WORLD  TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/TPR/S/251 
24 August 2011  
 
(11-4088) 
Trade Policy Review Body  
   
 
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
Report by the Secretariat 
 
GUINEA 
 
  
 
This report, prepared for the third Tr ade Policy Review of Guinea, has been 
drawn up by the WTO Secretariat on its own responsibility.  The Secretariat has, 
as required by the Agreement establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism 
(Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization), sought clarification from Guinea on its trade policies and 
practices. 
 
Any technical questions arising from this report may be addressed to 
Mr Jacques Degbelo (tel.: 022 739 5583);  Mrs Catherine Hennis-Pierre 
(tel.:  022 739 5640);  and Mr Michael Kolie (tel.:  022 739 5931). 
 
Document WT/TPR/G/251 contains the policy statement submitted by Guinea. 
 
 
 
Note: This report is subject to restricted circ ulation and press embargo until the end of the first 
session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on Guinea. Guinea WT/TPR/S/251 
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  CONTENTS 
 
  Page 
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS ix  
 (1)   ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  ix  
 (2)   GENERAL TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK  ix 
 (3) T RADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  x 
 (4) T RADE POLICY BY SECTOR  xi  
I.  ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 1  
 (1)   MAIN FEATURES OF THE ECONOMY  1 
 (2) R ECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS  3 
 (3) T RADE AND INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE  6  
 (i)   Trade in goods and services 6  
 (ii)   Direct investment 10  
 (4)   OUTLOOK  11 
II.  TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 12  
 (1)   GENERAL FRAMEWORK  12  
 (2)   FOREIGN TRADE REGULATION  13  
 (3)   FOREIGN TRADE AGREEMENTS  15  
 (i)   World Trade Organization 15 
 (ii) Regional and bilateral agreements 15 
 (iii) Relations with the European Union 17  
 (4)   FOREIGN INVESTMENT REGIME  18  
 (i)   Main investment promotion measures 18 
 (ii) Institutions responsible for promoting investment 19  (iii) Free zones and industrial zones 20 
 (iv) International investment agreements 20 
 (v) Other factors influencing investment 21  
III.  TRADE POLICY BY MEASURE 22  
 (1)   I
NTRODUCTION  22 
 (2) M EASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS  23  
 (i)   Registration and preshipment inspection 23 
 (ii) Customs procedures 25 
 (iii) Customs levies 26  (iv) Rules of origin 34 
 (v) Prohibitions, licences and import controls 34 
 (vi) Contingency measures 35  (vii) Standards, technical regulations and other requirements 35 
 (viii) Other measures 38  WT/TPR/S/251 Trade Policy Review 
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    Page  
 (3)   MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING EXPORTS  38  
 (i) Procedures 38 
 (ii) Export duties and taxes 38  (iii) Prohibitions, licences and export controls 39 
 (iv) Export subsidies, promotion and assistance 39 
 (v) Industrial free zone regimes 40  (vi) Other provisions 40  
 (4)   M
EASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE  40  
 (i)   State trading, State-owned ente rprises and privatization 40 
 (ii) Incentives 42 
 (iii) Government procurement 42 
 (iv) Competition policy and price regulation 44  (v) Intellectual property rights 45  
IV.  TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 47  
 (1) I
NTRODUCTION  47 
 (2)   AGRICULTURE , LIVESTOCK AND RELATED ACTIVITIES  47  
 (i)   Overview 47 
 (ii) Principal institutio ns and programmes 48 
 (iii) Principal agricultural policy measures 48 
 (iv) Trade policy by principal category of agricultural products 51  
 (3)   FISHERIES  57 
 (i)   Overview 57 
 (ii) Regulation 58  (iii) International trade in fisheries products 60  
 (4)   M
INING AND ENERGY  61  
 (i)   Mining products 61 
 (ii) Trade in hydrocarbons 66 
 (iii) Electricity 67 
 (iv) Water 68  
 (5)   MANUFACTURING AND CRAFTS  69 
 (6) T RADE IN TRANSPORT SERVICES  70 
 (i) Maritime transport and port services 71  (ii) Land transport 75 
 (iii) Air transport 77 
 (7) T
ELECOMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL SERVICES  77 
 (i) Developments since 2005 77 
 (ii) Legal and regulatory framework 78 
 (iii) Postal services 81 
 (8) F INANCIAL SERVICES  81 
 (i) Overview of the sector 81  (ii) Banking system 81 
 (9) T
OURISM  84 Guinea WT/TPR/S/251 
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    Page 
V. AID FOR TRADE 86 
 (1) Overview 86 
 (2) I NTEGRATION OF TRADE INTO THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY  88 
 (i) National development strategy 88 
 (ii) Integrated Framework 89 
 (iii) Supply-side constraints 90  (iv) Aid-for-Trade needs 90  
 (3)   A
ID-FOR-TRADE ASSISTANCE  91  
 (i)   Technical assistance for institutional and human capacity building 91 
 (ii) Technical assistance fo r export capacity building 92  
 (4)   MATCHING NEEDS AND ASSISTANCE  93  
 (i)   National coordination mechanisms 93 
 (ii) Monitoring and evaluation 94  
 (5)   OUTLOOK FOR AID FOR TRADE  95  
REFERENCES 97 
APPENDIX TABLES 101 WT/TPR/S/251 Trade Policy Review 
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  CHARTS 
 
