WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONRESTRICTED
WT/TPR/S/133
24 May 2004
(04-2119)
Trade Policy Review Body
TRADE POLICY REVIEW
MALI
Report by the Secretariat
This report, prepared for the Trade Policy Review of MALI, 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 Mali on its trade
policies and practices.
Any technical questions arising from this report may be addressed to Mr Sergios
Stamnas (022.739.5382).
Document WT/TRP/G/133 contains the policy statement submitted by the
Government of Mali.
Note: This report is subject to restricted circulation and press embargo until the end of the meeting
of the Trade Policy Review Body on MaliMali WT/TPR/S/133
Page iii
CONTENTS
Page
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS vii
(1) ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT vii
(2) TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK viii
(3) TRADE POLICY DEVELOPMENTS ix
(4) SECTORAL POLICY DEVELOPMENTS xi
(5) OUTLOOK xiii
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 1
(1) OVERVIEW 1
(2) BACKGROUND 2
(3) RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 3
(i) Macroeconomic indicators 3
(ii) Monetary and exchange policy 4
(iii) Budget policy 6
(4) TRENDS INTRADE 6
(5) OUTLOOK 8
II. TRADE POLICY REGIME: FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES 10
(1) OVERVIEW 10
(2) GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL ,LEGAL ANDINSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 10
(3) TRADE ANDINVESTMENT POLICY 11
(i) Main features 11
(ii) Institutional framework 12
(iii) Instruments 13
(4) TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS 17
(i) WTO 17
(ii) Regional economic agreements 19
ANNEX II.1: TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 25
III. TRADE POLICY BY MEASURE 28
(1) OVERVIEW 28
(i) Import imports 28
(ii) Export measures 29
(iii) Domestic measures 29
(2) MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS 29
(i) Registration 29WT/TPR/S/133 Trade Policy Review
Page iv
Page
(ii) Customs procedures 30
(iii) Customs valuation 31
(iv) Customs levies 31
(v) Rules of origin 39
(vi) Prohibitions and products subject to authorization, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures 39
(vii) Technical standards and accreditation procedures 40
(viii) Marking and labelling requirements 41
(ix) Contingency measures 41
(x) State trading 41
(3) MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS 43
(i) Registration 43
(ii) Customs procedures 43
(iii) Export duties and taxes 43
(iv) Prohibitions and products subject to licensing, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures 43
(v) Export subsidies and promotion 44
(vi) State trading 44
(4) DOMESTIC MEASURES 44
(i) Protection of intellectual property rights 44
(ii) Competition policy 47
(iii) Subsidies and other forms of production support 47
(iv) Government procurement 48
IV. TRADE POLICY BY SECTOR 50
(1) OVERVIEW 50
(2) AGRICULTURE ,LIVESTOCK AND FORESTRY 51
(i) Overview 51
(ii) Agricultural policy 52
(3) MINING ,PETROLEUM ANDENERGY 57
(i) Mining 57
(ii) Energy 60
(4) INDUSTRY 61
(5) SERVICES 63
(i) Overview 63
(ii) Telecommunications 63
(iii) Tourism 64
(iv) Financial services 65
REFERENCES 67
APPENDIX TABLES 71MALI WT/TPR/S/133
Page v
CHARTS
Page
III. TRADE POLICY BY MEASURE
III.1 Breakdown of customs duties, October 2003 34
III.2 Escalation of duties actually applied, October 2003 35
TABLES
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
I.1 Basic economic indicators for Mali, 1998-2002 2
I.2 Economic indicators for Mali, 1998-2002 3
I.3 Principal exports of Mali 1997-2002 7
I.4 Destination of Mali’s exports, 1997-2002 7
I.5 Principal imports by Mali, 1997-2002 8
I.6 Origin of Mali’s imports, 1997-2002 8
II. TRADE POLICY REGIME: FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES
II.1 Approvals under the Investment Code and authorizations to engage in an activity
issued by the single window, 1998-2003 17
II.2 WTO documents relevant to Mali, April 2004 18
III. TRADE POLICY BY MEASURE
III.1 Breakdown of customs duties, rates actually applied and final bound rates of Mali,
October 2003 33
III.2 Special tax on certain products (ISCP), 1998 and 2004 37
III.3 State holdings in the capital of State enterprises, 1998 and 2003 42
III.4 Subjects and terms of protection under the Bangui Agreement (1977) and its revision
(1999) 45
III.5 Applications for titles filed by the CEMAPI with the OAPI, 2002-2003 46
