WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
31 March 2008 
 (08-1390) 
Trade Policy Review Body 
28 and 30 January 2008  Original:  English/Spanish 
                anglais/espagnol                 inglés/español 
  
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
GHANA 
Minutes of Meeting
 
Addendum  
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Vesa Himanen (Finland) 
 This document contains the advance writte n questions, and replies provided by Ghana.1 
__________________________________________________________________________________  
Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales 
28 et 30 janvier 2008 
 
EXAMEN DES POLITIQUES COMMERCIALES 
GHANA 
Compte rendu de la réunion
 
Addendum  
Président:  S.E. M. Vesa Himanen (Finlande)  
 Le présent document contient les questions écrites communiquées à l'avance et les réponses 
fournies par le Ghana.1 
__________________________________________________________________________________  
Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales 
28 y 30 de enero de 2008 
 
EXAMEN DE LAS POLÍTICAS COMERCIALES 
GHANA 
Acta de la reunión
 
Addendum  
Presidente:  Excmo. Sr. Vesa Himanen (Finlandia) 
 En el presente documento figuran las pre guntas presentadas anticipadamente por escrito, 
junto con las respuestas facilitadas por Ghana.1 
 
                                                      
1 In English and Spanish only./En anglais et espagnol seulement./En inglés y español solamente.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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ADVANCE WRITTEN QUESTIONS TO GHANA 
BRAZIL  
1-  Regarding notifications under the SPS agreemen t, the report of the Secretariat has noted that 
Ghana did not submit any notifications to the WT O. What are the main difficulties faced by the 
Government of Ghana to notify SPS measures?    
REPUBLIC OF KOREA  
I. Trade and investment regime 
1.  Preferential trade regime between the EU and Ghana (WT/TPR/G/194 p.13 par.33, 
WT/TPR/S/194 p.16-7 par.28-30) 
The WTO waiver of the Cotonou Agreement, a non reciprocal preferential trade regime between the 
EU and ACP countries including Ghana, expired as of  December 31, 2007. It has been reported that 
the EU and ACP countries are in the process of negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement 
(EPA) to replace the Cotonou Agreement, but have not  yet concluded the negotiations. Therefore, in 
order to continue the preferential trade between the EU and Ghana until a new EPA goes into effect, 
an interim agreement, also known as the "stepping stone" agreement, was signed last December. 
It is our understanding that the interim agreement between the EU and Ghana should satisfy several 
requirements in accordance with the relevant WTO rules to justify the current preferential trade 
between the two parties. For example, the interi m agreement should be "necessary for the formation 
of a customs union or of a free-trade area" under pa ragraph 5 of Article XX IV of GATT and provide 
"a plan and schedule for the formation of such a cu stoms union or of such a free-trade area within a 
reasonable length of time" under paragraph 5(c) of Article XXIV of GATT .   
Against this background, Korea would like to requ est an explanation on how the agreement signed 
last December satisfies the requirements mentione d above as well as other relevant WTO rules.  
II.  Trade policies and practices by measure 
1. Customs clearance for air cargo (WT/TPR/S/194 p.23 par.7-11) 
The significant improvements in Ghana's computer ized customs clearance is apparent as is its 
enhanced procedural efficiency in other areas. This  can be attributed to the Ghanaian government's 
relentless efforts and also the WTO's technical assi stance. However, in regard to air cargo, it seems 
the benefits of computerization and prompt cust oms clearance have been undermined due to the 
uncertainty and unpredictability of tariff classification and customs valuation. It has been reported that 
many traders in Ghana are experiencing difficulties in  importing high value goods through the airport.  
Korea would like to request the Ghanaian governmen t's urgent attention in this matter. Moreover, 
we sincerely hope that the benefits of the increased  efficiency in customs clearance procedures will 
be fully maintained in the air transport sector as well. Please provided us with the Ghanaian 
government's view on this issue. 
CANADA  
REPORT BY THE GOVE RNMENT (WT/TPR/G/194)  
No questions.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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REPORT BY THE SECRETARIAT (WT/TPR/S/194) 
 
