WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1  
14 June 2016  
(16-3229)  Page: 1/18  
Trade Policy Review Body 
27 and 29 April 2016 Original: English/anglais/inglés  
 
  TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
MALAWI 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING 
Addendum 
Chairperson:  Ms. Irene Young (Hong Kong, China) 
This document contains the advance written questions and additional questions by WTO 
Members, and replies provided by Malawi.1 
 
 
Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales 
27 et 29 avril 2016 
EXAMEN DES POLITIQUES COMMERCIALES 
MALAWI 
COMPTE RENDU DE LA RÉUNION 
Addendum 
Présidente:  Mme Irene Young (Hong Kong, Chine) 
Le présent document contient les questions écrites communiquées à l'avance par les 
Membres de l'OMC, leurs questions additionnelles, et les réponses fournies par Malawi.1 
 
 
Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales 
27 y 29 de abril de 2016 
EXAMEN DE LAS POLÍTICAS COMERCIALES 
MALAWI 
ACTA DE LA REUNIÓN 
Addendum 
Presidenta:  Sra. Irene Young (Hong Kong, China) 
En el presente documento figuran las preguntas presentadas anticipadamente por escrito y 
las preguntas adicionales de los Miembros de la OMC, así como las respuestas facilitadas por 
Malawi.1 
                                               
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente. WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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UNITED STATES ............................................................................................................... 3  
EUROPEAN UNION ........................................................................................................... 6  
KENYA ............................................................................................................................ 11  
CHINA ......................................................................................................................... ... 12 
BRAZIL ........................................................................................................................... 15  
THAILAND ......................................................................................................................  15 
UNITED STATES – ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS .................................................................. 17  
 WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  UNITED STATES 
1. D o e s  M a l a w i  i n t e n d  t o  s e e k  c o m m e n t  o n  t h e  I P  p o l i c y ?    W h e n  w i l l  t h e  t e x t  b e  m a d e  
available to the public? 
Response: The IP Policy was developed thro ugh a consultative process and the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) made their comments. It is now closed for 
comments.  
 The Policy will be open to the public once it  is launched and will be reviewed every three 
years were interested parties w ill be able to make comments. 
 2. What is the relationship between Malawi’s use of import licensing for certain agricultural 
products and its broader agricultural policies, such as the Food Security Policy and Nutrition Policy, 
which are cited in the Government report 
 Response: Malawi through Department of Agricultural Research Services issues 
Phyto-sanitary Certificates for exports and im port permits on agricultural produce in line 
with ISPM No. 12.  
3. The Secretariat’s Report states that “consultations on a draft Trade Remedies Bill were 
foreseen in [the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s]  Work plans for FY 2015-16.”  Please provide an 
update on the consultations and the status of the Trade Remedies Bill.  
Response: Draft Trade Remedies  Bill exist and consultations were held during its 
development. However, it is be lieved that the draft bill may have become obsolete as it 
was developed over 5 years ago. A new proce ss has therefore been initiated to review 
the draft bill and hold consultations on it be fore it could be presented to Cabinet for 
consideration.  
4. The report notes that the Malawi Bureau of Standards Act of 2012 may require an 
amendment in light of the National Quality Policy , which was adopted in 2014.  What differences 
between the two would require an amendment of the Standards Act? 
 
Response: The NQP indicates that there will be  coordinated efforts to enforce standards 
and a regulatory agency will be establishe d under the MoIT to administer technical 
regulations and compulsory standards (NQP section 2.1.2), while the MBS will be re-
engineered and required to work collaboratively with other agencies to regulate 
commercial activities, safeguard the health  and safety of people of Malawi and 
environment (NQP section 4.7); The MBS Act (Cap 51:02) empowers the MBS to 
administer regulations without an overseeing  body. The re-engineered functions of the 
MBS will have to be added to the Act.  According to the MBS Act Cap 51:02 section 29 (2), no person shall start manufacturing 
a commodity to which a mandatory standard applies unless he/she first obtains a 
permission to do so from the MBS. The NQP provides for various regulators in various 
fields managed by mandatory standards e.g. medicines, pesticides, fertilisers, plant and 
animal products. The act may be modified to contain only those provisions that will be 
assigned to MBS after implementation of the NQP.  
5. Please explain how Malawi’s ban on the importation of GM products and hormone treated 
meats is consistent with the SPS Agreement.  Please provide Malawi’s risk assessment on both 
measures. 
Response: It is in line with Biosafety Ac t, 2002. But Government has allowed GMO 
confined field trials of Cotton, Cow peas wh ich are running now by Lilongwe University 
of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 
 WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  6. Please explain why the entities in Table 3.88, and particularly the National Oil Company of 
Malawi, is not being notified to the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises.  Response: National Oil Company of Malawi sh ould be notified to the working party on 
state Trading Enterprises as a state-owned en terprise to ensure security of supply of 
petroleum products in the country. It is charged with the prime responsibility of 
managing the country’s fuel strategic reserves. At the moment has a working 
arrangement with the private operators on the importation and distribution of fuel in the 
country.  7. Please provide further details regarding this revised program and an update of the status of 
the privatization of the SOEs subject to the program. 
 Response: There is no revised privatization pr ogram as most of the SOEs were privatized 
and now is on case by case basis depending on the nature of the SOE. Meanwhile it has 
been replaced with the Public Private Pa rtnership Scheme which the most preferred 
arrangement globally.  
 
8. With respect to the draft Trademark Bill, will Ma lawi seek public comments on the draft Bill?  
What is the anticipated timeframe for enactment?  
Response: The Draft Trade Mark Bill was draf ted through a consultative process where 
stakeholders made comments. It is now at  Cabinet level and no longer open for 
comments. Once the Bill goes through Cabine t, we are targeting the October-November 
2016 sitting of Parliament for enactment. 
 9. The Secretariat’s Report states that “Copyright  Bills are being reviewed by the Ministry of 
Justice.”  We have several questions.  Are there multiple copyright bills? We would appreciate a 
summary of the particular elements of the prop osed legislation which would amend the current 
Copyright Act.  Please provide information clarifyi ng the title and date of  the last amendment of 
the current copyright law. How do these copyright bills incorporate aspects of the new IP policy?  
Please indicate when Malawi anticipates this revi ew process to be completed and the process that 
Malawi plans to undertake for any public comment on the draft bill(s).   Please also provide information on when the Cabinet is expected to complete its review process of the National IP 
Policy and when the Policy will be finalized? 
 Response: There is only one Copyright Bill of  2016 which seeks to repeal the present Act 
which was enacted in 1989 and replace it wi th a new law that will incorporate changes 
and developments that have emerged since the Act came into force. Notable developments include the adoption and entr y into force of the TRIPS Agreement, WCT 
and WPPT, and adoption of the Beijing an d the Marrakesh Treaty. The process of 
reviewing the Bill has been ongoing since 2004 when the first draft of the Bill was made 
public. The Bill is presently at Cabinet level before tabling it in Parliament. The process 
of review has taken into account some elements of the draft IP policy for Malawi. 
 
