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PRESS/TPRB/232 
30 June 2004 
 
(04-2797) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: MALI 
Trade liberalization and commitment to reforms have helped to 
enhance the econom ic environment 
The liberalization of trade policies through the WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary 
Union) undertakings, structural reform, and the intensified efforts to achieve macroeconomic stabilization have helped to enhance Mali’s econom ic environment. These reforms, together with a 
boom in gold production, enabled growth to accelerate, according to a report on the trade policies 
and practices of Mali released June 30 by the WTO Secretariat.  
The Secretariat’s report notes that Mali, one of the poorest of the least developed countries 
(LDCs), would increase the confidence of economic operators by completing the reforms under way and continuing its efforts to tackle the obstacles to governance. Although the authorities 
recognize the central role of trade as the basis fo r private sector development, the competitiveness 
of Mali’s goods and services is affected by the co untry’s landlocked situation and the high cost of 
inputs such as energy, water, communications, cr edit, and transport. One of the most significant 
obstacles to Mali’s economic development remains the lack of financial services. 
 Mali is among the sponsors of the sectoral initiative in favour of cotton at the WTO, whose aim is 
to eliminate the producer support policies and export subsidies that have led to generally declining 
prices on world cotton markets. Cotton is the principal cash crop for Mali’s farmers, although gold has displaced cotton as the country’s top export earner.  
 
Mali is receiving trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) through the WTO to increase the capacity of government officials to participate in the WTO, and in particular the negotiations under 
the Doha Development Agenda. In addition, Mali is  a beneficiary of the Integrated Framework and 
JITAP (Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme).  
The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Mali, will be the basis for the 
second Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Mali by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 28 and 30 June 2004, which will take place at the same time as the review of Burkina Faso and Benin. 
 
The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/ english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp232.htm 
 PRESS/TPRB/232 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 • Secretariat report 
> Contents and summary observations  
> Economic environment  > Trade and investment regimes  
> Trade policies and practices by measure  
> Trade policies by sector  > Appendix tables  
• Government report  
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
• Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). 
Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member 
countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each 
review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents 
are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 
Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William 
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews  
 The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly 
Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States 
Next reviews: 
Belize/Suriname : 12 and 14 July 2004 
European Union : 21 and 23 July 2004 
Republic of Korea  : 15 and 17 September 2004 
 
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews 
 
  
 
END