II. Annex II.1: Trade-Related Technical Assi stance; (1) General Needs, (2) Supply-Side 
Constraints, and (3) Integration of Trade into  Development Plans; Paragraphs 1-11, Pages 19-
21:  
According to the Secretariat Report (page 21, para graph 11), Ghana, has developed a comprehensive 
trade policy described as a determined effort by th e government of Ghana to place trade at the centre 
of its development plans. Canada notes that the im plementation of the various aspects of this plan 
would require or depend on trade-related technical assistance or aid for trade.  
1.  (a) Canada would appreciate if Ghana could indicate whether it has estimates of costs for 
implementing the various aspects of its trade polic y reform itemized in paragraphs 1 through 10 
(pages 19 and 20) as well as whether and how these various aspects have been prioritized for 
implementation.  
(b) Further, Canada would appreciate an i ndication from Ghana as to whether there are 
aspects of its trade policy reform that can be im plemented without recourse to external resources. 
III. Trade Policy by Measure; (4) Measures Affecting Production and Trade; (V) Intellectual 
property rights; Paragraph 101, Page 42:  
Canada notes that according to the Secretariat Re port regarding compulsory licences the responsible 
Minister may designate a third party or Government agency to exploit an invention where required in 
the public interest, including for the development of vital sectors of the economy.   
2. Canada would be grateful for details on (a) what is meant by “the development of vital sectors 
of the economy”; and (b) to what extent efforts must be made to obtain authorization of the right 
holder on reasonable commercia l terms and conditions.  
III. Trade Policy by Measure; (4) Measures Affecting Production and Trade; (V) Intellectual 
property rights; Paragraph 104, Page 43:  
The Secretariat Report for Ghana states that, “[u] nder Article 27 of the Copyright Act, blank video 
and audio cassettes are subject to a levy of 20%; the levy is collected by the CEPS.  Income derived 
from the levy is earmarked for activ ities of the Copyright Office.”   
3.  Canada would appreciate if Ghana could provide: (a) the total levy amount collected for video 
and audio cassettes (in 2007 or the most recent year for which information is available); (b) further 
information on the type of activities the money is u sed for (e.g. Copyright Office's general revenue); 
and (c) details on the portion of the money collected that is distributed to the right holders, if any. 
III. Trade Policy by Measure; (4) Measures Affecting Production and Trade; (V) Intellectual 
property rights; Paragraph 105, Page 43:  
According to the Secretariat Report for Ghana, “[u]nd er the Copyright Act, expressions of folklore are 
protected against reproduction, public performance , broadcast, adaptation, translation, and other 
transformation.”   
4.  Canada would appreciate if Ghana could provide further information on the protection 
provided to 'expressions of folklore' under Ghana's Copyright Act, including a substantive definition 
if one exists.   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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III. Trade Policy by Measure; (4) Measures Affecting Production and Trade; (V) Intellectual 
property rights; Paragraph 106, Page 43:  
The Secretariat Report states that, “[a]ccording to the authorities, a major challenge has been that 
enforcement regulations, compatible with the new laws, have not yet been adopted.”   
5.  Canada would be grateful for further info rmation on why compatible enforcement regulations 
have not yet been adopted as well as progress on adoption. 
IV. Trade Policy by Sector; (1) Introduction; Pa ragraph 3, Page 44; (2) Agriculture, Forestry, 
and Fisheries; (i) Overview; Paragraph 6, Page  44-45; and (4) Manufacturing; Paragraph 67, 
Page 55:  
The Secretariat Report indicates that Ghana's tari ff structure displays marked escalation for sub-
sectors such food and beverages, textiles and appare l, chemicals and non-metallic products leading to 
high effective protection, which unfortunately af fects the international competitiveness of these 
products.  
6.  How does the government of Ghana plan to r econcile this in view of its stated policy of 
attaining middle-income status by 2015 through ma rked trade liberalization particularly that of 
transforming Ghana into a leading agri-industrial nation by 2015 (page 45).   
IV. Trade Policy by Sector; (3) Mining and Energy; (i) Mining; Paragraph 47, Page 52:  
7. Canada would appreciate an update by Ghana on the measures being taken to control rough 
diamond smuggling. In particular, Canada would appr eciate an update on Ghana's efforts to extend its 
Kimberley Process internal controls to the informal diamond mining sector. 
IV. Trade Policy by Sector; (3) Mining and Energy; (i) Mining; Paragraph 48, Page 52:  
8. Does Ghana's Minerals and Mining Act of 2006,  and/or the regulations under development, 
address the issue of putting in place a streamlined  process for negotiation and payment by mining 
companies of land use payments at the local level? 
IV. Trade Policy by Sector; (3) Mining and Energy; (i) Mining; Paragraph 50, Page 52:  
Canada understands that a portion of the mineral rent (royalties and other taxes) paid is returned to 
local governments for development use.   
9. What steps has Ghana taken to  date to ensure that both th e payments and the uses to which 
they are put are accompanied by an adequate le vel of transparency? Furthermore, Canada would 
appreciate Ghana providing a detailed update on its progress to date in implementing the Extractive 
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), including information on any new initiatives or significant 
changes to existing ones planned in the near-medium term. 
ECUADOR  
a) En el esquema de sus políticas comerciales, se eliminaron las diversas formas de controles de 
precios y de distribución sobre el comercio.  D esearíamos conocer detalles sobre el particular.  
b) En el esquema de su política arancelaria, el  impuesto especial del 20% sobre las 28 partidas 
arancelarias que abarcaban aproximadamente el 6%  de las líneas arancelarias ha sido abolido.  
Desearíamos conocer detalles sobre el particular.   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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c) En el esquema del ADPIC que aplica Ghana, desearíamos conocer en detalle cuál es el 
tratamiento que brinda al acceso internacional de la tecnología de la información. 
UNITED STATES
 