10. Please provide additional information regarding enforcement actions, including: Which 
government office(s) have the responsibility to collect statistics regarding copyright enforcement 
actions? And When would statistics or additional information on enforcement actions and relief 
sought be available?  Response: Copyright Society of Malawi (COS OMA) is the office responsible for all 
matters pertaining to copyrights, includ ing administration and enforcement of 
copyrights. The office is also responsible for copyright data collection and related 
statistics. Copyright information is available at the office. However,  there is need to 
strengthen copyright information syst em for easy information delivery and 
dissemination.  
11. The new IP policy proposes to consolidate IPR matters through the creation of the Malawi 
Intellectual Property Office (MIPO). MIPO is envisa ged as a self-financing parastatal organization, 
with income generated form registration fees fo r patents, copyrights and trademarks.”  Please 
provide more information regarding this proposed office, including: With respect to copyright, does 
the government envision creating systems for copyright registration as well as document WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  recordation?  What would be the relationship be tween the proposed MIPO and the Ministries of 
Justice and of Culture? What oversight of copyright law would, if any, these ministries retain, when 
MIPO is established? What legal authority rega rding copyright enforcement would the proposed 
MIPO exercise?  For example, does the government envision MIPO having administrative 
jurisdiction in copyright enforcement matters? How would the proposed MIPO interact with the 
current responsibilities, including those relating to  inspections, of the Copyright Society of Malawi 
as established under Parts VIII and IX of the Copyright Act? 
 
Response: MIPO will be under the Ministry of  Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The 
process is still going on starting with the prop er assessment of the best practice in the 
administration of IP and Copyright issues . MIPO will be comple ted once relevant 
legislation and policies have been reviewed  to accommodate new issues. Ministry of 
Justice will be a policy arm where as MIPO w ill deal with operational issues in IP and 
Copyright laws. 
 
12. What responsibilities or roles, if any, would the rights holder maintain, under the proposed 
IP policy, regarding infringement proceedings, the market, pirated goods and counterfeit goods? 
 
Response: (Refer to response to Question 11). This will be known and clear once all 
relevant legislations are reviewed and are in place.  
13. Does Malawi have any plans to join the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO 
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), both of which entered into force in 2002?  Does the 
government have any views on joining the Ma rrakesh Treaty (2012) and the Beijing Treaty 
(2013), both of which have not yet entered into force? 
 Response: Yes Malawi intends to join the WCT and WPPT, the Beijing as well as the 
Marrakesh Treaty. However, priority of the Government is to join the Marrakesh Treaty. 
In this regard, Government is already making steps towards joining the Treaty. 
 14. Are the banks offering mobile money services primarily foreign-owned or domestic?  What 
are the demographics of the major mobile banking consumers? 
 Response: The banks offering mobile money services are primarily both foreign and 
domestic-owned. The gender distribution of mobile money customers is highly skewed 
in favour of men, who contributed 67.5% to the total customer base as of December 2015. In terms of age distribution, most of  the customers are in the 46-60 age group 
(65.9%) whereas as the 26-45 age group represents 26.9%. The remaining 7.2% were 
in the age groups 16-25 (6.1%) and 61 and above (1.1%). A majority of the customers 
are in employment. Customers with formal employment constitute 64.3% of the total 
while customers in self-emp loyment represent the rest. Mobile money customers are 
also likely to have formal education with secondary school education topping the list 
(62.6%) followed by tertiary education at 32.6%.  The rest of the customers have no formal education. 
 
15. Could Malawi please provide further detail on the implementation of the National Anti-
Corruption Strategy?  When was the program adopte d?  What results have been seen to date? 
 
Response: In order to address corruption an d thereby improve index on transparency 
international, the Government of Malawi ha s put in place a number of mechanisms and 
initiatives to help in the fight against corrupt ion. The major initiative is the development 
of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy whic h is a national document that consolidates 
multi-sectoral efforts to fight and preven t corruption. The National Anti-Corruption 
Strategy was launched in 2009. The Strategy has three main objectives: 
 
 (a) to promote integrity, transparency, accountability and improve service    
 delivery in all sectors; 
 
 (b) to promote the involvement of the pu blic in the fight against corruption; and 
  (c) to strengthen corruption prevention  and promote integrity in all sectors. WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  The Strategy focuses on the establishment of a National Integrity System (NIS) in 
Malawi. It also established the National In tegrity Committee (NIC) whose mandate is to 
oversee and guide the overall implementation of the Strategy  
16. The report states that “plans are at an advanced stage to interconnect the power system in 
Malawi to that of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) Grid to allow Malawi to participate in power trade in the region.”  Could Malawi please provide an update on these plans? 
 
Response: Indeed interconnection plan is underway. The consultant was engaged late 
last year to undertake a feasibility study. The exercise is expected to be completed in six 
months’ time. Once the study confirms viab ility of the programme then each country 
would be required to source its own fi nancing to erect transmission lines. 
 17. What are the basic elements of the Joint Sector Plan?  How does Malawi plan to integrate 
trade policy into budget cycles and sectoral polices?  What is the anticipated timeline for the 
implementation of the Joint Sector Plan?  
Response: The JSP covers three main pilla rs, which includes Market Development & 
Access, Private Sector Development, an d Skills Development & Business Advisory 
Services.   
The JSP involves several implementing agencies, and as such plans to use various 
targets and Indicators to monitor the integrat ion of key policies, including trade policy, 
into sectoral policies. That is the budg et cycle would be used to monitor the 
implementation of JSP activities by each impl ementing agency. The JSP is a five (5) year 
plan.  
 
