RESTRICTED  
  
WT/TPR/G/441  
19 April 2023  
(23-2628) Page: 1/11 
Trade Policy Review Body   Original: English  
 
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW  
REPORT BY  
LIBERIA  
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex  3 of the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), the policy statement by Liberia  
is attached.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note: This report is subject to restricted circulation and press embargo until the end of the first 
session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on Liberia . WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  Contents  
1   INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  3 
2   MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE  ............................  4 
2.1   Fiscal Policy  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  4 
2.2   Monetary Policy  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  5 
2.3   Exchange rate development  ................................ ................................ ........................  5 
2.4   External sector developments  ................................ ................................ ......................  5 
2.5   Interest rate development  ................................ ................................ ..........................  6 
2.6   Inflation rate development  ................................ ................................ ..........................  6 
2.7   Public debt (external and domestic)  ................................ ................................ .............  6 
3   LIBERIA'S INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONS  ................................ ..........................  6 
3.1   The Multilateral Trading  System  ................................ ................................ ...................  6 
3.2   Regional integration  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 7 
3.2.1   African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) ................................ .....................  7 
3.2.2   Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)  ................................ ...............  7 
3.3   Preferential trade agreements  ................................ ................................ .....................  8 
3.3.1   EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EU  EPA) ................................ ............................  8 
3.4   EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement  ................................ ................................ ............  8 
3.5   African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)  ................................ ................................ .. 8 
4   TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  ................................ ................................ .. 9 
5   OTHER AGREEMENTS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 9 
5.1   Manor River Union (MRU)  ................................ ................................ ...........................  9 
6   MSME POLICY  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  9 
6.1   The Pro -Poor Loan  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 10 
6.1.1   Liberia Investment, Finance and Trade Project (LIFT -P) ................................ ...............  10 
7   TELECOMMUNICATIONS  ................................ ................................ ............................  10 
8   FISHERIES  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  10 
9   CONCLUSION ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  10 
  WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  Liberia is Africa 's oldest independent Republic located on the West Coast of Africa, bordering 
the Guinea, Sierra  Leone , Cote  D'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean at the south. Liberia has 40% of the 
Upper Guinea Forest with enormous biodiversity with a population size of 5.2  million, covering a land 
area of 111,370  km2 and a coastline of  579 km. Liberia has a Republican unitary form of Government 
headed by a President with a bicameral Legislature and the Judiciary. It is endowed with mineral 
depos its, fertile soil for agriculture production and emerging tourism and fishery sectors.  
1.2.  Liberia acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 14 July 2016, after 8  years of 
negotiations. Liberia remains an ardent Member of the WTO and it continues to dev elop and 
implement policies consistent with its commitment to the rule -based multilateral trading system. 
Liberia is a member of various Groups in the WTO, including the African  Caribbean  Pacific  States,  
G-90, African Group, and Least Developed Countries a nd actively supports the Trade for Peace 
Initiative as Vice Chair and a participating Member of the negotiation on Investment Facilitation for 
Development.  
1.3.  The Government reforms implemented led to a spark in GDP annual growth percentage to 5% 
in 2021 down  from negative in 2020. This percentage growth was occasioned by the mining and 
quarrying sector and the manufacturing sector. The increase in international prices of Liberia 's 
commodity export led to growth in 2021 in the mining and quarrying sector with a 17.6%  growth 
rate, while gold and diamond volumes grew by 79% and 15% respectively, as iron ore grew by 3%. 
While the growth in the manufacturing sector was 4.7% induced by increase production in cement 
and beverages. Liberia 's imports and exports compos ition have largely remained the same with 
rubber, iron ore and minerals as major exports, while rice, petroleum products, machinery and 
transport equipment are the major imports. Liberia has maintained on average a single digit inflation 
rate despite exter nal shocks, public health pandemics and other domestic challenges. The 
end-of-year inflation stood at 5.5% in 2021 on account of monetary policy stance of the Central 
Bank of Liberia (CBL) coupled with the pass -through effect from the appreciation of the 
Liberian  dollar during 2021.  
