WORLD  TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/TPR/S/250 
24 August 2011  
 
(11-4078) 
Trade Policy Review Body  
   
 
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
Report by the Secretariat 
 
MAURITANIA 
 
  
 
This report, prepared for the second Trade Policy Review of Mauritania, has 
been drawn up by the WTO Secretaria t on its own responsibility.  The 
Secretariat has, as required by the Agreement establishing the Trade Policy 
Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the Ma rrakesh Agreement Establishing the 
World Trade Organization), sought clarif ication from Mauritania 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 56 40) 
and Mr Michael Kolie (tel.:  022 739 59 31). 
 
Document WT/TPR/G/250 contains the policy statement submitted by 
Mauritania. 
 
 
 
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 Po licy Review Body on Mauritania. Mauritania WT/TPR/S/250 
 Page iii 
 
 
  CONTENTS 
 
  Page 
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS vii  
 (1)   ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  vii  
 (2)   OVERALL TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK  vii  
 (3)   TRADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  viii  
 (4)   SECTORAL POLICIES  viii  
 
I.  ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 1  
 (1)   MAIN FEATURES OF THE ECONOMY  1  
 (2)   RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS  2  
 (3)   TRENDS IN TRADE AND INVESTMENT  6  
 (i)   Developments in trade 6  
 (ii)   Composition of trade 6  
 (iii)   Trade in services 8  
 (iv)   Investment 8  
 (4)   OUTLOOK  11 
II.  TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 12  
 (1)   GENERAL FRAMEWORK  12  
 (2)   TRADE AGREEMENTS AND ARRANGEMENTS  16  
 (i)   World Trade Organization 16  
 (ii)   Regional agreements 17  
 (iii)   Relations with the European Union 18  
 (iv)   Relations with the United States of America 18  
 (v)   Generalized System of Preferences 19  
 (3)   INVESTMENT REGIME  19  
 (i)   Recent developments 19  
 (ii)   Investment Code 19  
 (iii)   Other factors affecting investments 21  
 (iv)   International agreements 23  
 (4)   AID FOR TRADE  23  
  (i)   Integration of trade in development strategy 23  
  (ii)   Integrated framework 24  
  (iii)   Mauritania's Aid-for-Trade needs 25  
  (iv)   Aid for Trade for Mauritania 25  
III.  TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 27  
 (1)   INTRODUCTION  27  
 (2)   MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS  28  
 (i)   Procedures 28  
 (ii)   Tariff regime and other duties and taxes 30  
 (iii)   Rules of origin 36  
 (iv)   Import licences, prohibitions and other controls 37  
 (v)   Contingency measures 37  
 (vi)   Standards, technical regulations and other requirements 37  
 (vii)  Other measures 41  WT/TPR/S/250 Trade Policy Review 
Page iv 
  
  Page 
 (3)   MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING EXPORTS  41  
 (i)   Registration and documentation 41  
 (ii)   Export taxes 42  
 (iii)   Export prohibitions, controls and licences 42  
 (iv)   Aid for exporters, export promotion and financing 43  
 (4)   MEASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE  44  
 (i)   State trading, State-owned ente rprises and privatizations 44  
 (ii)   Incentives 45  
 (iii)   Competition policy and price regulation 46  
 (iv)   Government procurement 48  
 (v)   Protection of intellectual property rights 51  
IV.  TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 52  
 (1)   INTRODUCTION  52  
 (2)   AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK  52  
 (i)   Overview 52  
 (ii)   Constraints on agricultural production 53  
 (iii)   Constraints on animal production 55  
 (iv)   Import regulations 56  
 (3)   FISHERIES  57 
 (i)   Overview 57  
 (ii)   Small-scale fishing and chartering 59  
 (iii)   Industrial fishing 60  
 (iv)   Mauritanian Fish Marketing Company (SMCP) 61  
 (v)   International agreements 61  
 (4)   HYDROCARBONS AND ENERGY  62  
 (i)   Gas and petroleum 63  
 (ii)   Electricity 66  
 (5)   OTHER MINING PRODUCTS  67  
 (i)   Production 67  
 (ii)   Mining regulations 68  
 (6)   WATER   70 
 (i)   Distribution of water in rural areas 70  
 (ii)   Distribution of water in urban areas 70  
 (7)   MANUFACTURING  71  
 (i)   Fish processing industry 71  
 (ii)   Other food industries 72  
 (iii)   Construction materials 73  
 (8)   SERVICES  73 
 (i)   Transport 73  
 (ii)   Telecommunications 76  
 (iii)   Postal services 77  
 (iv)   Insurance 78  
 (v)   Banking 79  
 (vi)   Tourism 81  
 (vii)  Professional services 83  
 REFERENCES 85 
APPENDIX TABLES 87 Mauritania WT/TPR/S/250 
 Page v 
 