18. The report notes Malawi’s increased need for support and assistance.  What kind of 
additional support is envisioned?  Does it go beyond the specific areas cited elsewhere in the report?  
Response: Supply side constraints still remain  Malawi’s major obstacle to integration 
into the multilateral trading system. In adequate institutional capacity, poor 
infrastructure, and limited prod uctive capacities are broad categories requiring support. 
Some of the  major constraints include poor road, rail and water networks resulting in 
high transportation costs, inability to  m eet standards requirements, insufficient  and 
unreliable  energy and water supply, customs  procedures and documentation, just to 
m e n t i o n  a  f e w .   I n  t h i s  r e g a r d ,  M a l a w i  n e e d s  e x t e r n a l  s u p p o r t  s u c h  a s  i n c r e a s e d  
developmental assistance, increased balance of payment support, technology transfer, 
and increased FDI flows, among other forms of support . 
 
 
EUROPEAN UNION 
19. How can Malawi ensure that regulatory impediments to investment, including licences and 
Customs procedures on import and export, are re duced to a minimum both in legislation and in 
practice? 
Response: The Government has broadly take n the route of Public Reforms Programme 
championed by the Vice President. At trade facilitation and regulato ry sectoral level the 
Government has taken a number of reforms in cluding reviewing legislations, improving 
on trade facilitation reforms, and modern isation of customs systems. Among other 
things in trade facilitation, the Government of Malawi has established the One Stop Shop; migration to ASYCUDA World; develo ped a trade portal and national single 
window; embarked on one stop border p ost projects. Paramount is the need to 
rationalize various relevant policy and legi slative instruments in  order to provide a 
guiding framework pertinent to the developmen t of a Decision Supp ort System relevant 
to today’s dispensation. 
 WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  20. Could Malawi present the state of the play of its Category A notification as well as for the 
ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement?  Response: Given our geographical challenge as  a landlocked country, Malawi has a vital 
stake in the trade facilitation initiatives. Un der this premise, therefore, Malawi fully 
endorses the objectives of th e Agreement on Trade Facilitatio n (ATF). By the time of the 
TPR meeting it was hoped the WTO Secretariat had received notification of the Schedule 
of Commitments covering all Categories. The instruments of ratification would be 
deployed soon after final process is comple ted. However, some aspects of the ATF are 
already being implemented including trade po rtal (to be launched in May, 2016) one 
stop border projects for six border posts, na tional single window project, migration from 
ASYCUDA ++ to ASYCUDA World, just to mention a few 
 21. Could Malawi present the main constraints encountered by its administration for the 
preparation of the WTO notifications? 
 Response: It is important to note the tremen dous efforts that the Government of Malawi 
is undertaking in fulfilling its obligations under the WTO agreements despite its limited 
resources as an LDC.  It, however, recognizes that the adoption and adjustment of legislation and regulation for a better im plementation of some WTO Agreements has 
been taking place at a slower pace than it would have liked and the required 
notifications of its trade policies has been ou tstanding for some time.  This situation is 
attributable, to a large extent, to lack of  adequate institutiona l capacity, technical 
infrastructure, financial resources and human capital.  This reinforces the need for 
capacity building programs. 
 22. What is Malawi doing to address some of the technical barriers such as turnaround time for 
goods and services? 
 Response: Customs reforms aimed at impr oving the business turnaround include: 
 
• Business process reengineering that look ed at organization wide processes and 
 recommended processes to remo ve/add to reduce process time. 
 
• Increased automation: currently Malawi is migration to a higher version of 
 ASYCUDA World to allow more access to the customs process system and all  system integration with other Governme nt Agencies; automation of Temporary 
 Import Permits and Temporary Export Permits. 
 • Reparation to the implementation of Electronic Single Window system and One 
 Stop Border post. 
 
• Expanding the use on scanners for imports.  
• Continue providing preclearance systems. 
 23. Is Malawi envisaging any measures amending the tariff structure? 
 
Response: the Malawi tariff structure is be ing modelled progressive ly along the COMESA 
tariff category of capital and raw materi als (0%), semi-finished goods (10%) and 
finished goods (25%) 
 
24. Under section 4.4 on manufacturing the report states that Malawi does not recognize 
international test certificates. Importers of manufactured goods such as fertilizer must pay MBS for 
the analysis of every imported consignment (see al so section 3.1.8, in particular recommendations 
of a study in para 3.53). Could Malawi clarify whether they have any plan to change this practice and follow up on the recommendations of a study mentioned in paragraph 3.53? 
 
Response: Malawi to accept pr oducts from another country based on test certificates, 
the MBS, with the assistance of the Ministry of Industry and Trade must arrange to enter 
into agreements with relevant bodies in th at country and agree modalities of acceptance 
of the products. WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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However, the MBS is presently not accredited  and it is working towards achieving this 
with the assistance of the SQAM Project. For Malawi to accept products from other 
countries based on test certificates of those  countries there must be mutual agreements 
stemming from realisation that partnering  countries have a competent system of 
product testing and certification. Malawi will  be able to competently enter into such 
agreements when its standards body  will have achieved accreditation 
 
25. How does Malawi ensure that seeds and fertiliser received by farmers under the scheme are 
of usable quality?  
Response: The Ministry through the seed servic es unit certifies all seed that goes into 
the marketing including regist ering of all companies that produce seed. In addition, 
through the seed services unit, the Ministry does spot checks in all input markets to 
ensure that the seed supplied in the market is of high quality.   
 On fertilizer quality, the Ministry throug h the Department of Agriculture Research 
Services collects samples of fertilizer from companies part icipating in the program on 
both the market and their warehouses at random. These samples are then tested in the lab to check if they meet the required standards and quality.  
26. Could Malawi clarify what will be the implications for price maintenance measures mentioned 
in this paragraph, and for current agriculture poli cy, once these regional trade agreements will be 
in place? Could Malawi clarify whether the products concerned will be systematically excluded? 
 
Response:  The floor prices for the crops in  question are only applicable nationally 
(internally), however if an in ternational trader wants to purchase maize in Malawi they 
will also be applicable. The floor prices are se t with the objective of protecting farmers 
against traders’ unfair pricing practices.  The products in question will not necessarily system atically be excluded however in the 
event that the country is experiencing shortage s in maize, export bans for the same will 
be issued to protect consumers against maize scarcity that would result into high consumer prices in the market. 
 
