WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/C/W/523 
G/VAL/N/4/SEN/2 6 July 2005 
 
 
(05-2965) 
Council for Trade in Goods Committee on Customs Valuation Original:   French 
 
 
 
STATUS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
OFFICIALLY-ESTABLISH ED MINIMUM VALUES 
 
Decision Pursuant to Article IX of the WTO Agreement (WT/L/571
) 
 
SENEGAL 
   The following communication, dated 21 June 2005, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Senegal. 
 
_______________ 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
 Senegal incorporated the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation in its legal system on 
1 July 2001. 
  On 26 June 2002, Senegal applied to the co mpetent WTO bodies for authorization to use 
minimum values on a limited and transitional basis.  
 By decision WT/L/571 of 7 June 2004, th e WTO General Council acceded to Senegal's 
request, and, upon receiving notification by official  communication No. 1035 of  2 June 2004, Senegal 
gave the mentioned decision regulatory and mandatory status.   Consequently, the application of the requested  waiver can only cover a time period of one 
year. 
  Pursuant to the above decision, the Customs Administration of Senegal, in cooperation with 
the representatives of trade and industry, is repor ting on the status of implementation of minimum 
values.  II. IMPACT OF MINIMUM VALUES ON IMPORTS 
 At the date of this assessment, 31 March 2005, nine months have  gone by, a reasonable 
reference period for a reliable interim assessment based on a fairly representative sample of the list of products subject to minimum values.  
 For the purposes of this analysis, and for the sake of consistency and parallelism, the 
statistical data on imports of the selected produc ts over a period of nine months preceding the 
application of the waiver (ex-ante) and those rela ting to the same products over the same time period 
following its application (ex-post) w ill serve as a basis of comparison.  The earlier period will cover 
August 2003 to May 2004, while the subsequent period will c over June 2004 to March 2005. G/C/W/523 
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  The analysis will be based on comparison criteria such as value (CIF and minimum value), 
weight, quantity and duties and taxes.   The number of eligible products from the list for which specific elements are involved being 
negligible, value will be the chief criterion used for th e analysis.  This approach is further justified by 
the fact that the fiscal revenue indicator expressed in  terms of increase or decrease in duties and taxes 
is purely incidental in comparison to the vari ation in the leading indicator, namely value. 
  Finally, the results of the analysis will be co mpared with the results of the questionnaire sent 
out to those concerned on the impact of the appli cation of minimum values, notably on the industrial 
fabric.   The following should be noted in this connection:  
 (1) Chapter 48 products: A comparison between  the two periods reveals that imports 
decreased for 48 18 20 to a low of 236,279, 802 F.CFA, whereas they had been at 
398,177,357 F.CFA - in other words, a difference of 161,897,551 F.CFA. 
  (2) For the Chapter 17 products, imports fell from 1,596,739,759 F.CFA during the 
period preceding the application of minimum values to an estimated 
922,178,365 F.CFA for the subsequent period, i.e. a gap of 674,561,394 F.CFA. 
  (3) For chapter 19, there was also a decrease in imports for the period subsequent to the 
application of minimum values in comparison to the earlier period.  The same trend can be observed for 19 12 30,  19 05 31, 19 05 32, 19 05 90. 
 
 (4) For chapter 22 products, there was a signifi cant drop in imports for all of the headings 
and sub-headings concerned.  The products under this chapter acc ount for the widest 
gaps between the two reference periods.  We  recall that the products concerned are 
alcoholic beverages, which are special in th at they are subject to additional taxes as 
well as minimum values. 
 
 (5) Chapter 24, which concerns cigarettes, is  no exception to the rule.  The report reveals 
a slowdown in imports following the entry into force of minimum values.  The value of imports for 24 02 20, which stood at 428,515 F.CFA before June 2004, barely 
reached 13,000,000 F.CFA after June 2004. 
 
 (6) The situation for chapter 63 products is mixed.  While heading 63 07 10 (floorcloths) 
showed a decrease, this was not the case for 63 05, whose various sub-headings 
performed differently from each other.  Generally speaking, however, there was more of a downward trend.  The rare cases in  which there was an upward trend involved 
products whose import volume was negligible, for example 63 05 20, whose total 
imports value stood at 773,726 F.CFA before increasing slightly during the 
subsequent phase to reach 1,869,039 F.CFA,  a variation of 1,095,313 F.CFA.  There 
is one specific case, however, that is worth mentioning, namely sub-heading 63 05 33 (other sacks and bags of polypropylene), the only item in this chapter to have 
recorded a relatively signifi cant increase in import volume. 
 