 
  Page 
 
CHARTS 
 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 
I.1 Structure of merchandise trade, 2002 and 2008 7 I.2 Direction of merchandise trade, 2002 and 2008 9 
 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE  
III.1 Escalation of the applied MFN tariff rate by 2-digit ISIC group, 2011 32 
III.2 Breakdown to MFN tariff rates applied, 2011 33  
IV. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 
 IV.1 Irrigated areas and corresponding production, 2000-2010 55 
IV.2 Petroleum exports, 2005-2009 63 
 
TABLES 
 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 
I.1 Selected macroeconomi c indicators, 2004-2009 2 
I.2 Balance-of-payments developments, 2004 2009 5 
I.3 FDI, new investments announced during the period 2003-2010 10 
 II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 
 
II.1 African laws and regulations on trade and investment 13 II.2 United States imports from Mauritania, by tariff regime, 2008-2010 18 
II.3 Aid-for-Trade commitments for Mauritania, 2002-2005 and 2006-2009 25 
 III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 
 
III.1 Structure of the applied MFN tariff, 2006 and 2010 30 III.2 Summary analysis of the applied MFN tariff, 2011 32 
III.3 Sanitary requirements at importation and exportation for certain animals and animal products 40 
III.4 State-owned enterprises, 2011 44 
III.5 Thresholds for the award of government procurement contracts 49 
III.6 Government procurement contracts, by award procedure, 2007-2009 51 
 
IV. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 
 
IV.1 Principal agricultural products, 2003 and 2008 53 IV.2 Principal agricultural imports, 2003 and 2008 56 
IV.3 Summary of the financial terms for enga ging in fishing in Mauritania's EEZ, 2005 59 
IV.4 Taxation applicable to the various types of mining permit under the Mining Code 69 IV.5 Loans granted by Mauritanian banks, 2010 79 
IV.6 Criteria for access to professions  regulated in Mauritania, 2011 83 
 WT/TPR/S/250 Trade Policy Review 
Page vi 
  
  Page 
APPENDIX TABLES 
 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 AI.1 Structure of exports, 2002-2008 89 
AI.2 Structure of imports, 2002-2008 90 
AI.3 Destination of exports, 2002-2008 92 AI.4 Origin of imports, 2002-2008 93 
 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 
 
AIII.1 Average applied MFN tariff rates, by HS Chapter, 2011 94 AIII.2 Plants and plant products the importation of which is subject to prior authorization 98 
AIII.3 Plants and plant products prohibited from entering national territory 100 
AIII.4 Plants and plant products the entry of which requires a phytosanitary certificate 
or an arrival declaration 101 
 