27. Could Malawi clarify to what extent has Malawi integrated its agriculture policy into the 
African Union's CAADP framework, and the requir ements set out in the 2014 Malabo Declaration 
on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transf ormation for Shared Prosperity and Improved 
Livelihoods?  Response: The Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and 
Water Development Developed the Agricult ure Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp), the 
Malawi’s agriculture sector in vestment framework,  which shares the principles of the 
African Union’s CAADP.  The ASWAp is in the final year of implementation and currently 
undergoing a review. Through implementation of the ASWAp, the Malawi Government 
has been surpassing the CAADP target of allo cating at least 10 % of the national budget 
to agriculture. Further to this, the developm ent partners in Malawi are aligning their 
investments to the investment framework. 
   On the Malabo declaration, the Malawi Government has come up with the National Agriculture Policy which is still in its draft form. The process of developing the policy 
was evidence based, which is one of the commitments under the Malabo Declaration. 
Further to this, in the agriculture sector, th e Malawi Government has come up with a list 
of agricultural investments which interested investors can venture in. These are outlined 
in the Malawi investment compendium. It is anticipated that through this there will be 
increased agro-processing as well as private sector participation in the agricultural 
growth and development process.   
 WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  28. Given that the cellular market is considered to be non-competitive, is the Government 
envisaging any steps to reduce barriers (like the 40% equity cap) to attract more investment in the sector?  
Response: In first place there is no such restriction in the foreign ownership in the 
Communications Act of 1998 in regard to te lecommunication licences. For instance, one 
of the current incumbent op erators, Airtel Malawi Limited has a 100% foreign 
shareholding equity. It is the second genera tion licensing regime where Government has 
now included a 20% local shareholding requ irement as a way of encouraging local or 
indigenous Malawians to participate in  the telecommunication businesses.  
 
With regards to competitive and non-compet itive markets of the sector, Government 
through MACRA has adopted a technology ne utral licensing framework which aims at 
removing restrictions in the number of op erators on the market. Currently MACRA has 
issued licences to 6 operators with two of th em offering both fixed and mobile services 
while four are in dedicated mobile servic e market. Furthermore, Government will be 
implementing the converged licensing framework (CLF) by 1st July 2016. 
 
29. How does the Government of Malawi see the promotion of a modernised economy via its ICT 
strategy, on the one hand, with the introduction of  a 10% excise duty on data transfers, on the 
other hand? Will this duty not hinder, rather than promote, the spread of data services? 
 
Response: The introduction of the 10% exci se duty had mixed reaction. Government 
was fixed in a situation with no donor suppo rt budget and introduced the tax as revenue 
generation base while MACRA saw this as a setback to Internet/data service promotion 
in the country and it cannot be overemphas ized that the 10% adjustment has further 
contributed to high costs of Internet and data  services in the country in the past year. 
There are continuous negotiations betw een Treasury and MACRA on the possible 
removal of the tax as this was the policy direction that Government had taken at the time. It is envisaged that ta x will be removed in the coming  financial year with further 
revision of other taxes affecting the cost of ICT services in the country. 
 
30. What Government envisages including in the National Transport Master plan and what 
impact it could have on the level of private and foreign participation in this sector? 
 
Response: As stated in the National Tran sport Policy, the Government envisages a 
sustainable, safe, efficient and reliable tran sport system. The National Transport Master 
Plan will identify priority investment opti ons that are consistent with current and 
projected demand of transport services for a ll modes of transport. The Plan will address 
issues on logistics by identifying the main supply chain barriers and the means to reduce 
them in order to improve efficiency in the logistics sector. Government also intends to 
encourage inter-modal competition while at  the same time improving inter-modal 
linkages, and in so doing reduce high transport costs as well as the burden on road transport in Malawi. The Master Plan w ill also identify financial, technical and 
institutional capacity gaps and their solutions.   
 Government will maintain its current policy posi tion of a liberalized transport sector and 
will encourage private sector participation not only in the provision of transport services 
but also financing of transport infrastructure . The National Transport Master Plan will, 
therefore, identify measures for introducing private financing for construction, operation 
and maintenance of transport infrastructure 
 
31. What will revision of the 1995 shipping act entail? What impacts are expected on the level of 
private and foreign participation in the water transport sector? 
 
Response: Since 1995, there have been many developments in the maritime sub sector, 
among them, the government of Malawi through the Department of Marine Services is 
no longer providing shipping and port services. Shipping services have been 
concessioned to Malawi Shipping Company whereas the port operations have been 
concessioned to Malawi Ports Company. Revi ew of the act is therefore expected to 
accommodate these two concession agreements and create a conducive environment for WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  private and foreign participation by separa ting legislative, policy, regulation and 
oversight roles from operation and implementation.  
32. Could Malawi clarify when they expect to fina lise the review of the Control of Goods Act? 
Response: The Control of Goods Act is go ing under total review to deal with 
administrative issues, to achieve transparen cy and predictability among other things. 
The consultant was engaged sometime last year and the consultations with all stakeholders were done. It is expected that the Bill will be considered by Parliament at 
the end of this year. 
 33. Could Malawi provide more details concerning this statement? Could Malawi elaborate on its 
plans and appreciation of the prospects for future trade relations in the regional context? 
 
Response: Malawi is committed to deepen its trade with regional trading partners under 
COMESA and SADC. Malawi increased its market access to South Africa under the SADC 
Traded Protocol to 90% from 86% in the 2015/2016 Annual Budget. Under COMESA 
Malawi trades at 100% with all members of the COMESA FTA and is ready to do so with 
all member states that will be joining the COMESA FTA. Malawi is also ready to trade 
more with member states of the Tripartite FTA. Malawi signed the COMESA-EAC-SADC 
Tripartite Free Trade Agreement in Sharm el-S heik, Egypt on 10th June 2015. Malawi is 
also participating in the negotiations for the Continental FTA (others call it the Pan-
African FTA) and participated at the launch of  the CFTA negotiations in South Africa. So 
Malawi plans to strengthen its trade relati ons with member states of all regional 
economic communities to which it belongs.  
34. Could Malawi provide an update on the state of  play of the implementation of the COMESA 
Customs Union?  
Response: With regards to the COMESA Customs Union implementation, three 
instruments are very crucial and have to be  implemented during the transition period. 
 COMESA Common External Tariff (CET) 
 COMESA members have agreed on a three tier Common External Tariff band for the 
Customs Union which will accord 0% on raw materials and Capital Goods, 10% on 
intermediate products and 25% on finish ed goods. Member states are therefore 
expected to align national tariff structures to the common external tariff. In the process of alignment, countries will either gain or lose revenue. Analyses by the COMESA 
Secretariat indicate that all COMESA coun tries will gain revenue upon adopting the 
COMESA CET. For Malawi the expected reve nue increase is pegged at 22.2%. However, 
Malawi Revenue Authority, Ministry of Fi nance and Ministry of Industry, Trade and 
Tourism will meet to validate the results of th e analysis. In terms of alignment, Malawi 
has aligned 1503 tariff lines to COMESA CET and 996 lines moved to zero while 507 lines 
moved to 5% and 10%.   
COMESA Customs Management Regulations (CMR) 
 