III.6 Amounts and methods of awarding government procurement contracts, 2000-2002 49
IV. TRADE POLICY BY SECTOR
IV.1 Cereal and cotton production, 1998-2004 51
IV.2 Gold production, 1996-2003 58
APPENDIX TABLES
AIII. Reference prices, September 2003 73
AIII.2 Tariff lines the applied MFN rate of which is higher than the bound rate of Customs
duties (excluding other duties and charges), October 2003 75
AIII.3 Products subject to the absolute prohibition and restrictive prohibition regimes 78Mali WT/TPR/S/133
Page vii
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS
1. Since the first review of its trade
policy in 1998, Mali, one of the poorest of the
“least developed countries (LDCs)”, has
continued with its programme of trade,
structural and macroeconomic reform. The
efforts made by the State to withdraw from key
activities for Mali’s economy, particularly in
the agro-food sector, should be underlined.
For Mali, the tariff reform put into effect in the
West African Economic and Monetary Union
(WAEMU) has led to a substantial reduction
and streamlining of the customs tariff,
achieved unilaterally. Even though the
development of gold mining has underpinned
economic growth during the period under
review, it does not appear to constitute a
sustainable base for economic activity. Mali is
facing major problems of competitiveness as a
result of its landlocked situation and the high
cost of inputs such as energy, water,
communications, credit, transport, as well as
the burden of taxation. The objectives of the
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
could be achieved by giving impetus to the
rural sector (particularly cotton-growing),
industrial activities, business services, and
traditional (cotton) and non-traditional
exports.
(1) ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
2. As was already the case in 1998,
Mali’s economic growth chiefly depends on
trends in the primary sector, which is highly
vulnerable to climate variations. Nevertheless,
increased gold production has enabled an
average rate of economic growth of around
5.2 per cent (1998-2002) to be achieved. The
excellent performance during the 2003-2004
agricultural season led to a rate of economic
growth of 5.6 per cent for 2003 in the context
of controlled inflation. Cereal production
reached 3.6 million tonnes, the best yield for
two decades, and the source of a substantial
cereal surplus. Favourable rainfall also
increased cotton production by 37 per cent in
comparison with the 2002-2003 season,
reaching a record level of some
600,000 tonnes, as a result of which Mali tookfirst place among African producers of seed
cotton. Continued good rainfall raises hopes
of an even better economic growth rate of
6.7 per cent in 2004.
3. Since the first review of Mali's trade
policy, the government finance situation has
deteriorated, above all because of the
reduction of grants included in the GDP; the
overall balance excluding grants has remained
at around the same level, notably because of
the efforts made to collect taxes, especially
customs duties and taxes, and the royalties
paid by enterprises in the gold mining sector.
As a result of the development of gold mining,
Mali exceptionally had a surplus in its trade
balance in 2002 (on an f.o.b.-f.o.b. basis),
even though the trade balance still shows a
deficit when the cost of transport is added (on
an f.o.b.-c.i.f. basis). In March 2003, it was
decided to alleviate Mali’s external debt under
the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
(HIPC).
4. Gold has become the major source of
Mali’s export earnings and accounted for
71.8 per cent of their total in 2002 compared
with 40.6 per cent in 1998. This change has
been mainly at the expense of cotton, whose
share of the total fell from 44.1 per cent in
1998 to 17.7 per cent in 2002. Even though the
volumes exported have increased since the
first review, Mali’s earnings from exports of
cotton fibre have been affected by the decline
in global prices (expressed in United
States dollars) and the trend in the
euro/US dollar exchange rate as the
CFA franc is anchored to the euro. According
to data from importing countries, America’s
share (principally Mexico) of Mali’s exports
has increased, whereas the shares of Europe
and Asia have fallen. The European Union (in
particular, France, Belgium and Luxembourg)
is still Mali’s main supplier of goods.
