RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
11 May 2009 
 (09-2314) 
Working Party on the  
Accession of Samoa  
 
 
 
DRAFT REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON  
THE ACCESSION OF SAMOA TO THE  
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
 
Revision  
   
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... .1 
DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED ......................................................................................................1  
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS....................................................................................................1  
II. ECONOMIC POLICIES..........................................................................................................2  
- Monetary and Fiscal Policy..................................................................................................... .2 
- Foreign Exchange and Payments ............................................................................................3  
- Investment Regime.............................................................................................................. ......4  
- State Ownership and Privatization .........................................................................................7  
- Pricing Policies ............................................................................................................... .........10  
- Competition Policy............................................................................................................. .....10  
III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AN D ENFORCING POLICIES ....................................11  
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS ...................................................................16  
- Trading Rights ................................................................................................................. .......16  
A. IMPORT REGULATIONS....................................................................................................18  
- Customs tariff................................................................................................................. .........18  
- Other duties and charges....................................................................................................... .19 
- Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions.....................................................................................19  
- Fees and charges for services rendered.................................................................................20  
- Application of internal taxes to imports ...............................................................................21  
- Quantitative import restrictions, includi ng prohibitions, quotas and licensing 
systems ........................................................................................................................ .............22  
- Customs valuation.............................................................................................................. .....25  
- Rules of origin ................................................................................................................ .........26  
- Other customs formalities ...................................................................................................... 27 
- Preshipment inspection ......................................................................................................... .27 
- Anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard regimes ...................................................28  
B. EXPORT REGULATIONS ...................................................................................................29  
- Customs tariffs, fees and charges for serv ices rendered, application of internal 
taxes to exports............................................................................................................... .........29  
- Export rest rictions ............................................................................................................ ......29  
C. INTERNAL POLICIES A FFECTING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS .........................30  
- Industrial policy, including export and other subsidies ......................................................30  
- Technical barriers to trade, standards and certification.....................................................32  
- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures...................................................................................33  
- Trade-related investment measures ......................................................................................38  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  -
 State trading entities......................................................................................................... ......38  
- Free zones, special economic areas........................................................................................39  
- Government procurement......................................................................................................39  
- Transit........................................................................................................................ ..............40  
- Agricultural policies.......................................................................................................... ......40  
(a) Imports........................................................................................................................ .............40  
(b) Exports........................................................................................................................ .............41  
(c) Internal policies.............................................................................................................. .........41  
- Trade in ci vil aircraft........................................................................................................ ......42  
- Textiles regime ................................................................................................................ ........42  
V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY REGIME.......................................42  
- GENERAL........................................................................................................................ .......42  
- Industrial property protection...............................................................................................42  
- Responsible agencies for policy formulation and implementation .....................................43  
- Participation in international intellectual property agreements ........................................43  
- Application of national and MFN treatment to foreign nationals......................................43  
- SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS OF PROTECTION, INCLUDING 
PROCEDURES FOR THE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ...........................................................................43
 
- Copyright and related rights..................................................................................................4 3 
- Trademarks, including  service marks...................................................................................44  
- Geographical indications, including appellations of origin.................................................45  
- Industrial designs............................................................................................................. .......45  
- Patents........................................................................................................................ ..............46  
- Plant variety protection....................................................................................................... ...47 
- Layout designs of integrated circuits ....................................................................................47  
- Requirements on undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test data............47  
- MEASURES TO CONTROL ABUSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
RIGHTS......................................................................................................................... ..........47  
- ENFORCEMENT...................................................................................................................4 7 
VI. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES..............................................................48  
VII. TRANSPARENCY .................................................................................................................54  
- Publication of information on trade......................................................................................54  
- Notifications.................................................................................................................. ...........55  
VIII.  TRADE AGREEMENTS .......................................................................................................55   WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................... ..............57  
ANNEX 1 ........................................................................................................................ ......................59  
ANNEX 2 ........................................................................................................................ ......................61   WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The Government of Samoa applied for accession to the World Trade Organization in 
April 1998.  At its meeting on 14 July 1998, th e General Council established a Working Party to 
examine the application of the Government of Samoa to accede to the World Trade Organization 
under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement establis hing the WTO.  The terms of reference and the 
membership of the Working Party are reproduced in document WT/ACC/SAM/1/[Rev.7]. 
2. The Working Party met on 12 March 2002 and … un der the Chairmanship of Mr. Y. Suzuki 
(Japan). 
DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED 
3. The Working Party had before it, to serve as a basis for its discussions, a Memorandum on the 
Foreign Trade Regime of Samoa, the questions su bmitted by Members on the foreign trade regime of 
Samoa, together with the replies thereto, and ot her information provided by the authorities of Samoa 
(WT/ACC/SAM/2, WT/ACC/SAM/4, WT/ACC/SAM/5, WT/ACC/SAM/6, WT/ACC/SAM/8, WT/ACC/SAM/9, WT/ACC/SAM/10,…), including the legislative texts and other documentation listed in Annex I. 
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS 
4. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa was a small island nation highly vulnerable to 
natural disasters and international markets.  Sa moa's economy heavily relied on a few exported goods 
and exporting markets and had been severely aff ected by the Asian financial crisis and the 
repercussions of the 11 September attacks.  The trad e balance deficit was financed mainly by exports 
of services and remittances from Samo ans living abroad.  Agriculture, which used to be the backbone 
of the economy, had been supplanted by fishery over the past four or five years following the dramatic decline in world prices of Samoa's traditional agricultural exports. 
5. His Government had engaged in a comprehe nsive reform programme to promote the 
development of the private sector.  Measures include d a substantial liberalization of tariffs - the 
maximum rate had been brought from 60 per cent down to 20 per cent in 1998 - with the exception of 
aviation gasoline fuel and residual oil fuels, cigare ttes and cigars, tobacco products, and some alcohol 
and beverages; the removal of control over commer cial banks credit ceilings and interest rates; 
a reduction of corporate and income taxes and the elimination of control over the repatriation of 
profits for foreign companies to promote investment; the abolition of the withholding tax on dividends; an accelerated depreciation on capital e quipment and commercial buildings; and policies to WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  diversify and increase the competitiveness of expor ts through the development of export processing 
industries and tourism.  The programme was impl emented through a strong partnership with the 
private sector.  Samoa's economic reform plans also aimed at strengthening the agricultural sector 
through more focused farmer-oriented research and extension services. 
6. Accession to the WTO was seen as a powerful in strument to enhance trade security, improve 
access to international markets, and support Samoa's liberalization efforts.  Accession was considered 
important to help maintain a stable macroec onomic environment and improve private sector 
development and employment creation.  His Gove rnment had taken a number of measures to bring 
Samoa's trade-related legislation into conformity wi th WTO rules, in particular in the intellectual 
property and sanitary and phytosanitary areas. 
7. Implementation of WTO requirements was a complex process.  Considering Samoa's status as 
a least-developed country, the representative of Samoa called on members of the Working Party to 
show flexibility in negotiating Samoa's terms of entry. 
8. Members of the Working Party welcomed the app lication of Samoa to join the Organization.  
They praised the efforts undertaken so far, in partic ular in the areas of public sector reform, taxation, 
customs, and private sector development, but noted that further work would be required to achieve 
compliance with WTO rules and principles.  Members looked forward to a rapid and smooth accession process on appropriate terms.  Some members referred to Samoa's least-developed status and would take it into account when establishing Samoa's terms of entry.  
9. The Working Party reviewed the economic polic ies and foreign trade regime of Samoa and 
the possible terms of a draft Protocol of Accession to the WTO.  The views expressed by members of the Working Party on the various aspects of Samo a's foreign trade regime, and on the terms and 
conditions of Samoa's accession to the WTO are summarized below in paragraphs 10 to [...]. 
II. ECONOMIC POLICIES  
- Monetary and Fiscal Policy 
10. The representative of Samoa said that the Central Bank of Samoa was responsible for 
formulating and implementing Samoa's monetary po licy.  The main objectives of Samoa's monetary 
policy were to ensure domestic price stability and extern al payments viability.  Direct control of credit 
and interest rates and the Liquid Assets Requireme nt, which were traditionally used to control 
monetary supply, had been removed in January 1 998 and May 1999 respectively.  The only remaining 
requirement was the Required Statutory Reserve Depo sit - set at 4.8 per cent of all deposits, interbank  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  deposits excluded.  Monetary control was now main ly achieved through the auction of Central Bank 
securities.   
11. Samoa's fiscal policy primarily aimed at mainta ining a strong financial discipline, reforming 
the tariff system, and focusing expenditures on prio rity areas such as health and education.  
Substantial changes in the taxation system had been  introduced in May 1998.  Taxes levied in Samoa 
included the Value Added Goods and Services Tax (VAGST), company income tax, sole trader 
income tax, salary and wages income tax, wit hholding tax, import duties, domestic excise taxes, 
import excise taxes, and other taxes.  For the fiscal year 2005/2006, taxes had accounted for 81.5 per cent of total Government revenue, prin cipally derived from VAGST (32 per cent), income 
tax (17.5 per cent), import duties (13 per cent), a nd domestic excise taxes (12.8 per cent).  Aid and 
grants had amounted to 18.5 per cen t of total Government revenue.   
- Foreign Exchange and Payments 
12. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa ha d become a Member of the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1971.  The value of Samo a's currency, the tala, was pegged to a basket 
including the currencies of Samoa's main trading pa rtners (Australia, the European Union, Fiji, New 
Zealand, and the United States).  The Central Bank could make discretionary exchange rate 
adjustments against the trade weighted basket within  a limit of two per cent.  In March 2009, one tala 
bought approximately US$0.3275. 
13. Foreign exchange levies had been removed, and in July 2000 the Government had relaxed the 
Exchange Control Policy requirements.  There were  no restrictions on foreign exchange for current 
transactions, and his Government did not intend to  tighten the requirements on such transactions.  
Capital account transactions, however, were subj ect to controls under the Exchange Control 
Regulations.  Controls aimed primarily at preservi ng the country's external reserves.  Overseas 
borrowing and servicing of debt by the private sector had to be approved by the Central Bank.  
Approval was generally granted if the transaction w as considered to benefit the domestic economy.  
Remittance of private capital, profits, and divide nds were normally allowed against documentary 
evidence.  Pursuant to the Exchange Control Re gulations, all resident companies and individuals 
engaged in a business generating fore ign currency earnings were require d to repatriate their revenues 
to Samoa.  Businesses could open foreign currency accounts in major trading currencies at any 
commercial bank in Samoa.  The obligation to co nvert all foreign currency earnings into local 
currency upon repatriation had been eliminated under the Exchange Control Regulations 1999.  
The Exchange Control Regulations 1999 were based on the Central Bank of Samoa Act 1984.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  In response to a question, he noted that Samoa had no plans to eliminate the existing foreign exchange 
surrender requirement. 
14. In response to a specific question, the representa tive of Samoa said that instruments to be 
used to address balance-of-payments problems woul d include fiscal measures to cut expenditures, 
issuance of Central Bank securities to influen ce money supply and domestic credit, and the 
adjustment of the national currency's value.   
15. The representative of Samoa confirmed that in the event Samoa applied restrictions to 
safeguard the balance-of-payments, it would do so in accordance with Article XVIII of 
the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Balance of  Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994.  
The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
- Investment Regime 
16. The representative of Samoa said that his Government had developed a new investment 
policy strategy in 1999-2000, which aimed at stimula ting investment through liberalization rather than 
incentives.  The Enterprises Incen tives and Export Promotion Act 1992/1993 had been amended in 
June 1999 to put an end to import duty and income tax exemptions for new i nvestments.  However, 
special privileges granted to five companies, whic h exported 95 per cent of their production, had been 
grandfathered between 29 May 1 995 and 25 June 1999.  Benefits took the form of income tax 
holidays of up to 15 years; a subsequent 25 per cen t tax rate on assessable income; a tax holiday on 
dividends of up to 15 years in the limit of the f unds invested; and a complete exemption from customs 
and excise duties on both imports and exports.  Three of these companies, the Cocoa and Coconut 
Products, Pacific Cashmere and Desico Samoa, ha d ceased all production in February 2004, leaving 
only two companies, Samoa Tropical Products and Yazaki Samoa, benefiting from incentives 
contingent upon export performance.  The benefits  granted to Samoa Tropical Products had expired 
on 31 March 2008.  The tax holidays confe rred to Yazaki Samoa were due to end on 
8 November 2009 and the customs and excise benefits  on 11 July 2010.  He confirmed that none of 
Samoa's incentive programmes were continge nt upon local content requirements.   
17. Investment incentives in the form of duty concessions on capital goods used for hotel and 
other development projects were also provide d under the Customs Amendment Act 2007 (see the 
section "Industrial policy, including export and other subsidies").   
18. He further noted that, in order to facilitate a nd promote investment in Samoa, an Investment 
Division had been established within the Minist ry of Commerce, Industry and Labour.  Foreign  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  investment was regulated by the Foreign Investment Act 2000.  The Act required foreign investors to 
apply for a foreign investment registration certificate to the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of 
Commerce, Industry and Labour.  Foreign investme nt certificates entitled foreign investors to a 
business licence.  The Act established restricted  and reserved activities.  Reserved activities, 
i.e., activities that could only be carried out by  Samoan nationals, included public transportation 
buses, taxis, vehicles for hire, retail trade and sa w milling (see Annex to the Foreign Investment 
Act 2000).  These sectors were either part of prot ection environmental programmes or considered to 
be adequately catered for by local investors.  He noted that foreign investors could not own businesses 
listed as reserved activities.  Restricted activiti es were activities open to foreign investors under 
certain conditions, which could include the establishm ent of a joint venture with Samoan nationals, 
the employment of Samoans, the use of overseas investment capital, or minimum or maximum limits 
on foreign investment (Article 4 of the Foreign I nvestment Act 2000).  Under the Local Fish Policy, 
local ownership of fishing vessels should account for no less than 60 per cent of total shareholding.  
For all other activities, foreign investors were subj ect to the same rules and regulations as domestic 
investors, except for land-related matters.  There were  no restrictions imposed on foreign investors to 
repatriate profits and capital ga ins, provided they presented the required supporting documents and 
tax clearance.  He noted that the Reserved and Restri cted Lists of Activities were being revised as part 
of the review of the Foreign Investment Act 2000 and its implementing regula tions.  A draft Foreign 
Investment Bill 2008 was expected to be submitted to Parliament in June 2009. 
19. Alterations of the Reserved and Restricted List s had to be approved by the Cabinet.  Any 
party, be it the Government or the private sector, wishing to modify the lists should send a justified 
written request to the Ministry of Commerce, Indus try and Labour.  The Ministry would analyze the 
request, conduct further investigations and prepar e a proposal to amend or expand the lists of 
activities.  The proposal was then discussed at a special meeting with representatives from the 
Ministries of Finance, Revenue, Agriculture a nd Fisheries, Justice, Natural Resources and 
Environment, Foreign Affairs and Trade; the Attorn ey General's Office; the Central Bank of Samoa; 
the Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet; the Samoa Tourism Authority; private sector organizations 
(the Samoa Chamber of Commerce, the Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters, Women 
in Business Development Inc.), as well as civil society.  After discussion, the proposal was submitted 
to the Trade, Commerce and Industry Development Board (TCIDB) for consideration.  The TCIDB 
was chaired by the Minister of Commerce, Industr y and Labour and was composed of representatives 
from various ministries and the private sector (the Small Business Enterprise Centre, the Samoa Chamber of Commerce, the Samoa Association of  Manufacturers and Exporters, and agricultural 
exporters).  After deliberations, the TCIDB re ported to the Cabinet through the Minister of 
Commerce, Industry and Labour.  The Cabinet made the final decision and the Ministry consulted WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  with the Attorney General to prepare a draft Bill  for submission to Parliament.  He noted that 
parliamentary procedures also provided for opportunities for public comment. 
20. A Member noted that there did not seem to be any clear criteria underpinning the selection of 
reserved or restricted activities.  This Member i nvited Samoa to review a nd amend its provisions to 
ensure a clear, transparent and well-justified set of  criteria for the selection of restricted and reserved 
sectors.  This Member noted that activities reser ved to domestic persons should not lead to undue 
discrimination of foreigners.  In response, the repr esentative of Samoa said that criteria for inclusion 
and exclusion of a business activity in the reserved and restricted lists were being developed as part of 
the review of the Foreign Investment Act 2000 and its implementing regulations  (see paragraph [18] 
above).  The new Foreign Investment Bill 2008 was expected to be submitted to Parliament in 
June 2009. 
21. Article 101 of the Constitution provided for three types of land, i.e., customary, freehold and 
public land.  Only Samoan citizens were permitted to own land, with some exceptions.  The first 
exception related to the leasing of customary land under the Alienation of Customary Land Act 1965.  
Customary land was land held in accordance with Samoan customs and usage.  Pursuant to the 
Alienation of Customary Land Act 1965, the Minist er of Natural Resources and Environment could 
lease or licence customary land for any "authorized purpose", i.e., public, industrial, commercial or 
religious purposes, for a period of 30 years renewable once in the case of land leased or licensed for industrial purposes or a hotel, and 20 years renewable on ce in the other cases.  Beneficial owners were 
required to use the land in the public interest and in accordance with Samoan customs and usage.  
Land leased for forestry purposes was subject to th e provisions of the Forest Act 1967.  The second 
exception concerned the sale of land under the Al ienation of Freehold Land Act 1972.  The Act 
regulated the alienation of freehold land to non-resi dents and overseas corporations, i.e., corporations 
with more than 25 per cent of shares or voting power  held by non-residents.  Freehold land was land 
held for an estate in fee simple.  Under the Act, alienation of freehold land without the written consent 
of the Head of State was prohibited.  The State Trusts Estates Corporation, established pursuant to 
the 1977 State Trusts Estates Corporation, disposed of thousands of acres of freehold land by lease for 
a maximum period of ten years on behalf of the people  of Samoa.  In 1990, part of the Corporation's 
land had been transferred to the Government a nd subsequently to the Samoa Land Corporation, 
a wholly Government-owned corporation.  The Co rporation did not impose any eligibility tests.  
Prospective lessees were required to submit propos als explaining how the land would be used.  
Proposals were assessed in the light of their economic viability.  Pub lic land, i.e., Government land 
available for disposal, was regulated by the La nds, Surveys and Environment Act 1989.  Under the 
Act, Government land was classified as farm, ur ban and commercial/industrial land.  The Land Board  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  established under the Act was responsible for aliena ting Government land.  Any person of 21 years or 
above could lease Government land for a period of up to 20 years, renewable for a maximum of 
40 years.  Applications could only be refused if th ey ran counter to the public interest.  Refusals had 
to be justified in writing.  In the event of expropr iation or of a dispute over the terms and conditions of 
a lease, foreign investors enjoyed the same rights as domestic investors.   
22. Asked to clarify the concept of public interest , the representative of Samoa said that there 
were no specific criteria relating to the public interest  test.  The notion of public interest referred to 
what was legally and morally right in accordance w ith the law, as well as traditional and customary 
practices.  The environmental impact of a project was also taken into consideration. 
23. Measures had also been taken to facilitate the recr uitment of foreign workers.  Pursuant to the 
Immigration Act 2004, non-residents could be gran ted a Temporary Resident  Permit for Employment 
Purposes, which allowed its holder to work for the employer mentioned in the application.  Should 
such employment cease, the permit was cancelled and th e person had to leave the country or apply for 
a new permit to remain in Samoa.  
24. In response to questions about the volume a nd value of foreign direct investment, he 
submitted information about the initial working capita l (by sector) declared by foreigners in their 
application for a foreign investment certificate as  recorded since 2000 in the database established by 
MCIL in Annex 1 to document WT/ACC/SAM/8. 
- State Ownership and Privatization 
25. The representative of Samoa said that his Gove rnment held a stake in 27 enterprises in 2006, 
among which 24 were wholly State-owned.  Pub lic utilities had accounted for approximately eight 
per cent of Samoa's GDP in 2003 and other State-owned enterprises for 26 per cent.  Only a negligible 
proportion of exports and not more than five per ce nt of imports were imputable to the activities of 
State-owned enterprises.  Imports by State-owned enterprises were classified as private sector's 
imports.   
26. Samoa's policy aimed at promoting economic grow th through private sector development and 
ensuring that partly or wholly State-owned en terprises operated on normal business considerations.  
Wherever possible, Samoa's Government divest ed itself of commercially-oriented activities to 
concentrate on utilities that could not be taken over by the private sector.  In 1998, Samoa had 
embarked on a programme of cor poratization and privatization, which had first concentrated on 
partly-owned enterprises.  As a re sult, the Government had sold all the shares it held in Rothmans WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  Tobacco Co Ltd, Samoa's sole manufacturer of tobacco, now called the British American Tobacco 
Company Ltd, as well as all the remaining shares it he ld in Samoa Breweries.  In addition, all the 
buildings and milling equipment of Samoa Coconut Product Ltd had been sold to Elan Trading.  
The company's only remaining asset was the land,  which was leased to Elan Trading on a 
twenty-plus-twenty year term.  He confirmed th at none of these enterprises enjoyed any special 
privileges.   
27. A new privatization strategy had been adopted  in 2003.  The new strategy called for the 
Government to concentrate on its core strate gic business activities and to divest itself from 
non-strategic activities that could be provided by the private sector.  Each privatization was dealt with 
on a case-by-case basis.  Wholly-owned  enterprises were to be rest ructured to ensure greater 
efficiency, before being privatized.  Since 2003, hi s Government had sold all its minority shares in 
Computer Services Limited (in 2004), Hellaby Samoa Ltd (in 2006), and Telecom Samoa Cellular Ltd 
(in 2007).  Scoping studies for the Samoa Broad casting Corporation, the Agriculture Store 
Corporation and the Samoa Shipping Corporation had been completed and privatization of these 
entities was in the pipeline.  The scoping study fo r Samoa Tel Ltd had been completed, but no 
decision had been taken yet regarding the timing a nd process of privatization of this enterprise.  
The Samoa Forest Corporation had ceased operation in 2004 and the Govern ment had approved its 
liquidation in 2005.  However, some legal issues re mained to be solved before liquidation could be 
completed.  He provided a list of State-owned en terprises and bodies as of June 2007 in Table 1 and 
details of Samoa's privatization programme for the period 1998-2007 in Table 2.  He noted that none 
of the remaining State-owned enterprises trading goods  enjoyed any special or exclusive privileges.  
In response to a question, he added that State ownership control in State-owned enterprises was 
exercised through the board of directors. 
28. A new umbrella legislation had been de veloped to strengthen the performance and 
accountability of the enterprises, in which the G overnment would retain a controlling interest, 
i.e., more than 50 per cent of total shares or the ma jority of votes.  In December 2001, the Parliament 
had passed the Public Bodies (Performance and Acc ountability) Act, which required Public Trading 
Bodies to prepare Corporate Plans (Section 22 of the Act); comply with financial reporting 
requirements (Section 23); and conduct performan ce audits (Section 24).  The Act foresaw the 
dismissal of the Director in the event of poor  performance demonstrated by a performance audit 
(Section 25) and provided for Public Trading Bodi es to register as companies under the Companies 
Act, thereby ensuring that Public Trading Bodies we re covered by the provisions of the Companies 
Act (Section 5).  Pursuant to Section eight of the Ac t, Public Trading Bodies were to aim at the same 
profitability and efficiency as private businesses.  Public Bodies' boards were accountable to the  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  shareholding Ministers - the Minister of Finance and the Responsible Minister - who were liable to 
the Parliament for the performance of the Public Bodi es.  The Act also strengthened the role of the 
State-Owned Enterprises Monitoring Unit, whic h monitored the performance of State-owned 
enterprises. 
29. To further foster responsible economic and fi nancial management by the Government, the 
Public Money Act 1964 had been replaced by the Public Finance Management Act 2001, which set 
out a number of accountability requirements aligned w ith the South Pacific Forum's Eight Principles 
of Accountability.  Under the new Act, Public Tr ading Bodies were required to submit a Performance 
and Management Plan (Section 92 of the Act); immediately notify to the Government any event 
which could affect their financial position (Section 93); keep proper accounts and records of their 
financial positions and transactions  (Section 103); and submit Perfo rmance and Management reports 
as well as financial statements (Section 104).  Th e Act also granted the Financial Secretary the 
authority to inspect and investigate any Public Body believed to have failed to implement the 
Performance and Manageme nt Plan (Section 105). 
30. Asked about the functions of the Agriculture Store Corporation (ASC), the representative of 
Samoa explained that the Corporation sold and rented  agricultural tools and equipment, and sold feed, 
seeds, fertiliser, insecticides and other supplies used  for agricultural purposes.  The Corporation was 
a wholly-owned enterprise and had enjoyed a duopo ly licensing arrangement with another private 
competitor to sell pesticides and chemicals for farmi ng.  He noted that the Corporation was to be 
privatized and that the duopoly would be discontinued after privatization.  In response to a question, 
he added that the importation, distribution and sal e of pesticides was open to competition.  Anyone 
could apply to the Pesticides Committee established within the Ministry of Agriculture to obtain 
a licence to trade in pesticides a nd agricultural chemicals.  Due to  the small size of the market, 
the ASC and Farm Supplies were the only local comp anies currently selling p esticides for agricultural 
use only.  There were, however, many companies lic ensed to import, distribute and sell pesticides and 
agricultural chemicals for household purposes.  He a dded that more and more villages were moving to 
organic farming and were prohibiting the use of chemicals for farming. 
31. He confirmed that there were no restricti ons on the establishment of domestic or 
foreign-owned competitors to the remaining State- owned enterprises.  Investment sectors were open 
to both local and foreigners, with the exception of those activities reserved for local citizens, 
i.e., sawmilling, retailing, rental cars, buses and taxis (see paragraph [18]).  He further confirmed that 
Samoa's privatization programme did not operate so as to restrict foreign investment.  The objective 
of Samoa's Government was, on the cont rary, to encourage foreign investment. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
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  - Pricing Policies 
32. The representative of Samoa said that price cont rols were imposed on basic grocery products 
of particular importance to low and middle-income families.  Goods subject to price control were 
listed in the 2002 General Price Order.  Price co ntrol took the form of a percentage mark-up 
(see Table 3).  The mark-up was applied to the ex-f actory price of domestic products and to the landed 
price of imported goods.  The same percentage mark-up was applied to imported and domestically-
produced goods, including beer and tobacco products , with the exception of locally-produced biscuits 
in packages of 5 lbs and 10 lbs which were subject to a percentage mark up of 32.5 per cent while 
imported biscuits were not subject to any price c ontrol.  Locally-produced biscuits were culturally 
sensitive; their price was therefore controlled.  Any increase in the price of locally-made products, 
such as beer, biscuits, cigarettes, bread, and corned beef, had to be approved by the Prices Board.  
If approval was granted, a new Order specifyi ng the new percentage mark-up was issued.  
Applications to the Prices Board had to incl ude a justification for the increase sought.   
33. The representative of Samoa stated that Samoa would apply price control measures in 
a WTO-consistent fashion, and take into account  the interests of exporting WTO Members as 
provided for in Article III:9 of the GATT 1994.  Sa moa would also publish the list of any goods and 
services subject to price controls in its Official Ga zette (the Savali), includi ng price or mark-up levels, 
and any changes to this list or price controls applied.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment. 
- Competition Policy 
34. The representative of Samoa said that competiti on policy was regulated by the Fair Trading 
Act 1998.  Samoa's competition policy aimed at enc ouraging competition and fair market behaviour.  
His Government was reviewing all competition-re lated legislation, policies and programmes to 
remove unnecessary restrictions.  Regular meetings were  held with all stakeholders.  The Ministry of 
Commerce, Industry and Labour was the central focal point for competition policy matters. 
35. The Fair Trading Act 1998 controlled the mark -up of wholesalers and retailers for basic 
grocery products to prevent distributors from taking advantage of their local position.  Noting that the first-best solution to address a monopoly position was to increase competition, several Members 
inquired about the rationale of the measure and possi ble future plans to replace price control measures 
by effective competition policies.  The representative  of Samoa replied that price control aimed at 
preventing local distributors - one to three  per village on average - from imposing excessive prices on  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 11 
 
