RESTRICTEDWORLD  TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/TPR/S/86
28 May 2001
(01-2579)
Trade Policy Review Body
TRADE POLICY REVIEW
GABON
Report by the Secretariat
This report, prepared for the first Trade Policy Review of Gabon, has been
drawn up by the WTO Secretariat on its own responsibility.  The Secretariat has,
as required by the Agreement establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism
(Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization), sought clarification from the Government of Gabon on its trade
policies and practices.
Any technical questions arising from this report may be addressed to
Mrs A. Enders (tel. 739 5367) or Mr. W. Alfaro (tel. 739 5372).
Document WT/TPR/G/86 contains the policy statement submitted by the
Government of Gabon.
Note: This report is subject to restricted circulation and press embargo until the end of the meeting
of the Trade Policy Review Body on Gabon.Gabon WT/TPR/S/86
Page iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
SUMMARY OB SERVATIO NS........................................................................................................... ....vii
(1) OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................... ...vii
(2) ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................................... viii
(3) TRADE POLICY ........................................................................................................................... viii
(4) INVESTMENT POLICY ..................................................................................................................... x
(5) SECTORAL POLICIES ...................................................................................................................... x
(6) OUTLOOK ............................................................................................................................... ....xii
I. ECONOMIC ENVI RONMENT.................................................................................................1
(1) GENERAL SETTING ..........................................................................................................1
(2) RECENT ECONOMIC TRENDS ...........................................................................................3
(i) Macroeconomic indicato rs................................................................................3
(ii) Monetary and exch ange rate policy ..................................................................3
(iii) Fiscal policy......................................................................................................8
(3) MAIN STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTS ..............................................................................9
(i) Trade libe ralization...........................................................................................9
(ii) Invest ment.......................................................................................................10
(iii) Privatization a nd competition .........................................................................11
(iv) Labour market.................................................................................................11
(4) TRADE TRENDS .............................................................................................................12
(i) Trade com position ..........................................................................................12
(ii) Trade trends ....................................................................................................13
(5) OUTLOOK ......................................................................................................................13
II. TRADE POLICY REGIME:  FRAMEWORK AND OB JECTIVES ......................................16
(1) GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK ................................................16
(i) Overv iew.........................................................................................................16
(ii) The Exec utive .................................................................................................17
(iii) The Parliament................................................................................................17
(iv) The judicial power ..........................................................................................18
(v) Public consultation on political issues ............................................................19
(vi) Management of public affairs.........................................................................19
(2) TRADE AND INVESTMENT POLICY ................................................................................20
(i) Overv iew.........................................................................................................20
(ii) Instru ments .....................................................................................................22
(iii) Central government organs with responsibilities for policies related
to the WTO .....................................................................................................25WT/TPR/S/86 Trade Policy Review
Page iv
Page
(3) TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS .................................................................27
(i) The WTO........................................................................................................27
(ii) Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC) .................30
(iii) The ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.............................................................33
(iv) Bilateral agreements .......................................................................................34
III. TRADE POLICY – ANAL YSIS BY ME ASURE ...................................................................35
(1) MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS .................................................................35
(i) Registr ation.....................................................................................................35
(ii) Customs pr ocedures........................................................................................35
(iii) Customs  levies................................................................................................39
(iv) Rules of  origin ................................................................................................47
(v) Prohibitions, quantitative restrictions and products subject to
licensing, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical standards
and accreditati on procedures ..........................................................................48
(vi) Emergency measures ......................................................................................48
(vii) State tr ading....................................................................................................49
(2) MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING EXPORTS .................................................................49
(i) Duties a nd taxes..............................................................................................49
(ii) Prohibitions and products subject to licensing, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures...................................................................................49
(iii) Subsidies and prom otion of exports................................................................50
(iv) State trading....................................................................................................50
(3) INTERNAL MEASURES ...................................................................................................50
