including:
(i) A state-trading monopoly;
(ii) tariff and tax measures;
(iii) non-tariff measures such as:
- regulation of imports and exports resulting in quotas and prohibitions;- protection of local industries;
- import and export licensing;
- registration of economic operators;
- price approval and controls, etc.
13.      In response to the constraints imposed by the domestic and international economic and
trade environment, Togo began in the 1980s, either autonomously or at the recommendation of the
IMF, the World Bank and other international organizations, to strengthen its policy of liberalization
by eliminating various interventionist measures and freeing up economic and trade activities in
general.  It also stepped up efforts to attract foreign investment.
I. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES
(1) 
GENERAL TRADE POLICY OBJECTIVES
(i) General economic policy objectives
14. In response to the economic and social development aspirations of the country's populations,
the Prime Minister, in his key-note address of  September 1996, defined the country's overall
economic policy objectives as follows:
(i) Restore macroeconomic and financial balance;
(ii) revive the development programmes with a view to achieving sustained,
durable and balanced economic and trade growth.  The following
programmes are involved:
- fiscal consolidation;PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 13
MORE- privatization of State enterprises;
- adjustment and reflation of the economy;- strengthening of development management capacities, including good
government, poverty alleviation, adjustment of the financial sector, support
for the private sector, and the action plan for the development and promotion
of trade;
- improve the country's external competitiveness;- take advantage of subregional economic integration within WAEMU and ECOWAS;
- take advantage likewise of the operational activities of the United Nations system
with respect to economic, trade and social development.
15. The planned quantitative results of these programmes are:
(i) To achieve an average annual growth rate of real GDP of 6 per cent;
(ii) to maintain an inflation rate, measured in terms of the consumer price index,
of 3 per cent on average;
(iii) reduce the deficit in the balance on current account, grants included;
(iv) settle domestic arrears;
(v) reduce external arrears as far as possible;
(vi) substantially reduce the level of non-IMF domestic borrowing by the
Government and public sector enterprises.
16. The resources needed to implement these programmes and achieve the intended results are to
come from higher domestic savings and an increase in the level of external financing.
2. General trade policy objectives
17. With respect to trade in general, and in spite of the economic difficulties and socio-political
disruptions, Togo is keen to strengthen and improve its position as a trading centre and transit countryin West Africa.
18. Thanks to its infrastructure, in particular the autonomous deep water port, the international
airport of Lomé and Niamtougou, its export-processing free zone, its road network, etc., Togo is a
trade crossroads for the West African subregion, and in a spirit of solidarity and complementarity, it
serves as a relay centre for imports and exports of its neighbours, in particular the land-lockedcountries.
19. Beyond this concern with national, regional and continental matters, Togo has been more than
simply a by-stander in the new international economic and trade context.
20. In addition to the measures aimed at the general liberalization of economic and trade
activities, Togo took the necessary steps to respond to the requirements of this new internationalcontext and became an original Member of the WTO on 31 May 1995.PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 14
MORE21. Over the past few years and in the future, Togo's trade policies have been and will continue to
be concerned with:
(i) Introducing an action plan for the development and promotion of trade;
(ii) improving the institutional and regulatory framework with a view to creating
an environment favourable to the private sector, to investment and to the
promotion of exports and foreign trade;
(iii) drawing up and implementing follow-up and support measures to ensure that
liberalization effectively benefits the private sector, consumers and the
national economy and becomes a factor in the country's economic and social
development;
- identifying the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the liberalization
measures and ensuring that the economic operators are aware of the action that has to
be taken to reduce or avoid the disadvantages (inflation, abusive or inappropriate
influence of devaluation and VAT on prices) while maximizing the advantages(diversification of sources of supply, fair competition, lower inflation);
- strengthening and improving output and productivity of goods that can actually be
exported;
- identifying and implementing measures to encourage and support diversification and
intensification of production for export of non-traditional goods and goods in the
agricultural, fishing, industrial, crafts and livestock sectors;
- strengthening and improving structures, mechanisms and procedures for collecting,
storing, managing and disseminating export and import market information;
- strengthening and improving human and institutional capacities as regards
management and the promotion of trade and related activities, and ensuring
coordination among the structures involved in trade promotion;
- stepping up participation in international and regional fairs to promote exportable
products;
- improving competitiveness from the point of view of quantity, quality and standards;- developing and implementing measures to stimulate investment and the financing of
production for export through appropriate structures;
- rationalizing imports (better sources of ch eaper supply with a view to obtaining the
best value for money);
- ensuring better domestic market regulation and organizing competition;
- pursuing the process of State withdrawal from non-strategic sectors;- intensifying and improving transit trade;- enhancing the country's involvement in international organizations dealing with
international trade;PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 15
MORE- following up and taking full advantage of the bilateral and multilateral agreements
and conventions to which our country is party, as well as the different preferencesystems and liberalization arrangements for which they provide;
- ensuring that the private sector, civil society, universities, NGOs, trade unions and
civil associations are all actively associated with the development and
implementation of the above measures.