The COMESA Customs Management Regulati ons (CMR) and Customs Laws of COMESA 
member states are largely modelled on the Re vised Kyoto Convention. Malawi will have 
to amend the Customs and Excise Act to do mesticate the CMR. COMESA undertook a gap 
analysis of the CMR against the revised Cust oms and Excise Act.  Following the detailed 
review, only one provision was not compliant  showing over 99% compliance of the Draft 
Customs and Excise (Amendment) Act with only 1 major divergent provision to the 
Customs Management Regulations of  the total of 372 provisions.  
 
Common Tariff Nomenclature (CTN) 
 
The current Common Tariff Nomenclature (CTN) is based on the 2012 version of the 
Harmonized System of the World Customs Or ganization for coding and description of 
commodities. For Malawi, the transposition from the HS 2007 to HS 2012 resulted in a modification of only 220 out of 5206 tariff lines at 6-digit. Mo st member states, WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  including Malawi, already adopted the HS 2012 as their national tariff nomenclature in 
2013. Malawi Customs Tariff Nomenclature (CTN) is now fully aligned and similar to the COMESA CTN except in cases of splits that  are uniquely national. The splits can be 
maintained provided they don’t constitute  a significant number of tariff lines. The 
national splits for the Malawi are contained in Chapter 22 and 87 for liquors and motor 
vehicles, respectively. Malawi intends to  gazette the COMESA CTN by June, 2016. 
 
List of Sensitive Products 
 
Malawi had already submitted its sensitive pr oducts list by the 2012 baseline. However, 
COMESA responded by pointing out gaps in the list which Malawi needed to correct and 
re-submit the list. This submission of the fi nal list of sensitive products will be done 
once the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism finalises it with Malawi Revenue 
Authority.  
 
35. Could Malawi clarify whether the intra-SADAC tariff liberalisation has still to be completed 
with South-Africa? In this case, could Malawi explain what is impeding the full tariff liberalisation 
commitments within SADC? 
 Response: Malawi adopted two tariff libe ralisation offers in SADC. She has 100 
liberalised with the rest of the SADC countri es as of 2012. Currently the country has zero 
tariffs on 90% of tariff lines with RSA . Furt her liberalisation will depend on the analysis 
of revenue and industry sensitivities that at  expected as a result of the tariff phase 
down 
 
KENYA 
36. We note from the Secretariat Report that the agriculture sector remains the mainstay of 
Malawi’s economy in terms of contribution to em ployment and foreign exchange. However, regular 
adverse weather condition and unstable commodity prices have posed challenges to food security and the growth of the agriculture sector. What sp ecific measures is the Government of Malawi 
taking, particularly, under the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy to address these 
challenges? In addition, Kenya would like to kn ow what measures are being implemented by the 
Government of Malawi to diversify its exports away  from strong dependence on exports of tobacco 
which is highly seasonal and weather-dependent cash crop. 
Response: To address some of these challeng es, the Government of Malawi is committed 
to implementing a number of refo rms in the agriculture sector. 
 Among others, to address the sectoral policy incoherence, the Government has 
developed the National Agriculture Policy (NAP). The goal of the policy is to foster sector 
transformation that will result in significan t increases in incomes, food security and the 
nutritional status of all Malawians, especi ally those whose primary occupation is in 
farming. As one way of operationalising the NAP, the Government is currently reviewing 
the first cycle of the agriculture sector de velopment plan – the Agriculture Sector-wide 
Approach (ASWAp) – in order to provide lessons for the development of its successor 
investment plan. The new ASWAp will ensure full alignment of agriculture investment 
areas with the focus areas of the National  Agriculture Policy (NAP), other sectoral 
policies and regional programs within the Comprehensive African Development Program 
(CAAD) framework.  
The Government will also continue implementi ng the Green Belt Initiative (GBI) which 
has shown great potential of transforming th e face of our economy and making Malawi 
the bread basket of the region. To this e ffect, necessary changes will be made to the 
initiative to make it more effective. 
 
The Government is committed to having a fu lly commercialised agriculture sector. In 
this regard, the Government will diversify the se ctor’s activities in line with the National 
Export Strategy (NES). The Government will also develop strategies for the seed 
systems of some cash crops such as legumes.  Furthermore, the Government will review 
and restructure the current Farm Mechanis ation Scheme to incr ease agricultural 
productivity. 
 WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  On sustainable agricultural land and wate r management, the Government will continue 
implementing irrigation projects such as th e Smallholder Irrigation and Value Addition 
Project (SIVAP), the Agriculture Support Proj ect (AISP) and the Shire Valley Irrigation 
Project (SVIP). The Government  will also continue to promot e climate smart agriculture. 
 
37. The Secretariat Report reveals that public debt has strongly increased in recent years from 
57.2% of GDP in 2012 to 75.8% of GDP in 2014. Wh at measures is the Government of Malawi 
taking to reduce domestic borrowing an d its crowding effect in the economy? 
 Response: In the first place, the Public debt has decreased to about 51% of GDP 
following the settlement of foreign debt to the Government of France amongst others in 
2015 as well settlement of maturing domestic debt.  At the same time, the Government 
of Malawi has of late increased its domestic  resource mobilization by  increasing the tax 
b a s e  t o  a b o u t  1 8 %  o f  G D P .   I n  t h i s  r e g a r d ,  i t  h a s  e m b a r k e d  o n  i m p l e m e n t a t i o n  o f  
several measures to boast the tax revenue which include the review of some tax 
exemptions which might have the potential to bring additional revenue of about 2.5% of 
GDP.   This will be done in conformity of existing international obligations which Malawi 
is a party. 
 In addition to the above, the Government of  Malawi is committed to adherence of fiscal 
discipline of which expenditures are in lin e with the revenue base so as to reduce 
recourse to domestic and foreign borrowing.  This ensures sustenance of the existing 
Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of the IMF.  The successful implementation of the ECF 
program is expected to trigger disbursement s from all other development partners, as 
this signals the Government’s commitment to the macroeconomic programme and hence 
increase the inflow to the country and ultimately reduce public debt. 
 