(i) The legal regime for enterp rises and companies in Gabon.............................50
(ii) Fiscal regime...................................................................................................51
(iii) Investmen t regime...........................................................................................52
(iv) Protection of intellec tual property  rights ........................................................56
(v) Competition policy .........................................................................................62
(vi) Government procurement ...............................................................................66
IV. TRADE POLICIES  BY SE CTOR............................................................................................69
(1) AGRICULTURE ..............................................................................................................69
(i) Overv iew.........................................................................................................69
(ii) Agricultur al policy..........................................................................................70
(iii) New directions in agricultural  policy..............................................................72
(2) FISHERIES .....................................................................................................................73
(i) Overv iew.........................................................................................................73
(ii) Fisherie s policy...............................................................................................73
(3) FORESTS .......................................................................................................................75
(i) Overv iew.........................................................................................................75
(ii) Forest policy ...................................................................................................76
(iii) New directions in forest policy.......................................................................78Gabon WT/TPR/S/86
Page v
Page
(4) MINES ...........................................................................................................................79
(i) Oil ...................................................................................................................79
(ii) Other minera l resour ces..................................................................................81
(5) INDUSTRY .....................................................................................................................83
(i) Overv iew.........................................................................................................83
(ii) Sectoral  policy ................................................................................................83
(6) SERVICES ......................................................................................................................84
(i) Transport.........................................................................................................84
(ii) Telecomm unications.......................................................................................86
(iii) Tou rism...........................................................................................................88
(iv) Banks and insura nce companies .....................................................................90
BIBLIOGR APHY................................................................................................................... ...............93
CHARTS
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
I.1 Trend in fiscal receipts, 1994-2000 ......................................................................................... .. 9
III. TRADE POLICY-ANALYSIS BY MEASURE
III.1 Progressivity of duties under the ISIC  two-digit industrial classification, 1999 ....................... 45
IV. TRADE POLICY BY SECTORIV.1 Okoume and ozigo production and exports from 1987-98 ........................................................ 76
IV.2 Production and export prices  of Gabonese oil, 1992-99............................................................ 79
TABLES
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
I.1 Gabon in figures, 1992-1999 ................................................................................................. .....2
I.2 Economic indi cators, 1992-2000 .............................................................................................. ..4
I.3 Situation of CAEMC States regarding convergence criteria, 30 April 1999..............................7
I.4 Exports by destination, 1994-2000 ........................................................................................... 12
I.5 Exports by product group, 1994-2000 ......................................................................................13
I.6 Imports by origin, 1994-2000 ................................................................................................ ...13
I.7 Imports by product group, 1995-2000 ......................................................................................14
II. TRADE POLICY REGIME:  FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVESII.1 Selection of WTO documents relating to Gabon, 1995 to April 2001......................................30WT/TPR/S/86 Trade Policy Review
Page vi
Page
III. TRADE POLICY – ANALYSIS BY MEASURE
III.1 Products subject to the tem porary surcharge,  30 April 2001....................................................43
III.2 Rates of MFN duties (including tem porary surcharges) actua lly applied, 2001.......................43
III.3 Distribution of rates applied (includi ng temporary surcharges) and bound, 2001....................44
III.4 Loss of earnings through ex emptions, 1997-1999, at 31 December.........................................46
III.5 Subjects and length of periods of protection under the Bangui Agreement (1977) and
the revised Agr eement (1999)................................................................................................... 59
III.6 Fines and prison terms under the Bangui Agreement (1977) and the revised
Agreement (1999)............................................................................................................... ......62
III.7 Products, goods and services under  administrative pric e controls, 2001..................................64
APPENDIX TABLES
III. TRADE POLICY – ANALYSIS BY MEASURE
AIII.1 Import or export d eclarations for the CACE U customs territory..............................................99
AIII.2 Effective MFN duty rates (including tem porary surcharges) by HS Chapter, 2001...............100
AIII.3 Bound MFN duty rates by HS Chap ter, 2001.........................................................................105
AIII.4 Imported products subjec t to excise duties, 2001 ...................................................................109
AIII.5 Products subject to impor t prohibition or control ...................................................................111
IV. TRADE POLICES BY SECTOR
AIV.1 Libreville:  consum ption/supply balance ................................................................................112Gabon WT/TPR/S/86
Page vii
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS
(1) OVERVIEW
1. In the 1990s, Gabon embarked on two
transitions with far-reaching implications for
the country's future.  The first was theintroduction of competition into the domestic
market to pave the way for the post-petroleum
economy.  The second transition concerned the
democratization of political life and should
culminate in 2005 in the first change-over ofpresidential power since 1967.