1.4.  Liberia, like many other countries have been hit by many pandemics since 2014 with the Ebola 
virus disease epidemic and then the COVID -19 pandemic. Additionally, primary commodity export 
prices have been volatile which compounde d the economic challenges over the years. However, the 
Government 's flagship development plan, Pro -Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) 
developed in 2018 sets out many developmental goals with an overarching objective to reduce 
absolute povert y by 23% over five years period. To this end, strong fiscal and monetary policies and 
reforms were implemented to mitigate the public health impact on the economy, maintain a single 
digit inflation, and ensure exchange rate stability and resilience of the economy to any external 
shocks.  
1.5.  These policies and measures were also implemented bearing in mind the PAPD objective of 
reducing absolute poverty. Amidst high global fuel and food prices, inflation remained contained in 
2021 with an annual average inflatio n decline to 7.9% in 2021, down from 17.4% in 2020 and has 
moderated further to 6.5% by July  2022. Similarly, the Liberian  dollar appreciated against the 
US dollar by 8.3% up to the first half of 2022. The average annual exchange rate between the 
Liberian  dollar and the US dollar fell from L RD 166.15 to US D 1 in 2021 to L RD 152.43 to US D 1 in 
July 2022.  
1.6.  The Government recognizes energy as an important element for economic development and 
thriving business environment. Hence, Liberia has taken steps to address the challenge of steady 
electricity supply, affordability and accessibility. Liberia joined the Côte  d'Ivoire , Sierra  Leone  and 
Guinea through a new high voltage line known as the "CSLG interconnected line ". The new 
connection line boost Liberia el ectricity supply from 27  to 50 megawatts. There is also reduction in 
the electricity user tariff from USD  0.59/kWh in 2016 to USD  0.22/kWh in 2023.  WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  2  MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE  
2.1  Fiscal Policy  
2.1.  The Ministry of Finance and Development Pla nning is the lead government Ministry of Liberia 's 
fiscal regime. Liberia 's fiscal policies backed by robust domestic resource mobilization yielded fruitful 
results in 2021. In 2021, government total revenue increased by 7% while tax revenue increased 
by 24%. The Government expenditure in the same year targeted programs with potential to diversify 
the economy and stimulate growth and economic recovery. Public expenditure went up by 15% on 
account of expenditure on agriculture, infrastructure, electricity gr id expansion, road construction 
and maintenance and addressing the effects of COVID -19. 
2.2.  Liberia as a small economy has plethora of problems to be addressed by limited revenue 
envelop. Thus, the need for fiscal discipline and control of fraud, waste and abu se cannot be 
overemphasized. Liberia adopted a new set of fiscal measures in 2022, guided by the PAPD towards 
sustainable economic recovery and poverty reduction. These measures were taken to ensure 
efficient and effective use of the available public resou rces. The measures include but not limited to 
the following:  
• All borrowing must be undertaken for the purposes of investment, consistent with the 
Public Sector Investment Plan (PSIP);  
• Total debt stock must not exceed 60% of previous calendar year 's GDP as contained in 
the Public Financial Management Regulations;  
• Before new borrowing are undertaken, a Debt Sustainability Analysis must be carried out 
and presented to the Debt Management Committee to ensure debt rules are not breached ; 
• The remuneration for ind ividual -based consultancy contracts shall not exceed the 
remuneration of the principal deputy of the institution. In exceptional cases where there 
is a compelling need, this rule may be relaxed based on approval of Public Procurement 
and Concession Commiss ion (PPCC);  
• Consultancy contracts shall not be approved for positions in the civil service structure for 
which skills can be readily found in an institution ; 
• No more than two persons shall constitute a 'cabinet delegation ' (i.e. a delegation led by 
a cabin et minister) except in cases where expansion of the delegation is approved by the 
President;  
• Any change to travel plans unless expressly approved by a competent authority (i.e.  the 
President or Head of Institution) shall be the full responsibility of the t raveler ; 
• Except for the Vice President, Speaker, Pro -Tempore, Chief Justice and Foreign Minister 
who shall travel by business class, all travels shall be by economy class ; 
• Total Government of Liberia (GoL) funded representation at any program/event held 
outside Liberia shall not exceed five persons unless special events expressly approved by 
the President;  
• Total number of days spent abroad for which per  diem shall be paid by the GoL shall not 
exceed seven (7) unless for special events expressly approved by the President ; 
• All on -budget purchases of rice shall be restricted to locally processed rice. This includes 
but not limited to purchases by the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), Police Training 
Academy, the Bureau of Correction and Independence Day or special holidays rice 
bonuses ; 
• Cabinet Ministers occupying either statutory or appointed board positions on public 
corporations or autonomous agencies shall not be entitled to board or sitting fees ; WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  • Boards are required to present proposal for Board fees to  the President for approval; and , 
• Commissions without oversight boards are required to submit compensation proposal of 
senior management for approval by the President.  