 
  basic goods, which would deeply affect the purchasi ng power of low and middle-income families.  
The measure would be lifted when compe tition would be considered healthy.   
36. Invited to explain how a case of anti-competitive practices conducted by an enterprise in more 
than one country would be handled in Samoa, th e representative of Samoa replied that Samoa's 
competition policy dealt only with national anti-competitive practices. 
III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES  
37. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa had become an independent and sovereign state 
within the British Commonwealth of Independent  States on 1 January 1962.  The Constitution had 
been adopted in 1960.  The Government system  was based on the English Westminster model.  
The current Head of State held his function for life, but future Head of States would be elected by the 
Legislative Assembly for a five-year term.  In the absence or unavailability of the Head of State, his 
functions were taken up by the C ouncil of Deputies, consisting of three members elected by the 
Legislative Assembly.  
38. The Executive Council was composed of the Prime Minister, appointed by the Legislative 
Assembly, and 12 Ministers nominated by the Assembly on the recommendation of the Prime 
Minister.  The Cabinet of Ministers directed and controlled the work of th e executive branch and was 
collectively responsible to the Parliament.  The Ca binet was summoned by the Prime Minister or, in 
his absence, by any Minister appointed on his beha lf.  The Cabinet could designate one or more 
persons to report to the Cabinet on Government admini stration, legislative, or general interest issues. 
39. Legislative powers were exercised by the Legislative Assembly, composed of 49 members 
elected for five years by universal suffrage.  Forty-seven seats were reserved for "matai", 
i.e., customary chiefs or heads of  families representing the territorial  constituencies.  The two others 
were held by representatives of individual voters  without territorial or tribal affiliation.  
The Legislative Assembly elected two of its members to act as Speaker and Deputy Speaker.  
The Speaker presided over the Assembly sittings.  Th e Head of State and the Legislative Assembly 
constituted the Parliament, which was empowered to adopt laws.  Pursuant to the Constitution and the 
Standing Order of the Legislative Assembly, any Me mber of the Parliament could introduce a bill, 
a motion or a petition to the Assembly.  Proposals of  legislative changes were  initiated by officials 
following consultations with stakeholders, including  the private sector, and submitted to a Sponsoring 
Minister for consideration.  The proposal was then  transmitted to the Attorney General's Office for 
drafting.  Once endorsed by the Sponsoring Minister, the draft bill was sent to the Cabinet, along with reports from the Treasury and the Attorney General outlining the fiscal and legal implications of the WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 12  
 
  measure, and then tabled in Parliament after approval.  Following the second reading, the bill was 
submitted to a Parliamentary Select Committee ma de up of Government and opposition members of 
the Parliament, which reported back  to the Parliament.  It became an Act of Parliament after having 
been passed a third time by the majority of the Pa rliament's members and approved by the Head of 
State.  Acts of Parliament ca me into force upon assent of the He ad of State or, in the event 
administrative adjustments were need ed prior to enactment, at a time set by the Sponsoring Minister.  
Enacted legislation was published in the Samoa Ga zette (Savali).  Adoption of Orders, regulations, 
and by-laws only required approval of the Cabinet and the Head of State. 
40. Judicial power was exercised by the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the District Court, 
and, for land and titles-related ma tters, the Land and Titles Court.  The Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court was appointed by the Head of State on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.  All other 
judicial officers were nominated by the Head of  State on the advice of the Judicial Service 
Commission, which consisted of the Chief Justice ac ting as President, the Attorney General - or in 
his/her absence the Chairman of the Public Serv ice Commission, and another person designated by 
the Minister of Justice.  Non-citizens could be appointed judges of the Supreme Court.  The Court of 
Appeal was the highest court.  It was composed of three judges.  Its decisions on appeals from the 
Supreme Court were final.  The Supreme Court ha d an appellate function an d dealt with civil and 
criminal cases for which sanctions foreseen by the law did not exceed SAT 10,000 (US$3,275) or 
seven years of imprisonment in the case of criminal  charges.  Criminal and civil cases of minor 
gravity fell under the responsibility of the District Court.  Foreign individuals and companies could 
engage in civil proceedings in either the Supreme Co urt or the District Court and lodge appeals to the 
Court of Appeal.   
41. The Constitution and the Declaratory Judgement s Act 1988 guaranteed any person, local or 
foreign, the right to appeal administrative decisi ons before the Supreme Court.  Procedures were set 
out in the Government Proceedings Act 1974.  Ad ministrative decisions could be challenged for 
breach of the Common Law rules or failure to act  fairly.  Commercial cases against the national 
administration could be brought before the Supr eme Court by Samoan nati onals and foreigners.  
The Court could order writs of habeas corpus, ma ndamus, certiorari, and prohibition, and issue 
injunctions and declaratory judgements.  Foreign co mpanies without a registered office in Samoa and 
appealing to local courts were required to pay security costs.   
42. In response to a Member's request for informa tion on the recourse available to importers and 
exporters for administrative and/or judicial appeal , e.g. in customs cases, the representative of Samoa 
said that all customs decisions, including all decisi ons made by the Comptroller, were subject to  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 13 
 
 
  judicial appeal to the Supreme Court pursuant to  the Supreme Court (Civil Procedure) Rules and 
common law principles.  There was, however, no general administrative right of appeal of decisions 
made by the Comptroller, except for decisions relate d to Customs Valuation, the origin of a product, 
registration in the Import and Export Electronic Syst em, and administrative penalties.  Pursuant to 
Regulation 10 of the Customs Valuation Regulatio ns 1998, customs valuation decisions could be 
appealed in first instance to the Comptroller within  14 days, and in second instance to the Minister for 
Revenue within 28 days from the date of receipt of the Comptroller's written decision.  Appeal to the 
Comptroller was subject to a SAT 100 fee (US$ 32.75).  Decisions regarding the origin of a product could be appealed to the Minister for Revenue pursuant to Section 134 of the Customs Act 1977.  Refusal by the Comptroller to register a user  in the Import and Export Electronic System and 
decisions to cancel registration of a registered user  could be appealed to the Minister for Revenue 
within 20 working days after notification of th e Comptroller's decision for a fee of SAT 100 
(US$ 32.75) pursuant to Regulations 5 and 8 of the Customs (Computer Entry Processing System) Regulations 1998.  Administrative penalties imposed  by the Comptroller under Regulation 25 of the 
Customs (Computer Entry Processing System) Regula tions 1998 could also be appealed to the 
Minister for Revenue within 14 working days after notification of the Comptroller's decision for a fee 
of SAT 100 (US$ 32.75).  Decisions of the Minister  were final.  He added that Section 255 of the 
Customs Act 1977 provided for judicial appeal of goods seized by customs.  Seizure of goods could 
be appealed in first instance to the District Cour t within one month, and in second instance to the 
Supreme Court of Samoa.  Finally, decisions re garding duties paid could be appealed to the 
Comptroller pursuant to Section 156 of the Custom s Act 1977.  He noted that all Comptroller's 
decisions could be challenged through the judicial  system, i.e., before the Supreme Court.  
43. Noting that Samoan nationals and foreigners  could also file a complaint about an 
administrative decision or act to the Ombudsman, a Member asked Samoa to clarify the role of the 
Ombudsman.  In response, the representative of Sa moa said that the Ombudsman did not usually deal 
with complaints about administrative decisions made  by the Comptroller or the Minister for Revenue, 
i.e., decisions related to customs matters.  Pu rsuant to Section 11 of the Ombudsman Act 1988, the 
Ombudsman had the authority to investigate any ad ministrative decision or recommendation, or any 
act done or omitted affecting citizens in their person al capacity.  Recent complaints filed with the 
Ombudsman concerned sexual harassment at work .  The Ombudsman could not investigate cases 
already challenged before a court (Section 11(6) of  the Act).  He added that the Ombudsman could 
only express opinions and make recommendations to th e Department or organi zation having taken the 
contested decision.   WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 14  
 
  44. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that from the date of its accession, Samoa would 
continue to provide foreign and do mestic importers and exporters th e right to appeal administrative 
action relating to all matters subject to WTO provis ions utilizing its current laws and procedures.  
He further confirmed that a system of appeal from administrative decisions in matters covered by WTO Agreements to the judiciary or to an indepe ndent tribunal, as provided for in Article X:3 of 
the GATT and other WTO Agreements, was in the process of being established in the draft Law on 
[...], and would be operational by 31 December  2009.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment.] [The representative of Samoa confirmed that from the date of accession, Samoa would give foreign and domestic importers and exporters the right to appeal administrative action relating to 
matters subject to WTO provisions in full conform ity with WTO obligations, including Article X:3(b) 
of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.] 
45. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade w as responsible for formulating and implementing 
policies related to trade promotion and regional and multilateral agreements, including initiating and 
sponsoring any WTO-related legislation.  The Mini stry acted as WTO focal point, in cooperation with 
the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Justice, Courts and Administration; Ministry of Revenue; 
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour; Ministry of the 
Prime Minister; Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Meteorology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; Ministry  of Works, Transportation and Infrastructure; 
Ministry of Health; Public Service Commission and the Central Bank of Samoa.  These ministries and 
entities, together with private sector associati ons, formed the National WTO Working Committee.  
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour w as in charge of intellectual property matters, 
investment promotion, competition and fair trading,  price control, industrial development, companies 
registration and labour-related activities.  Followi ng the dismantlement of the Inter-Departmental 
Committee (IDC) in 2003, trade-related policies we re developed through the Commerce and Industry 
Development Board, which brought together repres entatives of relevant ministries and the private 
sector. 
46. The Government of Samoa had undertaken a reform of the public sector to improve 
transparency, accountability, and predictability in administrative and decision-making procedures.  
The Public Service Commission (PSC) advised it in its task.  On 11 December 2001, the Government 
had adopted amendments to the Public Service Act 1977 concerning disciplinary action, probation, 
appeals, and grievances, and furt her changes on values, principals, and Code of Conduct had been 
introduced after approval by the PSC Committee.  The number of Departments had been reduced 
from 28 to 13, new recruitment and selection procedures introduced, and a number of human 
resources management functions delegated to De partments, including recruitment, selection,  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 15 
 
 
  grievance management, and working conditions.  Ot her functions, such as remuneration, structures, 
induction, and capacity building would be transferre d during the final phase of the reform project.  
Departments had developed Corpor ate and Management Plans and were establishing client service 
charters.  Departments' budgets were screened by the PSC and the Treasury and their performance 
evaluated in light of the Corporate Plans.   
47. In reply to a question concerning the powers of the Matai to develop po licies, regulations, and 
practices at the territorial constituency level, th e representative of Samoa explained that the Village 
Fono Act 1990 gave the "village fono" - or Counc il - authority over village matters relating to law 
order, and social and health issues.  Pursuant to the Internal Affairs Act 1995, the village council 
could recommend the adoption of by-laws and regulati ons to the Minister of Internal Affairs through 
its appointed mayor.  The mayor was in direct c ontact with the Ministry of Women, Community and 
Social Development.  He confirmed that Samo a would apply the WTO uniformly throughout Samoa 
and would be bound by its commitment to WTO ma tters as set out in the various legislations.  
48. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that s ub-central entities had no autonomous authority 
over issues of subsidies, taxation, trade policy or  any other measures covered by WTO provisions.  
He confirmed that the provisions of the WTO Agreement, including Samoa's Protocol of Accession, 
would be applied uniformly throughout its cust oms territory and other territories under Samoa's 
control, including in special economic zones, and other areas where special regimes for tariffs, taxes and regulations were established.  He added that when apprized of a situation where WTO provisions 
were not being applied or were applied in a non-uniform manner, central authorities would act to 
enforce WTO provisions without requiring affect ed parties to petition through the courts.  
The Working Party took no te of these commitments.] 
49. In response to questions from Members regarding the hierarchy of laws in Samoa, the 
representative of Samoa said that the Constitution pr evailed over all other legislative provisions.  
International instruments did not automatically supe rsede domestic law; some instruments had to be 
transposed into domestic legislation before Samoa' s obligations under the instrument could become 
effective.  This was the case of WTO Agreements.  He noted, in this regard, that Samoa's laws were 
being amended and new laws developed to ensu re consistency with WTO requirements.   
50. Concerning the procedures to be followed for the ratification of Samoa's Protocol of 
Accession, he said that international protocols were  incorporated into domestic law through enactment 
by the Parliament and after assent of the Head of State.  The Office of the Attorney General would prepare a draft Bill following instructions from the res ponsible Ministry, in this case the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and Trade.  Following a consulta tion process, the Bill would be presented by the WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 16  
 
  responsible Minister to the Cabinet for examina tion and comments and, once approved, forwarded to 
Parliament.  Once enacted by Parliament - after thr ee readings - and after assent of the Head of State, 
the Bill would become part of Samoa's enacted la ws.  Three to four months were necessary to 
complete this process.  
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS 
- Trading Rights 
51. The representative of Samoa sai d that the Business Licence Ac t 1998 required any natural or 
legal person carrying out an authorized business in Samoa to hold a business licence and pay an 
annual fee.  Licenses were delivered on a yearly basis.  Licence fees amounted to SAT 220 (US$72.05) per business activity for individual tr aders and SAT 500 (US$163.75) for companies.  
The Act prohibited the following business activities:  nuclear and toxic waste disposal or storage, 
export of products prohibited by law; prostituti on; processing and export of endangered species; and 
production of weapons of war.  In 1997, 400 business licenses ha d been granted, mainly for 
commerce (207), transport and communication (91), finance and business services (26), and construction (21).   
52. To obtain a business licence, traders were requ ested to send an app lication letter to the 
Ministry for Revenue (MOR), along with regist ration documents from the Companies' Registry 
established within the Ministry of Commerce, I ndustry and Labour - Memo randum of Association 
and Articles of Association - and photographs of  the major shareholders.  Overseas registered 
businesses were required to attach a Certificate of Incorporation to their application, and companies 
with foreign shareholding a foreign investment certif icate.  Business licenses were delivered after an 
interview with officials from the Ministry for Re venue.  Pursuant to the Business Licence Act 1998, 
business licenses could only be rejected if the bus iness or economic activity was prohibited under the 
Act or the application did not comply with the provi sions of the Act.  He confirmed that domestic and 
foreign businesses were subject to the same procedures and that there were no discriminatory fees nor 
requirements that would prevent firms or individuals from importing or exporting.  
53. In response to a question, he noted that th e Business Licenses Act 1998 did not make the 
granting of a business licence conditional upon investment  in Samoa.  Overseas registered companies 
could apply for a business licence without having to  invest in Samoa.  Ar ticle 6 of the Business 
Licence Act 1998 required traders to indicate an a ddress (place of business) in their application for 
a business licence, but it did not necessarily need to be a Samoan address.  The holding of a foreign 
investment certificate was not a prerequisite to obtai n a business licence.  Only foreign firms investing  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 17 
 
 
  in Samoa were required to present a foreign investment certificate when applying for a business 
licence, in accordance with  Article 6 of the Foreign Investment Act 2000.  A foreign investment 
certificate (FIC) was an approval to set up business in Samoa.  FICs were delivered by the Ministry of 
Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL).  Documents to  submit included a formal letter, the foreign 
investment registration form, as well as photographs and a copy of the passport of each shareholder/director.  Applications to establish as a sole trader or a joint venture had to be lodged 
directly with MCIL.  In the case of establishment of a company, a certificate of incorporation 
delivered by the Registry of Companies (which w as part of MCIL) had to be attached to the 
application.  If the proposed business did not infring e Samoa's reserved and prohibited activities, the 
foreign investment certificate was issued automatical ly.  Copies of FICs were then forwarded to the 
Ministry for Revenue for issuance of a business licence and to the Ministry of the Prime Minister and 
the Cabinet (Immigration Division) to f acilitate the processing of work permits.  
54. In addition to normal business licenses, activity licenses were required to trade in narcotics 
and liquor.  He confirmed that activity licenses were  not required for any activities other than those 
two.  Pursuant to the Narcotics Act 1967, only holde rs of a specific licence were allowed to import 
narcotics.  He noted that narcotics were not produ ced in Samoa.  Most narcotics were imported by the 
National Hospital.  The licensing requirement had b een introduced to control and monitor trade in 
these products.  Licence holders, including registered  pharmacists, doctors, ve terinary surgeons and 
the National Hospital, importing restricted narcotic s were required to pay an annual licence fee of 
SAT 40 (US$13.1).  He provided a list of narco tics for which an activity licence was required in 
document WT/ACC/SAM/5/Add.1.  As for liquor, i.e., any beverage containing more than 
two parts per cent of proof spirit, activity licensi ng had been introduced to protect human health.  
The system aimed at supervising all stages of production, purchase, sale, and importation and at 
ensuring that all dealers were registered.  Before  trading liquor, village stores had to seek permission 
to sell liquor from their village council.  Licenses to  import liquor were neither restricted in number 
nor subject to specific criteria, but two different licenses were needed, one to buy and sell liquor and 
one to import it.  In the case of domestic liquor, bo th a licence to produce and a licence to buy and sell 
were required.  Licenses were valid for one year.  Licence fees to produce, purchase, sell and import 
liquor are presented in Table 4.  He confirmed that retailers did not need a second licence to import.  
55. Importers did not need to be residents, but they were required to hold a business licence.  
Both foreign and domestic firms, including sole pr oprietors registered but not invested in Samoa, 
could be import agents for the delivery of imported goods and importers of record.  In response to a 
specific question, the representative of Samoa confirme d that foreign exporters could be importers of 
record without having a business or a business licence in Samoa. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 18  
 
  56. Some Members noted that Samoa's import licensi ng system for alcohol merged the right to 
import and the right to distribute.  These Members invited Samoa to amend its legislation.  
In response, the representative of Samoa said that the Liquor Act 1971 was being amended.  
Clause 54 of the draft had been modified to remove the requirement making the holding of a licence to sell alcohol domestically a pre-condition for ob taining an import licence.  Under the proposed 
system, any trader could first apply for a licence to import alcohol.  In order to sell or distribute 
imported alcohol, a second licence to sell liquor would be required.  The Liquor Control Board 
expected to finalize the draft by the end of 2009.  Once finalized, the proposed amendments would be 
forwarded to Office of the Attorney General.  Af ter approval by the latter, the proposed amendments 
would be sent to the Cabinet for endorseme nt, before being submitted to Parliament. 
57. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that from the date of accession, Samoa would ensure 
that its laws and regulations relating to the right to trade in goods and all fees, charges, and taxes 
levied on such rights would be fully in conformity with its WTO obligations, including Articles VIII:1(a), XI:1 and III:2 and 4 of the GA TT 1994 and that it would implement such laws and 
regulations in full conformity with  its obligations.  The Working Part y took note of this commitment.] 
A. IMPORT REGULATIONS  
- Customs tariff 
58. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa had been using the Harmonized System 
Nomenclature since 1997.  Samoa's tariff classifica tion conformed with the HS 96 nomenclature at 
the six-digit level.  He added that work was underw ay to move from HS96 to HS2007.  The transfer to 
the new nomenclature was expected to be approve d before the end of 2008.  Samoa granted tariff 
preferences to members of the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) since 1 January 2008 (see paragraph [196]).  Imports from other countries were subject to a single set of 
tariff rates.  His Government had recently reduced the range of applied rates from 60-0 per cent to 
20-0 per cent.  All rates were ad valorem,  except for waters, including mineral waters and aerated 
waters, containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured (HS 22.02); beer made from 
malt (HS 22.03); wine of fresh grapes (HS 22.04); ci gars, cheroots, cigarillos, and cigarettes, of 
tobacco or of tobacco substitutes (HS 24.02); othe r manufactured tobacco (HS 24.03); motor vehicles 
for the transport of ten or more persons (HS 87.02); and motor cars and other motor vehicles 
principally designed for the transport of persons (H S 87.03), which were subject to specific or mixed 
duties.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 19 
 