  Page 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 
I.1 Structure of merchandise trade, 2004 and 2008 8 
I.2 Direction of merchandise trade, 2004 and 2008 9  
III. TRADE POLICY BY MEASURE 
 III.1 Breakdown of MFN duty rates, 2011 30 
III.2 Escalation of duties by ISIC 2-digit category, 2011 31 
 IV. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 
 
IV.1 Rice imports, 1999-2009 52 IV.2 Poultry imports, 2000-2002 and 2004-2008 56 
IV.3 EU:  Imports of products of Chapter 03 from Guinea, 2001-2010 60 
IV.4 Volume of container traffic in West Africa, 2007 72 
IV.5 Arrivals of non-residents by region of residence, 2001-2008 85 
 V. AID FOR TRADE 
 
V.1 Trend in commitments under Offici al Development Assistance (ODA) and 
Aid for Trade (AFT), 2002-2009 86 
TABLES 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 
I.1 Selected macroeconomi c indicators, 2005-2010 2 
I.2 Balance-of-payments developments, 2005-2010 5 I.3 Structure of guinea's imports of services 7 
I.4 Distribution of foreign direct investment, 2005-2009 10 
I.5 Foreign direct investment position, 2007-2009 10  
II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 
 II.1 Guinean laws and regulations re lating to trade and investment 13 
II.2 Bilateral or regional trade agreements 16 
II.3 Investment Code:  benefits under preferential regimes 19 
 
III. TRADE POLICY BY MEASURE  
III.1 Guinea's list of "exceptions B", WAEMU Common External Tariff 26 
III.2 Structure of the applied MFN tariff, 2005 and 2011 27 III.3 Summary analysis of the applied MFN tariff, 2011 28 
III.4 List of State-owned enterprises 40 
III.5 Public contracts, by award procedure, 2005-2010 44 III.6 Industrial property right statistics, 2005-2010 46 
 
 Guinea WT/TPR/S/251 
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    Page 
 
IV. TRADE POLICIES BY MEASURE 
 IV.1 Rice statistics, 1997/1998, 2000/2001, 2005/2006, 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 51 
IV.2 Mining statistics, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2009-2010 62 
IV.3 Summary of "major projects" in the mining sector, 2010 64 IV.4 Imports of petroleum products, 1990 and 2006-2010 67 
IV.5 Global traffic in goods at the port of Conakry, 2008-2010 71 
 V. AID FOR TRADE 
 
V.1 Aid-for-Trade flows:  CRS auxiliary data, 2006-2009 87 
APPENDIX TABLES 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
AI.1 Structure of exports, 2000, 2002 and 2004-2008 103 
AI.2 Structure of imports, 2000, 2002 and 2004-2008 105 
AI.3 Destination of exports, 2000, 2002 and 2004-2008 107 
AI.4 Origin of imports, 2000, 2002 and 2004-2008 108 
 
III. TRADE POLICY BY MEASURE  
AIII.1 Average applied MFN tariff rates, by HS Chapter, 2011 109 
AIII.2 Duties and taxes 113 
 