WT/TPR/S/194  
II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES (4)  TRADE AGREEMENTS 
iii.  Other arrangements 
(b)  AGOA 
Page 17, Paragraph 31:
  We note that Ghana is eligible to expo rt apparel duty-free to the United States 
using third country fabric until 2012.  Why is this  information not included in the Government of 
Ghana's report (see WT/TPR/G/194, Page 13, Pa ra 34 under “Preferential Arrangements,” last 
sentence)?  
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 
(2)  MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS 
(iv) Other charges affecting imports 
(a) Other border taxes 
Page 29, Paragraphs 27-28:  Although the Secretariat's report notes that Ghana has bound other duties 
and charges (ODCs) at zero on non-agricultura l and most agricultural goods, Ghana assesses an 
ECOWAS levy of 0.5% on all imports from non-ECOWAS members.  Ghana also applies the Export Development and Investment Fund Levy of 0.5% to  all non-petroleum imports.  What steps is Ghana 
taking to ensure that these levies are cons istent with GATT Articles I and VIII?  
Page 29, Paragraph 29:
 What steps is Ghana taking to ensure that the 1% destination inspection fee 
(payable directly to the inspection company) is  consistent with Ghana's obligations under GATT 
Article VIII, i.e., commensurate with  the cost of the services rendered? 
Page 29, Paragraph 30:   The Secretariat's report notes that Ghana applies a special 20% levy on 
imports of blank video and audio casse ttes to support IPR protection. Is  this levy used to compensate 
right holders for personal copying of works and s ound recordings?  If so, how is this compensation 
distributed to right holders?  If not, what is the purpose of the levy?  
(v) Import prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing 
Page 30, Paragraph 37 and Table III.6 :  
Q1: The Secretariat's report notes that imports of cinematography films need the permission of the 
Commissioner of CEPS if they enter through ports of entry other than Tema, Takoradi, or Kotaka 
International Airport.  Why does Ghana require pe rmission for films imported through certain ports 
but not through others?  What is the purpose of the “permission”?  In our view, imports of cinematography films should be permitted without requiring special permission.   
Q2:  Why does Ghana restrict imports of the products  named in Table III.6?  What is the purpose of 
the required permits or certificates?   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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(vi)  Standards and other technical requirements 
(a)  Standards and technical regulations 
Page 31, Para 39:    Please provide an update of the efforts by the Government of Ghana to revise its 
law to allow voluntary standards.  For “mandatory  standards,” how much time does Ghana currently 
allow between the time of publication of a final standard and its implementation?  
Page 31, Para 40:   What criteria does the Government of Ghana use to determine whether products are 
“high-risk goods”?   
(b)  SPS Measures 
Page 32, paragraph 47:   The Secretariat report states that Ghana has not submitted any SPS 
notifications to the WTO even though paragraph 47 describes SPS measures related to avian influenza 
and BSE that Ghana has implemented.  Does Ghana plan to notify the WTO of future sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures to comply with transparency requirements? 
(4)  MEASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE 
(v) Intellectual property rights 
Page 42 of the Secretariat Report (Table III.11) states, "Permitted use of work protected by copyright 
includes reproduction, translation, adaptation for exclusive personal use."  Is this an accurate 
description of Ghanaian copyright la w?  If so, does this exception appl y to all situations in which a 
person makes copies for personal use?  Does the ex ception apply only when the person makes a copy 
from a legally obtained work, or does it also appl y when the person makes a copy from an illegally 
obtained work? 
Page 42, WT/TPR/S/194, Table III.11:   Please provide the legislative basis, i.e., the citation of the 
relevant law and/or regulation, for protection of trade secrets and for protection of undisclosed test 
and other data from unfair commercial use 
Page 43, paragraph 106  of the Secretariat Report speaks to th e challenges Ghana faces to enforce its 
new law.  What steps is Ghana taking to adopt new enforcement regulations ?  Are raids and other 
actions being conducted? 
Page 43, paragraph 108  of the Secretariat Report refers to Ghana's establishment of "special 
commercial courts” to deal with IPR infringements.  The Report states that “training of judges started 
in early 2007."  Have these judges begun to hear cases? How many cases have been adjudicated and 
how many are pending?  Can you provide informat ion on the types of IPR infringement cases, e.g., 
trademarks, copyright, etc. that are being adjudicated? 
WT/TPR/G/194, Page 10, paragraph 25:  Ghana states that a key objective of its Trade Sector Support 
Programme is to "[p]rotect inte llectual property rights."  What measures or instruments do the Trade 
Programme's 27 projects contain to protect intellectual property rights? 
IV. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 
(2) AGRICULTURE , FORESTRY, AND FISHERIES 
(ii) Key subsectors 
Page 49, paragraph 33 :  Ghana currently prohibits the impor tation of cattle and bovine meat from 
countries affected by BSE.  Ghana maintains an informal ban on bone-in b eef products due to BSE WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 8  
 