 
  59. A Member noted that the tariff rate on cigarettes remained high, providing substantial 
protection to local companies, and that public h ealth objectives could as well be achieved through an 
increase in the excise tax.  The representative of Samoa replied that Samoa applied both high customs 
duties (90 per cent plus SAT 70 per kilo) and high excise taxes (160 per cent, or SAT 129.02 per kilo 
or 1,000 sticks) on cigarettes.  The excise tax rate applied on cigarettes was the highest excise tax rate 
in Samoa. 
60. Samoa's commitments on bound tariffs are cont ained in the Schedule of Concessions and 
Commitments on Goods (document WT/ACC/SAM/…/Add. 1) annexed to Samoa's draft Protocol of 
Accession to the WTO. 
- Other duties and charges 
61. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa impo sed no duties or charges of any kind within 
the meaning of Article II.1(b) of the GATT 1994 on or in connection with importation other than 
ordinary customs duties.   
62. The representative of Samoa confirmed that Sa moa had agreed to bind at zero other duties 
and charges in its Schedule of Concessions and Commitments, pursuant to Article II:1(b) of 
the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
- Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions 
63. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa did not apply tariff rate quotas on any product.  
Imports exempt from customs duties included diplomatic imports for official use; accompanied 
passenger baggage; imports from airport duty free s hops; household effects (returning residents and 
persons taking up initial permanent residence in Samo a); temporary imports of yachts by tourists; 
educational aid; disaster relief; and bread concentrates and premixes.  A preferential rate was applied on fishing gear imported for fishing purposes.  In ad dition, Samoa accorded tariff exemptions to some 
exporting enterprises grandfathered under the Ente rprises Incentives Schemes (see paragraph [16]); 
temporary imports subject to Section 164 of the Customs Act; re-exports of ex-bonded storage; goods 
in transit; and imports of raw materials used in the production of ex ported goods under the Duty 
Suspension Scheme.  Grandfathered tariff exemptions  had amounted to 1.77 per cent of Samoa's total 
imports in 2001.  All exemptions were applied on a MFN basis.  
64. The representative of Samoa confirmed that upon Samoa's accession to the WTO, any tariff 
quotas and tariff exemptions would only be implemented in confor mity with the relevant WTO WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 20  
 
  provisions including Article I of the GATT 1994 and the TRIMs Agreement.  The Working Party took 
note of this commitment. 
- Fees and charges for services rendered 
65. The representative of Samoa said that pursuant to the Customs Act (as amended), the Excise 
Act (as amended), Miscellaneous Fees and Charges, and Customs Regulations, Samoa imposed fees and charges commensurate to the services rendered on both imports and exports.  The list of applied 
fees, set out in the Customs Public Circular No. 10/98, is reproduced in Table 5(a).   
66. A Member noted that some of the fees listed in  Table 5(a) appeared to be based on the value 
of the product, which was inconsistent with Ar ticle VIII of the GATT 1994.  This Member asked 
Samoa to modify these fees to bring them into compliance with WTO rules.  In response, the 
representative of Samoa acknowledged that some fees, in particular the fees for an application for 
refund or drawback, were based on the value of the product.  He said that all fees inconsistent with 
Article VIII would be modified as from the date of accession to be brought into line with WTO rules.  Draft amendments had been prepared.  The proposed  fees (see Table 5(b)) were awaiting endorsement 
by the National Revenue Board.  They would th en be submitted to the Cabinet for approval. 
67. Some Members were also of the view that the import licence fee imposed on pesticides did 
not reflect the cost for services rendered as the fee varied according to the type of pesticides and 
quantity imported.  These Members considered th is fee inconsistent with the provisions of 
Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  In response, the representative of Samoa said that the Pesticides 
Regulations 1990 were being revised to bring re gistration fees for pesticides into line with 
Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  The new Regulations we re expected to be adopted by the end of the 
year.  He provided a list of the fees proposed in the new Regulations in Table 6.   
68. The representative of Samoa confirmed that, from the date of accession, all fees and charges 
imposed by Samoa on or in connection with im portation or exportation would be operated in 
conformity with the relevant provisions of the WT O Agreement, in particular Articles VIII and X of 
the GATT 1994.  From the date of accession, Samoa would not apply, introduce or reintroduce any fees and charges for services rendered that were applied to imports on an ad valorem  basis.  
Information regarding the application and level of such fees and charges, revenues collected and their 
use, would be provided to WTO Members on request.  [He further confirmed that Samoa's licensing 
system for pesticides would be applied in conformity with WTO rules as from the date of accession.]  The Working Party took no te of these commitments.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 21 
 
 
  - Application of internal taxes to imports 
69. The representative of Samoa said that imported and domestic goods were subject to a Value 
Added Goods and Services Tax (V AGST) of 15 per cent, as set out in the Value Added Goods and 
Services Tax Act 1992/1993.  All businesses were requir ed to register with the Ministry for Revenue 
for VAGST.  The VAGST was levied at each stage up to  the retail stage.  Companies with an annual 
turnover of less than SAT 78,000 (US$25,545) and primary producer s were exempted from VAGST.   
70. A Member noted that the exemption granted to  primary producers was inconsistent with 
Article  III of the GATT 1994.  This Member invite d Samoa to either introduce a parallel exemption 
for imports of similar products or set a threshold fo r the registration of small producers - rather than 
exempt their produce.  Samoa was also asked to cl arify how the exemption of primary producers was 
managed given that the VAGST was levied on good s rather than on producers.  The representative of 
Samoa replied that Samoa had no company produci ng primary products.  Beneficiaries were small, 
low income producers who sold only a small portion of their production on local markets, the rest 
being used for their own consumption.  Their annu al turnover was very small.  Samoa had already 
removed support previously available to them and di d not wish to risk reducing further the already 
limited revenues of these producers.  In additi on, the levy of VAGST on these producers would prove 
to be very difficult.  Exemption of small prod ucers was, he understood, a common practice in WTO 
Members.  In response to renewed requests from Members to amend the present system in order to remove any potential discrimination against imports, the representative of Samoa said that the use of a 
registration threshold was being discussed internally. 
71. Samoa also levied excise tax es in accordance with the Excise Tax (Domestic Administration) 
Act and the Excise Tax Rates Act 1984, both am ended in 1998; and the Excise Tax (Import 
Administration) Act 1984.  Products subject to excise taxes included tobacco; alcohol; passenger motor cars with an engine capacity of more than  2000 cc; and motor spirits and automotive diesel 
fuel.  The excise tax on domestic appliances had been eliminated in May 1998.  Tax rates, which were 
identical for imported and domestically produced goods, were specific or mixed.  The ad valorem  
elements of the rates were applied on the ex-fact ory price for domestic goods and the CIF price plus 
any duty for imported goods.  A list of the products su bject to excise taxes is reproduced in Table 7. 
72. In response to a Member who noted that Samo a's legislation referred to "import" and 
"domestic" excise taxes, and sought clarification about  the unified application of excise taxes, the 
representative of Samoa confirmed that excise ta xes on imported and domestic goods, historically 
dealt with independently, had been unified and that  all domestic taxes in Samoa, including excise 
taxes, were applied on an MFN and national treatment  basis, in accordance with Article III:1 and 2 of WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 22  
 
  the GATT 1994.  He added that his Government was ready to modify the legislation to avoid any 
confusion.  He confirmed that no other duties or charges were being levied besides customs duties, 
customs fees, VAGST, and excise taxes. 
73. Noting that excise taxes varied depending on the type of alcohol, a Member asked Samoa to 
describe what sorts of alcoholic beverages were pr oduced domestically and what level of alcohol such 
beverages contained.  In response, the representativ e of Samoa said that the largest manufacturer of 
alcoholic beverages was Vailima Breweries.  Th e company produced beer (HS2203) and imported 
wines and spirits for local sale.  Several other sm all manufacturers produced various types of spirits 
such as vodka and whisky (HS2208).  Domestically-p roduced vodka, rum, and whisky had an alcohol 
strength comprised between 30 and 57.12 per cent and locally-produced beer superior to 3 per cent. 
74. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that, from the date of accession, Samoa would apply 
its domestic taxes, including value-added and excise taxes, in a non-discriminatory manner consistent 
with Articles I and III of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
- Quantitative import restrictions, including  prohibitions, quotas and licensing systems 
75. The representative of Samoa said that pursuan t to Section 49(3) and 49(4) of the Customs 
Act 1977, the Head of State could prohibit the im portation of goods into Samoa to defend the public 
interest, protect revenue, ensure the efficient ad ministration of the Customs Act, prevent fraud and 
infectious diseases within the meaning of the Hea lth Ordinance 1959, and impede the entry of goods 
whose sale in Samoa would be an offence against th e law.  Prohibitions could be general, specific, 
absolute or conditional.  Conditio ns could include the necessity to hold a permit or satisfy other 
prescribed criteria.  He noted that Samoa prohibited the importation of counterfeit coins and bank notes to prevent counterfeiting; pornographic articles, publications, films, and video to protect public 
morals; non-biodegradable plastic bags to prot ect the environment (Plastic Bag Prohibition on 
Importation Regulations of 23 May 2 006); turkey tails to help curb the rise in diseases such as 
diabetes, high blood pressure and heart and kidney  failure (Prohibition Order on the Importation of 
Turkey Tails of 14 August 2007); and motor vehicles ol der than 12 years and left-hand drive vehicles 
to ensure traffic safety (Order of Prohibited Imports  of 2 May 2008) (see Table 8).  The importation of 
arms and ammunition, chemicals, pesticides and oz one depleting substances was restricted for the 
protection of human health and life and subject to li censing.  He provided a list of products subject to 
import licensing in Table 9.  He noted that none of these goods were produced locally.  The list of items restricted or prohibited from importation coul d be extended for reasons of national security or 
interest in accordance with Section 49 of the Cust oms Act 1977.  He further noted that the importation  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 23 
 
 
  of some plants and food stuff was also prohibite d under Samoa's SPS regulations (see the section on 
"Sanitary and phytosanitary measures").   
76. Pursuant to the Arms Ordinance 1960, li cence fees for the importation of arms and 
ammunition amounted to SAT 200 (US$65.5) a year for companies and SAT 50 (US$16.37) per import for individuals.  The importation, storage and use of pesticides was regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries pursu ant to the Agriculture, Forests a nd Fisheries Amendment Act 1989.  
All pesticides had to be registered before an impor t licence could be delivered.  This measure aimed at 
monitoring the importation of pesticides and at protecting the environment from hazardous/banned 
substances and chemicals.  The registration fee amounted to SAT 300 (US$98.25) plus VAGST.  The licence fee depended on the type of pes ticide and quantity to be imported.   
77. Restrictions could also be imposed on goods having a negative impact on the environment 
pursuant to the Lands and Environment Act 1989 and in accordance with the international 
conventions Samoa was a party to.  Moreover, Sa moa's national environmental country programme, 
submitted to the Executive Council of the Montreal Pr otocol in March 1997, provided for restrictions 
on imports of ODSs - mainly CFCs - and methyl ch loride, whose consumption was to be phased out 
by 2010 and 2015 respectively. 
78. Some Members noted that the ban on imports of motor vehicles older than 12 years 
discriminated against imports and was WTO-inconsis tent.  They pointed out that used automobiles 
older than 12 years were purchased and sold domestically and were not considered unsafe per se .  
These Members urged Samoa to replace this measure  with a non-automatic import licensing system.  
Noting that Samoa had recently banned the importation of left-hand drive vehicles, a Member enquired about the rationale of such a measure.  Samoa was asked to explain what portion of 
automotive vehicles currently in Samoa were left -hand drives and whether such vehicles would be 
permitted to remain on the road after the ban had ente red into force.  This Member noted that other 
countries did not ban left-hand drive or right-hand driv e vehicles even if their driving regulations were 
based on the other arrangement.  This Member urged Samoa to review this discriminatory and, in its 
view, unnecessary ban.  Samoa was al so asked to explain the criter ia for prohibiting importation of 
goods to protect revenue or ensure the efficient ad ministration of the Customs Act.  In addition, 
a Member expressed concerns regarding Samoa's ban on the importation of turkey tails.  This Member 
questioned the prohibition of a singl e food item in order to address the large and complex problem of 
obesity.  Samoa was asked to describe its plans to educate its consumers on the importance of 
considering total dietary choices and exercise to a void non-communicable diseases, as reflected in the 
World Health Organization's Draft Action Plan for the Implementation of the Global Strategy on Diet, WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 24  
 
  Physical Activity and Health.  This Member also invited Samoa to explain the objective criteria used 
to identify this specific product and the reason why this product had been prohibited from importation 
while many other products presenting similar char acteristics were allowed in circulation.   
79. In response, the representative of Samoa said that the ban on imports of motor vehicles older 
than 12 years had been introduced in 2003 for safet y and environmental reasons.  The replacement of 
the ban by a non-automatic system would be an  administrative burden given Samoa's already 
constrained resources.  Samoa may consider such a move with substantial technical assistance.  
He added that his Government was reviewing th is prohibition, as well as the prohibition on the 
importation of left-hand drive vehicles.  Regardi ng the criteria for prohibiting importation of goods to 
protect revenue or ensure the efficient administrati on of the Customs Act, he noted that amendments 
to Section 49 of the Customs Act 1977 were bei ng prepared.  In response to the question about 
Samoa's plans to educate consumers on healthy diet choices, he explained that measures taken 
included, among other things, a health promotion and prevention campaign unde r the "Health Sector 
Plan 2008-2018: a Health Samoa" and a revision of Samoa's dietary guidelines.  In addition, the Ministry of Health was updating Samoa's food legislation and the National CODEX Committee was 
developing standards on food quality.  He provided a detailed description of the various measures 
taken to educate consumers in document WT /ACC/SAM/10 (see response to question 29).  
He explained that turkey tails had been prohibited fr om importation due to their high percentage of fat 
and their popularity in Samoa, the price of turkey tails  being lower than that of other types of cuts of 
meat.  He added that his Government  was reviewing this prohibition.   
80. The representative of Samoa confirmed that, from the date of accession, Samoa would not 
introduce, re-introduce or apply quantitative restrict ions on imports, or other non-tariff measures such 
as licensing, quotas, prohibitions, bans and other restri ctions having equivalent effect that cannot be 
justified under the provisions of the WTO Agreemen t.  The legal authority of the Government of 
Samoa to restrict or prohibit importation of goods  into Samoa would be applied from the date of 
accession in conformity with the relevant requirements of the WTO, in particular Articles XI, XII, XIII, XVIII, XIX, XX, and XXI of the GATT 1994; the Agreements on Agriculture, the Application 
of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Import Licensing Procedures, Safeguards, and Technical 
Barriers to Trade; and the Understanding on Bala nce of Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994.  
[The representative of Samoa confirmed that the import prohibition of cars older than twelve years 
would be eliminated (and replaced by a non-automatic licensing system) upon accession.] The Working Party took no te of these commitments.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 25 
 
 
  - Customs valuation 
81. The representative of Samoa said that his Government had amended the Customs Act 1977 
in 1998 to move from the Brussels Definition of Va lue system to a valuation system based on the 
WTO Customs Valuation Agreement.  The ASYCUDA system had been introduced with the help of 
donors.  This system was designed to facilitate trad e.  It recorded specific transactions, but did not 
generate specific prices for customs valuation purp oses.  In addition, customs procedures had been 
simplified through computerization and the introducti on of a single document for customs clearance.  
However, the Customs Amendment Act 1998, its Re gulations, and current WTO customs valuation 
provisions included in the Customs Principal Act need ed to be reviewed to ensure full conformity 
with WTO requirements and provide for better tran sparency and accountability.  Amendments to the 
current Customs Act and Customs Valuation Regulati ons were being drafted, but additional technical 
assistance was needed to introdu ce the necessary legislative and institutional changes and train 
personnel.  He proposed that Samoa would complete  the work to conform with the requirements of 
the Agreements on the Implementation of Artic le VII of the GATT 1994 in accordance with the 
action plan reproduced in Table 10. 
82. Asked about the use of the Guidelines on the Development and Use of a National Valuation 
Database as a Risk Assessment Tool, the representati ve of Samoa said that Samoa's Customs did not 
currently use a national valuation database as a risk  assessment tool.  However, once such a tool had 
become operational, his Government would ensure  that the Guidelines would be implemented to 
ensure compliance with WTO rules.  He added that  the provisions of Article 14 of the Agreement, 
i.e., the Interpretative Notes to the Customs Valuation Agreement, would be incorporated into 
Samoa's customs valuation legislation in June 2009 in accordance with Table 10.   
83. [The representative of Samoa requested that the Working Party grant a transitional period 
from the date of accession to allow Samoa to obtain and utilize technical assistance to assist in the full 
implementation of the obligations of the Agreem ent.]  Full implementation of the Agreement on 
Customs Valuation would be completed, at the latest  prior to 1 January 2010, in accordance with the 
timetable contained in Table 10 below.  [He confir med that during the transition Samoa would not be 
required to observe the provisions of Articles 10, 12, and 14.  If such a transitional period were 
granted, Samoa's deviations from the provisions of  the Agreement would be strictly limited to these 
Articles, and all other provisions of the Agreemen t would be implemented for all imports.]  Current 
legislation already provided for s ubstantial implementation of the Ag reement, and Samoa would apply 
Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, and 17 of the Agreement to imports from the date of accession.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 26  
 
  84. During this period, Samoa would ensure that its  regulations under current legislation in place 
and additional legislation implemented during the transition concerning customs valuation would be 
applied on a non-discriminatory MFN basis to all impor ts.  Any changes made in its laws, regulations 
and practice during the transition period would not r esult in a lesser degree of consistency with the 
provisions of the Agreement on Customs Valuation than existed on the date of accession.  Samoa 
would participate in the work of the Committe e on Customs Valuation and would seek out all 
available technical assistance, including under Arti cle 20:3 of the Agreement, to ensure that its 
capacity to fully implement the Agreement upon expi ration of the transition period is assured.  The 
representative of Samoa presented an Action Plan setting out details of the steps that still remained to 
be taken in order to achieve  this objective and a timetable for each step (Table 10). 
85. The representative of Samoa stated that legislation on the valuation of imports for customs 
and taxation purposes conforming to the requirement s of the Agreement on Customs Valuation would 
be enacted by June 2009.  Samoa would progressively implement the Agreement on Customs Valuation in accordance with the ac tion plan in Table 10, and with the understanding that during this 
period the scope of implementation of other aspects of  the Agreement, as described in paragraphs [83] 
and [84], would be applied by Samoa.  Full implementation would start from January 2010.  
The Working Party took no te of these commitments. 
- Rules of origin 
86. A Member was of the view that Samoa should implement the Agreement on Rules of Origin 
from the date of accession.  This Member enquired a bout Samoa's plans to establish rules of origin.  
Samoa was invited to confirm that any legislation introduced would be in conformity with the WTO 
Agreement on Rules of Origin and incorporate th e requirements of Article 2(h) and Annex II, 
paragraph 3(d), which require WTO Members to pr ovide, upon request and prior to the time of 
importation, an assessment of the origin of the import and outline the terms under which it would be 
provided.  Members sought a commitment from Samoa that it would notify any regulation on rules of 
origin before applying any trade remedy measure re quiring the determination of the origin of imports 
for either preferential or non-preferential trade. 
87. In reply, the representative of Samoa said that Samoa had no non-preferential rules of origin.  
However, it had preferential rules of origin.  Samoa had recently become a party to the Pacific Island 
Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA).  The Agreement,  which had entered into force in April 2003, 
established regional rules of origin.  A PICTA Rules of Origin Regulation, incorporating PICTA rules 
of origin into Samoan law, had entered into force on 25 July 2006.  The PICTA provisions were 
Samoa's only preferential rules of origin.  Samoa had no non-preferential rules of origin.    WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 27 
 
 
  88. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that, from [the date of accession] [specific date], 
Samoa's preferential and non-preferential rules of  origin would fully comply with the WTO 
Agreement on Rules of Origin, including the provisions  of Article 2(h) and A nnex II, paragraph 3(d) 
of the Agreement, i.e., [that for non-preferential an d preferential rules of origin, respectively, the 
customs authority would accept requests from an expor ter, importer or any person with a justifiable 
cause for an assessment of the orig in of the import, make such a determination as soon as possible, 
but no later than 150 days after the request ha d been submitted provided that all necessary elements 
had been submitted.  Requests fo r such assessments shall be accep ted before trade in the good 
concerned begins and may be accepted at any later po int in time.  Such assessments shall remain valid 
for three years provided that the facts and conditions, including the rules of origin, under which they have been made remain comparable.  Samoa woul d also abide by the relevant WTO provisions on 
transparency and the provision of information about its  rules of origin and their application.] [that for 
preferential rules of origin, (e.g., pursuant to PI CTA), the customs authority would upon request from 
an exporter, importer or any person with a justifiable cause for an asse ssment of the preferential origin 
of the import make such a determination as soon as possible, but no later than 150 days after the 
request had been submitted provided that all necessa ry elements had been submitted.  Samoa would 
apply the same provisions for non-preferential rules of  origin when it establish es such rules.  Samoa 
would also abide by the relevant WTO provisions on  transparency and the provision of information 
about its rules of origin and their application.]  The Working Party took note of this commitment.] 
- Other customs formalities 
89. The representative of Samoa said that Sa moa was not a party to the World Customs 
Organization.  Its customs formalities were based on international practice as provided for in the 
Kyoto Convention.  Samoa did not require any sort of certification or customs documentation by consular officials in the country of export.  
- Preshipment inspection 
90. The representative of Samoa said that his Government did not use the services of pre-
shipment inspection firms and had no intention of doing so.  Members of the Working Party asked that Samoa undertake a commitment indicating that if  such services should be employed in the future, 
they would conform to WTO provisions in their opera tions, e.g., in the application of fees for services 
rendered, observance of other WTO requirements in  customs processing, and in providing right of 
appeal to the Government.   WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 28  
 
  91. The representative of Samoa confirmed that if a pre-shipment inspection system would be 
introduced in the future, it would be temporary.  Should such a system be put in place, Samoa would 
ensure that this system would be in conformity  with the WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection 
and any other relevant WTO provision.  The Gove rnment of Samoa would take responsibility to 
ensure that the operations of any preshipment inspection companies it retained would meet the 
requirements of the WTO Agreements, in particul ar the Agreements on Preshipment Inspection, 
Import Licensing Procedures, Customs Valuation,  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and 
Technical Barriers to Trade.  He further confirme d that charges and fees applied by such companies 
would be consistent with Article VIII of GATT 1994,  and that such system would comply with the 
due process and transparency requirements of the WTO Agreements, in particular Article X of the GATT 1994, and the Agreement on the Impl ementation of Article VII of GATT 1994.  
The Working Party took no te of these commitments. 
- Anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard regimes  
92. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa had no specific legislation providing for the 
imposition of countervailing duties or safeguard measu res and had no plans to use such measures.  
However, provisions concerning the imposition of an ti-dumping measures existed in Section nine of 
the Customs Tariff Act 1975, but were not consistent with the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement.  He noted that these provisions had never been impl emented - Samoa did not have the financial nor 
human capacity to use trade remedy measures - and that Samoa had no intention to use them. 
93. Several Members expressed concern over the non-conformity of Section 9 of the Customs 
Tariff Act 1975 with the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreem ent and Samoa's statement that, given the 
difficulty for a small country like Samoa to use WT O trade remedy provisions, tariff flexibility would 
be used if necessary to provide protection.  These Members invited Samoa to repeal or review the part of its anti-dumping legislation that was inconsistent  with WTO rules.  In reply, the representative of 
Samoa said that amendments to the current Cu stoms Tariff Act were being drafted to remove 
Section 9 of the Customs Tariff Act 1975 and introduce a new Anti-dumping Draft Bill, which would bring Samoa's legislation into conformity with WTO rules.  The Bill was expected to be submitted to 
Parliament by the end of 2009. 
94. The representative of Samoa confirmed that  Samoa would not apply any anti-dumping, 
countervailing or safeguard measures until it had im plemented and notified to the WTO appropriate 
laws consistent with the provisions of the WTO Agreements on these matters.  Samoa would ensure 
the full conformity of any such legislation with the relevant WTO provisions, including Article VI 
and XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI, the Agreement  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 29 
 
 
  on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the Ag reement on Safeguards.  After such legislation 
was implemented, Samoa would only apply any anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and 
safeguard measures in full conformity with the relevant WTO provisions.  The Working Party took 
note of these commitments. 
B. EXPORT REGULATIONS  
- Customs tariffs, fees and charges for services rendered, application of internal taxes to 
exports 
95. The representative of Samoa said that the regi stration requirements for engaging in exporting 
were the same as for importing.  Exporters had to hold a business licence.  Samoa did not impose any 
duties on exports and the VAGST was rebated on expor ts in accordance with standard international 
practice.  There were no specific export licensing procedures.  He noted that exporters were required 
to report the f.o.b. value of their exports to the Central Bank for statistical purposes prior to 
exportation.  A Customs Department Export Entry Form and an Export Form E, available at the 
Central Bank, had to be completed in four copi es and presented for certification to the Central Bank 
prior to shipment. 
- Export restrictions 
96. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa pr ohibited the exportation of raw logs and live 
coral and restricted Samoan antiquities and birds ex ports.  Samoa did not impose measures, such as 
minimum export prices, voluntary export restri ctions, and orderly marketing arrangements.  
97. Exports of raw logs were prohibited pursuant to the 1990 Order Prohibiting the Export of 
Logs and the Customs Act 1997.  Prohibition of ra w logs exports had been introduced following the 
two cyclones of 1990 and 1991 and aimed at restricti ng logging to avoid further soil erosion and water 
run-off.  The measure was necessary for the conser vation of Samoa's few remaining forest areas and 
reforestation as other methods of control were open to abuse.  The prohibition was expected to be 
maintained for another two to three  years to allow for the rehabilitation of the forests and forestlands 
devastated by the recent fires in Aopo/Falealupo and the 2004 Cyclone Heta.  Both the Government 
and NGOs were involved in the monitoring of envir onmental issues.  Provisi ons restricting domestic 
commercial logging existed in the Forest Act 1967 and the draft Forest Resource Policy, and national 
standards for logging were set out in the Code of Logging Practice (COLP).  Under the Forest 
Act 1967, any person wishing to invest in the manufacturing of timber was required to hold a licence and pay a rent and royalties as stipulated in the regulations and agreed by the Ministry and the WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 30  
 
  investor.  He confirmed that Samoa would review  the export restriction on raw logs and notify WTO 
Members of developments in this area on a regular basis.  
98. Exportation of live coral was prohibited pursuan t to Sections 119 and 120 of the Land, 
Surveys and Environment Act 1989.  The measure aimed at preventing further destruction of one of Samoa's few natural resources, already sever ely damaged by the 1990 and 1991 cyclones and 
detrimental fishing practices, and at ensuring the long-term sustainability of Samoa's fishery 
resources.  The ban was implemented in parallel w ith village fishery resource management plans to 
revitalize Samoa's inshore resources and legislation on illegal fishing practices.  Extraction of any sea 
product was controlled.  Removal of live coral was s ubject to Minister's approval.  Infringers incurred 
conviction or a fine of up to SAT 5,000 (US$1,637.5 - Section 122).  The Minister's decision took into 
account the environmental impact of coral removal.  Consent was mainly granted for export of coral 
for scientific research, not commercial purposes.  Given the state of Samoa's coral reefs, the 
commercial exportation of coral was unlikely to be authorized in the future.   
99. Pursuant to the Samoan Antiquities Ordinance 1954, exportation of Samoan antiquities had to 
be approved by the Head of State, who could acqui re them subject to the payment of an adequate 
compensation.  Samoan antiquities exported without approval could be seized by customs officials.  
As for birds, their export was restricted for envir onmental reasons and subject to authorization by the 
Minister of Agriculture in accordance with the Wi ld Animals Regulations 1993.  This measure was 
implemented in parallel with prohibitions on local  hunting and collection of protected species.  
100. The representative of Samoa confirmed that any quantitative export restrictions, including 
prohibitions, quotas, and licensing systems, would be  applied in conformity with WTO provisions.  
The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
C. INTERNAL POLICIES AFFECTING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS  
- Industrial policy, including export and other subsidies  
101. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa di d not apply any prohib ited subsidies.  His 
Government had abolished the Export Financing Facility on 31 December 1997, as part of the 
liberalization of the financial system and in lin e with the 1994 Central Bank of Samoa Act 1994 - the 
Export Financing Facility offered a three per cent marg in of interest rate on loans to finance exports; 
under the Facility, commercial banks could offer loans at an interest of nine per cent instead of 
12 per cent as per normal interest rate.  Local banks made financing available to exporters at market 
interest rates and the Government did not prov ide any kind of support to Samoa's exporters.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 31 
 