3. General objectives from the socio-political viewpoint
22. The chief concerns in this area are to:
- Consolidate democracy, security and peace;
- reinforce national solidarity;
- take up the educational and cultural challenge;
- engage in active diplomacy focusing on effective cooperation.
23. These concerns form the basic conditions for a social environment in which the economic and
trade policy objectives can be achieved.
C. 
SECTORAL OBJECTIVES
24. The Government's sectoral objectives consist in  liberalizing activities, strengthening human,
institutional, material and infrastructural capacities, and enhancing efficiency in the various sectors.
(i) Public administration for economic and trade development
25. The Government's objectives in this sector are to restructure the ministerial departments
concerned in order to make them more dynamic and efficient in carrying out their tasks, and also to
transform the Togolese public administration into an efficient development tool.
26. Thus, the strategy to modernize public administration aims, inter alia , at redefining the
essential roles of the State and of each ministerial department concerned, at implementing the
programme for administrative decentralization, a coherent employment policy including an
appropriate manpower plan, and incentives to stimulat e a spirit of emulation with a view to boosting
productivity.  It is in this context that, with the recent restructuring of the Government, a ministry was
created to take charge of modernizing the administration.
2. Public finance and currency
27. Togo's budgetary policy essentially aims at resp ecting the convergence criteria defined within
the WAEMU, and its principal medium-term objective is to boost public saving in order to maintain a
high rate of public investment in general and investment financed by domestic resources in particular.
Appropriate measures will be taken to that end, directed towards the rationalization of expenditure inorder to achieve an overall deficit level that can be financed through ordinary resources, making it
possible to settle internal and external arrears and reduce the overall deficit excluding grants.
28. Togo's overall monetary policy will continue to be coordinated at the regional level with its
WAEMU partners so that foreign exchange reserves can guarantee the stability of the CFA franc.
Interest rate policy will be designed to maintain intervention rates at levels which make it possible to
attract and retain capital in member countries.  The Togolese authorities will continue to cooperatePRESS/TPRB/102
Page 16
MOREwith their WAEMU partners in strengthening the mechanisms used by the regional central bank to
absorb bank liquidities, pursue the progress achieved in introducing a regional financial market andenhance the efficiency of the process of mobilizing domestic financial resources.
3. Services
29. The option of State withdrawal from the production of goods and services and the dismantling
of monopolies should greatly facilitate the liberalization of trade and the development of viable
financial, banking and insurance systems for the benefit of domestic and foreign trade and serviceoperators both upstream and downstream, including transport, post and telecommunications, water
and electricity, and tourism.
(a) Transport
30. The Government's objectives in this sector include:
- Reinforcement, rehabilitation and regular maintenance of urban and rural road
infrastructures, to which end a road maintenance fund has been created;
- further liberalization of maritime transport;  in this connection, freight distribution
has been eliminated in order to allow economic operators to choose their means of
transport freely, and port fees have been considerably simplified;
- strengthening, improving and facilitating transit trade through the Togo corridor with
a view to reinforcing Togo's external comp etitiveness.  To that end, the Government
plans to create a dry port at Blitta to make it easier to transport goods towards theinterior of the country and hinterland countries;
- restructuring and improvement of rail transport;
- improvement of the efficiency of air transport services;
- reducing the social costs of transport and ensuring proper safety in the transport
sector.