2. Economic reform started in Gabon in
1986 under the first structural adjustment
programme.  It has gathered pace since the
1994 devaluation of the CFA franc as part of arenewed subregional integration process;
participation in the multilateral system has not
yet been made an operative factor in the
reform.  Foreign trade has been liberalized,
VAT and excise taxes have been introduced,
the turnover tax has been updated and new
systems created for regulating and supervisingfinancial services.  In future, integration will
be pursued within a new structure, the Central
African Economic and Monetary Community
(CAEMC), launched in 1998.
3. The Gabonese authorities completed
these reforms by adopting a new Investment
Charter and updating some sectoral codes
(mining and tourism).  Gabon has also started
the privatization of state-owned companies.  A
competition policy has been drawn up but hasnot yet been put into practice.
4. After concluding an agreement with
the IMF at the end of 2000, Gabon is pushing
ahead with reform on three main fronts:  fiscal
consolidation to ensure macroeconomicstability;  privatization to reduce the structural
constraints on the economy;  and reform of the
civil service in order to streamline it and
enhance the efficiency of the services provided
to citizens.  Gabon is also committed to
mounting a well-targeted operation to root out
corruption more effectively.5. The economic reform aims to achieve
a diversified and competitive economy that is
capable of achieving labour market
equilibrium by generating employment.  While
oil is Gabon's main resource, its national
production has been contracting since 1997and seems set to continue downwards unless
new finds are made.  Thanks to oil revenue,
which accounts for 60 per cent of the national
budget, the  State has long been the leading
employer and investor, sustaining Gaboneseenterprises by means of government
procurement.  The industrial and farm sectors
are largely underdeveloped and the
population's needs in terms of food and
manufactures are met by imports for the mostpart.
6. Three-quarters of the population live
in urban areas and rural-urban drift is being
spurred by low yields from subsistence
farming.  Unemployment and a large informal
sector are quite evident.  The level of social
well-being is below that which wouldcorrespond to the per capita income, which
translates into poverty.
7. The country also has a high level of
external debt and has been struggling with
debt service for a long time, even though theParis Club has accorded debt service
reductions, the last being at the end of 2000.
Dwindling oil revenues are threatening to
worsen unemployment and poverty and
complicate debt management, unless theprivate sector is invigorated in such a way as
to replace the State as the basis of the
economy.
8. For the post-petroleum economy,
Gabon is relying on a strategy of industrialdevelopment, specifically the processing of
wood, fisheries-related activities, as well as
the processing of mineral and energy
resources, and it hopes to develop its tourism
potential.  The authorities are also seeking to
give fresh impetus to the farming sector.WT/TPR/S/86 Trade Policy Review
Page viii
(2) ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
9. Trends in domestic oil production and
world oil prices have a decisive impact on the
Gabonese economy.  The country has been
gripped by economic crisis since domestic
output started its decline in 1997.  The 9.6 percent contraction in real GDP in 1999 was
followed by yet another retreat of 1.3 per cent
in 2000.  The underlying reasons were falling
oil output and shrinking domestic investment
owing to the need to control public spending,even though the lumber industry has shown
some renewed buoyancy.  Inflationary
pressures were kept under control in 2000.
10. Higher world oil prices in 1999 and
2000 more than offset the contraction in thevolume exported and yielded higher oil export
earnings (75 per cent of the total).  Renewed
exports of forestry products have also been
noteworthy in terms of volume and
international market prices.  Exports of all
products rose by one third in 1999 and by
20 per cent in 2000 (in United States dollars).In contrast, imports fell in 1999 and increased
more slowly than exports in 2000.  Gabon
therefore posted a surplus on current account
for 1999 and 2000.
(3) 
TRADE POLICY
(i) Multilateral policy
11. Gabon became a founding Member of
the WTO, continuing its relationship with the
GATT 1947 which started in 1963.  Gabon
accords at least most-favoured-nation (MFN)treatment to imports from WTO Member
countries.  Gabon has notified that the
Customs Valuation Agreement would be
applied as of 2000, with some reservations.