 
  102. Samoa operated an import duty drawback scheme administered by the Customs Department. 
Duty drawback was regulated by the Customs Act 1977, Sections 166-168, and the 1986 Customs 
Regulations 1986 - Regulations 68-71 -, and subject to strict compliance requirements, including prior 
notification, inspection/examination, shipment and ex port certification, entry, and claim.  To prevent 
claims on products sold on the domestic market, Sa moa's duty drawback regulations provided for 
inspection and certification of shipments at the time  of export before clearance of the claim for duty 
drawback.  Penalties for violation of duty drawback regulations were laid down in the Customs Law.  
103. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa's industrial policy aimed at stimulating private 
sector competition and domestic and foreign invest ment through liberalization.  He noted that 
the 1999 amendments to the Enterprises Incen tives and Export Promotion Act 1992/1993 had not 
eliminated all import duty and income tax exemptio ns granted on the basis of export performance.  
Special benefits in the form of income tax holid ays, tax holidays on dividends, and exemptions from 
customs and excise duties granted to five enterp rises which exported 95 per cent of their production 
had been grandfathered.  Most of these benefits had expired.  Only one company, Yazaki Samoa 
Limited, was still eligible to tax holidays until 8 No vember 2009 and to custom s and excise benefits 
until 11 July 2010 (see also the section "Investment Regime").  He confirmed that none of these 
incentives were contingent upon local content requirements. 
104. He added that duty concessions were granted for hotels and other development projects under 
the Customs Amendment Act 2007.  Applications fo r duty concessions had to be submitted to the 
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour.  The concessions were granted only for the capital 
goods required for the establishment of the project.  A pplicants were required to provide a list of such 
capital goods.  The concessions ceased once the qu antity and value approved for the development 
project had been exhausted.  He noted that the criteria to benefit from duty concessions under this 
scheme were being revised.  He confirmed that th ere were no other subsidy programmes.  No public 
sector enterprises were entitled to subsidies or preferred credit arrangements. 
105. A Member noted that the incentives grandf athered under the Enterprises Incentives and 
Export Promotion Act were prohibited subsidies und er Article 3 of the Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures Agreement.  Asked whether all prohib ited subsidies would be eliminated with the 
expiration of the incentives grandfathered under th e Enterprises Incentives and Export Promotion Act, 
the representative of Samoa confirmed that his G overnment did not intend to renew these incentives. 
106. The representative of Samoa confirmed that [from the date of accession,] Samoa would not 
maintain any subsidies, including export subsidies,  which met the definition of a prohibited subsidy 
contained in Article 3 of the Agreement on Subsid ies and Countervailing Measures.  Benefits based WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 32  
 
  on existing laws would not be granted after that da te and Samoa would not introduce any other such 
prohibited subsidies from the day of accession.  [H e further confirmed that any programmes that 
granted subsidies would be administered in line with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures and that all necessary information on notifiable programmes would be notified to the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measur es in accordance with Article 25 of the 
Agreement upon entry into force of Samoa's Protocol  of Accession.  The Working Party took note of 
this commitment.] 
- Technical barriers to trade, standards and certification 
107. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa did not have nor intend to put in place a 
comprehensive regime for standards and technical regulations.  Samoa did not apply any mandatory 
standards or technical regulations.  It had not concluded any bilateral or  multilateral agreements 
related to standards and was not a signatory to any mutual recognition agreements/arrangements of 
conformity assessment procedures. 
108. A Member was of the view that Samoa's requirement that pesticides be labelled according to 
the World Health Organization recommended classi fications by the degree of hazard fell under the 
provisions of the TBT Agreement.  This Member also noted that environmental measures applied 
under the Samoan Lands and Environment Act 1989 c ould possibly be covered both by the TBT and 
SPS Agreements and that the Fair Trading Act, Fa ir Trading Labelling Act and Pharmaceutical Drugs 
Regulations could include technical regulations and standards.  Samoa was invited to ensure that any 
instrument pertaining to technical regulations an d mandatory standards was consistent with the 
requirements of the TBT and SPS Agreements and th at standards and technical regulations, where 
relevant, were applied in accordance with the TBT Agreement.  In reply, the representative of Samoa 
said that the Fair Trading Act provided for the possi bility to develop regulati ons on product safety and 
quality standards for any specific kind of goods (appr oved standards).  However, Samoa did not have 
the sufficient human and material resources to introdu ce and enforce technical regulations.  Therefore, 
Samoa did not have any approved standards, with the exception of the pesticide labelling requirement 
which was based on international standards.  He confirmed that, if introduced, approved standards 
would conform to the requirements of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. 
109. Some Members reminded Samoa that the WTO TBT Agreement did not require Samoa to 
implement standards in any area, but any standard s and conformity assessment systems introduced in 
the future would need to be consistent with WTO requirements.  Fundamental obligations included in 
particular transparency and MFN and national treatment for imported goods.  These Members sought 
confirmation that, should Samoa institute controls and rules for standards and technical regulations,  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 33 
 
 
  standards certification, and labelling requirements,  these would be applied equally to imported and 
domestic goods; would not be used to restrict imports nor applied in an arbitrary manner, in a way that 
would discriminate between supplier countries where the same conditions applied or as a disguised 
restriction to international trade; that certification requirements would be administered in a transparent and expeditious manner; and that Samoa would be willing to consult with WTO Members concerning 
the effect of these requirements on their trade with a view to resolving specific problems. 
110. [The representative of Samoa stated that Sa moa would establish an enquiry point as soon as 
possible within the Ministry of Commerce, Industr y and Labour, responsible fo r answering all enquiry 
and notifications as provided in the Agreement on T echnical Barriers to Trade.  Samoa would ensure 
that no technical regulations, standards and c onformity assessment procedures were adopted or 
implemented until Samoa had implemented appropriate  laws ensuring conformity with the provisions 
of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, including the [publication or posting on a website] 
[notification] of draft technical regulations and conformity assessment requirements for review and 
comment at least 60 days prior to implementation, and that the final technical regulations and conformity assessment requirements would be published at  least six months prior to entry into force.  
Samoa would ensure the full conformity of any su ch legislation with the Agreement on Technical 
Barriers to Trade.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures  
111. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa' s existing sanitary and phytosanitary measures 
were applied and regulated by the Agriculture, For ests and Fisheries Ordinance 1959; the Plants and 
Soils Importation (Disease Control) Ordinance 1950 and Regulations of 1951; the Guidelines for 
Pesticide Registration and Import Permits of 1991; the Food and Drugs Act 1967; the Produce Export 
Ordinance 1961; the Health Ordinance 1959; and the Quarantine Act 2005. 
112. Samoa was a member of the CODEX Alimentarius Commission and the Pacific Plant 
Protection Organization.  Its interests in the Inte rnational Office for Epizootics and the International 
Plant Protection Convention were represented thr ough the South Pacific Community and the FAO.  
Samoa's SPS measures were based on the informat ion provided by the South Pacific Community, 
which collected pest data from rele vant international organizations. 
113. Plants prohibited from importa tion included all fresh fruit, sensitive vegetables, and seeds 
covered with pulp imported from areas where harm ful fruit flies was known to exist (other than 
Bactrocera xanthodes and psidii); coconut plants and parts thereof; pineapple and related plants from 
Fiji and areas not covered by the South Pacific Co mmission; rice plants and parts thereof, except WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 34  
 
  milled for human consump tion; citrus related plants or parts thereof, except from areas free from 
citrus canker (Xanthomonas citri) ; cacao plants and parts thereo f from areas exposed to Witch's 
Broom Disease (Morasmium fernicious) or Swollen Shoot Virus; rubber plants and parts thereof from 
areas exposed to the American leaf  disease (Dothiella ulei), and imported from other areas in the form 
of seed or budwood only; plants of the genus Musa (b ananas or related plants) from areas exposed to 
the Panama disease (Fusarium oxisporum var. c ubense) or Banchytop Virus Disease; sugar-cane 
plants or parts thereof; coffee plants from ar eas exposed to the Blackwood disease (Thielaviopsis 
Neocaledoniae) or where coffee bean borer/stephe noderes coffee were being grown; Alocasia or 
Colocasia plant species or related plants except as Tissue Culture material under special permit for 
research purposes; yam, cassava or any root crop or vegetable; hay, chaff, grain husks or leaves 
imported as packing or bedding material - all other packing or bedding material were subject to 
fumigation upon arrival at the expense of the importer.  
114. Authorization to import prohibited plants could be granted by the Chie f Executive Officer of 
the Ministry of Agriculture provided the plants were  in tissue culture, free of antibiotics and microbial 
suppressants, in sealed and sterile containers, and labe lled with botanical plant names; and subject to 
the presentation of an Import Permit from Samoa and a Health Certificate from the country of origin.  
Four authorizations for different varieties of ba nanas had been delivered since 1995, and seven for 
taro since 1994. 
115. Importation of other plants and parts thereo f required an import permit from the CEO of 
Agriculture.  Applications for permits should includ e information on the nature of the imported goods, 
country of origin, supplier's address, reasons fo r importation, frequency of  imports, and additional 
information as required.  Before or upon entry of imported plants and plant materials into Samoa, the 
importer was required to submit to the inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture a phytosanitary certificate issued by a competent authority in the country of origin.  The certificate should stipulate 
the content of the shipment, origin of the products, and type of treatment received if any; attest 
inspection of the products; and confirm their harmle ssness and conformity with the conditions laid out 
in the import permit.  All imported plants and pl ant materials were examined by an authorized 
inspector.  Non-complaint consignments were seized or disposed of, and costs incurred charged to the 
importer.  Importers of livestoc k were also required to apply for an import permit to the CEO of 
Agriculture.  Information to be provided included breed, colour, and age of imported livestock, along with the address of the exporter.  
116. He further noted that all impor t permits were granted by the CEO of Agriculture following an 
Import Risk Analysis evaluating the pest status of the country of origin and recommendations of the  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 35 
 
 
  Quarantine Advisory Committee, composed of tec hnical personnel, and Principal Veterinarian.  
The exporting country was requested to submit a pest list for the commodity to be exported to serve as 
a basis for the pest and disease ri sk assessment.  He confirmed that  Samoa recognized pest free areas 
within countries and did not require total pest  freedom throughout a country to accept imports.  
Recommendations were published in the local ne wspapers and Annual Re ports and Performance 
Monitoring reports of the Government.  Import Heal th Standards were then developed and included in 
the import permit.  Fees charged for require d SPS procedures on imported products amounted to 
SAT 110 (US$36.02) a year for commercial importers and SAT 5 (US$1.64) per shipment for private 
importers. 
117. Importation of pesticides was subject to re gistration with the Pesticides Committee and 
delivery of an import permit by the Registrar.  Samoa prohibited the importation of pesticides banned 
under the Food and Agriculture Organization a nd United Nations Environment's Programme.  
Imported pesticides had to be labelled according to the World Health Organization recommended 
classifications by the degree of hazard (see also paragraph [76]).   
118. He stated that all export shipments had to  be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate 
issued by the Ministry of Agriculture's Quarantin e Service at the point of exit following inspection 
and subject to prior notification.   
119. In response to a specific question concerni ng the inspection process of domestic and 
imported/exported products, the re presentative of Samoa explaine d that pursuant to the Produce 
Export Ordinance 1961, the Director of Agriculture  could enter and inspect any premises where 
products were grown or stored.  Meat and fish in spectors were responsible for inspecting meat and 
fish products, and Crops Advisory Officers for perform ing pest and disease controls of root crops.  In 
addition, the Ministry of Health Environmental Health Officers could, under the Food and Drugs 
Act 1967, inspect premises where food was processe d, stored and sold, including food processing 
factories, restaurants, supermarkets, bakeries, whol esalers and vendor stalls.  Food for sale could also 
be inspected.  Pursuant to the Health Ordina nce Act 1959, Environmental Health Officers (EHO) 
were also responsible for inspecting food premis es in relation to sanitation, water supply, and 
occupational health and safety.  EHO conducted daily  inspections of food premises.  He added that 
export shipments were inspected in their totality.  As for imported goods, only a sample (600 units per 
consignment) was subject to control upon arrival.   
120. The representative of Samoa acknowledged that Sa moa would need to review its whole SPS 
system to bring it into conformity with WTO require ments.  Samoa's legislation needed to be updated, 
and institutions strengthened.  Sa moa's current SPS measures related mainly to plant protection.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 36  
 
  Specific regulations dealing with food safety and human health would have to be developed.  
Some measures had already been undertaken.  Assistance was being received from AUSAID to 
review quarantine legislation and a series of wo rkshops had been organized to enhance staff 
knowledge on this issue.  In response to Members inviting Samoa to adopt th e relevant international 
standards and draft legislation that would clearly state that Samoa would take in and follow such 
standards, the representative of Samoa confirme d that his Government intended to adopt such 
standards where they existed.  
121. He added that achieving compliance with th e requirements of the SPS Agreement was a 
complex task and further work needed to be  undertaken to ensure compliance with the 
SPS Agreement.  While the Quarantine (Biosecur ity) Act 2005 mandated a risk based approach 
consistent with principles of SPS Agreement, ther e were no regulations to implement the specific 
provisions of the WTO Agreement on SPS and its annex es.  In light of the legal, infrastructural, 
financial and technical constraints faced by Samoa, Samoa was accordingly seeking a transition 
period as outlined in the detailed action plan for the gradual implementation of the SPS Agreement 
reproduced in Table 11.  The transition period w as necessary to permit the adoption of legislation, 
train staff and ensure that Government offici als and stakeholders had a good knowledge and 
understanding of SPS legislative requirements, to create the appropriate additional institutions and 
facilities for transparency, risk assessm ent, and the determination of equivalence, and make sure that 
control inspection and procedures were fully ope rational.  He stressed the necessity for his 
Government to receive adequate technical assist ance to ensure the proper implementation of the 
Agreement. 
122. In response to a Member who noted that the esta blishment of an enquiry point was a key part 
of the transparency obligations under Article 7, A nnex B of the SPS Agreement, and that the enquiry 
point should be up and running at the time of accessi on, the representative of Samoa said that Samoa's 
national SPS enquiry point was already operational.  The enquiry point had been established within 
the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries: 
 Mr Pelenato Fonoti 
 Assistant Chief Executive Officier  Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries  Apia, SAMOA 
 Email:  ACEO@samoaquarantine.gov.ws 
 Tel:  (685) 20924 
 Fax:  (685) 20103 
123. In reply to a question about publication and notification of SPS measures, the representative 
of Samoa explained that Samoa's legislation did not mandate that SPS measures be published in the  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 37 
 
 
  official journal and notified to the WTO in draft stage for public comments.  The Samoa BioSecurity 
(Quarantine) Act would have to be amended accordingly.  However,  in practice, announcements of 
draft legislation and their amendments were published in the official "Savali" gazette. 
124. The representative of Samoa requested that the Working Party grant a transitional period from 
the date of its accession until 1 January 2012 for im plementation of the WTO Agreement on Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary Measures to allow Samoa to obtain and utilize technical assistance to fully 
implement the obligations of the Agreement.  Duri ng this period, existing measures would be applied 
on a non-discriminatory basis, i.e., providing for nation al treatment and MFN treatment to all imports.   
Measures in place already consistent with the provisions of the Agreement on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures would not be subject to tr ansitions.  Samoa would ensure that any changes 
made in its laws, regulations and practice during the transition period would not result in a lesser 
degree of consistency with the provisions of the Ag reement than existed on the date of accession.  
If necessary, any SPS standards, technical regulati ons and conformity assessment procedures adopted 
during the transition period would be  developed in conformity with the provisions of the Agreement, 
including publication prior to implementation to allow interested parties the opportunity for review 
and comment as provided for in the Agreement.  Ot herwise accepted international standards would be 
adopted.  Priority would be given to the estab lishment of a functioning enquiry point and the 
notification of all of Samoa's SPS measures to the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures.  Samoa would review its existing requi rements in light of its obligations under the 
Agreement.  He stressed the importance of technical assistance to be provided during the period of 
transition, including under Article 9 of the SPS Ag reement, and added that Samoa would seek out all 
available technical assistance to ensure that its  capacity to implement the SPS Agreement upon 
expiration of the transition period  was assured.  Samoa would fully participate in the work of the 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  He drew the attention of Members to the Action 
Plan in Table 11, setting out details of the steps that still remained to be taken in order to achieve this 
objective and a timetable for each step. 
125. The representative of Samoa confirmed that Samoa would implement progressively the 
provisions of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures within 
the timetable provided for in Table 11, and woul d ensure full implementation of the Agreement no 
later than 1 January 2012, and with the unders tanding that during this period the scope of 
implementation of other aspects of the Agreement, as  described in paragraph [124] would be applied 
by Samoa.   He further confirmed that Samoa would cons ult with WTO Members upon request if they 
deemed that any measures applied during the trans ition period affected their trade negatively.  
The Working Party took no te of these commitments. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 38  
 
  - Trade-related investment measures 
126. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa ha d no measures in place that conflicted with 
the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures. 
127. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa w ould not maintain any measures inconsistent 
with the TRIMs Agreement and would apply th e TRIMs Agreement from the date of accession 
without recourse to any transition period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
- State trading entities 
128. The representative of Samoa said that none of Samoa's State-owned enterprises trading in 
goods (see Table 1) had been granted a monopoly or an y special privileges that would enable them to 
influence imports or exports.  None of them were therefore State trading enterprises in the meaning of 
the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994.  He noted that the Cocoa 
and Copra State Marketing Boards had been abolished in 1990.   
129. Asked to provide more information on the trading activities of the Agriculture Store 
Corporation (ASC), the representative of Samoa sa id that this 100 per cent State-owned enterprise 
sold and rented tools, equipment, seeds, and ot her supplies used in the agricultural industry.  
The Corporation had also been involved in the production of bananas, both for exportation and the 
local market, but was now divesting itself of this loss-making activity.  He added that the ASC operated in competition with private enterprises,  which supplied the same services and products 
(see also the section on "State ownership and privatization"). 
130. As to State-owned enterprises supplying servi ces, they generally enjoyed a monopoly position 
due to the small size of the domestic economy.  Howeve r, competition existed in some areas, such as 
insurance, where the Samoa Life Insurance Corporation competed with several insurance firms - 
including the newly established Colonial Insu rance Company; and telecommunications, where 
SamoaTel was exposed to competition (see paragraph [188]).  
131. Noting that Samoa had granted a five-year cont ract to Mobil and then Total to supply and 
distribute oil and petroleum products in Samoa following competitive tendering processes, some Members were of the view that this arrangemen t was covered by Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and 
should be notified.  In response, the representative of Samoa said that a new tender process had been 
carried out in August 2008.  The new supplier, [n ame], would be notified to the Working Party.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 39 
 
 
  132. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that upon accession Samoa would notify and provide 
information on the activities of its new supplier of pe troleum products as they related to the exclusive 
contract to supply petroleum products to Samoa on behalf of the Government, in accordance with 
Article XVII of the GATT and the Understanding on that Article.  Samoa would apply its laws and 
regulations governing the trading activities of Stat e-owned enterprises and State-controlled enterprises 
and other enterprises with special or exclusive priv ileges and would act in full conformity with the 
provisions of the WTO Agreement, in par ticular Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and the 
Understanding on that Article and Ar ticle VIII of the GATS.  The Working Party took note of these 
commitments.] 
- Free zones, special economic areas 
133. The representative of Samoa said that the pr ovisions of the Industrial Free Zone Act 1974 
foreseeing the establishment of free zones had been repealed by the Enterprise Incentives and Export 
Promotion Act 1992/1993.  The incentives available under the Industrial Free Zone Act 1974 to domestic and foreign investors operating in these parks - i.e., exemption from import duties and 
income tax - were no longer applicable.  Theref ore, no authority to grant incentives remained. 
134. Samoa had two industrial parks but these were neither free zones nor free economic zones.  
They simply comprised land made available by the Government on a lease basis, usually for 20 years with the right of renewal for another 20 years.   There were no performance requirements, and no 
incentives were provided.  Foreign and local investor s were treated on an equal basis.  The output of 
any firms located in the parks was subject to VAGST. 
135. The representative of Samoa said that any free zones or special economic areas, which it 
established, would be fully subject to the coverage of its commitment s in its Protocol of Accession to 
the WTO Agreement and that Samoa would ensure enforcement of its WTO obligations in those 
zones or areas.  Goods produced in any such zon es or areas under the tax and tariff provisions that 
exempt imports and imported inputs  from tariffs and certain taxes w ould be subject to normal customs 
formalities when entering the rest of Samoa, in cluding the application of tariffs and taxes.  
The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
- Government procurement 
136. The representative of Samoa said that government procurement was administered by the 
Treasury Stores.  All tenders had to be advertised for at least two weeks.  Projects worth less than 
SAT 5,000 (US$1,637.5) required only verbal price offe rs.  All other contracts had to be quoted in WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 40  
 
  writing by at least three different suppliers.  Gove rnment tenders inferior to SAT 20,000 (US$6,550) 
were open only to local suppliers - often importers of overseas products or partners of overseas firms - 
unless the procured goods were not available loca lly.  Tenders of greater value were open to 
international bidders and followed internationally accepted bidding pr ocedures.  Under this process, 
quotes were subject to technical, financial, envir onment, and legal analysis.  The Government's 
Tenders Board advertised and awar ded tenders for all projects worth SAT 200,000 or more.  Contracts 
valued between SAT 200,000 (US$65 ,500) and SAT 500,000 (1 63,750) had to be assessed by the 
Tenders Board and projects of greater value a pproved by the Cabinet.  He provided a list of 
Government imports for the period 20 00-2002 in document WT/ACC/SAM/5. 
137. He noted that the Public Finance Management Act 2001 had repealed the Public Money Act.  
The Procurement Guidelines were currently being reviewed through technical assistance from the 
World Bank.  Samoa did not have any appeal mechan ism, but bidders were present at the opening of 
tenders. 
138. Asked whether Samoa intended to initiate negotiations fo r accession to the Government 
Procurement Agreement (GPA), the representative of Samoa noted very few, if any, Samoan 
Government contracts would be covered by the Ag reement due to the value thresholds applied under 
the GPA.  Moreover, large contracts were ofte n implemented in the context of economic aid 
programmes, which were covered by the procuremen t rules of the organisations concerned.  Thus, 
Samoa did not intend to join the plurilater al Agreement on Government Procurement. 
- Transit 
139. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa did not restrict trade in transit. 
140. The representative of Samoa confirmed that  his Government w ould apply any laws, 
regulations and practices governing transit operations and would act in full conformity with the 
provisions of the WTO Agreement, in particular Article V of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party 
took note of this commitment. 
- Agricultural policies 
(a) Imports  
141. The representative of Samoa said that, with th e exception of the import prohibition of turkey 
tails (see the section on "Quantitative import restri ctions"), customs duties were the only type of 
border protection maintained.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 41 
 