(b) Post and telecommunications
31. To ensure efficient and competitive telecommunications services, in 1995 the Government
launched a process of liberalization which should culminate in 1999 with the opening up of the capital
of Togo Telecom to the private sector.  The long-term objective is the liberalization of all segments of
the market.  The process, which has already begun with the granting of a mobile telephone licence,
includes, inter alia , the setting up of a regulatory agency for the sector together with a frequency
management unit.
32. As regards the postal system, the restructuring process is to be pursued and will ultimately
result in privately-run postal services.
(c) Electricity and water
33. In the field of electricity and water, the Government's action will focus on pursuing the
implementation of measures designed to recover service costs and to apply the corresponding charges
with a view to making production units as profitable  as possible, thereby increasing their capacity for
financing their own investments.PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 17
MORE34. It was to that end that the implementation of the plan for the settlement of internal arrears
focused particularly, in 1997, on the debt of the Electric Power Company of Togo (Compagnieénergie électrique du Togo - CEET) and the National Water Company of Togo (Régie nationale des
eaux du Togo - RNET) with the State and State companies.  In order to improve management
efficiency in the sector, the Government will also have recourse to the private sector, either through
outright privatization, or by arrangements such as privatization of commercial management (in the
case of RNET) or concessions (in the case of CEET).
35. The Government will also seek to promote private sector investment in energy and water
management with a view to improv ing the supply to the population.  In the long term, it will also seek
an overall solution to its energy problems in the framework of subregional cooperation.
36. The Government's efforts will focus in the long term on increasing electricity production in
order to reduce the country's dependence on imports.  The responsibility for these efforts is entrusted
to the Beninese Electrical Community (Communauté électrique du Bénin - CEB), and they essentially
concern the rehabilitation and maintenance of thermal power plants, the construction of a new dam onthe Mono River, and the evaluation and exploitation of a country's energy resources.
(d) Tourism
37. Sectoral objectives in this area consist, inter alia , in:
- Drawing up a national master plan and regional master plans for the development and
promotion of tourism;
- setting up of tourism promotion services:  national office, consultative committee,
regional council;
- updating the regulatory and tax framework to provide greater incentives and make it
more attractive;
- developing existing tourist sites (renovation, equipment, maintenance, safety,
hygiene) as well as potential sites:  the coastline, lake shores and other sites in Lomé
and in the interior;
- developing human resources in the tourism business and training tourist guides;- enhancing awareness among the different categories of law enforcement services
involved in receiving tourists, ensuring their safety and protecting tourist sites;
- promotion of national and subregional tourism;  in this connection, the first "national
tourism caravan" was recently organized on the occasion of World Tourism Day.  At
the subregional level, Togo has organized, with its partners, the "Entente Tourist
Visa" in the framework of the Entente Council.
4. Agriculture
38. The Government's objectives in the field of agriculture consist, inter alia , in:
- Pursuing the liberalization of the various se ctors.  To that end, following the complete
liberalization of the coffee-cocoa sector from primary marketing through to export, in
the cotton sector too exports have begun to be liberalized, with the setting up of the
Société industrielle de coton (SICOT), wh ich gins the cotton and exports the fibre on
its own account;PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 18
MORE- setting up a programme to revive the agricultural sector;
- setting up rural and cooperative credit funds as well as a village development fund;- improvement of the income and standard of living of the rural population by boosting
productivity and applying a policy of remunerative prices;
- strengthening the physical resources available for agricultural research;- providing institutions with the means to develop, apply and follow up agricultural
policy and programmes;
- intensifying and diversifying production in order to reinforce food security, improve
the nutritional situation, permit import substitution and increase exports;
- ensuring environmentally supportable agricultural growth;- development of human resources in the agricultural sector;- management and collection of statistical data for use in agricultural planning;- adequate support to the regional agricultural chambers that have been established so
that they can strengthen their role in s upporting farmers alongside the State, which
will, in future, act only as a catalyst;
- introduction of a land-ownership policy which guarantees security of land tenure;- improvement of storage infrastructure.
5. Environment
39. In this area, the Government has progressively been taking measures in the framework of the
National Action Plan for the Environment (PANE) with a view to improving the management of the
environment and promoting environmentally sound economic and social development.