 
 Guinea WT/TPR/S/251 
 Page ix 
 
 
  SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS 
 
(1) ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  
1. Guinea's economy is based on the 
mining sector (26 per cent of GDP, including 
processing bauxite into alumina) and agriculture (20 per cent), the former providing 95 per cent of export earnings, and the latter the remainder.  Exports' share of GDP rose 
from 34 per cent in 2005 to 41 per cent in 
2009, highlighting the strong global demand for bauxite, diamonds and gold, and the weakness of the other sectors in Guinea's economy.  In 2011, substantial foreign direct investment (FDI) in the 
production of alumina and iron ore was 
planned, together with two port extensions.  This investment is for an amount comparable to the country's annual GDP.  It is therefore vital to introduce appropriate macroeconomic 
policies, including trade policies, so as to 
prevent the strong inflationary trends which such investment might cause. 
2. The first democratic elections in 
Guinea in November 2010 led to far-reaching political renewal.  Parliamentary elections 
should soon be held to elect the National 
Assembly, which was dissolved when the Constitution was suspended after the coup 
d'état  in December 2008.  Following serious 
outbreaks of violence against civilians in 2009, 
the Guinean Government was suspended from 
most international bodies, and Official Development Assistance (ODA), including Aid for Trade, almost entirely came to a halt. 
3. Such a situation was not very 
conducive to economic growth, which 
remained below 3 per cent on average over the period 2005-2010, while poverty increased.  During the period as a whole, exports only rose by 20 per cent, reaching US$1.9 billion, while imports increased four times as fast, 
amounting to US$3.7 billion. 
4. One of the Government's first 
priorities is to restore macroeconomic balances, particularly price stability.  During the period 2009-2010, the Central Bank 
encountered serious problems in fulfilling its responsibilities, and in 2009 most government expenditure had to be financed by expanding 
the supply of money.  As domestic production 
did not increase, the increased supply of money led to inflation and exacerbated the sustained depreciation in the Guinean franc.  The result was "dollarization" of the economy, 
which is still the case. 
5. The Government's declared objective 
is to put in place the bases for economic development by fostering a dynamic private sector.  The obsolescence of  the infrastructure, 
notably electricity supply problems and the 
continuing lack of roads and storage facilities, 
are the obstacles to be lifted as a priority.  Supplies of water and electricity are therefore included in the Government's new "emergency programme", for which co-financing is being 
sought for some 20 hydroelectric projects.  In 
order to finance this spending on infrastructure, the Government is seeking to raise State income from the mining sector, a policy that has already proved its worth. 
6. The reform of State-owned enterprises 
has suffered a setback in recent years owing to 
lack of investors;  the State therefore still has large holdings in several enterprises.  In addition, in 2010 Guinea set up a new government-owned maritime transport 
company, the Guinea Shipping Corporation, 
which has been given the exclusive right to carry a percentage of the mining products taken from Guinea's subsoil. 
(2) G
ENERAL TRADE POLICY 
FRAMEWORK  
7. Guinea's Poverty Reduction Strategy 
Paper (PRSP) recognizes that trade plays a key role in combating poverty and that it can make a contribution towards food security.  Because of the political and social instability in Guinea, 
however, since the previous Trade Policy 
Review Guinea has undert aken almost none of 
the reforms needed to a llow trade to play such 
a role.  Despite the wide range of incentives in WT/TPR/S/251 Trade Policy Review 
Page x 
  
  the Investment Code, Guinea attracts little FDI 
because of the high level of corruption within the administration, the shortcomings of the judicial system, and the lack of infrastructure.  
Streamlining and accelerating administrative 
procedures and reducing the numerous fees and charges should help to enhance the business climate.  For this purpose, a website for the Official Journal could make all the 
legislative texts available to the public.  
Revision of the Government Procurement Code would enable controls to be tightened up, a priori and a posteriori.  Stricter compliance with its provisions would also help to prevent almost all public contracts being 
negotiated privately, at high cost, because 
there is no competition. 
8. Since 2006, the political situation in 
Guinea has greatly limited its participation in the WTO's training and technical assistance 
activities.  The WTO reference centre has not 
operated for four years.  Guinea has not notified any measure covered by the Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) or on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), even 
though such measures are in effect.  The 
regime for the import and distribution of fertilizer, pesticides and other chemical inputs could be revised, bearing in mind the important implications not only for food 
security but also for the development of 
downstream sectors (processing and marketing) and exports. 
(3) T
RADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  
9. Guinea's MFN tariff has been aligned 
on the WAEMU's Common External 
Tariff (CET) since 2005.  The simple average rate is 12 per cent (with a range between zero and 20 per cent).  Guinea has bound 41 per cent of its tariff lines at ceiling rates, including all agricultural products, but only one third of 
non-agricultural products.  The average bound 
rate is around 39 per cent on agricultural products and 11 per cent on non-agricultural products.  On some 10 per cent of the tariff lines, the applied rates exceed the bound rates. 10. Guinea takes part in the development 
of a common trade policy of the ECOWAS member countries, based on that of WAEMU.  The final list of mainly agrifood products 
subject to a fifth category of customs duty, at a 
rate of 35 per cent, was finalized by the ECOWAS member States in spring 2011. 
11. Guinea also imposes a whole range of 
fees, taxes, "supplementary taxes" and levies, 
whose total adds up to 18 percentage points to 
the tariff.  It has, however, bound the "other duties and taxes" at zero on over 1,000 tariff lines.  Reforming the numerous charges levied in addition to the tariff would not only bring Guinea into line with its WTO obligations, but 
also, by lowering costs for consumers, would 
help to revitalize the economy and lessen poverty. 
12. Other recent initiatives include a new 
levy on international trade in connection with 
the "Cargo Monitoring Slip" and administered 
by the recently created  Guinean Shippers' 
Agency.  To this has to be added the "shipping royalty" of US$0.10/tonne of goods unloaded for the (abolished) UNCTAD Liner Conferences duty, and a new high charge in 
euros for scanning all containers and sealed 
packages unloaded.  A comprehensive revision of all the charges levied, usually in foreign currency at the port level, is essential in order to lower costs for operators. 
13. The manifold exemptions given for 
certain imports cost Guinea over one third of its customs revenue.  A systematic review of import regulations would enable both the number and frequency of levies to be reduced, 
while at the same time distributing import 
taxation more fairly.  This excessive taxation makes charges higher for companies and increases costs for consumers, and is thus a factor that exacerbates poverty. 
14. Since 2008, Guinea has once again 
used a preshipment inspection system for 
imports with a value of US$3,300 or more.  The inspection fee amounting to 0.65 per cent of the customs value of the goods, with a Guinea WT/TPR/S/251 
 Page xi 
 