 
  142. A Member noted that Samoa was part of the Regional Sugar Agreement, whereby Fiji sold 
agreed quantities of sugar at pre-determined prices to the other parties to the Agreement - Kiribati, 
Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Samoa.  That  Member sought more detailed information on the 
functioning of the Agreement, in particular on whether sugar could be freely imported from any 
source or first had to be purchased from Fiji, a nd whether licenses were required for the importation 
and exportation of sugar under the Agreement.   
143. In reply, the representative of Samoa said that the yearly quotas established under the 
Agreement were indicative and importers were fre e to buy sugar from other sources.  Quotas were 
monitored on a quarterly basis.  In the event of  under- or over-utilisation of quotas in the first 
six months, consultations would be held between  the concerned parties to reduce or increase the 
quotas.  No licence was required for the exportation of sugar from Fiji.  The purchase and export of 
sugar under the Agreement were carried out by an  agent appointed by the Forum Secretariat in 
consultation with parties to the Agreement.  The Se cretariat's role was to facilitate the administration 
of the Agreement.  Any country wishing to become  a party to the Agreement had to apply to the 
Forum Secretariat.  Decisions were taken at the unanimity.  He added that the Agreement had been 
suspended. 
(b) Exports 
144. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa did not prohibit or restrict exports of 
agricultural products, apart from birds for environmen tal reasons.  He confirmed that Samoa operated 
no export credit, export credit guarantee or insu rance programmes for agricultural products.  
(c) Internal policies  
145. The representative of Samoa said that his Govern ment had embarked on a progressive reform 
programme to liberalize all sectors of the economy, including agriculture.  Price support policies for agricultural products had been suspended.  Current  policies aimed at impr oving subsistence farming 
and helping farmers adjust to open market conditio ns.  The Stabex funds received from the European 
Community were used according to the Governme nt's priorities, mainly for infrastructure 
development (support consolidation of rural water supplies). 
146. He provided information on domestic support an d export subsidies in agriculture for the 
period 1997-1999 in document WT/A CC/SPEC/SAM/3 of 30 August 2001, last revised in May 2008 
to cover the period 2005-2006-2 008/2009 in document WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM /3/Rev.2 of 5 May 2009.  
He noted that all support provided during this pe riod qualified as "Green Box" measures exempt from WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 42  
 
  reduction commitments.  His Government provided assistance for research on crops and plant pests, 
pest and disease control, and agricultural producti on, as well as extension, advisory, and inspection 
services.  Noting that Samoa no longer granted expor t subsidies, several Members asked Samoa to 
bind its export subsidies at zero both in volume and value terms.   
147. [The Representative of Samoa agreed that, upon Samoa's accession, his country would bind 
its agricultural export subsidies at zero in its Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods, 
and not maintain or apply any export subsidies for agricultural products.  The Working Party took 
note of these commitments.] 
148. Samoa's commitments on agricultural tariffs a nd on domestic support and export subsidies for 
agricultural products are contained in the Sc hedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods 
(document WT/ACC/SAM/…/Add.1) annexed to Samo a's draft Protocol of Accession to the WTO. 
- Trade in civil aircraft 
149. The representative of Samoa said that aircraft a nd aircraft parts for the commercial transport 
of persons were exempt from customs duties, while ot her aircraft and aircraft parts were subject to an 
eight per cent duty.  Samoa did not accord tariff exemptions on equipment, parts, or technical supplies 
required for airports in connection with air services. 
- Textiles regime  
150. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa had no specific policies related to textiles.  
Samoa's textile and apparel industry counted only  one exporting industry, which had ceased to operate 
in 2005.  There were only small size garment pr oducers currently manufacturing.  Foreign investors 
were encouraged to invest in this sector. 
V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME 
- GENERAL - Industrial property protection 
151. The representative of Samoa said that intellect ual property was regulated by the Trademarks 
Act 1972, the Industrial Designs Act 1972, the Pate nts Act 1972, and the Copyright Act 1998.  While 
the Copyright Act 1998 complied with WTO TRIPS Regulations, other pieces of legislation would 
have to be revised to be brought into conformity  with the TRIPS Agreement.  His Government was 
receiving technical assistance to this end under th e Regional Focussed Action Plan run jointly by  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 43 
 
 
  WIPO, IP Australia, and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, but additional assistance was needed, 
including training for specialized personnel and the public and awareness programmes. 
152. He accordingly requested that Samoa be granted a transition period until January 2013.  
He proposed an action plan to achieve WTO conform ity, which is reproduced in Table 12.  He added 
that Samoa was seeking technical assistance to ensu re the proper and timely implementation of its 
obligations under the TRIPS Agreement.   
- Responsible agencies for policy formulation and implementation 
153. The representative of Samoa said that respons ibility for formulation and implementation of 
intellectual property policy rested with the Registri es Division of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry 
and Labour. 
- Participation in international intellectual property agreements 
154. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa ha d been a party to the World Intellectual 
Property Organisation (WIPO) since 11 October 1 997.  Samoa had deposited its Instrument of 
Accession to the Berne Convention for the Protecti on of Literary and Artistic Works in April 2006 
and had formally acceded to the Convention on 21 July  2006.  He added that Samoa also intended to 
join the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. 
- Application of national and MF N treatment to foreign nationals 
155. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa a pplied different fees and charges to foreign 
nationals for the registration of trademarks, industria l designs, and patent.  He provided a copy of the 
revised schedule of fees effective since 1 Ju ly 1998 in document WT/ACC/SAM/4/Add.1.   
- SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS OF PROTECTION, INCLUDING PROCEDURES 
FOR THE ACQUISITION AN D MAINTENANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
RIGHTS 
- Copyright and related rights 
156. The representative of Samoa said that the Copyri ght Act had been enacted by the Parliament 
in June 1998 and entered into force on 1 Septembe r 1998.  The Act provided copyright protection to 
literary and artistic works, including books, pamphl ets, articles, computer programmes and other 
writings; speeches, lectures, addresses, sermons, and other oral works; dramas, dramatic-musical 
works, pantomimes, choreographic works and othe r works created for stage productions; folklore WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 44  
 
  stage productions; musical works with or wit hout accompanying words; audio-visual works; 
architectural works; drawing, painting, sculpture, en graving, lithography, tapestry, and other works of 
fine art; photographic works; works of applied art; and illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, and three 
dimensional works relative to geography, topography  architecture or science; and derivative works, 
including databases provided that the data was in read able form and its arrangement original in nature.  
Protection was also granted to performer s, sound producers, and broadcasters. 
157. The Act extended copyright protection to expressions  of folklore, including folk tales, poetry, 
riddles, songs instrumental folk music, folk da nces and plays, production of folk arts such as 
drawings, paintings, carvings, sculptures, pottery , terra-cotta, mosaic, woodwork, metal ware, 
jewellery, handicrafts, costumes and indigenous textiles.  Expressions of folklore were protected 
against reproduction; communication to the public by performance, broadcasting, distribution by 
cable or other means; and adaptation, translati on and other transformation for commercial purposes or 
outside the traditional or customary context.  Folk lore protection applied e qually to non-nationals.  
In response to a question, he said that reproduc tion of folklore for commercial purposes may be 
allowed subject to approval of the owner. 
158. Protection was provided for the lifetime of the author and 75 years after his/her death or the 
death of the last surviving author in the case of jo int authorship.  Copyright was administered by the 
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour.   
159. In response to a specific question, he conf irmed that translations, adaptations and 
arrangements were protected as works, and that protection covered audiovisual works as well as 
published and unpublished works, in accordance with Articles two and three  of the Berne 
Convention.  
160. A Member noted that the Copyright Act 1998 referred to databases as "derivative works", 
which implied that the underlying data was nec essarily protectable, while the TRIPS Agreement 
considered databases as compilations of data who se selection and arrangement should be protected as 
such.  This Member consequently asked Samo a whether additional protection was provided for 
databases under a separate law.  The representative of  Samoa replied that Samoa's legislation did not 
provide for additional protection. 
- Trademarks, including service marks 
161. The representative of Samoa said that trademar ks were protected in accordance with the 
Trademarks Act 1972.  Protection was granted to ma rks with distinctive char acteristics, not causing  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 45 
 
 
  confusion and not contrary to la w or morality.  Application for registration of a mark was to be 
submitted to the IP Registrar of the Ministry of Co mmerce, Industry and Labour.  Decisions to grant a 
trademark were published in Samoa's Official Gazette, Savali.  Any objection had to be sent to the 
Registrar within three months following the date of advertisement.  Upon notification of the objection, 
the applicant had three months to provide a counter  statement, after which the Registrar would take 
the final decision.  Trademark protection was provided for 14 years and could be renewed.  
Applications for renewal were to be submitted wi thin the 12 months preceding the expiration of 
protection.  Trademark rights could be transferre d or assigned with or without agreement of the 
holder.  Samoa's legislation provided for priority re gistration for overseas trademarks.  In such events, 
the date of local registration woul d be the date of entry into force of the overseas registration.   
162. The Trademarks Act did not contain any specific provisions concerning service marks, well-
known marks - although some of them were protected under the Act, or the nullification of protection 
in case of non-use.  However, the Act was being re vised to be brought into conformity with the 
TRIPS Agreement, and explicit provisions on service marks and well-known marks would be 
included.  Samoa was receiving technical assistance from WIPO in this regard. 
- Geographical indications, including appellations of origin 
163. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa had no legislation protecting geographical 
indications, including appellations of origin.  He noted, however, that legislation on geographical 
indications had been drafted.  The draft was aw aiting final comments from the Attorney General's 
Office before submission to the Cabinet.  Parliamentary passage was expected by the end of 2009.  
In response to a question, he noted that Samoa wi shed to protect ava Samoa, nonu (or noni), elei 
prints, and vailima brand. 
- Industrial designs 
164. The representative of Samoa sai d that industrial designs were  protected under the Industrial 
Designs Act 1972.  Only new industrial designs filed for the first time in Samoa, and which had not 
been disclosed to the public during the six months  preceding the filing, could be registered under 
the Act.  Applications for registration were to be  submitted to the IP Registrar of the Ministry of 
Commerce, Industry and Labour and should includ e a specimen of the object incorporating the 
industrial design or a photographic or graphic re presentation of the industrial design, along with 
information about the kind of products for which the industrial design would be used.  Protection 
could be provided to joint creators of industrial designs and their successors.  Priority claims for 
industrial designs already filed in another country were to be accompanied by a written declaration WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 46  
 
  specifying the date and reference of the earlier application; the name of the country in which the 
industrial design had already been registered; the name of the applicant; and a certified copy of the 
previous application.  Protection was provided for five years and could be renewed twice.  
The Minister could suspend the registration requ irement, for nationals from countries granting 
reciprocal treatment to Samoan nationals.  He acknow ledged that this provision was inconsistent with 
the MFN principle of the WTO.  
165. The holder had the right to request the competent authority to take civil action against illicit 
reproduction of the protected industrial design in the manufacturing of a product; importation, sale, 
and use of a product reproducing the industrial design; and the possession of such a product for sale 
purposes or simple use.  Industrial designs could be  assigned, transferred by succession, or licensed.  
Joint owners could transfer, use, and exercise thei r rights separately, but licenses had to be granted 
jointly.  Licence contracts and modifications or re newals of licence contracts involving the payment 
of royalties abroad had to be approved by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Labour.  The owner could renounce the registration of an industrial design by submitting a statutory 
declaration to the Registrar, which had to be comp lemented, in the event a licence had been granted, 
by the licensee's declaration of consent.  Should th e conditions for protection not be met, the Supreme 
Court could declare the registration of an industria l design null and void from the date of registration. 
- Patents 
166. The representative of Samoa said that patents we re protected in accordance with the Patents 
Act 1972.  The Act afforded patent protection to ne w and useful inventions - new inventions were 
inventions involving a new manufacturing technique, a new application method, or improvements to a 
known process.  Applications for a patent were to  be submitted to the Intellectual Property Registrar 
of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour.  Information to be provided included a description 
of the invention and of the best method for perfo rming the invention.  Protection was granted for 
16 years.  During the examination of the application, the inventor could request a provisional 
certificate from the Attorney General to protect the invention.  Provisional certificates were valid for 
12 months.  The patent holder had the exclusive right  to use, sell, or authorize others to use the 
invention.  Patents could be assigned and transferred. 
167. A Member noted that the term of protection of 16 years provided for in Samoa's patent 
legislation was inconsistent with Article XXXIII of  the TRIPS Agreement, which set that term at 
20 years.  In reply, the representative of Samoa said that his Government would review the Patents Act 1972 to bring it into conformity with the TRIPS Agreement.    WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 47 
 
 
  - Plant variety protection 
168. The representative of Samoa recognised th at plant varieties, non-biological and 
microbiological processes were not protected under current legislation.   
- Layout designs of integrated circuits  
169. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa's existing intellectual pr operty legislation did 
not protect layout designs of integrated circuits.   
- Requirements on undisclosed information,  including trade secrets and test data 
170. The representative of Samoa said that undisclosed information and trade secrets were not 
covered by Samoa's current inte llectual property provisions.  
- MEASURES TO CONTROL ABUSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS  
171. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa had no specific provisions to control abuse of 
intellectual property rights.  
- ENFORCEMENT 
172. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa's in tellectual property legislation needed to be 
amended to include provisions on civil procedures and remedies, provisional measures, administrative 
procedures and remedies, special border measures, a nd criminal penalties that would comply with the 
enforcement provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.   The proposed amendments would provide for 
judicial review of administrative decisions concerni ng intellectual property and give customs officials 
the authority to prohibit importation of goods viola ting intellectual property rights.  Further measures 
envisaged by his Government included the computerization of the filing system of intellectual 
property applications and the establis hment of an agency to enforce th e rights of copyright holders.  
Training of enforcement officers, judges and techni cal staff was being conducted with the assistance 
of WIPO and other international organizations. 
173. Under Samoa's current intellectual property legi slation, i.e., the Trademarks Act 1972, the 
Patents Act 1972, the Industrial Designs Act 1972,  and the Copyright Act 1998, an action against 
infringement of intellectual property rights could be engaged on the basis of a suit or a claim filed by 
the right holder to the Supreme Court.  A notice wo uld be sent to the party against which the claim 
was filed and the Court would organize a hearing.  Existing remedies included compensation for 
material and moral damages, destruction of infri nging goods and/or implements, or their disposal WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 48  
 
  outside the channel of commerce.  Repeated in fringements were punishable with fines up to 
SAT 5,000 (US$1,637.5).  Persons falsely claiming a patent invention risked a fine up to SAT 1,000 
(US$327.5) and the sale of pretended patented goods was subject to a fine up to SAT 250 (US$81.87).  
The false representation of a trademark was punish able with a fine up to SAT 200 (US$65.5).  
He added that the provisions of the Criminal Pro cedures Act 1972 also applied to the infringement of 
intellectual property rights. 
174. The Ministry for Revenue was responsible fo r the control of imported goods and had the 
power to suspend the release of suspected ille gal goods and seize infringing goods.  The Police 
Department had the authority to seize infringing goods, and the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration liaised with the Police and Ministry  for Revenue in cases of known infringement to 
ensure that appropriate action was taken. 
175. Importation of goods violating copyright and trademark property rights was prohibited.  
The Customs Ordinance 1977 provided customs official s with the authority to suspend the release of 
goods suspected to infringe copyright laws, and th e Copyright Act 1998 conferred the Supreme Court 
power to issue injunctions to order a party to stop an infringement of copyright or order the seizure or 
destruction of the infringing goods and/or implements.  In response to a specific question, the 
representative of Samoa confirmed that goods in fringing patent rights were prohibited from 
importation. 
176. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that the terms of its accession did not preclude 
access of Samoa and LDCs to the benefits under th e Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and 
Public Health (WT/MIN/(03)/SR/4). The Work ing Party took note of this commitment.] 
VI. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES 
177. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa's ser vices industry was still at a very early stage 
of development.  The liberalization and privati zation engaged by the Government had led to a 
diversification of the economy, and a gradual expansi on of the services sector was to be expected.  
However, the regulatory framework was still under-developed and needed updating.  Samoa's 
legislation did not contain specific provisions con cerning safeguard measures, international payments, 
or government procurement of services; aid affecting trade in services; or the review of, or remedies 
in relation to, administrative decisions related to trade in services.  Many services were not yet 
regulated or subject to little regulation.  He provided information based on the services sectoral 
classification list in document WT/ACC/SAM/2, Annex 3.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 49 
 
 
  178. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour  was responsible for implementing policies 
related to services sectors and acted as Samoa's enqui ry point.  The enquiry point could be contacted 
at: 
Chief Executive Officer 
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour  PO Box 862 
Apia, SAMOA 
Tel: (0685) 20411 / 20882 Fax: (0685) 20443 
Email: ltsimi@mcil.gov.ws
 
179. Formulation of services policies and legislativ e amendments, previously within the Inter-
Departmental Committee (IDC), we re now dealt with by the Co mmerce and Industry Development 
Board.  As for the setting of professional and trad e standards for the supply of services, they were 
developed in coordination with the Society of Accountants (Public Accountants Act 1984); the Law 
Society (Law Practitioners Act 1976); the Medica l Association (Medical Practitioners Act 1975, 
as amended in 1975 and 1977); the Nurses Associ ation (Nurses Act 1969, as amended in 1969 
and 1981); and the Dental Society (Dental Practitioners Act 1975).   
180. Samoa's services legislation fully complied with the most-favoured-nation principle, with the 
exception of the Pharmacy Act 1976.  The latter was be ing revised to be brought into conformity with 
GATS provisions.  The Act was awaiting parliamentar y passage.  Access of foreign service suppliers 
to the services sectors mentioned in the Reserved and Restricted list of activities developed under the 
Foreign Investment Act 2000 was prohibited or s ubject to conditions, which could include the 
mandatory establishment of a joint-venture with Sa moan nationals, employment of national citizens, 
or limitations on the participation of foreign capital.   He confirmed that apart from these provisions, 
domestic and foreign services supp liers enjoyed similar rights. 
181. Noting that Samoa delivered work permits to foreign workers if skills were not available 
locally, a Member asked Samoa to specify whether it allowed temporary entry and movement of 
natural persons to supply services or applied an y restrictions on the supply of services through 
Mode 2, i.e., consumption abroad.  In response, th e representative of Samoa said that pursuant to the 
Immigration Act 2004, foreign workers wishing to do business in Samoa without taking up 
employment could be granted simple- or multiple-ent ry visitor permits to enter Samoa for a period of 
up to 60 days or, alternatively, temporary resident permits for up to three years.  Permanent residency 
permits were also available by application.  Foreign persons seeking employment in Samoa were 
required to apply to the Minister of Immigration to be granted an entry permit.  The application was transmitted to the CEO of the Ministry of Commerc e, Industry and Labour for assessment.  Features 
taken into account included the nature of the propos ed employment and any technical or professional WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 50  
 
  requirements involved; the likelihood of a citizen or person holding a perm anent resident permit 
having the required skills; Samoa's interests; a nd any other matter determined by the CEO.  
The decision to grant an entry permit was made by the Minister, upon recommendation of the CEO or, 
if not available, taking into account the requirement s of the Immigration Act.  Under the Act, entry 
permits to undertake employment in Samoa ha d been granted for a wide range of reasons. 
182. Economic needs tests were required for the est ablishment of insurance companies and the 
delivery of banking licenses under the Insurance Ac t 1976 and the Financial Institutions Act 1996.  
He noted, however, that a new Insurance Bill ha d been adopted in 2007.  The Bill removed the 
obligation to conduct an economic needs text before  issuing an insurance licence.  Providers of 
environmental services were selected  by a committee appointed on an ad hoc basis and composed of 
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Finance, and the parties involved 
in the subject matter.  He noted that all Govern ment projects and aid-funded projects had to go 
through a tender process.  Calls for tender were pub lished in the Official gazette (Savali) and local 
newspapers.  The best bid was selected.  Proposals we re open to everyone.  He confirmed that foreign 
and local bidders were subject to the same pro cedures.  As for companies of the petroleum, 
communication, water, and electricity sectors, they enjoyed monopoly or exclusive contract status.  
As Samoa's market was too small to support more th an one oil supplier, Mobil had been granted an 
exclusive five-year contract in 1998 to supply and distribute petroleum products in Samoa following a competitive tendering process.  A new competitive pr ocess had been carried out upon expiration of 
the contract and [name] was now the new supplie r of petroleum products.  In the communication 
sector, SamoaTel, formerly known as Samoa Co mmunication Ltd, had the right to provide 
telecommunication services exclusively for Samoa for a period of ten years (1999-2009).  However, a new policy and regulatory framework set up under the sector reform project foresaw a possible opening of the market for fixed telephone as we ll as other telecommunications services after 
June 2009. As for Samoa Water Authority and Elect ric Power Corporation, they enjoyed a monopoly 
position.  These two companies did not, however, make an y profit, as part of their activity consisted in 
carrying out non-commercially viable social functio ns.  He added that, while the Electric Power 
Corporation was the sole supplier of electricity throughout Samoa, Samoa's legislation did not limit 
access to the electricity market. 
183. A number of State-owned enterprises of the services sector were granted subsidies.  
In 2000/2001, the Electric Corporation had r eceived SAT 6.1 million (US$2 million) for rural 
electrification; the Water Authority SAT 6.1 million (US$2 million) as a contribution to a Rural Water Supply Improvement Project funded through the European Development Fund; Televise Samoa 
SAT 0.6 million (US$0.2 million) for public servi ce broadcasting; and Housing Corporation and  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 51 
 
 
  Polynesian Airlines SAT 0.4 and 8.8 million (US$0. 13 and 2.88 million) respectively as repayment of 
former debts.  The Electric Corporation, Devel opment Bank of Samoa, and Water Authority also 
benefited from preferred credit arrangements finan ced through funds originating primarily from the 
Asian Development Bank, World Bank,  and European Investment Bank. 
184. The insurance sector was regulated by the Insurance Act 1976, but a new Act had been 
adopted in 2007.  The Bill had removed the require ment to conduct an economic needs test before 
issuing an insurance licence.  The Minister of Fi nance, also acting as Commissioner of Insurance, had 
the sole authority to deliver insurance licenses.  Licenses were granted to any legal entity, whether 
local or foreign, which satisfied the licensing re quirements of the Insurance Act and "carried out 
business in Samoa" in accordance with the Comp anies Act 1955 - or its revised provisions under 
discussion.  A foreign company was considered to " carry out business in Samoa" if it administered or 
managed property in Samoa as an agent, a representa tive, or a trustee, either through its employees or 
an agent, or in any other manner. 
185. Samoa's financial sector was governed by the Financial Institutions Act 1996, which set out 
prudential and licensing requirements for banks.  Th ere were no barriers to the entry of commercial 
banks, foreign or local, into Samoa's market, but banks were required to hold a licence.  Banking 
licenses were issued by the Centra l Bank subject to an economic needs test.  Features taken into 
account included the need for and viability of th e proposed institution; its capital structure and 
financial capacity; the qualification of the applican t, major stakeholders, and managers; the proposed 
accounting and internal control system; and proposed activities.  He added that these provisions 
mirrored the Bank for International Settlement's Core  Principles for Effective Banking Supervision.  
Foreign institutions were subject to the same  prudential and licensing requirements as domestic 
institutions.  When issuing licen ses to foreign institutions, the Central Bank had regard for the 
institution's international reputa tion and its demonstrated capacity and stability in a competitive 
environment. The sector counted four commercial ba nks and some financial agencies specialized in 
foreign exchange and money transfer businesses. The liberalization of Samoa's financial sector had 
led to the establishment of new companies, including a number of small finance companies.  New services such as ATMs a nd EFTPOS had been introduced to better serve the public.  Money 
broking services were not available in Samoa. All other financial services were provided by the 
private sector or semi-Government bodies such as  the National Provident Fund, the Development 
Bank of Samoa, and the Housing Corporation.  There were no restrictions on the ability of non-
residents to supply or transfer financial informati on, cross-border and financial data processing, or 
other auxiliary services.  The opening , by a licensed financial institution, of a branch or subsidiary 
outside Samoa required Central Bank approval. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 52  
 