As part of the African Group, the country iscurrently participating in the discussions on
the future programme of the WTO, and played
host to the Meeting of African Trade Ministers
in Libreville in November 2000.
12. During the Uruguay Round, Gabon
bound its customs duties on all tariff lines,
with ceilings of 15 per cent for most non-agricultural products and 60 per cent for
agricultural produce.  The arithmetic average
of bound tariffs is 22.2 per cent, whilst the
average MFN tariff applied by Gabon is
18.3 per cent for 2001.  It is noteworthy,
however, that the applied tariffs are above thebound levels for some 40 per cent of tariff
lines (see below).
13. Gabon's specific commitments under
the GATS relate to financial services and
tourism.  As regards insurance (including lifeinsurance), banking and other financial
services, the principles of market access and
national treatment are applied without
limitation, except in relation to the movement
of natural persons.  Gabon permits the entryand temporary stay of managers, senior
executives and experts.
14. Gabon has availed itself of the
transitional arrangements in Article 65 of the
TRIPS Agreement in order to delay its full
implementation (except for Articles 3, 4 and 5)
until the year 2000.  This is contemplated bythe African Intellectual Property Organization
(OAPI) created under the Bangui Agreement
in 1977, of which Gabon is a member.  The
OAPI updated the relevant provisions, and the
revised Bangui Agreement was signed in 1999.Gabon has ratified it, though it is still awaiting
ratification by five of the 15 member countries,
expected in the course of 2001, in order to
come into force.  The protection of intellectual
property rights falls within the purview of thenational authorities, their police forces and
their judicial systems.
15. Gabon's participation in the
multilateral system has fallen short of
government expectations owing to the limitedresources available for that purpose.  Few
notifications have in fact been made and there
are gaps in the understanding of the system
and its potential benefits for Gabon.  The
country would therefore like to have the
support of the WTO Members and Secretariat,
in particular through technical assistance.Gabon WT/TPR/S/86
Page ix
(ii) Regional policy
16. Gabon's trade policy consists mainly
of implementing the policy decided jointly with
its neighbours within the Central African
Customs and Economic Union (CACEU),
which was created in 1964 and is now part ofthe CAEMC arrangements.
17. Regional integration was re-launched
through the fiscal and customs reform of 1993.
Amongst other things, it has given rise to a
Common External Tariff (CET), a GeneralizedPreferential Tariff (GPT) and an agreement
on turnover tax and excise duties.  To reduce
the number of duty rates and make the tariff
more transparent, products have been placed
into one of the four following categories:5 per cent, 10 per cent, 20 per cent and 30 per
cent.  The GPT was rolled back  to zero in
1998 and applies only to products originating
from the CACEU based on strict rules of
origin.
18. The countries have also agreed to
eliminate a good many waivers of duties andcharges, as well as quantitative restrictions.
Gabon dismantled these restrictions in 1996,
except for those on sugar and mineral water,
though only the first is currently in effect.  The
Gabonese authorities have advised that thiswill remain so until 2004.  Import permits and
sanitary and phytosanitary certificates are
required for farm produce and permits must
also be issued for hazardous products
(weapons, explosives, chemical products).
19. Under the fiscal and customs reform,
the CACEU member countries had accorded
themselves the right to levy a temporary
surcharge (of at least 30 per cent) on a list of
goods imported from all origins until30 June 2000.  As of April 2001, however,
Gabon had not yet definitively eliminated this
temporary surcharge.  It currently stands at
20 per cent and affects 25 tariff lines,
including vegetable oils, soap and cigarettes.
Owing to the application of the CET and the
surcharge, the arithmetic average of Gabon'scustoms duties is 18.3 per cent for 2001.20. It should be pointed out that by
operation of the CET and the surcharge,
Gabon's effective levels of customs duties are
above the ceilings contained in
Schedule XLVII, for some 40 per cent of tariff
lines.  This is largely the result of the lack ofinternal coordination amongst the ministries
concerned with the Uruguay Round
negotiations and those concerned with
regional trade policy.  The Gabonese
authorities became aware of this in preparingthe trade policy review and intend to remedy
the situation.