 
  minimum of US$250, is payable by importers.  
For the economy, the actual cost of such a system is high. 
15. Customs procedures would need to be 
streamlined in order to lower costs and 
enhance the competitiveness of imports for Guinea's economy.  The measures to be introduced as a priority include computerization of customs procedures, 
particularly the use of electronic documents, 
digital signatures and electronic payments;  the creation of a common interface for the customs and port and airport operators;  and the possibility of customs clearance in advance.  The introduction of sound risk 
management would allow systematic recourse 
to the scanner to be reduced.  Despite the adoption of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, Guinea still uses reference values 
for a whole range of products.  The authorities 
explain this by the frequency of 
under-valuation in customs declarations. 
16. The export regime would need to be 
reviewed, especially export bans intended to guarantee supplies on local markets.  Export restrictions are in fact the source of huge 
losses on both sides of the regional borders.  
For example, the "supplementary taxes" levied on exports of agricultural products cannot but discourage the use of formal export channels. 
(4) T
RADE POLICY BY SECTOR  
17. The new mining policy announced in 
2011 is intended to improve governance in this sector, lessen corruption and increase the State's earnings from the sector.  Higher revenue would allow the financing of the cost 
of the infrastructure needed for the economy to 
take off.  The new mining policy, which plans to raise State holdings in the capital of mining companies from 15 per cent to 33 per cent had already generated some US$700 million in May 2011, or over 15 per cent of GDP.  
Prompt validation of the Extractive Industries 
Transparency Initiative (EITI), including systematic publication of the revenue earned from the mining sector, would be a step towards better governance in the sector.  
Participation in the Kimberley Process is another step in the right direction, Guinea being one of the ten largest global producers 
of diamonds. 
18. Agriculture has many assets which 
make it one of the most promising sectors of the economy, not only in terms of trade opportunities but also in terms of improving 
food security and combating poverty.  In order 
to exploit this potential, there needs to be, inter alia , reform of land tenure, in particular 
the creation of private land ownership deeds which could be used as collateral for commercial loans to develop land and finance 
production.  The scarcity of loans and 
agricultural extension activities are in fact constraints on expanding production and agricultural exports and explain in part the dependence on food imports subsidized by the 
Government at high cost, which can only be a 
disincentive to developing domestic production. 
19. As far as fisheries are concerned, it is 
urgent for Guinea to exercise proper control over the ships operating in its EEZ as illegal 
fishing is estimated to account for half of all 
fishing.  The specific needs expressed by Guinea to its development partners in order to be in a position to apply its regulations should receive support, together with the efforts to 
upgrade hygiene and product quality.  This 
would no doubt improve food security, increase exports and eliminate the need for export restrictions (for self-sufficiency purposes), which are unlikely to encourage 
development of the sector. 
20. Small-scale industries would probably 
be one of the major beneficiaries of a reduction in import duty.  This sector, which imports most of its inputs, accounts for over 40 per cent of manufacturing, and also 
provides a large share of jobs in Guinea in 
areas such as metal working, carpentry, pottery, foundries, dyeing, jewellery or textiles and clothing, and thus plays a strategic role in combating poverty. WT/TPR/S/251 Trade Policy Review 
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  21. Trade in services is generally open to 
foreign presence, which is large.  It is not very developed and contributes little or nothing to economic growth.  For example, the banking 
sector does not play its role in making loans 
for production available, most of the loans granted being for shor t-term financing of 
imports.  New legislation has been in place since 2010 to promote competition in 
telecommunications, but the current 
infrastructure does not allow high-speed connectivity at affordable cost. 22. In all, trade regimes at the sectoral 
level have remained virtually unchanged, except for some measures taken from time to time to respond to speci fic needs.  In the 
absence of a national strategy involving all the 
major stakeholders, it is highly likely that the conclusions in this report, which are similar in many respects to those in the previous Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Guinea, will still be 
relevant at the time of the next Review in 
six years and that trade will still not play its role as a catalyst for economic growth and poverty reduction.