2.2  Monetary Policy  
2.3.  The Monetary Policies of Liberia have been implemented towards the achie vement of domestic 
price stability in the economy. The monetary policies formulation and implementation are led by the 
Central Bank of Liberia as the principal Agency of the Government of Liberia. The Act establishing 
the Central Bank of Liberia was amende d in 2020. The Central Bank of Liberia New Strategic Plan 
(2021 -24) is fulcrum on the ultimate goal of the institution 's rebranding that sets a new direction 
for the restoration of public confidence in the Bank and the financial sector. The Strategic Plan is 
guided by three cardinal pillars:  
• Price and Financial System Stability ; 
• Payment System Integration and Digitization of  the Liberian Economy ; and,  
• Rebranding and improving the image of the Central Bank of Liberia . 
2.4.  The Central Bank of Liberia also impleme nted the following forward -looking policies to sustain 
macroeconomic gains in the Liberian economy:  
• Tight Monetary Policy Stance:  maintaining policy rate to manage Liberian  dollar liquidity 
for price stability through broad exchange rate management. Also, CBL would continue 
the issuance of its main monetary policy instruments at an effective policy rate annually 
based on economic prudence to safeguard the economy ; 
• Robust Regulation of Banking Industry:  the banking industry would remain rig orously 
monitored to ensure strict compliance with the regulatory requirements ; and,  
• Issuance of new family of Liberian  dollar banknotes : to ease liquidity impasse, the issuance 
of the new family of banknotes will be consistent with effective liquidity for ecast consistent 
with Liberian  dollar broad money supply (M2) growth  − encompassing demand in deposits 
and net domestic assets (NDA) of banks.  
2.3  Exchange rate development  
2.5.  Liberia has a managed float exchange rate regime. The foreign exchange market in 2021 
favored the Liberian  dollar, as it strengthened against the US dollar. The Liberian  dollar (annual 
average exchange rate) appreciated by 13% in 2021 at L RD 171.65 to US D 1.00 from L RD 191.52 
to US D 1.00 in 2020. Similarly, the end of period exchange rate sh owed appreciation of the 
Liberian  dollar by 11.6% at L RD 145.36 to US D 1.00, compared to L RD 164.22 to US D 1.00 reported 
in 2020. This appreciation of the domestic currency was mainly driven by contractionary monetary 
policy stance supported by increased n et inflows of remittances.  
2.4  External sector developments  
2.6.  The external sector had a diverse outlook in 2021. The COVID -19 had a toll on the external 
sector of the economy. The current and capital accounts net balance widened to a deficit of 
USD 391.5  million  (11.2% of GDP), from US D 154.5  million  (5.1% of GDP) in 2020 occasioned by 
expansion in the current account deficit and decline in capital inflows. Conversely, the net financial 
account liability rose to US D 430.1  million  (12.3% of GDP) in 2021, from US D 207.8  million  (6.8% 
of GDP) in 2020, on account of increased direct and other investment inflows, and the incurrence of 
Special Drawing Rights (SDR) liabilities. Given these developments in the external sector, the overall 
Balance of Payments (BoP) deficit  rose to US D 400.8  million  (11.5% of GDP), from US D 82.5 million  
(2.7% of GDP) in 2020.  
2.7.  Liberia 's gross international reserves as at end of December  2021 rose to US D 661.6  million  
(19% of GDP), from US D 294.4  million  (9.7% of GDP) at the end of December  2020, on account of WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  SDRs allocation made to Liberia during the review period. This means, in the event of any shock, 
the reserve was sufficient to finance 4.5  months of imports of goods and services (which exceeded 
the ECOWAS  regional benchmark by 1.5  month), compared to the 2.5  months in 2020.  
2.5  Interest rate development  
2.8.  The average interest rate of commercial banks remained flat (2019 to 2021) at 12.4%. The 
average interest rates in the Liberia economy for 2021 stabiliz ed as follow: mortgages 
(1,340.0  basis points), personal loans (1,240.0  basis points), lending (1,240.0  basis points), time 
deposits (350.0  basis points), certificate of deposits (330.0  basis points), and saving deposits 
210.0  basis points), respectively, compared with the interest rates reported at the end of 
December  2020. The stability in savings rate coupled with constant lending rate partly induced by 
weak transmission of policy rate to other interest rates in the banking sector.  