5. The main trade impact of the crisis in
Côte d’Ivoire has been a move away from
traditional routes for transporting cotton fibre
from the port of Abidjan to Tema, Dakar and
Cotonou and, as a result, there has been an
increase in transport costs.WT/TPR/S/133 Trade Policy Review
Page viii
(2) TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK
6. Mali was a contracting party to the
GATT (as of 11 January 1993 after having
applied the Agreement de facto since 1967)
and became a Member on 31 May 1995. It
grants at least MFN treatment to WTO
Members (with the exception of Israel, with
which Mali still has no official relations,
including trade relations) and benefits from
the “special and differential treatment”
provided in the WTO Agreements. Mali is one
of the sponsors of the sectoral initiative in
favour of cotton in the WTO, which seeks to
tackle the subsidization practices of certain
WTO Members and this has recently given
Mali’s trade policy a more important
multilateral dimension.
7. Mali does not have sufficient human
and financial resources to participate fully in
the WTO’s work. The action planned and the
action that could be envisaged for Mali in the
WTO consists of trade policy courses in
Geneva; regional trade policy courses; short
trade policy courses on the Doha Development
Agenda; workshops or seminars at the
regional or subregional level on a number of
issues, and negotiating techniques; meetings
to promote awareness among
parliamentarians; and various activities at
WTO headquarters. They will deal, inter alia,
with the issues identified by the authorities
such as building negotiating capacity,
implementing the WTO Agreements, and
integrating Mali into world trade.
8. Since 1998, there have been few major
changes in the 1992 constitutional framework
or in the overall legal framework. At the
institutional level, the Executive has adopted a
new public-private consultation structure with
responsibility for making proposals to enhance
the economy’s competitiveness and to promote
the modernization of enterprises (technology,
economic and trade information, training,
infrastructure). The Minister for Industry and
Trade is responsible for formulating and
implementing trade and industrial policy.9. In their plans for Mali’s future, the
authorities attach great importance to
regional economic integration. The
Government has committed itself to
strengthening the WAEMU and the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
with a view to achieving African union, as well
as to the implementation of the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD). In the context of the customs union
created among its members, the WAEMU
Commission is gradually defining a common
trade policy, which is taking shape in
particular through the negotiation of trade
agreements and in common positions at the
WTO. The integration process within the
larger Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) was revived and
accelerated when negotiations were initiated
with the European Union (EU) in October
2003 with a view to the conclusion of an
Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Since 2004, the members of the ECOWAS have
accorded each other preferential treatment for
the same products as those within the WAEMU
and it is planned to establish a customs union
by 2007. The new trade arrangements with the
EU replace those under the ACP-EU
Partnership Agreement and are the subject of
a waiver granted by WTO Members. In
principle, they should apply as of 2008.
10. Mali’s Investment Code has not
changed since Mali first appeared before the
TPRB; investment in mining and tourism each
receives special treatment and access to the
telecommunications, financial services and
electricity sectors is regulated. The Investment
Code gives tax concessions and guarantees for
approved investment projects; enterprises that
mainly export (more than 80 per cent of their
production) may be approved under the free
enterprise regime and receive full exemption
from duties and taxes (including import duties)
related to their export activities for a period of
30 years; there three free enterprises are
currently in operation.Mali WT/TPR/S/133
Page ix
(3) TRADE POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
11. Mali’s trade policy chiefly consists of
implementing the relevant WAEMU
regulations. The customs tariff is currently
Mali’s main trade policy instrument, together
with VAT and excise duty levied by the
customs. In all, 46.3 per cent of budgetary
income (excluding grants) was levied by the
customs in 2002, a slight decrease in
comparison with 1999. Mali has implemented
the WAEMU’s Common External Tariff (CET)
since 1 January 2000. This groups tariff lines
into four major categories: staple goods
(zero per cent); basic commodities, including
basic raw materials, capital goods, and
specific inputs (5 per cent); inputs and
intermediate goods (10 per cent); and final
consumer goods (20 per cent). Mali has
unified the customs tariff by replacing customs
duty and fiscal import duty existing at the time
of the first review with a single duty. One
other major change has been the reduction in
the maximum rate (customs duty) from 35 per
cent to 20 per cent, which has significantly
narrowed the standard variation.