concerns.  Only boneless beef imports are i ssued import licenses.  In May 2007, the OIE 
recommended that U.S. beef and beef products retain th e “controlled” risk status for BSE.  This status 
allows for the full range of U.S. beef and beef products , regardless of age, to be traded consistent with 
OIE guidelines and recommendations.  What steps is Ghana taking to allow for the importation of 
U.S. bone-in beef in accordance with OIE international guidelines? 
IV. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 
(5) SERVICES 
(ii)   Financial services Page 60, Paragraph 81:
  The insurance industry is regulated  by the National Insurance Commission 
(NIC), under the Insurance Act of 2006.  All insuranc e companies and brokers must be registered with 
the NIC and be incorporated in Ghana.  The 2006 Act abolished ownership lim itations for foreigners 
in the insurance subsector.  Will Ghana revise its in surance commitments in its GATS offer, to reflect 
the elimination of foreign owners hip limitations under the 2006 Insura nce Act and current levels of 
market access? 
Page 60, Paragraph 82:   The minimum capital requirement is equivalent to US$ 1 million for both life 
and non-life insurance companies.  Premiums on moto r vehicles are set by the NIC, while all other 
premiums are market-determined.  New insurance products must be approved by the NIC.  Ghanaians 
residing in Ghana may buy insurance ab road only if that type of insura nce is not available in Ghana.   
The limitation restricting Ghanaian residents' purchase of insurance abroad raises questions 
concerning your market access commitments for insu rance under the GATS.  Please explain how this 
limitation is consistent with your market acce ss commitments and why this limitation is necessary. 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES  
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  
(2) RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 2, para. 6  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “[…] labour market statistics in Ghana are scant”.  
1. Does Ghana intend to improve its  labour market statistics?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 3, para. 8  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Subsid ization of petroleum products accounts for a large 
share of government expenditure”.  
2. What is the rationale for subsidizi ng petroleum products at this scale?  
3. Does Ghana intend to reduce government expenditure for petroleum products?  
4. Does Ghana consider that the subsidization of  petroleum products contributes to sustainable 
development?   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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WTO Secretariat's Report, page 3, para. 10  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Ghana's  current account has generally been in deficit 
since 2001”.  
5. What measures does Ghana intend to undertake in order to tackle the current account deficit?  
(4) OUTLOOK  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 9, para. 22  According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, climatic conditions and rising energy prices, among 
others, make projections about the development of  the Ghanaian economy difficult, thus creating a 
climate of uncertainty (cf. also page 48, para. 30). 
6. How does Ghana intend to decrease its dependency on general conditions it cannot influence?  
7. What steps is Ghana undertaking in order to make growth more sustainable?  
II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 
 