2.6  Inflation rate develop ment  
2.9.  The average inflation for 2021 moderated to 7.9%, from 17.4% in 2020, while the end of year 
inflation in 2021 was at 5.5% from 13.1% in December  2020. The moderation in inflation (both 
average and end -period) was largely explained by the monetary poli cy stance of the CBL coupled 
with the pass -through effect of the Liberian  dollar appreciation during 2021.  
2.10.  Except for the education and health major groups, all other major groups in the CPI basket 
contributed to the moderate trend in average inflation dur ing 2021 compared to 2020. However, 
education increased to 27.9% (from 19.3%) and restaurants and hotels, 23.7% (from 23%). The 
core inflation, the underlying inflation excluding food and transport, moderated to 13.2% from 
15.5% in 2021. The downward trend  in core inflation was largely underpinned by the pass -through 
effect from the appreciation of the Liberian  dollar. The analysis of administered and market prices 
for 2021 showed that the moderation in average inflation for 2021 was driven mainly by market  
price, which fell largely due to the relative appreciation of the Liberian  dollar and favorable domestic 
harvest of rice and cassava. In 2021, market price contributed 7.1  percentage point s to the 7.9%  of 
the average rate of inflation, while administered price accounted for the remaining 0.8  percentage 
point. 
2.7  Public debt ( external and domestic)  
2.11.  Liberia 's development goals will not be achieved if there are no public borrowings, given the 
limited revenue envelope to finance public expenditures. Liberia 's stock of debt at the end of 
December  2021 stood at 49.7% of GDP, rising by 8.4% from 2020.This increase was attributed to 
both domestic and external borrowings by 9.5% and 7.7% respectively. The stock of domestic debt 
totaled 20.2% of GDP while t he stock of external debt stood at 29.5% of GDP. In 2021, bilateral 
borrowing constituted 89% of external debt while multilateral borrowing accounted for the remaining 
11%.  
2.12.  Furthermore, borrowing from financial institutions, including the International Mon etary Fund 
and the World Bank, accounted for 59.3% of total debt. At the end of December  2021, Liberia 's total 
public debt was at US D 1.7 billion  up from US D 1.5 billion  in 2020. The External debt was at 
USD 1 billion  from US D 952 million  and domestic debt  was at US D 705 million  from US D 643 million  
in 2021. The public debt has remained sustainable over the last few years even though there has 
been increase in borrowings. These borrowings are mostly done on concessional terms than market 
loan terms. The gov ernment has been working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other 
international partners to ensure that Liberia maintains fiscal prudence and that the country does not 
become debt distressed.  
3  LIBERIA 'S INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONS  
3.1  The Multilateral Trading System  
3.1.  Liberia remains committed to the sustenance of a Multilateral rules -based Trading System that 
provides the relevant platform for trade policy dialogue and ensures a level playing field for Least 
Developed Countries. Liberia beli eves that in order to have economic growth, there should be 
structural transformation supported by rules -based economy that supports private sector WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  development and export -oriented initiatives as key components for post -conflict development.  As 
Liberia mark s seven  years of WTO membership, Liberia expresses a deep sense of appreciation to 
WTO Members and remains optimistic about this opportunity as an important step towards 
re-engaging the multilateral trade system.  
3.2.  Liberia ratified the Trade Facilitation Agr eement (TFA) in 2019 and deposited the instrument of 
ratification to  the WTO Secretariat on 29  April 2021. In December  2021, Liberia, co -sponsored the 
Joint Statement on Investment Facilitation for Development together with another 
111 WTO Members. Liberia appreciates the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies as a coastal country 
with fishing activities carry out by both large - and small -scale fishing companies. The fisheries sector 
is an important source of livelihood for young men and women.  The Nationa l Fisheries and 
Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) leads the internal ratification with technical support from the Ministry 
of Commerce and Industry.  The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working with the NaFAA to 
have the instrument ratified by the Legislat ure. 
3.3.  In the WTO, Liberia is a member of the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) and the 
African  Group. Liberia is also a co -coordinator of the Trade for Peace Initiative, in support of fragile 
and conflict affected States.  