12. Taking into account the standing
supplementary duties of the WAEMU and the
ECOWAS levied solely on imports from third
countries (including community levies of 1 and
0.5 per cent ad valorem respectively and the
statistical fee of 1 per cent ad valorem), the
simple average of MFN customs duties
actually applied by Mali has fallen from
22.1 per cent in 1997 to 14.6 per cent (tariff of
October 2003). Mali nevertheless continues to
give a marked degree of protection to
agricultural products, thereby reducing the
purchasing power of households. The
maximum rate actually applied is 77.5 per
cent and is applicable to sugar, a product that
is subject to a supplementary tax in the form of
a 55 per cent special import tax (TCI); the
TCI already existed at the time of the first
review in 1998. The country's authorities point
out that imported sugar is the subject of
subsidies granted by exporters and the
purpose of the TCI is to compensate for this
unfair competition.13. Mali waives import duties on imports
of goods originating in the WAEMU. This
applies to local products and traditional
handicrafts, as well as industrial products
from enterprises approved by the WAEMU
Commission. This preferential treatment has
been extended to goods originating in the
ECOWAS since 1 January 2004. The rules of
origin in the ECOWAS have been harmonized
with those adopted by the WAEMU in order to
make the two preferential regimes compatible
and to expand the scope of free trade.
Applications to benefit from the preferences
for products of WAEMU or ECOWAS origin
must be substantiated by a certificate of
origin.
14. According to the analysis made by the
WTO Secretariat for the purposes of this
review, 42 per cent of Mali’s tariff lines are
bound, of which 54.6 per cent (fish and fish
products, milk and dairy products, soap,
plastics, cotton, man-made fibres, clothing,
footwear, and electrical machinery and
equipment) are subject to applied customs
duties of up to 20 percentage points above the
bound levels (not taking into account the
binding of other duties and levies at 50 per
cent). These higher levels are the result of
tariff concessions made by France on behalf of
French West Africa during the colonial era.
Only Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal have
renegotiated these under Article XXVIII of the
GATT 1994, but it would appear that the
WAEMU Commission is considering the
submission of a new schedule for its members.
15. Regarding customs valuation, Mali
has applied the transaction value since
1 January 2004 (three and a half years after
1 June 2000, the final date for deferred
application of the relevant WTO Agreement).
Reference values apply, however, to certain
products (for example, cotton fabrics), and
cover at least 76 tariff lines, which in the
majority of cases constitutes a form of
protection. In connection with the
implementation of the WTO Agreement on
Customs Valuation, the WAEMU Commission
is seeking a solution to the issue of reference
values.WT/TPR/S/133 Trade Policy Review
Page x
16. A contribution to the import inspection
programme (PVI) amounting to around
0.65 per cent of the f.o.b. value is levied on
imported and exported goods; up to 2000, the
Government paid the costs related to the PVI.
This programme has been in existence since
1989 and applies to imports and exports
whose f.o.b. value is CFAF 3 million
(US$50,000) or more that are not exempt from
controls under an order (for example, crude
petroleum). Any import transaction, whether
or not subject to the PVI, is liable to a
contribution to the PVI. The automation of
customs clearance procedures and formalities
concerning documentation have facilitated
import and export.