  186. Legal services were regulated by the Law Pr actitioners Act 1976.  According to the Act, 
foreign lawyers were allowed to practice as barristers or solicitors at the Supreme Court of Samoa for 
a period of six years maximum, provided they were over 21 years old and held a professional degree 
from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, or some states of the United States.  Lawyers from other countries 
had to apply to the Law Society, which was res ponsible under the Law Practitioners Act for protecting 
the interests of the legal profession and the public in  relation to legal matters .  Upon expiration of the 
six-year period, lawyers wishing to stay had to file a new application to the Law Society.  Lawyers 
with three years of experience could establish part nerships with Samoan lawyers.  Most foreign 
lawyers admitted on a temporary basis had come for a particular case and returned to their home country once the case was settled.  No foreign la wyer had been permitted to establish practice on 
his/her own.  In response to a specific question concerning the rationale of the restriction applied to 
legal practice in Samoa and whether this restri ction applied to the provision of advice on home 
country and international law or solely on Samoan  law, the representative of Samoa said that the 
policy according to which foreign lawyers were required to file a new application after six years aimed at maintaining the standards of the local ba r by ensuring that fore ign lawyers who did not 
practice regularly in Samoa were "fit and res ponsible practitioners".  He noted that the Law 
Practitioners Act 1976 was silent on the procedures to  be followed for subse quent applications.  
Hence, it could be argued that the same factors we re taken into account.  Foreign lawyers routinely 
practiced in Samoa and provided advice depending on the needs of their client.  The requirement to 
establish a partnership with a local lawyer was m eant to facilitate the processing of legal cases.   
187. Pursuant to the Public Accountant Act 1984, any person wishing to practice as an accountant 
in Samoa had to be admitted by the Council as a me mber of the Samoan Society of Accountants.  
The Council recognized the qualifications from professional bodies in eight countries, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, New Zealand,  Scotland, Wales, and the United Kingdom.  
Applications from other countries were considered on  their own merits.  Membership in the Society 
was open only to Samoan citizens or permanent residents over 21 years old satisfying the professional and academic requirements set out in the Rules of the Society (i.e., hold an academic bachelor in 
accounting, have passed the final ex am of the Samoa Institute of Accountants, and have three years of 
work experience).  Overseas accountants who were  not members of the Society could nevertheless 
practice accounting in Samoa, including audit, provide d they held a temporary practising certificate.  
Temporary practising certificates were delivered by the Council to members of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants upon payment of the Samoa Society of Accountants' fee -
 SAT 3,000 (US$982.5) in 2008.  Temporary practisi ng certificates were valid for one year and could 
be renewed four times.  After five years, the licensee had to apply for a new certificate.   WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 53 
 
 
  188. A reform of the telecommunications and posta l sector had been launched in 2003.  A new 
Telecommunications Act, which aimed at fosteri ng competition in the telecommunications sector, had 
entered into force in July 2005.  The Act foresaw the establishm ent an independent regulator.  
The Office of the Regulator had been effectiv ely set up in July 2006.  The Ministry of 
Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) was responsible for formulating 
telecommunications policies, and the Office of th e Regulator was in charge of regulating and 
implementing such policies.  He added that SamoaTel had been given a ten-year exclusive licence 
until 30 June 2009 to provide postal and tele communications services (fixed telephony and 
international calls) previously provided by th e old Post and Telecommunications Department.  
SamoaTel was the only de jure  fixed line provider.  However, under the Telecommunications Act 
2005, SamoaTel's exclusivity would be ended after J une 2009.  The Government had also agreed to 
give up SamoaTel's exclusive right to the intern ational gateway by allowing Telecom Samoa Cellular 
Ltd (TSCL) to have its own gatewa y as of 1 January 2007.  With regard to mobile services, he noted 
that his Government had issued two licenses to TCSL and SamoaTel to provide cellular telephone 
services using the GSM technology.  In 1997, TSCL had been given an exclusive ten year licence to 
provide cellular telephone services using the TDMA t echnology.  Negotiations with the Government 
had led to the opening up of the mobile market to include SamoaTel.  There was no economic needs test required.   
189. Audiovisual services were regulated by the Broadcasting Ordinance 1959.  Corporatization of 
the former Broadcasting Department had been authorised under the Samoa Broadcasting Act 2003 
and had led to the establishment of the Samoa Broa dcasting Corporation (SBC).  The Film Control 
Board within the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration issued licenses relating to the content 
of television broadcast services.  The Ministry of Communications and In formation Technology was 
now the licensing authority for broadcasting se rvices following the corporatization of the 
Broadcasting Department in 2003.  For television br oadcasting (whether free to air or commercial/pay 
television) services, a censorship fee of SAT 5000 (US$1,637.5) had to be paid and presented 
to MCIT before a licence to broadcast could be gr anted.  MCIT was in the process of finalising a 
National Broadcasting Policy aimed at formula ting strategies and measures to ensure that 
broadcasting services were available to all Samoans. 
190. Samoa's specific commitments on services are contained in the Schedule of Specific 
Commitments on Services (document WT/ACC/SAM/…/ Add.2) annexed to Samoa's draft Protocol 
of Accession to the WTO. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 54  
 
  VII. TRANSPARENCY 
- Publication of information on trade 
191. The representative of Samoa said that Standing Or der 70 of Parliament required any bill to be 
announced in the Official Gazette (Savali), other lo cal newspapers, or on Radio 2AP at least one to 
seven days before it was introduced in Parliament.  Parliamentary proceedings were broadcasted live.  
There was no legal requirement for further publicatio n of newly adopted Acts, but copies were sent to 
all members of the Parliament and heads of Gove rnment Departments, as well as to the Council of 
Deputies and the Honourable Chief Justice.  Lists of  enacted legislation were published in the Gazette 
and copies of Acts could be purchased from the Legi slative Assembly.  When Acts required an order 
to be brought into force, the order was published in  all local newspapers.  Ministers' administrative 
decisions were published in the Government's pr ess releases and other publications, and customs 
procedures and regulations were available to privat e sector stakeholders through the Customs Public 
Circulars.  Measures were under consideration to im prove transparency requirements.  In particular, 
his Government was negotiating with the University  of the South Pacific to licence the posting of 
legislation on the Internet and had received appr oval from the Supreme Court to publish and put on 
the Internet all significant judicial decisions.   
192. Invited to explore the possibility of establishi ng a unified publication point or website where 
regulations on WTO issues would be published pr ior to implementation for public review and 
comment, the representative of Samoa noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had its 
own website.  However, Internet pe netration was only 2 per cent.  Current practice was therefore to 
send draft regulations directly to private organiza tions for comment.  A notice could be published in 
the local newspaper for wider consultations. 
193. [The representative of Samoa confirmed that from the date of its accession, Samoa would 
implement the transparency provisions of the WTO, including the provisions of Article X of 
the GATT 1994, in particular the requirement that  all laws, regulations, judicial decisions and 
administrative rulings of general application, made effective by any contracting party, pertaining to 
the classification or the valuation of products for cu stoms purposes, or to rates of duty, taxes or other 
charges, or to requirements, restrictions, or prohi bitions on imports or exports or on the transfer of 
payments therefore, or affecting their sale, dist ribution, transportation, insurance, warehousing, 
inspection, exhibition, processing, mi xing or other use, sha ll be published promptly in such a manner 
as to enable governments and traders to become acq uainted with them.  The Working Party took note 
of this commitment.] [The representative of Samoa confirmed that from the date of its accession, Samoa would fully and promptly implement the transparency provisions of the WTO requiring  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 55 
 
 
  notification and publication, including the provisions of Article X of the GATT 1994.  He further 
confirmed that no law, regulation, judicial deci sion administrative rulings and other measures of 
general application pertaining to or affecting tr ade in goods, services, and TRIPS, would become 
effective prior to its publication.  The publicati on of such laws, regulations and other measures would 
include the effective date of these measures and li st the products and/or services affected by the 
particular measure.  He stated further that Samoa in tended to establish or designate an official journal 
or web-site, published or updated on a regular basis and readily available to WTO Members, 
individuals and enterprises, dedicated to the publ ication of all regulations and other measures 
pertaining to or affecting trade in goods, services, a nd TRIPS prior to implementation, and that Samoa 
intended to provide a reasonable period, e.g. no l ess than 30 days, for comment to the appropriate 
authorities of Samoa before such measures are impl emented, except for those regulations and other 
measures of general application involving natio nal emergency or security, or for which the 
publication would impede law enforcement or be othe rwise contrary to the public interest or prejudice 
the commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.  Samoa intended to implement 
this facility as soon as possible, and within the timeframe of its other WTO commitments. 
The Working Party took note of this commitment.] 
- Notifications 
[to be completed] 
VIII. TRADE AGREEMENTS 
194. The representative of Samoa said that Samoa was a member of the Asian Development Bank; 
the International Bank for Rec onstruction and Development; th e International Development 
Association; the International Finance Corporati on; the International Monetary Fund; the Food and 
Agriculture Organisation; and the Economic a nd Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific 
(ESCAP), established by the United Nations Econo mic and Social Council to facilitate economic 
cooperation.  The ESCAP Pacific Operations Cent re provided technical assistance to the Pacific 
Region.  Samoa also participated in a number of economic programmes of the United Nations and 
technical assistance activities of the Asian Productiv ity Organization; the United Nations Conference 
on Trade and Development; the International Tr ade Centre; and the United Nations Industrial 
Development Organization. 
195. At the regional level, Samoa was a member of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), 
a political grouping of independent and self-governing states of the Pacific region established in 1971 to develop collective responses to regional issues.  The 16 members of the Forum included Australia, WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 56  
 
  Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, F iji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, 
Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, So lomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.  
The Forum Secretariat, located in Suva, Fiji,  was responsible for providing policy advice and 
coordinating programmes.  The Forum had establishe d partnerships to discuss economic issues with 
Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European  Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, 
the United Kingdom, and the United States.  Samoa al so participated in the South-Pacific Economic 
Exchange Support Centre - or Pacific Islands Centre -, and the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment 
Commission (PITIC).  Established in October 1996 in  Tokyo, Japan, the Pacifi c Islands Centre aimed 
at promoting trade, investment, and tourism between Japan and the Pacific Islands.  As to the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission, it had th ree offices in Sydney (Australia), Beijing (China), 
and Auckland (New Zealand), which assisted Fo rum Island countries with export development, 
foreign investment, tourism, and co st effective import procurement. 
196. Samoa also participated in the Pacific Isla nd Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA).  Members 
of the PICTA included Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Salomon Islands, Samoa and Tonga.  
The PICTA had come into force in April 2003 and provided for the gradual phasing out of tariff 
preferences among its members by 1 January 2015.  Under the PICTA and Samoa's PICTA 
regulations, which had become effective on 25 July  2006, Samoa applied preferential duty rates to 
PICTA Members since 1 January 2008.  The PICTA aimed at encouraging investment, specialization and greater efficiency in Forum Island Countries' economies, thereby improving consumer welfare.  
He noted that although Forum Island Countries repr esented a significant market, the level of trade 
among them was very low, due to geographical constr aints and poor transportation links.  As a result, 
the Agreement was expected to initially deliver only small economic benefits to its members. 
197. Samoa also benefited from trade preferences unde r several Agreements.  Samoa was a party 
to the South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic  Cooperation Agreement (SPARTECA), which had 
entered into force on 1 January 1981.  The SPA RTECA was a preferential non-reciprocal trade 
agreement whereby Australia and New Zealand ex tended duty free and unrestricted or concessional 
access for virtually all products originating from the Forum Island Members, i.e., Cook Islands, 
the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, 
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanua tu.  The Agreement aimed at promoting the 
economic development of the Foru m Island countries through economic, industrial, agricultural and 
technical cooperation.  Samoa was also a signatory  of the Lomé Convention between the European 
Communities (EC) and 70 countries in Africa, the Ca ribbean, and the Pacific (ACP) whereby the EC 
granted non-reciprocal free access to the Europ ean market for almost all products from ACP 
countries.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 57 
 
 
  198. Samoa had participated in the Regional Suga r Agreement, which had run from 1995 to 1998 
and was now suspended for an inde finite period.  Under the Agreem ent, Fiji had supplied agreed 
quantities of sugar to Kiribati, So lomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Sa moa at pre-determined prices.  
The agreed quantities were indicative and did not c onstitute an obligation to buy or sell.  Sugar 
imported under the Agreement could not be re-exported.  The Agreement had been administered by 
the Forum Secretariat. 
199. Samoa had signed a bilateral trade agreement with the People's Republic of China in 
March 1997 granting reciprocal most-favoured-nation tr eatment for trade in goods .  He confirmed that 
none of Samoa's preferential trade agreements covered trade in services. 
200. As to labour market integration, Samoa had signed a bilateral agreement with New Zealand 
in 1970, under which a certain number of Samoans we re permitted to take up permanent residency in 
New Zealand and apply for citizenship upon arrival, provided they were between 18 and 45 years old, 
had an employment offer in New Z ealand, and met the standard health and character requirements.  
The immigration quota had been set at 1,100 per year since the early 1980s. 
201. [The representative of Samoa stated that his G overnment would observe the provisions of the 
WTO, including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and Article V of the GATS in its trade agreements, 
and would ensure that the provisions of the WTO Ag reements for notification,  consultation and other 
requirements concerning preferential trading systems, free trade areas and customs unions of which Samoa was a member were met from the date of accession.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment.]  
CONCLUSIONS 
202. The Working Party took note of the explanations and statements of Samoa concerning its 
foreign trade regime, as reflected in this Draft Report.  The Working Party took note of the 
commitments given by Samoa in relation to certain specific matters which are reproduced in 
paragraphs [... and ...] of this Draft Report.  Th e Working Party took note that these commitments had 
been incorporated in paragraph two of the Draf t Protocol of Accession of Samoa to the WTO. 
203. Having carried out the examination of the foreign trade regime of Samoa and in the light of 
the explanations, commitments and concessions made  by the representative of Samoa, the Working 
Party reached the conclusion that Samoa be in vited to accede to the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the WTO under the provisions of Article XII.  For this purpose, the Working Party has prepared the draft Decision and Protocol of Accessi on reproduced in the Appendix to this Report, and WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 58  
 
  takes note of Samoa's Schedule of Concessi ons and Commitments on Goods (document 
WT/ACC/SAM/../Add.1) and its Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services (document 
WT/ACC/SAM/../Add.2) that are annexed to the draft Protocol.  It is proposed that these texts be 
adopted by the [General Council] [Ministerial C onference] when it adopts the Report.  When the 
Decision is adopted, the Protocol of Accession w ould be open for acceptance by Samoa which would 
become a Member thirty days after it accepts the sa id Protocol.  The Working Party agreed, therefore, 
that it had completed its work concerning the negotiations for the accession of Samoa to the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.    WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 59 
 
 
  ANNEX 1 
Laws, Regulations and Other Information Provided to the Working Party by Samoa  
 
- Central Bank of Samoa Act 1984; 
- Income Tax Act 1974; 
- Income Tax Administration Act 1974; 
- Income Tax Rate Act 1974; 
- Foreign Exchange Levy Repeal Act 1998; 
- Exchange Control Regulations 1999; 
- Immigration Act 1966; 
- Permits and Passports Act 1978; 
- Alienation of Customary Land Act 1965; 
- Alienation of Freehold Land 1972; 
- Companies Act 1987; 
- Partnership Act 1975; 
- Trustee Companies Act 1987 
- International Companies Act 1988; 
- International Trusts Act 1987; 
- International Partnerships and Limited Partnerships Act 1998; 
- Labour and Employment Amendment Act 1999; 
- Foreign Investment Act 2000; 
- Public Monies Act 1964; 
- Water Act 1965; 
- Water Authority Act 1993/94; 
- Electric Power Corporation Act 1980; 
- Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry, Samoa Price Board, Percentage Price Control 
Order of 1 March 1999, No. 1 Analysis; 
- Maximum Percentage Control Ma rk-Up List (certain goods); 
- Fair Trading Act 1998; 
- Consumer Information Act 1989; 
- Sale of Goods Act 1975; 
- Business Licenses Act 1998 
- Customs Tariff Act 1975; 
- Customs Act 1977; 
- Customs and Excise Amendment 1993; 
- Customs Amendment Act 1998; 
- Customs Amendment Regulations 1998 (Customs Fees); 
- Customs Amendment Act 2007; 
- Customs Tariff Amendment Act 1998; 
- Combined Working Tariff and Statis tical Nomenclature (August 1999); 
- Customs Department Circular No. 9/98 "Penalty Provisions - Customs Act"; 
- Fines Act (Review and Amendment) No. 24 of 1998; 
- Petroleum Act 1984; 
- Indecent Publications Ordinance 1960; 
- Poisons Act 1968; 
- Arms Ordinance 1960; 
- Samoa Antiquities Ordinance 1954; 
- Value Added Goods and Services Tax Act 1992/93; 
- Value Added Goods and Serv ices Tax Amendment Act 2006; 
- Excise Tax (Domestic Administration) Act 1984; 
- Excise Tax (Import Administration) Act 1984; WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 60  
 
  - Excise Tax Rates Act 1984; 
- Excise Tax Rate Amendment Act 1998; 
- Excise Tax (Domestic Administration) Amendment Act 1998; 
- Excise Tax Rates Amendment Act 2006 
- Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries Ordinance 1959; 
- Plant and Soils Importation (Disease Contro l) Ordinance 1950 and Regulations 1951; 
- Quarantine (Biosecurity) Act 2005; 
- Animals Ordinance 1960; 
- Animals (Protection of Wild Birds) Regulations 1981; 
- Noxious Weeds Act 1961; 
- Rhinoceros Beetle Ordinance 1954; 
- The Bunchytop Ordinance 1965; 
- Cocoa Disease Ordinance 1961; 
- Beverage Containers Tax Repeal Act 1998; 
- Food and Drugs Act 1967; 
- Copyright Act 1998; 
- Trademarks Act 1972; 
- Trademark Acts 1972 Second Schedule "List of Fees Payable"; 
- Industrial Designs Act 1972; 
- Industrial Designs Act 1972 "Schedule of Fees"; 
- Patents Act 1972; 
- Patents Act 1972 Sixth Schedule "Schedule of Fees"; 
- Law Practitioners Act 1976; 
- Public Accountants Act 1984; 
- Medical Practitioners Act 1975; 
- Pharmacy Act 1976; 
- Dental Practitioners Act 1975; 
- Post Office Act 1972; 
- Post Office Amendment Act 2004; 
- Telecommunications Corporation Act 1984; 
- Telecommunications Act 2005; 
- Broadcasting Ordinance 1959; 
- Televise Samoa Corporation Act 1994; 
- Film Control Act 1978; 
- Samoa Institute of Accountants Act 2006; 
- Banking Ordinance 1960; 
- International Banking Act 2005; 
- Offshore Banking Act 1987; 
- Insurance Act 1976; 
- International Insurance Act 1988; 
- Financial Institution Act 1996; 
- Samoa International Finance Authority Act 2005; 
- Civil Aviation Act 1998; 
- Shipping Act 1998; 
- Schedules one and two of the Narcotics Act 1967; and 
- Immigration Act 2004. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 61 
 
 
  ANNEX 2  
Table 1: List of Samoa's State-Owned Enterprises, Government Investments, and State-Owned Bodies  
(as of June 2007)  
 
Table 1(a):  State-Owned Enterprises and Government Investments  
 Formed 
under Act 
of 
Parliament Formed 
under the 
Private 
Companies 
Act %ge of 
Government 
Shares Business Description Comment Competitor 
State-Owned Enterprises 
Agriculture 
Store x  100% Agriculture Supplies 
/ equipment; banana 
exports. 
Agricultural 
pesticides and tools 
used for farming; 
hardware items. Candidate for 
privatization. 1 local 
competitor in 
farm supplies 
(Farm Supplies 
Ltd). 
Electric 
Power 
Corporation x  100% Electric Power-
Generation, 
transmission 
distribution and sale 
of electricity. Electricity 
Generation will be opened to the 
private sector 
over the next 2 years. Natural 
monopoly. The EPC Act 1980 
does not 
prohibit competition. 
Polynesian 
Airlines Ltd  x 100% Commercial inter-
island airline. 
Air travel between Samoa and American 
Samoa. Candidate for 
privatization. 2 competitors: 
Samoa Express 
and Inter-
Island Air. 
Samoa Broadcasting 
Corporation   100% Television and radio 
services Will be privatised 
by end 2008. Television 
services 
competitors: 
TV3 and 
Laufou Station; 
Radio 
competitor: 
Radio 
Polynesia Ltd. 
SamoaTel  x 100% Telecommunications.
Provision of fixed-
line telephone, 
mobile and internet 
services. Will be privatized 
within the next 2 
years.  (By 
30 June 2009). Monopoly for 
fixed line 
telephone 
services; 
Mobile 
services competitor: 
Digicel; 
Internet services 
competitor: 
Computer Services Ltd, 
iPasifika.net; 
LeSamoa.net. 
Samoa Shipping 
Corporation x  100% Ferry Services. 
Provision of inter-
island sea transport 
between Upolu and Savaii. Strategic business 
of Government. No plans to 
privatize. No 
competitors. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 62  
 
   Formed 
under Act 
of 
Parliament Formed 
under the 
Private 
Companies 
Act %ge of 
Government 
Shares Business Description Comment Competitor 
Samoa 
Shipping 
Services  x 100% Contracting of crew 
for cargo vessels. 
Freight agency, seafarer / crew 
management services 
and management of 
the MV Forum 
Samoa II vessel 
(currently chartered 
by the Pacific Forum 
Line). Candidate for 
privatization 
(within the next 2 
years). Freight 
services 
competitors: Betham 
Brothers 
Enterprises, 
Transam, 
Pacific Forum 
Line, Apia 
Haulage (and 
other small 
local freight 
companies). No 
local 
competition in 
seafarer / crew 
management. 
Samoa 
Water 
Authority x  100% Water supply. 
Harvest, treat and reticulate water 
supply throughout 
Samoa. Strategic business 
of Government.  No plans to 
privatize. Natural 
monopoly - open to 
competition. 
No direct competition.  
Some rural 
communities 
operate their 
own water supply.  Note: 
there are many 
local bottled water business 
operators. 
Government Investments 
Polynesian Blue  x 49% Commercial Airline 
services   
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 63 
 
 
  Table 1(b): State-Owned Bodies  
 
 Formed under 
Act of 
Parliament Formed under 
the Private 
Companies Act GoS % of 
Shares Business Description 
Accident 
Compensation Board x  Mutual 
(0%)1 Levy Collection; Compensation 
Payments 
Airport Authority x  100% Airport management 
Apia Park Board x  100% Park 
Development Bank of 
Samoa x  100% Small Business/Agriculture 
development loans 
Housing Corporation x  100% Housing loans 
National Provident 
Fund x  Mutual 
(0%)1 Super - annuation fund; business 
and home loans 
National University of Samoa x  100% Tertiary Education 
Samoa Ports Authority x  100% Ports 
Samoa Land 
Corporation x  100% Sale/Lease of former WSTEC 
land 
Samoa Life Assurance Corp. x  Mutual 
(0%)
1 Life assurance; mortgage 
borrowing 
Samoa Qualifications 
Authority x  100% Education 
Samoa Trust Estates 
Corp. x  100% Cattle and copra production 
Samoa Tourism 
Authority x  100% Tourism 
Public Trust Office x  100% Will making and administer 
estates 
Research and 
Development  Institute of Samoa  x  100% Scientific and agricultural 
research 
Samoa Fire and 
Emergencies Authority x  100% Fire suppression and emergencies 
services 
  
                                                      
1 These Mutual Entities are owned by Policy holders/con tributors to these entities.  However, they are 
monitored and controlled by Government under their empowering legislations and Public Bodies (Performance 
and Accountability) Act 2001. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 64  
 
  Table 2:  Corporatization and Privatization (1998 - 2007)
 
 
Completed Privatization/Equity Divestment 
i. Bank of Western Samoa (now ANZ 
Bank) sold in 1994; 
ii. Divested Government shares in Samoa 
Iron and Steel in November 1998; 
iii. Corporatized PTD on 1 July 1999; 
iv. Sold Government's majority 
shareholding in Samoa Breweries in 
mid 1999; 
v. Divested Government shares in BOC 
Gas in August 1999; 
vi. Wound-up the Special Projects 
Development Corporation (SPDC) and assets tendered; 
vii. Initiated negotiations of joint venture 
for the divestment of Government's interest in the Samoa Coconut Oil and 
Products Limited (SCOPL); 
viii. Sold all Government Assets with the 
Samoa Coconut Products Limited; 
ix. Divested Government shares in 
Brugger Industries beginning of 2001; 
x. Divested Government shares in 
Rothmans Limited beginning of 2001; 
xi. Computer Services Limited 2004; 
xii. The remaining balance of Government 
Shares in the Samoa Breweries Ltd was sold in 2004; 
xiii. National Pacific Insurance, 2004; 
xiv. Partial-Privatisation of Polynesian 
Airlines Ltd  (Jet  Operations) to form 
"Polynesian Blue" - a joint-venture of 
Government and Virgin Blue; 
xv. Hellaby Samoa Limited, 
November 2006; and 
xvi. Telecom Samoa Cellular, 
January 2007. Privatizing: 
- Agriculture Stores Corporation to be privatised 
within 2 years; 
- Samoa Forest Corporation - asset will be tendered 
out by June 2008; 
- SamoaTel Limited - to be privatised by 
June 2008; 
- Samoa Post Limited - to be corporatised by 
September 2008; and 
- Samoa Shipping Services - restructured and 
privatised within 2 years. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 65 
 