38. Kenya would like to know why the Government of Malawi has not yet notified Category A 
commitments, and ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) despite technical work having been completed? When is Malawi likely to notify Category A commitments as well as submit its instrument of ratification of the TFA 
 
Response: Refer to response to Question 21.  
39. We note from the Secretariat Report that Malawi’s investment regime is riddled with 
procedural delays and red tape which continue to impede the business and investment approval process. Kenya would like to know what steps the Government of Malawi is taking to simplify and 
streamline its business and investment licensing process 
 Response: The Government of Malawi in a bi d to streamline multiple transactions in 
investment and licensing it merged the tw o institutions i.e. Malawi Investment 
Promotion Agency (MIPA) and Malawi Expo rt Promotion Council (MEPC), into one 
Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) in  order to remove bureaucratic process for 
doing business in the country. The establishment of One Stop Shop under MITC is a 
fundamental development in the right direction as  it will result in reduced time and cost 
of doing business in Malawi . 
 
40. Why has the Government of Malawi not implemented the COMESA Customs Bond Guarantee 
Scheme which Kenya consider as an important instrument of promoting trade facilitation within the COMESA region.  
Response: Uptake by private se ctor is low due to fears of competition from dominant 
players in the region. Consultations are still underway with all stakeholders to establish 
the way forward 
 
CHINA 
41. Does Malawi have further consideration in promoting investment facilitation? If so, please 
introduce the plan and expected timetable. 
Response: Malawi will continue promoting investment facilitation.  The high level plan is 
as follows: WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
- 13 - 
 
   
• Land: map Malawi according to various resources and market access, among other 
 factors to deliberately demarcate land for investment purposes e.g. commercial 
 farming, agro-processing etc.  Mala wi also has commenced plans for the 
 development of industrial parks, with four industrial parks initially: Mzuzu, 
 Lilongwe and Blantyre (2).  This is in order to improve access to investment land 
 which is presently a huge challenge. 
 
• Investment applications processing: Mala wi has initiated on a number of measures 
 to make transparent and accountable the process of treating investment 
 applications through business processing re-engineering (so far, engineering for 
 Department of Immigration (Immigrati on permits), Malawi  Revenue Authority 
 (incentives) and Lands (focusing on co mpensation on customary land) has been 
 undertaken.  The ideal is also to also en gineer other investment process lines such 
 as Agriculture, health etc.  It will make  the process predictable and clear not only 
 to the investor, but also to us as the Government.  
• Conceptualization and definition of projec ts: we are in the process of identifying 
 strategic public and private projects an d documentation them, though one area of 
 limitation has been that strategic public  projects identified are not ready for 
 implementation because stakeholders are not agreed on how they should be 
 implemented.  Thus, stakeholder meetings  will be called of the various project 
 sectors to thoroughly discuss the pr oject frameworks and agree on their 
 implementation roadmaps. 
 
• The One Stop Service Center: the One Stop Service Center in the Malawi  Investment and Trade Center continues to  work with its stakeholders to empower 
 the respective officers so that approval s are largely done in-house rather than 
 referring back to headquarters as a wa y of enhancing the investor facilitation 
 process.  
• A aftercare service with the Malawi Investment and Trade Center has been 
 underway over the past three years, though it may not have been as focused and  outreaching because of budgetary constrai nts.  However, after from establishing 
 investors who have invested according to  the baselines they indicated in their 
 proposals and hearing out complaints, th e aftercare service w ill this year (2016) 
 commence systemic sector workshops be tween private sector players and high 
 level Government so that issues arising from operations and discussed and worked 
 on.  Presently, an aftercare strategy is in the process of being developed. 
 • Visiting delegations and investors: Go vernment through the Malawi Investment 
 and Trade Center continues coordinate and facilitate the visits by foreign investors 
 by facilitating port entry (VIP, airpor t transfer), meetings (we develop their 
 itinerary and accompany them to meetings) etc, following which we follow up with 
 various stakeholders to ensure that wh atever information and other requirements 
 they need are fulfilled.  
42. What are the investment restrictions in the sector of traditional Chinese medicine in Malawi? 
Are there any laws regulating such investment? If yes, please provide the laws.  Response: There are no specific restrictions  to Chines medicine. However, medicines 
from all sources are regulated by the Ph armacy, Medicines and Poisons Board.  
 43. It is mentioned in the paragraph that Malawi launched one-stop border post initiatives at six 
border crossings and established Joint Border Committees at three major border posts with a view 
to improving coordination of the agencies. How is th e effect of the one-stop border post initiative 
and what one-stop regulation has been achieved? Which department is the lead one in the Joint 
Border Committee? What are the mechanisms or measures adopted to coordinate the border 
agencies?  Response: The Ministry of Industry, Trade an d Tourism is the coordinating agency for 
trade facilitation initiatives in the count ry. One Stop Border Post (OSBP) is one WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
- 14 - 
 
  important component of facilitating trade under the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. 
One Stop Border Post (OSBP) project is ai med at reducing the number of stops and 
processes associated with cross border transactions to ea se trade and movement of 
people.  In moving forward, the Ministry prioritized operationalization of OSBP at 
Mwanza/Zobue; Songwe/Kisumulu; Dedza/Colomue; Mchinji/Mwami; 
Chiponde/Mandimba and Muloza/Milanje Border Posts.  
Joint Border Committee is an Integrated Bord er Management (IBM) initiative aims at 
coordinating border agencies in order to  reduce the cost of doing business by 
coordinating the efforts of stakeholde rs at the border and improving their 
communication in order to facilitate greater efficiency in allowing commercial goods to 
cross the borders. Three Joint Border Commi ttees (JBC) were formed at Songwe and 
Mwanza in 2011, and Dedza in 2015. Malawi Revenue Authority officials are leading 
Songwe and Dedza JBCs whereas Mwanza JBC is chaired by a Clearing and Forwarding 
Company.  
 44. Please elaborate on the main contents of the draft Trademarks Bill, and the major revisions 
that will be made. 
 Response: The Trade Marks B ill new features include among others provisions on 
Geographical Indications, Well Known Marks,  Collective Marks and Certification Marks. 
 