40. To achieve this overall goal, environmental policy aims at:
- Strengthening national environmental management capacities through public and
private agencies and non-governmental organizations;
- ensuring that environmental concerns are given due consideration in the planning and
management of economic and social development;
- promoting sound and sustainable development of natural resources and the
environment while improving living conditions and standards;
- strengthening the movement towards subregional integration and international
cooperation in order to ensure coordinated management of shared or cross-borderresources.
41. In the field of trade, in particular, strategies will focus on:PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 19
MORE- Drawing up and implementing environmenta l rules and standards aimed at avoiding
the consumption and use of products that are harmful to health and the environment;
- review the price structure of gas to make it accessible to the majority of citizens at
prices comparable to those of neighbouring countries, thereby reducing the pressure
on ligneous resources;
- promoting the consumption of petroleum products that are less harmful to the
environment.
6. Industry
42. Together with agriculture and trade, industry represents Togo's long-term economic potential.
43. It is currently limited to the manufacturing sector, which is relatively recent.  Industrial plants
are for the most part concerned with agro-industry, apart from the first phosphate mining plant.
44. After suffering greatly from the political crisis, industry is now tending to pick up once again.
45. To encourage this revival, emphasis will be placed on certain priority measures connected
with:
- Promotion of the private sector and creation of the "Maison de l'industrie" and the
single window;
- development and improvement of industrial infrastructure providing a more
favourable environment for investment both in the tax-free zone and the customs
territory;
- introduction of a regulatory framework providing greater incentives;
- institutional support for industrial development structures.
7. Mining
46. In addition to the working of phosphate deposits, which play a dominant role in the country's
economy, accounting for approximately 50 per cent of export earnings, Togo is not really a mining
country, despite the existence of significant deposits of iron, chromite, manganese, etc.
47. The main element of the policy to be conducted  with a view to promoting the mining sector
are the following:
- Diversification of mining export products;
- strengthening of the human and physical resources of the General Directorate of
Mining and Geology;
- encouragement of foreign investment by establishing incentives to stimulate
exploration activities in Togo through the introduction of a new mining code;
- promotion of non-industrial mining and by creating incomes for small-scale miners.PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 20
MORED. TOGO 'S OBJECTIVES IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE WTO
(i) Togo in the context of the GATT and the WTO
48. After having applied de facto the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947
during the colonial period, Togo became a contracting party, or de jure  member, of the GATT on
20 March 1964.
49. Since it had no representation in Geneva, Togo followed GATT activities at a distance, either
through its ambassadors in one of the countries neighbouring Switzerland, or through its fairlyfrequent information missions.
50. In the circumstances, Togo, like the African LDCs  in general, was practically absent from the
Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, and it did not participate in the formal signing
ceremonies of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round which took place on 15 April 1994 in Marrakesh
(Morocco).
51. However, in addition to its general efforts to liberalize economic and trade activities since the
1980s, Togo also signed the Uruguay Round Final Act on 9 August 1994 in Geneva.  Its schedules ofconcessions (bindings) and specific commitments in the field of services were drawn up and
transmitted to the WTO in April 1995.
52. Upon presentation of the Uruguay Round Agreement and the WTO framework by the
Minister responsible for trade, the National Assembly deliberated and adopted, on 11 April 1995, the
bill authorizing the ratification of the Agreement Establishing the WTO.  This authorization came intoeffect under Law No. 95-013/ER of 19 April 1995 pr omulgating the Agreement.  Through these
formalities, Togo became an original Member of the WTO on 31 May 1995.
2. Trade policy objectives of Togo in the framework of the WTO
- Adapt trade regulations and activities to th e requirements of international trade and
take full advantage of the opportunities offered.
- Master and implement its notification obligations.- Conduct a periodic retrospective analysis, at the international level, of its trade policy
which must be adapted to domestic needs in terms of sustainable socioeconomicdevelopment and to the requirements of international trade in the context of
globalization:  to that end, Togo submitted its request to the WTO for a first trade
policy review, the process which is now under way.