21. In addition to the CET and the
surcharge, imports into Gabon are subject to
VAT (18 per cent) and some (alcoholicbeverages, tobacco products) are also subject
to excise duties.  These direct taxes are levied
on local products, with some exceptions
(cement, sugar, mineral water, poultry) or the
goods produced by some state-run enterprises
(mineral water, soap, oils), or local products
from farmers, livestock breeders, fishermenand hunters, these being accorded waivers or
reductions.  No trade protection measures are
applied to imports.  Gabon recently passed a
law in this regard, but the implementing
regulations have yet to be issued.
22. It must be observed that the Gabonese
authorities find it difficult to liberalize trade
when there is a domestic competitor.  The
prolongation of the surcharge, for instance,
was the result of opposition by domesticproducers to market opening.  Yet the small
number of local industries ensures that most
imports of staple consumer goods need not
contend with exorbitant customs duties or with
charges higher than those assessed on localproduction.
23. Gabon allows enterprises in the
favoured sectors – oil and other minerals,
forestry, tourism – to import their equipment
and materials under a regime free of duties
and charges or under temporary admission.
Duties and charges are also waived on someessential goods.  As a result of exemptions
and reductions of duties and charges, Gabon'sWT/TPR/S/86 Trade Policy Review
Page x
customs receipts are shrunk by about
one-quarter.  This loss is significant as
customs receipts accounted for about
one-third of non-oil revenue in 1999 and will
represent a larger share of public finances in
the post-petroleum economy.
(4) INVESTMENT POLICY
24. Gabon hopes to encourage foreign
investment in order to attain its industrial
development strategy targets.  The
privatisation of state-owned enterprises is oneway of doing this.  The following state-run
enterprises have already been privatized:
water and electricity (in 1997), sugar (1997),
extraction of timber (1998), importation and
distribution of food and sundry products(1998), the railways (1999), and cement
(2000).  The privatization process has lost
momentum since 1999, however.
Privatizations for 2001 pertain chiefly to the
enterprises in fixed-line telephony, air
transport and agribusiness.
25. Since 1998, investments have been
regulated by a new Charter, not including
tourism and sectors linked to natural
resources, which belong to the State and are
governed by specific codes that have also been
updated.  Foreign investors are entitled to theprivileges and protection currently accorded
on the international market.  The new
investment regime applies without distinction
to all investors, both foreign and Gabonese,
with the exception of support measuresprovided by the State to small and medium-
sized enterprises, provided that their capital is
51 per cent Gabonese and they are managed
by Gabonese nationals.
26. To help new enterprises to set up in
Gabon, the Charter envisages a promotion
agency, which was created in 2000.  Its single
window will simplify the formalities for the
incorporation of enterprises and will come on
stream during 2001.
27. Foreign companies may also employ
non-Gabonese workers under certainconditions.  The hiring of Gabonese workers isstill subject to the Labour Code:  Parliament
is now discussing the easing of the Code's
provisions.
(5) 
SECTORAL POLICIES
(i) Agriculture
28. This sector comprises two major
branches both of which are in difficulty.  A
quarter of the country's population lives
outside of urban centres and engages in low-
yield subsistence farming, a factor that fuels
the rural-urban drift.  The second majorbranch of the farming sector is comprised of
state-owned enterprises (vegetable oils, soap,
mineral water, livestock rearing, poultry, fruit
and vegetables) or recently privatised ones
(sugar).  Despite being heavily protected onthe domestic market, most of these enterprises
are not profitable.
29. Foodstuffs account for about a fifth of
the country's imports.  Tariff protection stands
at an average of 22.9 per cent, above the
overall average of 18.3 per cent.  Non-tariff
protection is afforded through the 18 per centVAT and excise duties on certain imports, as
exemptions and reductions apply to domestic
output.   State-owned enterprises in the edible
oils, household soap, sugar, coffee and cocoa
industries also enjoy a monopoly over themarketing of imported and domestic products.