3.4.  The recent pandemic has exposed the deepening gaps of the economic vulnerability of 
developing countries and LDCs on one hand and developed countries, which underscore the 
importance of a sustained and well -functioning international trade system and the role it plays in 
enhancing economi c resilience and post -pandemic recovery.  
3.5.  To ensure that Liberia delivers on its Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD),  
Liberia remains focused on exploring the benefits of WTO membership and reaffirms its support and 
alignment with the LDCs  and African Group on matters of reforms within the WTO. In this regard, 
Liberia wishes to emphasize the need for current and future WTO reform to take into full account 
the widespread capacity constraints of LDC Members and ensure inclusive negotiating pr ocesses and 
consensus -based decision -making, strengthening the WTO to promote development and inclusivity 
and reaffirming the principles of Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) and keep development 
at the heart of the global trading system.  
3.6.  Again, Lib eria seeks to use the WTO platform as a catalyst to fully deliver on the aspiration of 
its national development agenda relative to youth empowerment, trade diversification, and 
sustainable economic development. Liberia shall continue to proactively engage WTO Members to 
deliver on development -oriented outcomes for its Members.  
3.2  Regional integration  
3.7.  Liberia is committed to promoting regional trade integration and believes regionalism does not 
in any way replace multilateralism but intends to strengthen and co mplement the global trading 
system.  
3.2.1   African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)  
3.8.  Liberia signed  the AfCFTA Agreement in March  2018, but the ratification process is ongoing.  
The Liberian Senate has ratified the AfCFTA and forwarded it to the House of R epresentatives for 
concurrence. Upon the completion of the ratification process, Liberia would deposit its instrument of 
ratification to the African Union Commission (AUC).  Notwithstanding, the Government of Liberia 
through the Ministry of Commerce and Ind ustry with support from the United  Nations Economic 
Commission for Africa is currently developing Liberia 's AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy.  
3.9.  Liberia continues to actively participate in the ongoing AfCFTA trade negotiations on trade in 
services, tr ade in goods, Investment, Competition, Intellectual Property Rights, Digital trade, and 
Women and Youth in Trade.  
3.2.2   Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)  
3.10.  Liberia is a founding member of ECOWAS, which aims at promoting regional economic 
integrati on with the view to establishing an economic union in West Africa. To achieve this, ECOWAS WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  Members adopted a Common External Tariff (CET). Liberia is currently implementing the following 
initiatives under ECOWAS:  
3.11.  ECOWAS  CET: All ECOWAS Members were to migr ate fully to the CET by 1 January  2020, 
after a five -year transition period. But in 2019, ECOWAS Members agreed to extend the transition 
period by three more years, thus resulting in full implementation on 1 January  2022. However, 
Heads of Customs and Mini sters of Finance of ECOWAS Member States revised the CET migration 
plan by additional five  years in consideration of the impact of COVID -19 on the region. The new date 
for all ECOWAS Member States to fully migrate to the CET is 1 January  2028.  
3.12.  ECOWAS Trade  Liberalization Scheme (ETLS): Under the scheme, products produced locally 
are traded within ECOWAS duty -free. Companies need to apply to the National Approval Committee 
to be accepted for ETLS and to have their products approved. The Liberia Chamber of Co mmerce is 
the national approval authority.  
3.13.  Liberia is also fully implementing ECOWAS free movement policy, particularly the common 
ECOWAS passport and waive visa and residency permit requirements for all ECOWAS citizens for a 
90-day stay. 
3.3  Preferential trade agreements  
3.14.  Liberia as an LDC benefits from generalized system of preferences (GSP) from Armenia, 
Australia, Canada, the European  Union, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, New  Zealand, Norway, the 
Russian  Federation, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United  Kingdom, and the United  States. It also 
benefits from LDC -specific duty -free or preferential treatment from Chile, China, India, the 
Republic  of Korea, Montenegro, Morocco, EU, Chinese  Taipei, Tajikistan, and Thailand.  
3.3.1   EU Economic Partnership Agreem ent (EU  EPA)  
3.15.  In 2014, Liberia signed the European  Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) 
inclusively as it was initialled with the 15  ECOWAS  member  states plus Mauritania. The EPA will 
gradually open 75% of the EU market to ECOWAS countries. However, p otential benefits from these 
preferential schemes and agreements are hampered by cumbersome rules of origin and other 
non-tariff barriers for Liberia, making it difficult for Liberian businesses to export under preferential 
trade agreements. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Liberia current National Standard 
Lab (NSL) is challenged logistically to certify products originating from the country.  