17. Mali has maintained the distinction
between imports subject to a prohibition and
those subject to restrictions and consequently
to the issue of an import licence. One of the
major changes since the first review is the ban
imposed on imports of bovine meat of any
origin. Although the import of matches has
been liberalized, imports of cigarettes and
tobacco still require an authorization from the
Ministry of Trade. The Malian authorities
explain this requirement by the vulnerability of
the cigarettes and tobacco sector, on the one
hand because of its contribution to the
national budget (in terms of customs duty and
the special tax on certain products (ISCP))
and, on the other, because of the risk that
smoking represents for the population. All
imports and exports must be the subject of a
notice of intent, but Mali’s latest notification
to the WTO on this subject, dating from 2001,
states that this document is issued without any
limitation as to value or volume. Mali has
moved ahead with the introduction of national
standards and 93 have been adopted since the
first review. These are non-discriminatory and
are usually based on international standards
or aligned on them. No product is subject to
mandatory standards (technical regulations).
Mali has once again become a subscriber
member of the ISO so that it can keep abreast
of ongoing work, but it does not have the
resources to participate actively in the
Organization. A regional accreditationprogramme is under consideration by the
WAEMU.
18. The State still grants tax and customs
exemptions to enterprises approved under the
Mining Code, the Investment Code, the special
Code for tourism and hotels, the special Code
on real estate investment, and enterprises that
build social housing. The annual amount of
revenue lost as a result of these exemptions
depends on the level and nature of the
investment (for example, the opening of new
goldmines). In 2003, customs exemptions
amounted to CFAF 35.8 billion
(US$59.7 million). The agricultural sector
also receives substantial support, amounting
on average to 16 per cent of Mali’s budgetary
expenditure.
19. Even though the WAEMU has adopted
regulations on competition and State aid, there
have been no changes for the time being apart
from the strengthening of Mali’s institutional
framework. The members of the WAEMU,
including Mali, have not yet completed the
implementation of these regulations. At the
national level, all prices have now been
liberalized with the exception of petroleum
prices at the pump, which are determined
monthly according to fluctuations in supplier
prices, together with the prices of water,
electricity and telephony.
20. The State has continued to withdraw
from economic activity by opening up the
capital of State enterprises to private interests,
especially in the agro-food subsector, but it
retains a minority holding in a number of key
enterprises that sometimes enjoy a legal
monopoly (cotton ginning). The Government’s
programme for 2004 includes the sale of
residual State holdings in many industrial
enterprises.
21. Mali appears to have made significant
progress in the procedures for awarding
government procurement contracts. A new
Code was adopted in 1999 in order to
strengthen the measures to fight corruption.
According to the information provided by the
authorities, private agreement is used for onlyMali WT/TPR/S/133
Page xi
11.8 per cent of contracts financed from the
national budget in value terms, a sharp drop
in comparison with previous financial years.
The 15 per cent preference for domestic
enterprises in contracts for supplies (10 per
cent in the case of services) still applies. In
order to benefit from this, foreign enterprises
must establish themselves as groups under
certain conditions.
22. The industrial property regime of the
African Intellectual Property Organization
(OAPI) has also been updated in order to
harmonize it with the requirements of the
TRIPS Agreement. Mali ratified the 1999
revision of the Bangui Agreement on 19 June
2000. It has still not completed the revision of
its copyright and related rights regime, which
dates back to 1984, and the authorities
mention the lack of technical assistance as one
of the reasons for this. Mali is a member of
only a few treaties administered by the WIPO
and, since the first review, it has ratified only
those on copyright, performances and
phonograms (in 2002). The authorities draw
attention to some problems in protecting
intellectual property rights, for example, the
piracy of musical works by Malian artists and
the import of counterfeit goods. The State
lacks the resources to promote awareness
among the population and the human and
financial resources to prevent the sale of
pirated works.
(4) SECTORAL POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
23. Since the first review of its trade
policy, Mali has continued the reform of the
agricultural sector initiated under the Master
Plan for Rural Development (SDDR), updated
in 2000, through State withdrawal from
production and distribution (except for cotton)
and restructuring of administrative bodies.
The State is currently focusing on support for
producers by developing infrastructure in
rural areas, providing training programmes,
and expanding financial services (banking,
decentralized financing schemes, loans for
projects). The organization of small farmers
into cooperatives is only in the initial stages.