These measures attest to the importance of the
support accorded to the farming sector by the
Gabonese authorities, despite the high cost to
consumers.
30. The authorities are aware that the
country has not benefitted much from State
involvement in the agribusiness sector and are
now attempting to withdraw from it by
transferring the activities to private operators.The government is also trying to stimulate
food production so as to reduce the volume of
food imports, and a draft law is now being
discussed in the Parliament to that end.Gabon WT/TPR/S/86
Page xi
(ii) Fisheries
31. With 800 kilometres of coastline and
many inland waterways and rivers, Gabon has
enormous potential in fisheries, which the
government hopes to further develop on a
sustainable basis.  Sea fishing is already beingpractised, including by vessels from the
European Union and Japan, under bilateral
agreements.  Inland fishery is practised to a
lesser extent and aquaculture is very
underdeveloped. Fish is the population'sstaple food and fishery could be further
developed through aquaculture, also with a
view to exportation.
(iii) Forestry
32. Nurtured by the hot and humid
equatorial climate, virgin forest is one of
Gabon's major assets and is owned by the
State.  The okoumé species is the one chiefly
being exploited.  The extraction of timber from
the forest is expanding rapidly.  Logs are
exported mainly to the Chinese and French
markets.  They are subject to a 15 per centexport duty which is waived in the case of
processed products.  By virtue of its rich flora
and fauna, the forest also offers considerable
tourism potential which is now largely
underdeveloped.
33. The forestry companies currently
working the forest are subject to specific laws
and regulations which are administered by the
Gabonese authorities.  Yet these measures are
hardly effective in practice, owing toregulatory shortcomings and the lack of
resources allocated for the purposes of
enforcing the existing provisions.
34. Sweeping changes are being
contemplated in a draft Code now before theParliament.  In the main, they pertain to the
introduction of the notion of sustainable forest
management, and preferences in the award of
forestry licences to companies that have
installed processing facilities.  The authorities
wish to increase the contribution of wood to
economic activity by mandating more localprocessing;  in 2000, some 9 per cent of wood
exports (in volume terms) were processed.
The Gabonese authorities are also aware of
the need to increase the human resources
devoted to administering the law.
(iv) Mining
35. The resources of the sub-soil are the
property of the State, which manages their
exploitation.  Oil, Gabon's leading resource
since the 1960s, is now facing an uncertain
future owing to the natural exhaustion of theoil fields being exploited.  Gabon hopes to
encourage further oil prospecting, but the
easily accessible blocs have already been
awarded and operators are now being offered
offshore blocs in deep water.  Operatorsinvolved in prospecting may benefit from tax
and customs incentives.
36. Gabon is also encouraging the search
for new subsoil resources.  With manganese
deposits already being worked, Gabon is
encouraging the search for new deposits.
Accordingly, a new Mining Code wasintroduced in 1999 and also provides fiscal
and customs incentives.
(v) Industry
37. Gabon has few industrial activities
apart from those connected with theprocessing of raw materials, in particular
agribusiness, the wood processing industries,
refining and the manufacture of construction
materials.  The share of industry in GDP is
about 5 per cent.  In a bid to attract newcompanies to this sector, Gabon is offering tax
incentives under the Investment Charter.
(vi) Services
Transportation
38. Gabon exports almost all of its
national output of oil, wood and mining
products, and imports most of its foodstuffs
and manufactures.  Therefore, water-bornetransport, both inland and maritime, is a keyWT/TPR/S/86 Trade Policy Review
Page xii
factor in the country's economic life.
Nevertheless, owing to a range of competitive
inefficiencies, transportation costs and related
expenses are higher than in other African
countries.
39. The road and railway networks are
largely underdeveloped in Gabon.  The
asphalting of roads, currently around 10 per
cent of the total, is a priority under the
national investment programme.  The
authorities have now awarded a railwayconcession to a private operator with a view to
enhancing the volume and quality of the
service on the single available line.
40. These networks were created to cater
to specific domestic needs and do not formpart of a common infrastructure with the
CAEMC partner countries.  This is a major
shortcoming in the common market project as
an economic operator located in any one
country would find it extremely difficult to
service the other countries.