3.16.  Notwithstanding, Liberia is developing the relevant mechanisms to control and verify every 
policy leadi ng to the full implementation of the EPA. In this regard, Liberia has enacted a Law 
establishing the Liberia Standard Authority. Furthermore, Liberia has also setup a food microbiology 
lab, food chemistry lab, and metrology lab.  
3.17.  Liberia benefits from full duty-free and quota -free access to the EU market for all exports 
except arms under the Everything but Arms initiative.  In 2021, the main export items from Liberia 
to the EU market were minerals and transport equipment, which were also its main import items  
from the European  Union . 
3.4  EU V oluntary Partnership Agreement  
3.18.  In 2013, Liberia ratified the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European  Union  
with a view to controlling illegal logging and improving forest governance. Currently, Liberia is 
developing a system to control, verify, and license trade in timber and timber products.  
3.5  African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)  
3.19.  Liberia is a beneficiary o f non-reciprocal trade preferences from the United  States  under the 
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The AGOA Extension and Enhancement  Act of 2015 
extended to 30  September  2025 the duration of the preferential treatment. Liberia 's main export 
items to the United  States  include cocoa, coffee, and fish. In 2021, 93.6% of US  imports from Liberia 
was non -coniferous wood in chips or particles (HS  40012200).  WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  4  TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
4.1.  Liberia has benefited from several technical assistance and capacity -building initiatives 
provided by the WTO  Secretariat since her application to join the World  Trade  Organization. During 
the period under review, a total of six  officials of the Liberian  Government participated in the French 
and Irish Mission Inter nship Program (FIMIP), Netherlands Training Program enhanced capacities for 
our Capital based officials and support (NTP), Young Professional Program (YPP) and China 's LDCs 
Program. At present, an official of the Liberian Government is participating in the  2023 
WTO FIMIP  program and several other officials are participating in the regular WTO  E-Learning 
courses.  These programs and several other seminars have provided to our Mission in Geneva on 
WTO Agreement s. 
4.2.  Liberia would like to express gratitude to WTO  Members for the numerous supports during her 
period of accession to the WTO. Liberia commends the support of the Swedish  Government through 
the Swedish International Cooperation Development Agency (SIDA) towards Liberia 's accession 
process. The support fro m institutions like the International Trade Cent re (ITC), Advisory Centre on 
WTO Law (AWCL), United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), International 
Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), CUTS  International and others international 
organizations were very meaningful to the people of Liberia.  
4.3.  Liberia joins other Developing Countries and LDCs alike to encourage Developed Countries to 
continue their provision of  technical assistance towards building capacities of LDCs Memb ers to 
actively participate in the WTO and reap the benefits of membership. Liberia would like to request 
for more technical assistance for the implementation of its category "C" commitments under the 
Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).  
5  OTHER AGREEMENTS  
5.1  Manor River Union (MRU)  
5.1.  The Mano River Union was established between Liberia and Sierra  Leone  in 1973. Guinea joined 
in 1980 and Côte  d'Ivoire  in 2008. The four MRU members are also members of ECOWAS. The MRU 
aims at, inter alia, reinforcing regional integra tion and development to integrate Member States 
through trade and job creation.  The integration process was momentarily disrupted by episodes of 
political instability and armed conflicts within the region. Regardless, the MRU resumed its activities 
in 2004  and has since performed better in the area of security and trade.  
5.2.  There have been some undertakings in the area of trade. The MRU integration process has 
evolved into many spheres, adoption of a Cross Border Security Strategy by Member States, and 
other i nfrastructure projects. For instance, under MRU, Liberia is currently benefiting from a 47.1  km 
road that links north -eastern (Luoguatuo -Saniquellie) linking it border with the Ivory  Coast, which 
constitute a major trade corridor between the two countries.  This road is being paved under the MRU 
Development and Transport Facilitation Program with funding from the European  Union , European 
Investment Bank, and the African Development Bank.  
5.3.  Similarly, under the same Project, a one stop Border (Luoguato -Gbenta -Danane) Post was 
constructed also between Liberia and Ivory  Coast. These roads initiatives are intended to facilitate 
cross border trade between the MRU  Countries.  