- Take full advantage of the integrated framework for trade-related technical assistance
to the LDCs.  On the occasion of the High-Level Meeting organized by the WTO,
UNCTAD, ITC, UNDP, IMF and the World Bank on 27 and 28 October 1997 in
Geneva for the purpose of designing this framework, Togo prepared and submitted to
the WTO an overall assessment of its general technical assistance needs.  The
above-mentioned international organizations prepared a preliminary document
containing integrated replies, and Togo will have to prepare observations concerning
the proposed replies before the round table scheduled to produce an overallassessment of the needs expressed and the replies given before their implementation:
this process is currently under way.
- Increase familiarity with the Uruguay Round Agreements and the WTO framework in
Togo.  While the Uruguay Round Agreements and the WTO framework are relativelyPRESS/TPRB/102
Page 21
MOREwell known among governmental and para-governmental institutions and in the
private sector in Togo, there is a real need for assistance in ensuring that the UruguayRound Agreements are better understood and the WTO better known in the country.
A national seminar on the subject will be necessary.
- Hold periodic information seminars on the Uruguay Round Agreement and on the
WTO, and on their implications, their challenges, their advantages and on ways ofreducing the downside risk, in certain cases, and in others of maximizing the chances
of deriving benefits.  A seminar has been requested in this connection, and was
scheduled for February 1998.  However, it has been postponed, and will have to be
rescheduled.
- Complete the impact assessment of the Uruguay Round Agreements on the Togolese
economy.  Programmed by UNCTAD, this study is currently being conducted by aninternational expert and a national expert, a professor in the Faculty of Economics
and Management (FASEG) of the University  of Benin (UB).  This study should make
it possible for Togo to identify the constraints and the advantages of these
Agreements and the ways of managing them by scaling down the challenges and
taking advantage of the opportunities offered.  However, the work is still in apreliminary stage and the timetable will have to be reviewed.
- Take advantage of the technical assistance provided in respect of access to trade
information through the Internet.  Togo, and in particular the Ministry of Trade, are
now able to use a reference centre on the multilateral trading system following theinstallation of a computer and other accessories giving them access to information
sources available on the Internet and CD-Roms.  This assistance is to be strengthened
through the supply of further equipment.
- Take advantage of the "Maison universelle" proposed by Switzerland in the
framework of the WTO Headquarters Agreement in Geneva, whose facilities will
help the LDCs that wish to keep permanent missions to the international
organizations in Geneva.
- Identify and take advantage of the export and market access opportunities for goods
and services.
- Enhance national skills in managing the Uruguay Round Agreements and in the field
of WTO trade policy in general.
- Put technical assistance to use in identifying the challenges and opportunities of
globalization with a view to overcoming the former and taking full advantage of the
latter.
- Maintain and respect the tariff bindings agreed and the specific commitments made in
the field of services.
E. 
IMPORT AND EXPORT REGIME
53. Import and export licences, prohibitions and quotas having been eliminated (see III.(1)(v),
III.(1)(vi) and III.(1)(vii) for details), the import a nd export regime now boils down to the conditions,
procedures and time required for import and export.  These elements relate to banking transactions
and formalities imposed by the port of unloading or shipment, customs and the tax authorities.PRESS/TPRB/102
Page 22
END54. As regards phosphates still subject to import licensing, conditions and procedures also relate
to banking transactions, the obtention of licences from the Ministry of Trade, and customs and portshipment formalities.  In such cases, licences are delivered within a period of approximately 48 hours.
55. Since the liberalization of trade in goods, no imports or exports are subject to absolute
prohibition or quantitative restriction.
56. However, the import of products considered hazardous, in particular arms and ammunition,
explosives and military equipment, as well as narcotics, is strictly controlled
57. These restrictions are justified for security reasons in the case of arms, ammunition,
explosives and military equipment.  In the case of narcotics, they are justified on health, moral and
social grounds.
58. As regards pharmaceuticals and hygiene products, Togo does not prohibit their entry into its
market.
59. There is no list of prohibited products.  However, there are regulated products, such as
psychotropic substances and products that are temporarily prohibited because of their proven toxicity.
The export of local industrial products, cereals and other foodstuffs may be temporarily suspended to
safeguard domestic consumption in the event of shortages.