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PRESS/TPRB/319 
27 July 2009 
 
(09-3638) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: ZAMBIA 
Diversification of the economy and structural reforms essential for 
continuing stability and growth 
From 2003 to mid 2008, Zambia’s economy moved from stagnation towards steady growth, 
greater prosperity and better access to foreign investment. Real GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5-6% led by the mining, construction and services sectors, according to a WTO Secretariat 
report on the trade policies and practices of Zambia. 
 The report notes the problem of the Zambian econ omy’s increasing dependence on mining –copper 
now accounts for over 75% of total exports, up from 65% in 2002— and stresses the need for 
progress on structural reforms to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on natural resources.  
 
Zambia’s relatively open trade policy has remained substantially unchanged during the review period, although the continuing large gap betwee n the average applied MFN tariff rate (13%) and 
the bound rate (105%), and the absence of bindings for over 83% of tariff lines, tend to create a 
degree of unpredictability for traders, according to the report.  
The report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Zambia, will be the basis for the 
third Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Zambia by th e Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 27 and 
29 of July 2009. 
 
The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/ tratop_e/tpr_e/tp319_e.htm  
 
• Secretariat reports 
> Contents and summary observations  
> Economic environment  
> Trade and investment regimes  > Trade policies and practices by measure  
> Trade policies by sector  
> Appendix tables  
• Report by the Government of Zambia 
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
• Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). PRESS/TPRB/319 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO Agreement, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each 
review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William 
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at 
http://onlinebookshop.wto.org/shop/articles.asp?Id_Rayon=38
 
or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews  
 The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan  
Press, 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706-4346, United  
States. Please call 1-800-865-3457 or e-mail: customercare@bernan.com.” 
Next reviews: 
Chile: 7 and 9 October 2009   
Maldives:  26 and 28 October 2009 
Southern African Customs Union (SACU): 4 and 6 November 2009 
 
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews 
  
 
END