 
 Mauritania WT/TPR/S/250 
 Page vii 
 
 
  SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS 
 
(1) ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  
1. Since military power ended in 2009, 
Mauritania has declared that it is decisively 
committed to better governance, which should help to reinforce its ec onomic growth.  Despite 
the difficult socio-political context marked by several coups d'état  since the previous Review 
of its Trade Policy (TPR) in 2002, economic 
growth surged ahead after crude oil, gold and copper started to be exported in 2006.  Per capita income almost doubled between 2004 and 2009, reaching close to US$945, although this has not had any noticeable impact on the 
human development index, and Mauritania 
remains a least developed country. 
2. Although most of the population still 
works in agriculture and rearing livestock (25 per cent of GDP) and - to a lesser extent - 
in trade (13 per cent), fisheries (5 per cent) and 
mining (15 per cent) together account for almost all exports of goods, with commodities 
(iron ore, fisheries products and, since 2006, crude oil, gold and copper) predominating.  The share of staple foodstuffs in imports has 
risen sharply, highlighting the problem faced 
by the country in increasing its agricultural output.  Because of the increase in their global price, there has also b een a steep rise in the 
share of petroleum products in total imports in 
terms of value. 
3. The European Union (EU) is 
Mauritania's leading trading partner.  Its share of Mauritania's exports rose from 71 per cent in 2000 to 78 per cent in 2008.  The EU is still 
the country's major supplier, but its share of 
the market fell steeply from 52 per cent in 2002 to 42 per cent in 2008.  In Asia, only China's share of Mauritania's trade rose to any marked extent, exports to China increasing from 0.5 per cent to 8 per cent of the total, 
while imports from China grew from 1.5 per 
cent to 5 per cent of the total over the same period.  There is still relatively little regional trade at the formal level (with the exception of petroleum products from Algeria) because most trade is in smuggled goods.  Mauritania 
is a net importer of services, especially transport and engineering services;  its fishing rights, recorded as exports of services, play a 
prominent role. 
(2) O
VERALL TRADE POLICY 
FRAMEWORK  
4. Since 2002, few reforms have been 
undertaken in the area of customs, trade or 
investment regulations.  Heavy State 
involvement and the lack of competition remain major challenges, together with combating both corrupt ion and rent seeking. 
5. The Mauritanian State in fact still has 
majority holdings in several commercial 
companies, to which it grants various benefits 
in the form of monopoly rights, tax concessions or subsidies, and which represent an obstacle to the growth of competitor companies in the private sector.  This is the 
case for imports of hydrocarbons and gas, 
(inadequate) production of electricity, and imports of food products for the low-income sectors of the population, which are wholly or partly State monopolies. 
6. Likewise, the majority of exports are 
by State-trading enterprises:  the National 
Industrial and Mining Company, Mauritania's largest industry, accounts for 15 per cent of GDP and is almost 80 per cent owned by the Mauritanian State.  It exports most of its 
production of iron ore, particularly to Europe 
and Japan.  The State also holds 70 per cent of the capital of the Mauritanian Fish Marketing Company, and has a 12 per cent share in the consortium which expor ts all Mauritania's 
petroleum.  The rest of the mining sector is 
widely open and is dominated by foreign companies.  The latter mostly invest under agreements signed with the Mauritanian State, which are not covered by the provisions of the Investment Code, especially as regards 
transparency and review. 
7. A handful of large family-owned 
groups control trade in imported food products WT/TPR/S/250 Trade Policy Review 
Page viii 
  