45. Does the commitment above cover the sector of trade in services of traditional Chinese 
medicine? If so, what are the considerations for no commitment to temporary movement of 
people? Is there a timetable for making commitments to this mode of provision? 
 Response: The coverage is for all medicines regardless of brand. Temporary movement 
of people are unbound except as provided in the horizontal commitment. That is to say 
temporary stay of people will be subjec t to immigration laws and regulations . 
 46. Which departments are involved in the National Trade Facilitation Committee? Which 
department is the lead one and what are its responsibilities? 
 Reponse: The National Trade Facilitation Co mmittee (NTFC) membership include public, 
private and trade related non-governmental organisations Ministry of Malawi Revenue 
Authority (MRA) Chairperson   
Industry and Trade (MoIT) Secretariat  
Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) 
Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) Department of Immigration 
Malawi Police Service (MPS) 
Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTPW) Ministry of Finance 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Internatio nal Cooperation Ministry of Agriculture, 
Irrigation and Water Development Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs 
Ministry of Health and Population 
Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) 
Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association of Malawi (CAFAAM) Road Transport Operat ors Association (RTOA 
 
The overall purpose of the NTFC is to provid e direction, coordination and implementation 
of the NTFC-Action Plan (NTFC-AP) includin g the provisions of the WTO Agreement on 
Trade Facilitation. Specific tasks of the committee include but not limited to: 
 ·         provide direction and drive the implementation of the NTF-AP; 
·         provide the platform for di scussion of all trade facilitation issues; 
·         set up subsidiary bodies/t ask forces to deliver specific actions; 
·         review and approve budgets for specific works/serv ices (if necessary); 
·         liaise with development partners and drive resource mobilization; 
·         monitor and evaluate the implementation of the NTF-AP. WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
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  BRAZIL 
47. Brazil would appreciate further information regarding the Tripartite Free Trade Area 
negotiations on transport facilitation policies and measures. Do those negotiations include any 
projects on regional infrastructure integration? 
Response: Indeed in June 2011 in Johannesb urg, South Africa, the Second Tripartite 
Summit of Heads of State and Government of the three RECs namely COMESA, SADC and 
EAC launched the Tripartite FTA negotiations. In launching the negotiations, they agreed 
that the Tripartite FTA should be developm ental and be based on the following three 
pillars:  
  a. market integration;   
 b. industrial development; and  
  c. infrastructure  development.  
 
Regarding the Infrastructure Pillar, th e Tripartite Project Preparatory and 
Implementation Unit (PPIU) is operational an d its work is to support the preparation of 
bankable infrastructure projects. The work of the PPIU has been complemented by the 
Infrastructure Investment Co nferences that have been held by the three RECs. The 
infrastructure developments be ing envisaged by the regional in nature that will enhance 
regional connectivity and deepen region al integration such as electricity 
interconnectors, major regional roads, pi pelines, regional ICT projects and other. 
 THAILAND 
The report stated that "Agriculture remains the most tariff-protected sector: the average applied 
tariff on Agricultural products (WTO definition) is 18.8% (up from 17.3% in 2009), whereas the corresponding average for non-agricultural prod ucts stands at 11.6% (down from 12.5% in 
2009)". In this regard, does Malawi have any plan for a tariff reduction for agricultural sector in 
the near future? 
Response: The Malawi tariff structure is be ing modelled progressively along the COMESA 
tariff category of capital and raw materi als (0%), semi-finished goods (10%) and 
finished goods (25%). 
 
48. Referring to table 3.7 Competition and Fair Trading Act enforcement, please provide the 
rationale as to why the complaint in mergers and acquisitions are more than those other areas? 
 
Response: As indicated in the report between 2005 and 2012 the CFTC was being served by an interim Secretariat which was hosted by  the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The 
interim Secretariat did not have sufficient capacity to undertake awareness creation 
activities about the Competition and Fair Trading Act. Fewer business persons were 
aware of the CFTC and its mandate. Hence the CFTC received fewer complaints on restrictive business practices than merger auth orisation applications. It should be noted 
that most of the mergers assessed invo lved international parties who sought 
information from the Commission about procedur es for effecting a merger in Malawi and 
they voluntarily submitted applications  for authorisation to the Commission. 
 
Although the CFTA provides for the CFTC to in itiate investigations on its own initiative, 
the Interim Secretariat did not engage in pro-active enforcement of the Act due to 
capacity constraints and the legal uncerta inty regarding the CFTC’s independence 
created by the Interim Secretariat’s operationa l affiliation to the Ministry of Industry 
and Trade.  
 
49. What are the criteria of an application for permission to merge businesses?  How to consider 
application for permission?  
Response: There is no qualifying criteria (threshold) under the CFTA for a merger to 
qualify for application for authorisation. The only requirement applied is that a merger WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
- 16 - 
 
  transaction should result in transfer of cont rolling interest from one firm/person to the 
other. In terms of factors considered in assessing the effect of a merger, the CFTA 
provides that all factors that affect competit ion should be considered. In this regard, the 
CFTC considers a number of factors including, change in market concentration, existing 
barriers to entry, import competition and co untervailing power by customers. The CFTA 
also requires the CFTC to consider the effect  of a merger on public interest such as 
generation of additional employ ment, efficiencies to be crea ted, prospects for increasing 
exports and other developmental factors. Th ese factors are considered as mitigating 
factors. Hence, the CFTC is required to author ise a merger if its benefits (in terms of the 
mitigating factors) outweigh the anti-compe titive effects that th e merger will create. 
 
50. How do you implement the exemption of “activities relating to the protection of intellectual 
property rights”?  
Response: The CFTA excludes the application of the Act on elements of any agreement 
relating to exclusive use, license or assignme nt of intellectual property rights. It also 
excludes any measures adopted to protect in tellectual property rights. This means that 
any measure adopted to protect intellectua l property rights are exempted from 
complying with competition principles espoused in the CFTA. Therefore, the CFTC cannot initiate an investigation against a firm for any exclusionary effect that may be created 
by the exclusive use and licensing of any intellectual property rights.   
 
51. The report stated that “Most agriculture goods are exempt from value-added tax.” Does this 
exemption also cover imported goods? 
 
Response: Yes. The VAT schedule is the sa me for imports as well as local supply. 
 