 
  Table 3:  Goods Subject to Price Control by HS Number  
 
Goods Applied Mark-Up Tariff Item 
Freezer Goods 37.5%  
 Chicken  0207.1310 
 Lamb  0204.2200 
 Turkey  0207.2610 
 Pork Trotter  0203.2910 
Dry Goods  32.5%  
 Beer  2203.0010 
2203.1090 
 Cigarettes and Tobacco  2402.2000 
2403.1020 
 Corned Beef  1602.5010 
 Biscuits (locally produced, 5lb / 10lbs)   
 Camp Pie  1602.9090 
 Sugar  1701.1100 
 Rice  1103.1400 
 Salt  2501.0010 
2501.0090 
 Flour  1101.0090 
 Potatoes   0701.9000 
 Onions   0703.1000 
 Noodles, Macaroni, Vermicelli  1902.1910 
1902.1920 
 All types of Milk  0402.9910 
0402.1010 
 All types and brands of Tinned Fish 
including Tuna canned fish  1604.1200 
1604.1500 
1604.1400 
 All types of Oil  1517.9010 
1517.9090 
 Soy Sauce  2103.1000 
 All types of laundry powders and 
bathing soap  3401.1100 
3401.1900 
 Mosquito Coils  3808.1010 
 Toothpaste  3306.1000 
 All types and brands of butter, margarine  0405.1000 
0405.9000 
Petrol and Energy    
 Unleaded SAT 0.08 per litre 2710.0010 
 Diesel SAT 0.08 per litre 2710.0050 
 LP Gas 10% 2711.1200 
 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 66  
 
  Table 4: Activity Licence Fees for the Right to Produce, Buy, Sell, and Import Liquor
 
 
Activity Licence Fee in SAT per annum and equivalent in 
US$ 
Right to Engage in the Business of Buying and Selling of 
Liquor  
         Trading Store  250 (US$81.87) 
         Beach Resort  250 (US$81.87) 
         Bar & Restaurant  1,000 (US$327.50) 
         Warehouse  1,000 (US$327.50) 
         Hotel  1,500 (US$491.25) 
         Night Club  1,500 (US$491.25) 
         Liquor Distribution  1,000 (US$327.50) 
         Temporary Licence for One-off Events  250 (US$81.87) 
Right to Engage in the Business of Manufacturing Liquor  1,000 (US$327.50) 
Right to Engage in the Business of Importing Liquor  1,000 (US$327.50) 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 67 
 
 
  Table 5(a):  Customs Fees and Charges (1998)  
 
Legal 
Ref. Description Previous Fees and 
Charges New Fees and Charges, as of 
1998 
R12(1) Attendance during working hours SAT 6 per hour SAT 8 per hour 
R13(1) Attendance outside working hours 
(a) Customs Holiday 
(b) Other Days 
 
Attendance (a) normal hours 
(b) outside normal hours  
SAT 8 per hour 
SAT 8 per hour 
 
 
SAT 6 per hour 
SAT 8 per hour  
SAT 10 per hour 
SAT 10 per hour 
 
 
SAT 8 per hour 
SAT 10 per hour 
R13(2) Minimum Charge between the hours of 8pm 
and 6am on weekdays and between any time on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays  A minimum charge equal to 
three  hours at the applicable 
rates 
R16(1) Cancellation of Entry  SAT 10 per entry 
R23A 
(R22, 
23) Collectors Permit  SAT 25 per permit 
R30 Personal Effects clearance with out entry  SAT 25 per clearance 
R33 Sight Entry SAT 10 SAT 25 per application 
R35 Exemption from Export Entry  SAT 25 per exemption 
R37 Certificate of Clearance SAT 5 SAT 15 per clearance 
R41 Request for ship's or aircraft stores  SAT 25 per application 
R47 Temporary removal of Warehouse goods  SAT 25 per application 
R51 Application for re-warehousing  SAT 25 per application 
R54 Temporary acceptance of Proforma, fax, etc. 
invoices  SAT 15 per invoice 
R61 Application for refunds SAT 6 per 
SAT 500 SAT 25 + SAT 8 per SAT 500 
or part thereof 
R62 Application for refund, faulty manufacture SAT 6 per 
SAT 500 SAT 25 + SAT 8 per SAT 500 
or part thereof 
R63 Application for refund, damaged, etc. goods SAT 6 per 
SAT 500 SAT 25 + SAT 8 per SAT 500 
or part thereof 
R64 Application for refund, goods diminished in 
value SAT 6 per 
SAT 500 SAT 25 + SAT 8 per SAT 500 
or part thereof 
R65 Application for refund, destroyed, pillaged 
or lost goods SAT 6 per 
SAT 500 SAT 25 + SAT 8 per SAT 500 
or part thereof 
R67 Application for Drawback SAT 6 per every 
SAT 500 SAT 25 + SAT 8 per SAT 500 
or part thereof 
R68 Application for drawback in  special cases SAT 6 per every 
SAT 500 SAT 25 + SAT 8 per SAT 500 
or part thereof 
R69 Waiving of non-compliance with conditions  SAT 25 per application 
R71 Application to re-import goods exported 
under drawback  SAT 25 per application 
R76 Approval of Agent's employees  SAT 25 per application 
R87 Customs Agent's Licenses 
(a) Individual 
(b) General 
(c) Restricted  
SAT 100 
SAT 100 
SAT 100  
SAT 500 per annum 
SAT 500 per annum 
SAT 500 per annum 
R85 Appeals against the decision of the 
Comptroller  SAT100 per application 
 
R88 application for Customs Carrier  SAT 100 per application 
R96 Clearance of Postal packets without entry  SAT 5 per clearance WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 68  
 
  Legal 
Ref. Description Previous Fees and 
Charges New Fees and Charges, as of 
1998 
S87 Annual Warehouse Licence Fee 
-  Part 1  
Not less than 200 tonnes 
Not less than 200 tonnes and less than 300 
Not less than 300 tonnes and less than 400  
Not less than 400 tonnes and less than 500  Not less than 500 tonnes and less than 600  
Not less than 600 tonnes and less than 700  
Not less than 700 tonnes and less than 800  Not less than 800 tonnes and less than 900  
Not less than 900 tonnes and less than 1000 
Not less than 1000 tonnes   
 
SAT 150 
SAT 200 
SAT 250 
SAT 300 SAT 350 
SAT 400 
SAT 450 SAT 500 
SAT 550 
SAT 600  
 
SAT 1,000 
SAT 1,250 
SAT 1,500 
SAT 1,750 SAT 2,000 
SAT 2,250 
SAT 2,500 SAT 2,750 
SAT 3,000 
SAT 3,250 
 Annual Warehouse Licence Fee 
-  Part 2 
Not less than 200 tonnes 
Not less than 200 tonnes and less than 300 Not less than 300 tonnes and less than 400  
Not less than 400 tonnes and less than 500  
Not less than 500 tonnes and less than 600  Not less than 600 tonnes and less than 700  
Not less than 700 tonnes and less than 800  
Not less than 800 tonnes and less than 900  Not less than 900 tonnes and less than 1000 
Not less than 1000 tonnes  
 
Note 1 Warehouse Officer Service Charge 
(per annum)  
 
SAT 60 
SAT 80 
SAT 100 
SAT 120 
SAT 140 SAT 160 
SAT 180 
SAT 200 SAT 220 
SAT 240 
 
SAT 900  
 
SAT 1,000 
SAT 1,250 SAT 1,500 
SAT 1,750 
SAT 2,000 SAT 2,250 
SAT 2,500 
SAT 2,750 SAT 3,000 
SAT 3,250 
 
SAT 1,000 
 Deferred Duty 
(a) Application 
(b) Late payment penalty 
(c) Annual Interest  
SAT 25  
SAT 25 
SAT 5 per payment 
10% per Annum 
 application for temporary import  SAT 25 per application 
 application for a Tariff Concession  SAT 25 per application 
 application for a Tariff opinion  SAT 25 per commodity per 
application 
 Copy of Official Document (requested by 
Owner)  SAT 10 per set 
(up to five pages) 
 application to enter a Port other than a Port 
of Entry  SAT 100 per application 
S29 Sufferance Wharves  SAT 100 per application 
S33 Approval Fee, Customs Container base  SAT 1,000 per annum 
S40 application to tranship goods  SAT 25 per application plus 
security 
 Request for Certificate of Landing  SAT 25 per application 
 Request for Pre-release of Goods  SAT 25 per application 
 Duty Free Shop Licence  SAT 1,000 
 Duty Free Shop Supervision  As per standard rates or SAT 
500 per annum or as may be 
determined by the Comptroller 
S90 Transfer of Warehouse Licence  SAT 200 per application 
S94 Approval for Structural Alteration of 
Warehouse  SAT 200 per application 
S100 Repacking of Warehouse Goods  SAT 25 per application 
S112 Request for Constructive Warehousing  SAT 25 per application 
S132 Assessment of goods for duty Purposes  SAT 25 per application  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 69 
 
 
  Legal 
Ref. Description Previous Fees and 
Charges New Fees and Charges, as of 
1998 
 application for Export of goods for Repair 
and Return  SAT 25 per application 
S158 Request for refund of duty on forfeited 
goods  SAT 25 per application 
 Baggage Sufferance.  AWB/PNDE Release  SAT 5 per application 
 Courier Releases (After Normal Working 
Hours)  SAT 25 per Release 
 application for Bonded Areas  SAT 500 per Year plus 
security and service charges at 
standard rates or as may be 
determined by the Comptroller 
 Release, Air Way Bill  SAT 5 per release 
 Release, Parcel Notification  SAT 5 per release 
 Ship's store application  SAT 25 per application 
 Other Service Approvals  At a rate to be fixed by the 
Comptroller 
 
Table 5(b):  Proposed Fees  
 
R61 Application for refunds SAT25 
R62 Application for refund, faulty manufacture SAT25 
R63 Application for refund, damaged etc. goods SAT25 
R64 Application for refund, goods diminished in value SAT25 
R65 Application for refund, destroyed, pillaged or lost goods SAT25 
R67 Application for drawback SAT25 
R68 Application for drawback in special cases SAT25 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 70  
 
  Table 6:  Proposed Registration Fees for Pes ticides (Draft Pesticides Regulations 2007/08)
 
 
Goods/Services Fee Basis Fees Payment Basis 
Sanitary Certificate Certificate $6.44 VAGST 
incl. per certificate Cash 
Phyto Certificate Private $6.44 VAGST 
incl. per certificate Cash 
 Commercial 
Certificate $12.88 VAGST 
incl. per certificate Cash 
Import Certificate Private Certificate $6.44 VAGST 
incl. per certificate Cash 
 Commercial - annual 
fee $129.38 VAGST incl. Cash or Credit 
Import for cut flowers, 
live plants and seeds Private consignment $12.88 VAGST 
incl. per permit Cash 
 Commercial 
consignment $32.43 VAGST 
incl. per permit Cash 
Fumigation Per treatment Cost of chemicals used 
(30lbs) + $116.44 VAGST 
incl. labour and equipment Cash or Credit 
Garbage Incineration Per standard garbage 
bag $2.30 VAGST 
incl. Cash 
Wet Garbage Incineration Per load (10 standard 
garbage bags) $46.00 VAGST 
incl. per load Cash or Credit 
Pesticide Registration Fee Per 5 years $300.00 + VAGST Cash or Credit 
Annual Permit Fee Certificate $129.38 VAGST 
incl (commercial) 
$7.50 VAGST 
incl. (private) Cash 
Steam Cleaning Standard cars $63.25 VAGST 
incl. per vehicle N/A - collected by 
contractor 
 Trucks $75.90 VAGST 
per truck N/A - collected by 
contractor 
 Machinery Min. of $115.00 VAGST 
incl. per machine N/A - collected by 
contractor  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 71 
 
 
  Table 7:  Imported and Domestic Products Subject to Excise Tax  
 
HS No. Description Excise tax rate 
2201 Waters, including natural or artificial mineral waters and aerated 
waters, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor 
flavoured; ice and snow:  
 Mineral waters and aerated waters:  
2201.1010  Natural mineral or spa water SAT 0.30 per litre 
2201.1090  Other SAT 0.30 per litre 
2201.9000 Other SAT 0.30 per litre 
2202 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing 
added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured, and other non-
alcoholic beverages, not including fruit or vegetable juices of 2009:  
 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing 
added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured:  
2202.1010  Containing added sugar SAT 0.30 per litre 
2202.1020   Containing other sweetening matter SAT 0.30 per litre 
2202.1090   Other SAT 0.30 per litre 
2202.9000  Other SAT 0.30 per litre 
2203 Beer made from malt:  
2203.0010   Not exceeding 3% by volume of alcohol SAT 1.80 per litre 
2203.1090   Other SAT 1.80 per litre 
2204 Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wines; grape must other 
than that of 2009:  
 Sparkling wine  
2204.1010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 15% or less SAT 3.60 per litre 
2204.1090  Other SAT 6.00 per litre 
 Other wine , grape must with fermentation prevented or arrested by 
the addition of alcohol; In containers holding two litres or less:  
2204.2110  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 15% or less SAT 3.60 per litre 
2204.2190  Other SAT 6.00 per litre 
2204.2910  Of an Alcohol strength by volume of 15% or less SAT 3.60 per litre 
2204.2990  Other SAT 6.00 per litre 
2204.3000  Other Grape Must SAT 3.60 per litre 
2205 Vermouth and other wine of fresh grapes flavoured with plants or 
aromatic substances:  
 In containers holding two L or less:  
2205.1020  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 15% or less SAT 3.60 per litre 
2205.1090  Other SAT 6.00 per litre 
 Other:  
2205.9020  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 15% or less SAT 3.60 per litre 
2205.9090  Other SAT 6.00 per litre 
2206.0000 Other fermented beverages (for example, cider, perry, mead); 
mixtures of fermented beverages and mixtures of fermented beverages and non-alcoholic beverages, not elsewhere specified or 
included  
2206.1010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 15% or less SAT 30 per L/a 
2206.0090  Other SAT 30 per L/a 
2208 Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 
less than 80% vol; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages:  
 Spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc:  
2208.2010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.2020  Of an alcohol streng th by volume exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.2090  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 57.12% or higher SAT 24 per litre WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 72  
 
  HS No. Description Excise tax rate 
 Whiskies  
2208.3010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.3020  Of an alcohol streng th by volume exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.3090  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 57.12% or higher SAT 24 per litre 
 Rum and tafia:  
2208.4010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.4020  Of an alcohol streng th by volume exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.4090  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 57.12% or higher SAT 24 per litre 
 Gin and Geneva:  
2208.5010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.5020  Of an alcohol streng th by volume exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.5090  57.12% or more by volume of alcohol SAT 24 per litre 
 Vodka:  
2208.6010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.6020  Of an aoco hol strength by volum,e exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.6090  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 57.12% or higher SAT 24 per litre 
 Liqueurs and cordials:  
  Liqueurs  
2208.7010  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.7012  Of an alcohol streng th by volume exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.7019  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 57.12% or higher SAT 24 per litre 
  Cordials:  
2208.7021  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.7022  Of an alcohol streng th by volume exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.7029  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 57.12% or higher SAT 24 per litre 
 Other:  
2208.9011  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 30% or less SAT 7.50 per litre 
2208.9021  Of an alcohol streng th by volume exceeding 30% but not 
 exceeding 57.12% SAT 12 per litre 
2208.9099  Of an alcohol strength by volume of 57.12% or higher SAT 24 per litre 
2402 Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of 
tobacco substitutes:  
2402.1000 Cigars, cher oots and cigarillos, containing to bacco 160% or SAT 129.02 per 
kg or 1,000 sticks, 
whichever is the higher 
2402.2000 Cigarettes containing tobacco 160% or, SAT 129.02 per 
kg or 1,000 sticks, 
whichever the higher 
2402.9000 Other 160% or SAT 129.02 per 
kg or 1000 sticks, 
whichever is the higher 
2403 Other manufactured tobacco and manufactured tobacco 
substitutes; "homogenised" or "r econstituted" tobacco; tobacco 
extracts and essences:  
 Smoking tobacco, whether or not containing tobacco substitutes in 
any proportion:  
2403.1010  Twist or stick tobacco 160% or SAT 110.15 per 
kg, whichever is the 
higher  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 73 
 
 
  HS No. Description Excise tax rate 
2403.1090  Other  160% or, SAT 110.15 per  
kg, whichever is the 
higher 
8703.0024 Vehicles of a cyli nder capacity exceeding 2,000 cm3 but not 
exceeding 3,000cm3 20%  or SAT 2,400 per 
vehicle 
8703.0025 Vehicles of a cyli nder capacity exceeding 3,000cm3 
 20%  or SAT 2,400 per 
vehicle 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 74  
 
  Table 8:  Products Subject to Import Prohibition
 
 
LHD motor vehicles and ve hicles manufactured more 
than 12 years prior to importation Relevant goods imported under Headings 
8702,8703,8704,8705,8706 
Bee and bee products 0409, and other goods containing honey 
Turkey tails 02072610, 02072710 and any other goods containing 
turkey tails except for whole turkeys  
Tinned fish cartons of 48 cans Specific packaging of tinned fish imported under 
Heading 0305 
Coins and bank notes N.A. 
Pornographic articles, publications, films, and video Relevant goods imported under Chapters 37, 49, 85 
Non-biodegradable plastic bags Relevant goods imported under Heading 3923 
 
Table 9:  Products Subject to Import Licensing  
 
Product/HS 
Number Where 
Applicable Description of 
Product Requirement/Ministry 
Involved Application Fee 
(SAT) Legal Reference 
See below Chemicals Chemicals to be imported 
must be registered 
chemicals with the Registrars Office of MAF 
before being issued an 
import licence.   
 Arms and 
ammunitions    
 Pesticides Ministry of Agriculture. Registration fee 
(see Question 45). Pesticides 
Regulations 1990 
(draft Pesticides Regulations 2008). 
See below Ozone 
depleting 
substances Import licenses for Ozone 
depleting substances are 
delivered by the National Ozone Unit.  The 
importing and handling 
applications are assessed by the selected 
assessment panel and 
certified by the CEO of 
the Ministry of Natural 
Resources and Environment. Import Licence 
Fee $100.  
Handling Licence Fee $50. 
The initial 
registration is $100 and the 
renewal for both 
licenses is $10. Protection of the 
Ozone Layer 
Regulations 2006. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 75 
 
 
  Table 9(a):  Chemicals Subject to Import Licensing  
 
- acetorphine (6, 7, 8, 14 - tetrahydro - 7alpha - (1  - hydroxy - l - methylbutyl) - 6, 14 - endo - 
ethenooripavine 3 - acetate) 
- acetyldihydrocodeine 
- acetylmethadol (3 - acetoxy - 6 - dimethyl amino - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - heptane) 
- allylprodine (3 - allyl - l - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 4 - propionoxy - piperidine) 
- alphacetylmethadol (alpha - 3 - acetoxy - 6 - dimethylamino - 4, 4 - diphenylheptane) 
- alphameprodine (alpha - 3 - ethyl - l - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 4 - propionoxypiperidine) - alphamethadol (alpha - 6 - dimethylamino - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - heptanol) 
- alphaprodine (alpha - 1, 3 - dimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 4 - propionoxy - piperidine) 
- anileridine (1 - (para - aminophenethyl) - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) - benzethidine (1 - (2 - benzyloxyethyl) - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) 
- benzylmorphine (3 - benzylmorphine) 
- betacetylmethadol (beta - 3 - acetoxy - 6 - dimethylamine - 4, 4 - diphenylheptane) 
- betameprodine (beta - 3 - ethyl - l - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 4 - propionoxypiperidine) 
- betamethadol (beta - 6 - dimeth ylamino - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - heptanol) 
- betaprodine (beta - 1, 3 - dimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 4 - propionoxy - piperidine) 
- bezitramide (1 - (3 - cyano - 3, 3 - diphenylpropyl) - 4 - (2 - oxo - 3 - propionyl - 1-benzimidazolyl) - 
piperidine) 
- cannabis, being any leaf, seed, stalk, root, fruit, blossom, or part thereof of any plant of the genus 
cannabis (Cannabis sativa L). 
- cannabis resin - clonitazene (2 - para - chlorbenzyl - l - (2 - diethylaminoethyl) - 5 - nitrobenzimi - dazole) 
- cocoa leaf (Erythroxylon coca L). 
- cocaine (methyl ester of benzoylecgonie) - codeine (3 - methylmorphine) 
- codoxime (dihydrocodeinone - 0 - (carboxymethyl)oxime) 
- concentrate of poppy straw - desomorphine (dihydrodeoxymorphine) 
- dextromoramide ((+) - 4 - [ - 2 - methyl - 4 - oxo - 3, 3 - diphenyl - 4 - (1 - pyrrolidinyl) - butyl] 
morpholine) 
- diampromide (N - [2 - (methylphenethylamino)propyl]- propionanilide) 
- diethylthiambutene (3 - diethylamino - 1, 1 - di - (2' - thienyl) - 1 - butene) 
- dihydrocodeine (7, 8 - dihydrocodeine) - dihydromorphine (7, 8 - dihydromorphine) 
- dimenoxadol (2 - dimethylaminoethyl - l - ethoxy - 1, 1 - diphenyl - acetate) 
- dimepheptanol (6 - dimethylamino - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - heptanol) 
- dimethylthiambutene (3 - dimethylamino - 1, 1 - di - (2' - thienyl) - 1 - butene) 
- dioxaphetyl butyrate (ethyl 4 - morpholino - 2, 2 - diphenyl - butyrate) - diphenoxylate (1 - (3 - cyano - 3, 3 - diphenylpropyl) - 4 - phenyl - piperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid 
ethyl ester) 
- dipipanone (4, 4 - diphenyl - 6 - piperidino - 3 - heptanone) - ecgonine ( - ) - 3 - hydroxytropane - 2 - carboxylate) 
- ethylmethylthiambutene (3 - ethyl met hylamino - l, 1 - di - (2' - thienyl) - 1 - butene) 
- ethylmorphine (3 - ethylmorphine) - etonitazene (1 - diethylaminoethyl - 2 - pa ra - ethoxybenzyl - 5 - nitrobenzimidazole 
- etorphine (6, 7, 8, 14 - tetrahydro - 7alpha - (1 - hydroxy - l - methylbutyl) - 6, 14 - endo - 
ethenooripavine) 
- etoxeridine (1 - [2 - (2 - hydroxyethoxy)ethyl) - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) 
- fentanyl (1 - phenethyl - 4 - N - propionylanilinopiperidine) 
- furethidine (1 - (2 - tetrahydrofurfuryloxyethyl) - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl 
ester) 
- heroin (diacetylmorphine) 
- hydrocodone (dihydrocodeinone) - hydromorphinol (14 - hydroxy - 7, 8 - dihydromorphine) 
- hydromorphone (dihydromorphinone) WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 76  
 