The introduction of the WAEMU’s CET hassignificantly lowered the simple average of
duties and taxes applicable to agricultural
products, which has fallen from 29.2 per cent
in 1997 to 17.5 per cent. Other measures of a
restrictive nature (reference values,
supplementary taxes, high domestic taxes)
exist under policies implemented in favour of
certain domestic products (for example, sugar,
meat, tobacco and cigarettes).
24. Cotton fibre, 96 per cent of which is
exported and therefore undergoes little
processing in Mali, remains the cornerstone of
trade in agricultural products. It is of vital
importance for the manufacturing sector
(cotton ginning is the major manufacturing
activity). Giving impetus to the cotton
subsector has a vital role to play in alleviating
poverty. The subsector is still dominated by
the Mali Textile Development Company
(CMDT), in which the State is the major
shareholder. The CMDT has a legal monopoly
on cotton ginning and marketing of cotton
fibre in the cotton-growing area attributed to
it, where virtually all Mali’s cotton is grown.
Reform of this subsector was outlined in the
Policy Letter on Development of the Cotton
Sector (LPDSC) and adopted in mid-2001 with
the objective of allowing the entry of new
operators in order to take full advantage of
Mali’s cotton potential and of privatizing the
CMDT in 2006. Consequently, the CMDT is
now focusing on cotton ginning and
marketing, slimming its payroll, and
withdrawing from its various tasks
(maintaining rural roads, education and social
activities, etc.), which should in principle be
taken over by the State. Since the 2003-2004
season, a new formula for fixing producer
prices takes into account the estimated income
of the CMDT (as well as its production costs),
the equal sharing of the surplus or deficit in
the subsector between producers and cotton
ginners, and each one’s capacity to assume
the price risk; a link with global prices has
therefore been established. For the 2003-2004
season, the floor price is 43 per cent higher
than that for the 1998-1999 season, which has
increased producers’ incomes and makes a
more effective contribution to combating
poverty in rural areas. As part of the sectoralWT/TPR/S/133 Trade Policy Review
Page xii
initiative on cotton, in March 2004 the WTO
organized a regional workshop on cotton in
Benin with the objective of examining the
possibilities for financial and technical
assistance to cotton-producing LDCs,
including Mali.
25. The situation in the sugar subsector
has changed little since the first review.
Although it is still the most protected subsector
owing to the additional imposition of the TCI,
the Complexe Sucrier du Kala Supérieur
(SUKALA-SA), which controls all sugar cane
production and its processing into sugar in
Mali, is finding it difficult to face up to
competition from imported sugar. The State
has opened up its capital to private sources in
an effort to enhance the competitiveness of its
production. SUKALA covers around
one quarter of Mali’s sugar requirements. A
new production facility is planned in order to
cover all national requirements and sell any
surplus on regional markets. The protection
afforded by the TCI plays a central role in the
profitability of this investment, but its effects
are mitigated by sugar smuggling, which
appears to be widespread.
26. Mali is the third largest producer of
gold in Africa. Industrial production of gold
rose threefold between 1998 and 2002 as a
result of the opening up of new mines, but it
fell to 51.6 tonnes in 2003. Mining prospection
has benefited from the incentives provided
under the 1991 Mining Code, revised in 1999
in order to increase the State’s income while
at the same time maintaining the incentives for
exploration, prospection and operation of
mines. The tax and customs exemptions given
to mining enterprises are not so advantageous
during the operating and start-up phases
under the new Code. Gold mining enterprises
are subject to a contribution for the supply of
services (CPS) of 3 per cent on their turnover
(6 per cent at the time of the first review),
levied at the time of export. The State also has
holdings in mining enterprises and receives
royalties.