 (7) Chapters 73-85 and 87 were no excep tions either:  imports fell sharply. 
  G/C/W/523 
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  Generally speaking, the synopsis below, which was produced by the computer system of the 
customs authorities, corroborates the results of th e analysis which, with the exception of a few 
products, confirms the limiting effect of minimum values on imports.  
 The analysis revealed one particularly noteworthy circumstance, namely the almost perfect 
match between the official statistical data from the computer system of the customs authorities and the 
data below from the replies to the questionnaire c oncerning the impact of the application of minimum 
values.  III. IMPACT OF THE APPLICATION OF MINIMUM VALUES ON THE INDUSTRIAL 
FABRIC 
COMPANY TARIFF ITEM PRODUCTS REMARKS 
SIPS 48 18 10 
48 18 20 48 20 20 Toilet paper 
Paper handkerchiefs Exercise books Recovery of 30-40% of 
market share 
Ets SAID NOUJAIM FRERES 17 04 90 
19 05 31 Confectionary (sweets 
and biscuits) The value of 750F/kg. 
had made it possible to reduce the volume of imports and increase 
sales by 10 to 15%.  
Since then, however, with a drop in the value to 600 F/kg., imports have increased once 
again with a 
consequent loss in sales.  - The value of 750F/kg. did not provide 
sufficient protection, 
since the volume of imports increased.  - Situation aggravated 
by the problem of 
infringement. 
SOGEPAL 19 05 31 BISCUITS - 39.5% increase in 
turnover - 40.55% increase in output with spillover effects on the total wage bill, social 
security contributions, 
and tax payments (VAT in particular, with an increase of 64%) G/C/W/523 
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 COMPANY TARIFF ITEM PRODUCTS REMARKS 
SOBOA 22 03 to 22 06 and   
22 08 Alcoholic beverages - Sales of beer 
increased from July to December 2004 by 18% as compared to 2003 
- Decrease in ordinary 
wine imports in favour of wine in bulk owing to a combined effect of minimum values and the additional tax. 
ISENCY 87 11 
87 12 Mopeds 
bicycles - 181% increase in 
sales 
- Short reference 
period - Case of second-hand mopeds and smuggling of bicycles 
SIGELEC 85 06 10 11 
 
85 06 10 12 R20 primary cells and 
primary batteries  
R6 batteries - No statistics 
- Overall problem of 
marking and 
infringement - Slight improvement since July 2004. 
MTOA/IMPERIAL TOBACCO 24 02 20 Cigarettes - 4% increase in sales 
SOSAGRAIN 19 02 30 Pasta - 27% increase in 
commercial imports  - 13% increase in 
industrial imports 
COFISAC 63 05 20 Sacks of polypropylene - Development of 
market share from 10 
to 20% 
CSTM 76 16 19 Household articles - Increase in output 
- Re-hiring of laid-off employees 
 
IV. CONCLUSION 
 The reactions of manufacturers to the questi onnaire addressed by the Customs Administration 
to the main employer organizations (SPIDS – CN ES) are reproduced in summary form in the table 
above.  They inspire the following conclusions: 
 
• The sample of manufacturers that responded to the request is representative of the 
sectors of activity to which the products subject to minimum values correspond.  In other words, it represents a reliable baromete r that can suitably be used to evaluate 
the impact of the application of minimum values in Senegal. 
 
• The trends that emerge from the statistical  data supplied by the companies concerned 
practically all point in the same direction:  increase in market share following a  G/C/W/523 
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 growth in sales which would appear, in its turn, to be attributable chiefly to the 
regulatory effects of the minimum values a nd which have resulted in the maintenance 
of a healthy competitive relationship in fa vour of manufacturers and importers to the 
detriment of non-competitive manufacturers and unfair importers . 
 
 However, leaving aside this constant, stric tly sectoral concerns have been expressed 
according to the branch of activity of the compan y whose identical or like products are subject to 
minimum values.  These specific concerns, of which there are a great variety, are generally raised as arguments justifying or intending to justif y the need to renew the minimum values. 
 
 Ultimately, the development of an efficient,  competitive, and sustainable industrial fabric 
depends not only on the renewal of the minimum valu es, but also on the parallel elimination of unfair 
and unlawful practices in order to safeguard the enterprises while at the same time defending the 
interests of the State and protecting consumers
 by supplying higher quality products that represent no 
risk to public safety. 
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