41. Air transport is equally crucial for the
movement of goods and tourists, but is
extremely costly.  The national operator is
now being privatized.
Telecommunications
42. Some 4 per cent of the population
have access to fixed telephone lines and 8 per
cent to the mobile telephone service, and the
use of the Internet is rather limited.  This level
of teledensity is well below that appropriate toa country of comparable per capita income.
The underlying reason is the low level of
investment undertaken by the national
operator in telecommunications infrastructure.
43. Gabon is attempting to foment the
development of communications by privatizing
the national operator, Gabon Telecom.  The
process is now under way.  The intention is to
transfer a two-thirds stake to a private
operator, with the State retaining the
remainder.   Gabon Telecom would keep its
monopoly over fixed-line telephony until 2005.The mobile telephone market was opened in
2000 and three licences were awarded.
Tourism
44. The main component of tourism in
Gabon is business travel, mainly to Libreville.Gabon is striving to develop leisure tourism,
especially around the 140 tourist sites and
reserves which hold potential for eco-tourism.
To that end, an Order was issued in 2000
concerning investment in the sector, providingenterprises with fiscal and customs incentives.
Banking and insurance
45. Gabon has a well-developed private
financial sector and provides a range offinancial services to consumers and
enterprises.  Yet rural farmers have no access
to funding and small and medium-sized
enterprises face major difficulties in this
regard.  The Government grants support to the
latter group, provided that they are Gabonese.
46. The Central African Banking
Commission (COBAC) controls the operating
conditions of lending institutions, oversees the
quality of their financial situation and ensures
observance of the rules of the trade.  COBAC
gives its approval of the establishments, whichmust also be approved by the competent
authority in Gabon, the Ministry of Finance.
(6) 
OUTLOOK
47. The Gabonese economy is still in
transition in 2001.  The authorities intend tocontinue their efforts to gain control of public
spending and to increase non-oil receipts
through more efficient collection methods so
as to ensure surpluses on a sustained basis.
That would enable Gabon to cope, for the timebeing at any rate, with the servicing of the
public external debt.  In this connection, the
authorities envisage mounting problems over
the 2002-2005 period owing to dwindling oil
revenue and contracting national oil output.
48. Gabon's medium-term economic
prospects are contingent primarily on theGabon WT/TPR/S/86
Page xiii
scale of non-oil activity, and the authorities
have set a 2.5 per cent real annual growth
target for such activities.  They are also
remaining optimistic about prospects of new
discoveries of oil or other mineral deposits.
49. To attain the growth target for non-oil
activities, the authorities are counting on
increased, more efficient harnessing of forest
resources, with a higher degree of processing.
This would be done on a sustainable basis so
as to enable Gabon to reap long-term benefits.There are also plans to boost agricultural
production capacity and further develop
fisheries and tourism.
50. The competiveness of the existing
industries should be improved by the reformsunder way or planned, especially with respect
to the fight against corruption and the Labour
Code.  The state-owned enterprises should
become profitable through privatization,
which would also reduce the expenditures
borne by the State.  Investment in new sectors
would also be encouraged by a morehospitable business climate.  Economic
operators would enjoy expanded prospects
thanks to the subregional common market,
access to the market of the European Union
under the preferential terms of the ACP-EUPartnership Agreement, and access to the
world market through Gabon's participation in
the multilateral trading system.51. The WTO Secretariat believes that
economic reform in G abon would also stand to
gain from greater participation in the
multilateral trading system. Making up for the
small number of notifications would enhance
the transparency of the trade policy regime,and the authorities would reap the benefits of
dialogue with trading partners.  Eliminating
the difference between applied and bound
tariff levels would remove the inconsistency
between regional and multilateral levels oftrade policy and help render the tariff regime
more stable.  The Gabonese authorities would
also be well served by WTO rules and
disciplines in order to confront protectionist
pressures more effectively.  Lastly, theauthorities could consider making a stronger
commitment on services under the GATS and
its fourth and fifth protocols with a view to
stimulating investment in services.  The aim
would be to provide investors with a business
climate in which the basic support services for
production and international trade –transportation and communications, finances
and energy – would be available at
competitive prices.