6  MSME POLICY  
6.1.  The Micro , Small and  Medium Enterprise s (MSME) Policy was developed and approved in 2011 
to be implemented over five  years (2011 -16) by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry after 
extensive consultation with public sector institutions and private sector umbrella organizations with 
support from the International Finance Corporation.  
• It was a stand -alone Policy but designed to easily align with other Government policies, 
including Industry  for Liberia 's Future,  the policy for industrial development , Trade Policy , 
the National Export Strategy,  and the Private Sector Development Policy.  The Liberian 
Government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of these enterprises. The WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  objectives, strategies, and programs laid out in the Policy worked together to support the 
growth of a dynamic MSME sector in Liberia ; and,  
• The policy framework is meant to enhance the coordination of current and future MSMEs 
programs.  
6.1  The Pro -Poor Loan  
6.2.  The Small Business Pro -Poor Development Fund (SBPDF); commonly referred to as the 
"Pro-Poor Loan" was introduced predicated on the Government platform to increase the share of 
Liberian -owned businesses in the domestic economy, as they primarily face challenges regarding 
low access to finance from banks and financial institutions. Thus, the government financing initiative.  
6.1.1   Liberia Investment, Finance and Trade Project (LIFT -P) 
6.3.  On 4 April 2022, the Government of Liberia signed a 5 -year USD 40 million  agreement with 
the World Bank under the Liberia Investment and Trade Project (LIFT -P). 
6.4.  LIFT-P development  objective is to improve the investment climate, expand sustainable access 
to finance, and increase the efficiency of trade in Liberia through three components:  
• C1: Improves Liberia 's Investment Climate by strengthening institutions providing 
Government to  Business (G2B) services covering investment support, business entry and 
international trade ; 
• C2: Improves capabilities and competitiveness of SMEs via targeted Technical Assistance 
(TA) linking them to markets; and access to finance, through TA and a Line of Credit ; 
• C3: Supports access to Digital Financial Services (DFS), through a new National Payments 
Switch, and a Credit Registry ; and,  
• C4: Project Management . 
7  TELECOMMUNICATIONS  
7.1.  Liberia has an open mobile telecommunications market with foreign operat ors and one national 
operator. In 2019, Liberia Telecommunications Regulator set a tariff floor for mobile voice services 
(USD 0.0156  per minute) and for mobile data services (US D 0.00218  per Megabyte) to ensure 
market stability and create a level playing field for competitors. The Floor Price Order set the prices 
of voice and data higher than what the operators were offering.  As the market settled on the high 
prices under the Floor Price Order and market returned to growth, operators started lowering their  
prices below the price floor in search of market shares, but revenue increased from the sector.  
8  FISHERIES  
8.1.  The Fishery sector in Liberia has made some stride, as it plays major role in providing 
livelihoods for the people and contributes to food security, nutritional needs and poverty reduction. 
Liberia recognizes the importance of sustainability in the fishery sector and adopted the National 
Plan of Action to combat IUU Fishing, in accordance with the International Plan of Action (IPOA -IUU) 
and the regiona l IUU plan of action. The losses from IUU fishing in Liberian waters were estimated 
at US D 12 million , but punitive actions through the imposition of fines generated 
USD 6.7 million  (2011 -18) and curbed the violation. In 2019, Liberia acceded to the FAO Port State 
Measures Agreement, which prevents vessels engaged in IUU fishing from using ports and landing 
their catches.  
9  CONCLUSION  
9.1.  Liberia remains committed to the sustenance of a Multilateral rules -based Trading System that 
provides the relevant platform  for trade policy dialogue and ensures a level playing field for Least 
Developed Countries like Liberia to enhance structural transformation and maintain a rules -based WT/TPR/G/441 • Liberia  
 
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  economy that supports private sector development and export -oriented initiatives as a ke y 
component for post -conflict development.  
9.2.  As LDC, Liberia aligns itself with the LDCs Group and Developing Countries members of the 
WTO and wishes to echo the need for developed countries to gracefully ensure the provision of 
sustained technical assistanc e and accord trade preferences to LDCs so as to enable them actively 
participate in the WTO and reap the desired benefits of international trade.  
9.3.  Liberia believes that the Multilateral Trading System remains the relevant global platform that 
provides equal  opportunity to all its members in the elaboration and execution of WTO rules 
regardless of their economic status. Thus, Liberia intends to leverage the advantages available within 
the WTO framework to successfully implement its Pro -Poor Agenda for Prosper ity and Development.  
 
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