52. The report stated that “The Government has periodically resorted to ad hoc bans on exports 
by private traders.” What are some of the rationale and details of the bans?  Response: The bans that have been effected  were on maize, soya beans and raw hard 
round wood. 
 For maize it was based on food security conc erns. Malawi relies on maize for food. Over 
90% of Malawians eat maize flour on a daily basis. Malawi had been badly hit by drought 
and sometimes floods, both of which affect the maize output leaving around 2.8 million 
people hungry. Exporting the same would have  left millions hungry and this would have 
meant Government importing the same maize from other countries. Unfortunately this 
was the period Malawi had problems with fo reign exchange reserves as such it was 
unable to import not only food but fuel and drugs. So Government resorted to the export 
ban. 
 
The same climatic problems cited above affe cted crops such as soya. Malawi’s private 
sector had problems with importing the sa me from other countries due to foreign 
exchange shortages explained above. Compan ies scaled down and others were on the 
verge of closing due to shortages of the ra w material. That is why Government resorted 
to the export ban for soya which only lasted  for one year. Later on the ban was removed 
and the requirement to obtain an export permit for soya was also removed. Today 
nobody requires an export permit to export soya beans.  On raw hard round wood, the ban was intended to save the natural forest reserves 
which were being threatened with depletion by illegal fellers. Trade on  this type of wood 
is prohibited internationally to save thes e trees from unscrupulou s traders who illegally 
export them. This ban is still in place because trade in raw hard round wood is 
internationally discouraged to save nature. 
 53. The report stated that “A number of agricultur al commodities imported to, or exported from, 
Malawi require a special trade permit. However, it has been observed that the operation of the 
permit system is regressive and effectively discriminates against small traders and small farmers... the Government abolished export licences in May 2014 for soya beans, groundnuts, pigeon peas and other legumes.” Are there any other products in the pipeline for the permit abolition? 
 WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
- 17 - 
 
  Response: At the moment there are no any ot her products in the pipeline for the permit 
abolition. However, Government will continue to reform the licensing system to make it 
even more efficient for the private sector to obtain.  
54. The report stated that “All imported agriculture commodities must be accompanied by a 
non-GMO certificate; agricultural exports to GMO-free countries also require this certificate.” Thailand requests a clarification on whether the domestic products require the same non-GMO 
certificate. 
 Response: Yes, this applies for domestic as well.  
 
UNITED STATES – ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS 
We look forward to receiving responses to the unanswered questions, specifically 4, 9, 13, and 15. 
 
Response: Responses to all qu estions have been provided. 
 
Question 2:  What is the relationship between Malawi’s use of import licensing for certain 
agricultural products and its broader agricultural policies, such as the Food Security Policy and Nutrition Policy, which are cited in the Government report?  
Response:  Malawi through Department of Ag ricultural Research Services issues Phyto-
sanitary Certificates for exports and import permits on agricultural produce in line with 
ISPM No. 12. 
 
Follow up from the United States :  The response does not answer the original question.  Please 
clarify. 
 
Response: The Ministry of Agriculture i ssues Phytosanitary certificates for all 
agricultural products through the Malawi NPPO in line with Article V. This is in line with the World Food Summit of 1996 definition of food  security as quoted "when all people at 
all times have access to sufficient, SAFE, nutri tious food to maintain a healthy and active 
life". In this definition, the safety of the food is one of the vital component of food 
security. Therefore, in order to ensure safe ty of the food being imported, the Malawi 
Government through Department of Agricultural Research Services inspects and tests all 
the food and food products for conformi ty to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) 
requirements through issuance of SPS certificates for exports and import permits on 
agricultural produce. 
 Question 5 :  Please explain how Malawi’s ban on the importation of GM products and hormone 
treated meats is consistent with the SPS Agreemen t. Please provide Malawi’s risk assessment on 
both measures.  
 Response : It is in line with Biosafety Act, 2002. But Government has allowed GMO 
confined field trials of Cotton, Cow peas wh ich are running now by Lilongwe University 
of Agriculture and Natural Resources.  
Follow up from the United States:  Thank you for your response. Do you expect the ban on GM 
products to be removed if these GM products, now in confined filed trials, are approved in Malawi? Will Malawi subscribe to the COMESA Policy on Biotechnology and Biosafety, approved in 2014? 
 
Response : The ban on some of the GM products may only be removed upon review of the 
current regulations on GM products (Biosafe ty Act, 2002). Geneti cally modified cotton 
has been a test case, seen as safer than other crops because it does not enter the food 
chain. GM trials on food crops are focu sed on crops tailored to local markets and 
conditions, like insect-resistant cow peas that  contain high levels of vitamin A, which 
helps physical growth and development. At regional level Malawi will consider 
subscribing to it once internal processes and policy alignments have been done and 
appropriately approved.  
 WT/TPR/M/335/Add.1 
 
- 18 - 
 
  Question 6:   Please explain why the entities in Tabl e 3.88, and particularly the National Oil 
Company of Malawi, is not being notified to the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises.  Response :  National Oil Company of Malawi should be notified to the working party on 
state Trading Enterprises as a state-owned en terprise to ensure security of supply of 
petroleum products in the country.  
 
Follow up from the United States:   When does Malawi expect to notify the National Oil 
Company of Malawi to the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises?  Response:  National Oil Company notification will be included in the next round of 
notifications the Ministry of Industry, Trad e and Tourism is currently preparing. The 
notifications will be submitted as soon as they are completed.  
 
Question 10:   Please provide additional information regarding enforcement actions, including: 
Which government office(s) have the responsibility to collect statistics regarding copyright enforcement actions? And when would statistics or additional information on enforcement actions 
and relief sought be available? 
 Response:   Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA)  is the office responsible for all 
matters pertaining to copyrights, includ ing administration and enforcement of 
copyrights. The office is also responsible for copyright data collection and related 
statistics. Copyright information is available at the office. However,  there is need to 
strengthen copyright information syst em for easy information delivery and 
dissemination. 
 Follow up from the United States:   Please clarify the answer to the second question:  When 
would statistics or additional information on enforcement actions and relief sought be available? 
 Response: Statistics on copyright enforcemen t though not official have always been 
there. Last year alone, we conducted 96 anti piracy raids in the three regions of Malawi 
namely North, South and Centre together with the Malawi Police. We also have had 
about three cases concluded in Court.  
__________