27. The main change in the manufacturing
sector since 1998 has been the progress madeby the State in selling its assets, which should
also include cotton ginning, still a CMDT
monopoly. The major part of private industry
is composed of former State enterprises,
chiefly producing for the domestic market and
vulnerable to competition from imports. Tariff
protection has been lowered since the first
review, but the introduction of new measures
such as reference values and the continuing
marked escalation of the customs tariff in
favour of finished products means that the
success of liberalization is mixed. The
competitiveness of Malian products on both
domestic and international markets remains
hampered by the high price of energy,
transport and telecommunications, and the
high cost of inputs, which are mostly imported.
This was already noted at the time of the first
review and the situation remains unchanged.
It explains the continued protection granted to
the sector by the State through various tariff
and non-tariff measures. Consequently,
although several incentives are available to
investors, there is still a low level of
investment in the industrial sector (with the
exception of bakeries).
28. From 1998 onwards, Mali undertook
an in-depth reform of the electricity sector,
one of the major objectives being to make
electricity available to the largest number of
inhabitants (around 10 per cent of households
had access to electric power in 2002) at the
lowest possible cost. The main results of this
reform have been the introduction of a
regulatory framework that reaffirms the
opening up of the sector to new operators and
the State’s withdrawal from generation and
distribution of electricity. The privatization of
the traditional operator occurred in 2000 and
since then the company EDM-SA has provided
the public with electricity under a concession
agreement; rural electrification is the
responsibility of local administrative
authorities. The Electricity and Water
Regulatory Commission (CREE) approves and
monitors rates for water and electricity.
29. Telecommunications is another sector
in which there has been reform, although it is
not included in the GATS (Mali only madeMali WT/TPR/S/133
Page xiii
commitments on tourism services). Mali’s
telephone rates are still among the highest in
the subregion. The Telecommunications Code
was adopted in 1999 and determines the
conditions for access to licences and the
establishment of the regulatory authority for
the sector. The traditional operator,
SOTELMA, obtained a GSM mobile licence in
1999, followed by a competitor in 2002. The
sale of a minority holding (49 per cent, of
which 33 per cent is reserved for the strategic
partner and the remainder for Malian
nationals) in SOTELMA is included in the
privatization programme for 2004. The
company would retain its monopoly on
infrastructure and basic services until the end
of 2005.
30. The availability of financial services
remains one of the most significant obstacles
to Mali’s economic development because the
offer available in the banking sector focuses
on the CMDT, formal industry, and import-
export, neglecting the demand from SMEs and
farmers. Since 1998, there has been strong
expansion in microfinance in Mali, mainly
through mutual funds or savings and loan
cooperatives or decentralized financing
schemes (SFDs), and institutions financed by
NGOs or by the State. Like all banking
establishments, these are subject to the
common regulations of the WAEMU.
(5) OUTLOOK
31. The liberalization of foreign trade,
structural reform and the intensified efforts
made to achieve macroeconomic stabilization
have helped to enhance Mali’s economic
environment and have led to more positiveeconomic performance than that recorded at
the time of the first review in 1998. However,
this is chiefly due to favourable rainfall during
the last two agricultural seasons and to the
development of the gold mining sector, which
nevertheless seems to be slowing down.
Recent reforms in the water, electricity and
telecommunications sectors and the progress
made in the privatization programme have not
yet boosted activity in the industrial sector.
The structure of exports still focuses
essentially on gold and cotton, with low value
added and revenue depending on trends in
global prices as well as the euro exchange
rate. Completing the reforms under way,
streamlining the regulatory framework for
economic activity, achieving the objective of a
functional judicial system and enhancing
governance appear to be the priorities that
will increase the confidence of economic
operators.
32. As an LDC, Mali receives substantial
technical and financial assistance from its
development partners. It has also benefited
from considerable assistance from the WTO
since the first review, although this has not
always resulted in a satisfactory level of
participation in the multilateral system. It is
planned to increase this aid under Phase II of
the JITAP and the pilot programme of the
Integrated Framework. Negotiations on cotton
under the Doha Agenda could make a major
contribution to the efforts of cotton-producing
LDCs, including Mali. Nevertheless, the
benefits which Mali could derive from access
to markets at both regional and multilateral
level will not be fully realized until its
economy is able to respond competitively to
external demand.