  (rice and cereals in particular), construction, 
hotel and restaurant services, and the banking sector.  Improving Mauritania's competition regime, and opening up to foreign 
competition, would not only help to lessen 
concentration in Mauritania's market, but would also raise the quality/price ratio for goods and services put up for consumption, because Mauritania is currently an expensive 
country at the regional level.  For this purpose, 
in June 2011, Mauritania was on the verge of adopting new legislation to make government procurement more transparent. 
8. In general, systematic publication of 
regulations on each government office's 
website, on which the public could post 
comments, would help to combat anti-competitive practices and would enable a list to be compiled of the reforms to be introduced as a priority. 
(3) T
RADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  
9. Mauritania is an original member of 
the WTO and grants at least most-favoured-nation treatment to all its trading partners;  it is neither a signatory to, nor an observer in, the WTO's plurilateral 
agreements.  Mauritania has bound almost 
40 per cent of its tariffs lines in the WTO at ceiling rates.  The average bound tariff is around 20 per cent on agricultural products and 38 per cent on non-agricultural products.  
Other duties and taxes are bound at 0 or 15 per 
cent. 
10. The applied tariff is entirely 
ad valorem , with a relatively simple four-rate 
structure (0, 5 per cent, 13 per cent and 20 per 
cent).  Since its previous TPR in 2002, 
Mauritania has raised its customs duty on non-agricultural products, which has meant higher prices for consumers of these imported goods;  the average applied rate rose from 10.6 per cent in 2001 to 12.1 per cent in 2011.  
Moreover, for around 11 per cent of the tariff 
lines the applied rates exceed the rates bound in the WTO. 11. Mauritania is one of the few 
WTO Members that does not grant preferential tariffs to any country.  Although there is no specific restriction in Mauritania's legislation, 
several practices, for example, lack of 
information on the documents and quality required in order to obtain an authorization to engage in trade, may explain the limited number of importers listed in the central 
register.  Numerous documents are required 
for every import, including a "special authorization" for "sensitive" products, which in practice means that the lucrative trade in 
rice, sugar and medicines is reserved for a few privileged operators. 
12. Furthermore, although Mauritania 
introduced the computerized customs system ASYCUDA++ in July 2010, trade facilitation has not been a priority.  Physical inspection of imported goods remains the rule, and 
procedures are still lengthy and computerized 
either only in part or not at all.  The transmission of information among those mainly involved (Customs, inspection company, port authority) goes by regular post or messenger.  According to the Customs, 
Mauritania still uses reference values supplied 
by the preshipment inspection company, which levies almost 0.98 per cent on the value of imports for its fees. 
13. Mauritania's participation in the 
WTO's technical assistance activities in 
connection with trade facilitation or Aid for Trade would allow trade to play its role as a catalyst for competition and in revitalizing the economy. 
(4) S
ECTORAL POLICIES  
14. There is a large foreign presence in 
Mauritania's two principal economic activities (mining and fisheries products), despite a high level of State involvement.  Up until now, Mauritania has earned a large percentage of its 
income from selling licences to foreign 
companies, thus contributing towards intensified exploitation of its resources rather than sustainable development of local Mauritania WT/TPR/S/250 
 Page ix 
 
 
  exploitation more closely integrated into the 
national economy.  This policy is at the root of the sharp decline in the main fisheries resources as a result of over-exploitation.  It 
has proved attractive to numerous foreign 
economic partners, but has not contributed towards the expansion of the local private sector.  As regards mining, a law that gives foreign companies tax concessions that are not 
available to Mauritanian companies should be 
revised in order to encourage local subcontractors in the sector as well. 
15. The numerous plans for agriculture 
and livestock development have not been implemented.  Legisl ation on international 
trade in animal products dates from the 1960s, 
and there is no proper coordination of sanitary and phytosanitary control at the border, which is not conducive to developing exports, despite Mauritania's advantages in this respect.  
Likewise, the lack of a food security strategy 
and consultation among the various stakeholders, combined with the scarcity of production credits, explain the persistence of food insecurity. 
16. The telecommunications and 
electricity markets, open to competition, 
together with the water sector, are supervised by the Regulatory Authority.  Despite the present shortcomings, Mauritania has advantages for the sustainable development of 
the electricity sector, including large reserves 
of natural gas and broad expanses of desert with potential for solar and wind energy.  
Moreover, mining projects could cover high demand for electricity. 
17. Mauritania has managed to develop 
important manufacturing activities such as the 
processing of fisheries products, and to gain access to the major foreign markets, especially the European Union, where many Mauritanian firms are authorized to market their products.  
For this industry to develop, in addition to 
addressing the question of sustainability of fisheries resources, the authorities should ensure that the industries are able to recruit skilled personnel and that credit is available at affordable cost for companies and their 
subcontractors.  An improvement in the 
business climate, together with less red tape, would contribute towards this. 
18. The regulations on land transport were 
revised in 2007 in order to improve safety and 
quality and to lower costs.  Road development 
receives a large part of the financial support given to Mauritania by its partners, notably the European Union and the World Bank.  The limited extent of Mauritania's road network, however, is still hampering exploitation of its 
economic potential.  Updating its legislation 
on civil aviation, which dates back to the 1970s, should help to improve governance in Mauritania's air transport sector and, consequently, boost its development and its 
contribution towards Mauritania's integration 
into global trade.