  - hydroxypethidine (4 - (meta - hydroxyphenyl) - 1 - methylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) 
- isomethadone (6 - dimethylamino - 5 - methyl - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - hexanone) - ketobemidone (4 - meta - hydroxyphenyl) - 1 - methyl - 4 - propionyl - piperidine) 
- levomethorphan (( - ) - 3 - methoxy - N - methylmorphinan) 
- levomoramide ((-)-4) - [2 - methyl - 4 - oxo - 3, 3 - diphenyl - 4 - (1 - pyrrolidinyl) -
butyl]morpholine) 
- levophenacylmorphan (( - 3) - hydroxy - N - phenacylmorphinan) 
- levorphanol (( - ) - 3 - hydroxy - Npmethylmorphinan) 
- metazocine (2' - hydroxy - 2, 5, 9 - trimethyl - 6, 7 - benzomorphan) 
- methadone (6 - dimethylamino - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - heptanone) - methadone - intermediate (4 - cyano - 2 - dimethylamino - 4, 4 - diphenylbutane)  
- methyldesorphine (6 - methyl - delta б - deoxymorphine) 
- methyldihydromorphine (6 - methyldihydromorphine) - metopon (5 - methyldihydromorphinone) 
- moramide - intermediate (2 - methyl - 3 - morpholino - 1, 1 - diphenyl - propane carboxylic acid) 
- morpheridine (1 - (2 - morpholinoethvl) - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) - morphine 
- morphine - N - oxide  
- morphine pentavalent nitrogen derivatives  - myrophine (myristylbenzylmorphine) 
- nicicodine (6 - nicotinoylcodeine) 
- nicodicodine (6 - nicotinoyldihydrocodeine) - nicomorphine (3, 6 - dinicotinoylmorphine) 
- noracymethadol ((±) - alpha - 3 - acetoxy - 6 - methylamino - 4, 4 - diphenylheptane) 
- norcodeine (N - demethylcodeine) - norlevorphanol (( - ) - 3 - hydroxymorphinan) 
- normethadone (6 - dimethylamino - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - hexanone) 
- normorphine (demethylmorphine) 
- norpipanone (4, 4 - diphenyl - 6 - piperidino - 3 - hexanone) opium 
- oxycodone (14 - hydroxydihydrocodeinone) - oxymorphone (14 - hydroxydihydromorphinone) 
- pethidine (1 - methyl - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) 
- pethidine - intermediate A (4 - cyano - l - methyl - 4 - phenyl - piperidine) - pethidine - intermediate B (4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) 
- pethidine - intermediate C (1 - methyl - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid) 
- pethidine - intermediazte C, esters of - phenadoxone (6 - N - morpholino - 4, 4 - diphenyl - 3 - heptanone) 
- phenampromide (N - (I - methyl - 2 - piperidinoethyl)propionanilide) 
- phenazocine (2' - hydroxy - 5, 9 - dimethyl - 2 - phenethyl - 6, 7 - benzormorphan) - phenomorphan (3 - hydroxy - N - phenethylmorphinan) 
- phenoperidine (1 - (3 - hydroxy - 3 - phenylpropyl) - 4 - phenylpiperidin - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl 
ester) 
- pholcodine (morpholinylethylmorphine) 
- piminodine (4 - phenyl - l - (3 - phenylaminopropyl) piperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester) 
- piritramide (1 - (3 - cyano - 3, 3 - diphenylpropyl) - 4 - (1 - pipe ridino) - piperidine4 - carboxylic acid 
amide) 
- proheptazine (1, 3 - dimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 4 - propio noxyazacycloheptane) 
- properidine (1 - methyl - 4 - phenylpiperidine - 4 - carboxylic acid isopropyl ester) 
- racemethorphan ((±) - 3 - me thoxy - N - methylmorphinan) 
- racemoramide (( - ± - ) - 4 - [2 - methyl - 4 - oxo - 3, 3 - diphenyl - 4 - (1 - pyrrolidinyl) 
butyl]morpholine) 
- racemorphan ((±) - 3 - hydr oxy - N - methylmorphinan) 
- thebacon (acetyldihydrocodeinone) - thebaine (3, 6 - dimethyl - 8 - dehydromorphine) 
- trimeperidine (1, 2, 5 - trimethyl - 4 - phenyl - 4 - propionoxy - piperidine) 
 The isomers of the substances mentioned above in this Schedule whenever the existence of such isomers is 
possible within the specific chemical designation.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 77 
 
 
  The esters and ethers of the substances mentioned above in this Schedule whenever the existence of such esters 
or ethers is possible.  
The salts of the substances mentioned above in this Sche dule whenever the existence of such salts is possible. 
 Any substance, preparation, or mixture containing any proportion of a substance named or described above in 
this Schedule other than the following preparations and mixtures, namely: 
 
(a) Preparations containing in any proportion of the following substances or any salt of any such 
substance, namely, acetylidihydro codeine codeine, dihydrocodeine,  ethylmorphine, and pholcodei 
when: 
 (i) Compounded with one or more other pharmacologically active ingredients in such a way that 
the substance cannot be recovered by readily applicable means or in a yield which would constitute a risk to health; and 
 (ii) Containing not more than 100 milligrammes of the substances in each dosage unit and with a 
concentration of not more than 2.5 per cent in undivided preparations. 
(b) Preparations of cocaine containing not more than 0.1 per cent of cocaine base, being preparations 
compounded with one or more other pharmacolo gically active ingredient s (none of which are 
substances named or described elsewhere in this Sc hedule) in such a way that the preparation has no, 
or a negligible, risk of abuse, and in such a way that the cocaine cannot be recovered by readily 
applicable means or in a yield which would constitute a risk health; 
(c) Preparations of opium or morphine containing not more than 0.2 per cent of morphine, being 
preparations compounded with one more other pharmacologically active ingredients (none of which 
are substances named or described elsewhere in this  Schedule) in such a way that the preparation has 
no, or a negligible, risk of abuse, and in such a way that the opium or the morphine, as the case may be, cannot be recovered by readily applicable mean s or in a yield which would constitute a risk to 
health; 
(d) Solid dosage units of diphenoxylate containing in each unit not more than 2.5 milligrammes of 
diphenoxylate calculated as base and not less th an 25 microgrammes of atropine sulphate; 
(e) Liquid preparations of diphenoxylate containing, in  each millilitre, not more than 0.5 milligrammes of 
diphenoxylate calculated as based and not less than 5 microgrammes of atropine sulphate; 
(f) Ipecacuanha and opium powder containing 10 per cent of opium powder and 10 per cent of 
ipecacuanha root in powder intimately mixed with finely powdered lactose; and 
(g) Mixtures containing not more than one of the preparations specified in paragraphs (a) to (f) above, 
being mixtures whereof none of the other ingredients is a substance named or described elsewhere 
this Schedule. 
 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 78  
 
  Table 9(b):  Ozone Depleting Substances Subject to Import Licensing
 
 
 Composition ODP Import Permit 
Required? 
CFCs 
CFC-11 Pure substance 1.0 Yes * 
CFC-12 Pure substance 1.0 Yes * 
CFC-113 Pure substance 0.8 Yes * 
CFC-114 Pure substance 1.0 Yes * 
CFC-115 Pure substance 0.6 Yes * 
CFC-13 Pure substance 1.0 Yes * 
Other CFCs    
HCFCs 
HCFC-22 Pure substance 0.055 Yes 
HCFC-123 Pure substance 0.020 Yes 
HCFC-124 Pure substance 0.022 Yes 
HCFC-141b Pure substance 0.110 Yes 
HCFC-142b Pure substance 0.065 Yes 
HCFC-31 Pure substance 0.020 Yes 
Other HCFCs   Yes 
HFCs 
HFC-23 Pure substance 0 No 
HFC-32 Pure substance 0 No 
HFC-125 Pure substance 0 No 
HFC-134a Pure substance 0 No 
HFC-143a Pure substance 0 No 
HFC-152a Pure substance 0 No 
Other HFCs   No 
Perfluorocarbons 
R116 (Perfluoroethane) Pure substance 0 No 
R218 (Octafluoropropane) Pure substance 0 No 
RC318 (Octafluorocyclobutane) Pure substance 0 No 
Others    No 
Hydrocarbons 
R290 (Propane) Pure substance 0 No 
R600 (Butane) Pure substance 0 No 
R600a (2-Methylpropane 
(isobutane)) Pure substance 0 No 
R1270 (Propylene) Pure Substance 0 No 
Others      No 
Mixes- Zeotropes 
R401A (MP 39) 53% R22, 13% R152a, 34% R124 0.037 Yes 
R401B (MP 66) 61% R22, 11% R152a, 28% R124 0.040 Yes 
R401C (MP 52) 33% R22, 15% R152a, 52% R124 0.030 Yes 
R402A (HP 80) 60% R125, 2% R290, 38% R22 0.021 Yes 
R402B (HP 81) 38% R125, 2% R290, 60% R22 0.033 Yes 
R403A (69S) 5% R290, 75% R22, 20% R218 0.041 Yes 
R403B (69L) 5% R290, 56% R22, 39% R218 0.031 Yes 
R404A (HP 62, FX 70,M55) 44% R125, 52% R143a, 4% R134a 0 No 
R405A (G2015) 45% R22, 7% R152a, 5.5% R142b, 42.5% 
RC318 0.028 Yes 
R406A (GHG-12) 55% R22, 4% R600a, 41% R142b 0.057 Yes 
R407A (Klea 60) 20% R32, 40% R125, 40% R134a 0 No 
R407B (Klea 61) 10% R32, 70% R125, 20% R134a 0 No  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 79 
 
 
   Composition ODP Import Permit 
Required? 
R407C (Suva 9000, Klea 66) 23% R32, 25% R125, 52% R134a 0 No 
R407D 15% R32, 15% R125, 70% R134a 0 No 
R407E 25% R32, 15% R125, 60% R134a 0 No 
R408A (FX10) 7% R125, 46% 143a, 47% R22 0.026 Yes 
R409A (FX56) 60% R22, 25% R124, 15% R142b 0.048 Yes 
R409B (FX57) 65% R22, 25% R124, 10% R142b 0.048 Yes 
R410A (AZ 20) 50% R32, 50% R125 0 No 
R410B (Suva 9100) 45% R32, 55% R125 0 No 
R411A (G2018A) 1.5% R1270, 87.5% R22, 11% R152a  0.048 Yes 
R411B (G2018B) 3% R1270, 94% R22, 3% R152a  0.052 Yes 
R411C 3% R1270, 95.5% R22, 1.5% 152a 0.053 Yes 
R412A (TP5R) 70% R22, 5% R218, 25% R142b 0.055 Yes 
R413A (Isceon 49) 9% R218, 88% R134a, 3% R600a 0.000 No 
R-414A (GHG-X4, Chill-it, 
Autofrost-X4) 51% R-22, 16.5% R142b, 28.5% R124, 4% 
R600a 0.044 Yes 
R414B (Icor Hotshot) 50% R22, 39% R124, 9.5% R142b,1.5% R600a  0.042 Yes 
R415A (Moncton Refrigerants 
Narm502) 5% R23, 90% R22, 5% R152a 0.05 Yes 
R416A (Frig C) 59% R134a, 40% R124, 2%R600a 0.026 Yes 
R417A (Isceon 59) 46% R125 50% R134a 4% R600  0 No 
R418A 1.5% R290, 96% R22, 2.5% R152a 0.019 Yes 
R419A 77% R125, 19% R134a , 4% E170  0 No 
R420A 88% R134a, 12% R142b 0.0024 Yes 
R421A 58% R125, 42% 134a 0.0 No 
Mixes - Azeotropes 
R500 73.8% R12, 26.2% R152a 0.738 Yes* 
R501 75% R22, 25% R12 0.291 Yes* 
R502 48.8% R22, 51.2% R115 0.334 Yes* 
R503 40.1% R23, 59.9% R13 0.599 Yes* 
R504 48.2% R32, 51.8% R115 0.311 Yes* 
R505 78% R12, 22% R31 0.784 Yes* 
R506 55.1% R31, 44.9% R114 0.46 Yes* 
R507A (AZ50) 50% R125, 50% R143a 0 No 
R508A (TP5R3) 39% R23, 61% R116 0 No 
R508B (Suva 95) 46% R23, 54% R116 0 No 
R509 (TP5R2) 46% R22, 54% R218 0.025 Yes 
Other Azeotropes       
Unnamed (by ASHRAE) 
FX20 45% R125, 55% R22 0.03 Yes 
FX40 10% R32, 45% R143a, 45% R125 0 No 
FX55 60% R22, 40% R142b 0.059 Yes 
FX220 3% R23, 25% R32, 72% R134a 0 No 
DI36 50% R22, 47% R124, 3% R600 0.038 Yes 
HX4 10% R32, 33% R125, 36% R143a, 21% 134a 0 No 
RX3 43% R125, 53% R134a, 4% R600a 0 No 
RX4 86% R125, 5% R290, 9% R218 0 No 
Daikin Blend 2% R23, 28% R32, 70% R134a 0 No 
XF 4% R23, 96% R134a 0 No 
Non-refrigerant Mixes 
CFC-11 & CFC-12 Composition varies (for aerosols) 1.0 Yes* 
R400 CFC 12 & CFC-114 (Composition varies (for 
aerosols)) 1.0 Yes* 
Others       
* The import of CFC was prohibited in Samoa on 1 September 2006. WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 80  
 
  Company Names Old trade Name New Trade Name 
Du Pont Freon SUVA 
ICI Arcton Klea 
Atochem Forane Forane 
Allied Genetron Genetron 
Hoechst Frigen Reclin 
Rhone Poulenc Isceon Isceon 
Asahi   Asahiflon 
Daikin   Daiflon 
Ausimont Algofrene Meforex 
Solvay Kaltron Solkane 
 
Table 10:  Action Plan for the Implementation of the Customs Valuation Agreement  
 
Action Timeframe 
Working Party review of draft legislation necessary for conformity 
with the Agreement Prior to Accession. 
Provisions of the Agreement that Sa moa can implement as from accession 
Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, implemented in 
accordance with existing legislation Completed. 
Recruitment of Personnel, obtaining facilities and equipment, 
establishment of databases Completed. 
Customs Valuation Amendment Regulations 2009 In draft form.  Awaiting Cabinet 
endorsement. 
Provisions of the Agreement that Samoa will impl ement prior to the end of the transitional period 
Passage of Regulation through Cabinet June 2009. 
- Article 10 data confidentiality June 2009. 
- Article 12  transparency June 2009. 
- Article 14  Interpretative Notes June 2009. 
Updating of manuals, operating pro cedures Prior to December 2009. 
Printing of updated forms, brochure s etc. Prior to December 2009. 
Training of at least 20 Officials and Customs Officers Prior to December 2009. 
Workshops for Private Sector  Prior to December 2009. 
Implementation of valuation system in full conformity with WTO 
rules January 2010. 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 81 
 
 
  Table 11:  Action Plan for the Implementation of the SPS Agreement  
 
Action Timeframe and Comments 
Parliamentary passage of Quarantine (Bio security) 
Act 2005. Completed. 
Introduction of new standards, animal health 
regulations and food safety regulations in 
conformity with the SPS Agreement principles. The introduction of new standards and regulations 
follows the principles set out in the Biosecurity Act and 
is based on risk analysis. 
Further development of quarantine website, 
www.samoaquarantine.gov.ws  to improve 
notification and access to documentation. Improve input of data and the operation of the website.  
Technical assistance to assi st in further operational 
improvement of website, for it  to be in good order by 
June 2009. 
Measures are applied only to  the extent necessary to 
protect human, animal or plant health and 
regulations governing animal and plant health and food safety shall be based on scientific evidence. The Quarantine (Biosecurity) Act 2005 mandates a risk 
based approach consistent with principles of 
SPS Agreement. 
To the extent possible, Members shall follow 
international standards, guidelines, and 
recommendations in establishing SPS measures. Samoa participates in the development of international 
standards (e.g. plant standards under IPPC through the 
Pacific Plant Protection Organisation) and follows international standards and guidelines in the 
development of national standards. 
Equivalence:  Members shall recognize different 
measures that achieve the same level of protection. The Quarantine (Biosecurity) Act 2005 mandates a risk 
based approach consistent with principles of SPS Agreement.  Samoa has b een flexible with this 
principle and uses it to facilitate trade without 
compromising Quarantine. 
Contact for SPS and administrative proced ures: Assistant Chie f Executive Officer 
Quarantine Division 
Ministry of Agriculture Email:  CEO@samoaquarantine.gov.ws 
Tel:  (685) 20924 
Fax:  (685) 20103 Enquiry point is now functional. 
Establishment of enquiry officer with MAF 
 
Training of enquiry officer with MAF:  
Head of Quarantine 
Ministry of Agriculture Email:  CEO@samoaquarantine.gov.ws 
Tel:  (685) 20924 
Fax:  (685) 20103 Established. 
 
Ongoing training with capacity  required expected to be 
achieved by July 2009.  Technical assistance has been 
sought from New Zealand and Australia.  
Establishment of implementing regulations, 
including control, inspection and approval 
procedures. The Quarantine (Biosecurity) Act 2005 is  flexible.  It 
already provides a mandate for administrative 
procedures outlining control, inspection and approval 
procedures, following the principles of the SPS Agreement. 
 
Implementing Regulations to be formally established 
January 2012 
Further identification of regulations necessary for 
giving full effect to the Act (if any). Section 69(1) allows for the making of Regulations for 
such matters which are necessary for giving full effect to the Act. 
 
Identify regulations by December 2009.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 82  
 
  Action Timeframe and Comments 
Draft of Regulations  
  
Passage of Regulations. July 2010 (in line with the achievement of the 
Quarantine Performance Measures).  
December 2010.  
Upgrade and strengthen facilities and equipment.  
(Require x-ray machines, mo re disposal / treatment 
facilities, new replacement of  existing old 
machines, strengthen fumigation mechanisms, IT support systems - computers, etc.) The most basic facilities and equipment are in place.  
Technical assistance has been sought from 
New Zealand and Australia.  
 Upgraded facilities in  place by January 2012.  
Development of manuals.  Printing of forms, 
brochures, etc. (SPS specific). Operational manuals and procedures to ready 
January 2012.  
Include National Awareness Workshop on SPS. September 2009. 
June 2010. June 2011. 
January 2012. 
 Technical assistance to be sought by July 2009 to 
commence awareness programme s.  To be conducted 
annually. 
SPS specific intensive training of at least 15 quarantine officials. July 2010. 
October 2011. 
 
Technical Assistance to be sought by December 2009. 
National awareness programmes on 
SPS implementation (to include customs officers, 
private sector people and civil society). By July 2010 (Capacity achievement to be achieved by 
these dates).  In line with performance measure target 
to complete.  
 
By July - December 2009.  
 By July 2010 - December 2011  (Capacity achievement 
to be achieved by these dates). 
Full implementation. By  1 January 2012.  In line with performance measure 
target to complete. 
 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 83 
 
 
  Table 12:  Action Plan for the Implementation of the TRIPS Agreement  
 
Action Timeframe & Comments 
Working Party review of draft legislation necessary for 
conformity with the Agreement. 
 
Draft IP Law 
 
1. Patents Act 
2. Trademarks Act 
3. Industrial Property Act 
4. Protection of Geographical Indications Bill 
 
Other Draft Law: 
 
1. Customs Amendment Bill to repeal section 132 and 
Border Protection Measures; 
2. Antidumping and Countervailing Duties Bill II. PRIOR TO ACCESSION 
 
 
Submit to Parliament  no later December 
2007  
  
 
  
Submit to Parliament no later than 
December 2007 
Passage of above legislation by Parliament  December 2008 
Provisions of the Agreement that Samoa can implement as from 
accession and the provisions that it will implement during the 
transitional period  
 Provisions to be implemented during the transitional period 
Part II Article 9-Article 14 
  
 
Section 3: Article 22 
 
 Section 4: Article 25, Article 26 
 
 Section 5: Article 27 (1), Article 29 
 
Provisions to be implemented as from accession: 
Section 2: Article 16 (2), 16 (3) 
Article 19,20,21, 
Section 5: Article 27 (2), (3), Article 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 39-64   
 
 
 Establishment of a Collective mechanism 
to administer rights of Authors - 
December 2009  
 
Enforcement of GI Legislation 
December 2009 
 Enforcement  of Industrial Property 
legislation -December 2009 
 Patents - December 2009 
Establishment of Intellectual Property (IP) WTO Office 
responsible e.g. for implementing transparency provisions of the 
TRIPS Agreement.  July 2008 
To be located at the IP Registry at the 
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour. 
Hiring of personnel. Obtaining facilities and equipment. ( for 
the IP/WTO unit located in the IP Registry, at the Ministry of 
Commerce, Industry and Labour) December 2008 
Establishment of implementing regulations. 1 July 2009 
Development of manuals and operating procedures. Printing of 
necessary material.  1 December 2008 
Training of at least 15 offici als, customs officers and private 
sector people as well as educators in TRIPS issues.   
Training of Police Officers 
 Capacity Building for IP Officials 1 July 2009 
  
1 July 2009 
 1 December 2008 WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 84  
 
  Action Timeframe & Comments 
Awareness programmes on the Ag reement for the members of 
the public  
Computerisation of IP Office 
 
Training of staff 1 December 2008 
  
1 December 2009 
 
1 July 2009 
Readiness to participate in regional IP administrative 
cooperation (Collective management for copyright, regional system for patents and trademarks).  As soon as these Pacific regional 
mechanisms are established 
Membership in the Berne and Paris Conventions. Berne Convention - Effective on 
21 July 2006 
 Paris Convention - 1 July 2012 
Full implementation No later than January 2013 
 
 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 85 
 
 
  [Draft Decision 
ACCESSION OF SAMOA 
Decision of […] 
 The [General Council] [Ministerial Conference], 
 Having regard to  paragraph two of Article XII and pa ragraph one of Article IX of the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (the "WTO Agreement"), and the 
Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and X II of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the 
World Trade Organization agreed by the General Council (WT/L/93); 
 [ Conducting  the functions of the Ministerial Conference in the interval between meetings 
pursuant to paragraph two of Article IV of the WTO Agreement;] 
 Taking note  of the application of Samoa for accession to the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization dated 9 December 1994; 
 Noting  the results of the negotiations directed toward the establishment of the terms of 
accession of Samoa to the WTO Agreement and having prepared a Draft Protocol on the Accession of Samoa; 
 Decides  as follows: 
 Samoa may accede to the WTO Agreement on the terms and conditions set out in the Draft 
Protocol annexed to this Decision. 
_______________ WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 86  
 
  DRAFT PROTOCOL 
ON THE ACCESSION OF SAMOA 
Preamble
 
 The World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO "), pursuant to the approval 
of the [General Council] [Ministerial Conferen ce] of the WTO accorded under Article XII of the 
Marrakesh Agreement Esta blishing the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO 
Agreement "), and Samoa,  
 Taking note of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of Samoa to the WTO 
Agreement reproduced in document WT/ACC/SAM/[…], dated […] (hereinafter referred to as the 
"Working Party Report"), 
 Having regard to the results of the negotia tions on the accession of Samoa to the WTO 
Agreement,  
 Agree as follows: 
PART I -  GENERAL 
1. Upon entry into force of this Protocol pursu ant to paragraph 8, Samoa accedes to the WTO 
Agreement pursuant to Article XII of that Agreement and thereby becomes a Member of the WTO.  
2. The WTO Agreement to which Samoa accedes shall be the WTO Agreement, including the 
Explanatory Notes to that Agreement, as rectifie d, amended or otherwise modified by such legal 
instruments as may have entered into force before the date of entry into force of this Protocol.  This 
Protocol, which shall include the commitments referred to in para graph [...] of the Working Party 
Report, shall be an integral part of the WTO Agreement. 
3. Except as otherwise provid ed for in paragraph [...] of the Working Party Report, those 
obligations in the Multilateral Trade Agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement that are to be 
implemented over a period of time starting with the entry into force of that Agreement shall be 
implemented by Samoa as if it ha d accepted that Agreement on the date of its entry into force. 
4. Samoa may maintain a measure inconsistent w ith paragraph one of Ar ticle II of the GATS 
provided that such a measure was recorded in the list of Article II Exemptions annexed to this Protocol 
and meets the conditions of the Annex to the GATS on Article II Exemptions. 
PART II - SCHEDULES 
5. The Schedules reproduced in Annex I to th is Protocol shall become the Schedule of 
Concessions and Commitm ents annexed to the General Agr eement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
(hereinafter referred to as the "GATT 1994") and the Schedule of Specific Co mmitments annexed to the 
General Agreement on Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as "GATS") relating to Samoa.  The 
staging of the concessions and commitm ents listed in the Schedules sha ll be implemented as specified in 
the relevant parts of the respective Schedules. 
6. For the purpose of the reference in paragraph 6(a)  of Article II of the GATT 1994 to the date of 
that Agreement, the applicable date in respect of the Schedules of Conc essions and Commitments 
annexed to this Protocol shall be the date  of entry into force of this Protocol.  WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
 Page 87 
 
 
  PART III - FINAL PROVISIONS 
7. This Protocol shall be open for acceptance, by signature or otherwise, by Samoa until […]. 
8. This Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the day upon which it shall 
have been accepted by Samoa.  
9. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Director-General of the WTO.  The Director-General 
of the WTO shall promptly furnish a certified copy of this Protocol and a notification of acceptance by 
Samoa thereto pursuant to paragraph nine to each Member of the WTO and to Samoa.   
 This Protocol shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of Ar ticle 102 of the Charter 
of the United Nations.   
 Done at […] this […] day of […] in a single c opy in the English, French and Spanish languages, 
each text being authentic, except that a Schedule anne xed hereto may specify that it its authentic in only 
one of these languages. 
_______________ WT/ACC/SPEC/SAM/4/Rev.2 
Page 88  
 
  ANNEX I 
SCHEDULE […] - SAMOA 
Authentic only in the … language. 
(Circulated in document WT/ACC/SAM/…/Add.1) 
_______________ 
SCHEDULE OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS ON SERVICES 
LIST OF ARTICLE II EXEMPTIONS 
Authentic only in the … language. 
(Circulated in document WT/ACC/SAM/…/Add.2) ] 
__________