(3) INVESTMENT REGIME  WTO Secretariat's Report, page vii, para. 6  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Ghana's investment regime is liberal, with some sectoral 
exceptions, including small-scale mining, fishing, and retail trade”.  
8. Does Ghana intend to keep these sectoral exceptions?  
It further states that “important challenges to th e investment environment remain and include: low 
productivity, the high costs of and difficult access  to financing; underdeveloped transport 
infrastructure, unclear land ownership, frequent power and water cuts, and the low skilled labour 
force”.  
9. How does Ghana seek to meet thes e challenges in order to make the investment environment 
more attractive to foreign direct investment?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 12, para. 11 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Any en terprise with foreign participation must register 
with the GIPC [Ghana Investment Promotion Centre]”.  
10. What is the rationale for this practice?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 12, para. 12 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “The  GIPC [Ghana Investment Promotion Centre] 
excludes foreign investors from participating in four  economic sectors: retail trade; operation of taxi 
and car rental services with fleets of less than ten ve hicles, lotteries, and the operation of beauty and 
barber salons”.  
11. What are the underlying reasons for excluding foreign investors from participating in these 
four sectors?  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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12. Does Ghana intend to change this practice?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 13, para. 13 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “There is compulsory local participation in mineral and 
oil projects, whereby the Government acquires a 10 % equity in ventures, at no cost. Non-Ghanaians 
are not allowed to engage in small scale mining”.  
13. What is the rationale for this practice?  
14. Does Ghana intend to change this practice?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 13, para. 14 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “A rticle 266 of the Constitution establishes that 
foreigners may not own land in Ghana”.  
15. Does Ghana intend to modify Article 266 of its Constitution?  
(4) TRADE AGREEMENTS  
(i) World Trade Organization  The WTO Secretariat's Report, page 13, para. 17 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “T he WTO Agreements have not been directly 
incorporated into Ghana's domestic legislation and cannot be invoked before national courts”.  
16. When does Ghana intend to inco rporate WTO Agreements into its domestic legislation?  
Furthermore, it is stated that Ghana is not party of “any of the plurilateral agreements concluded under 
the WTO”.  
17. Does Ghana intend to join any plurilatera l agreements in the nearby future?  
(ii) Preferential trade agreements  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 15, para. 22 According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “A co mmon external tariff (CET) was to be accepted by 1 
January 2004 to finalize the establishment of a Customs Union. However, the timetables for the 
implementation of the TLS [trade liberalization schem e] and adoption of the C ET have been delayed”.  
18. When will the establishment of an ECOWAS Cust oms Union be finalised? What is the latest 
update?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 15, para. 24 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Repo rt, there is “corruption in Customs”.  
19. What measures is Ghana undertaking in or der to decrease corruption in Customs?   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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(iii) Other agreements  
(b) AGOA  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 17, para. 31 
As stated in the WTO Secretariat's Report, Ghana is eligible for various trade preferences under the 
U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act. Some c onditions apply so as to be an eligible country 
under the AGOA scheme, namely "establishing a mark et-based economy; developing the rule of law 
and political pluralism; eliminating discriminatory barriers to U.S. trade and investment; protecting intellectual property; combating corruption; protecting human and worker rights; and removing 
certain practices of child labour". 
20. In this regard, could Ghana elaborate on th e measures undertaken and progress made in 
removing certain practices of child labour? 
21. What products and what proportion of Ghanaian exports to the US are benefiting from the 
AGOA scheme?  
ANNEX II: TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
 
(1) GENERAL NEEDS WTO Secretariat's Report, page 19, para. 2 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “G hana now applies the WTO Agreement on Customs 
Valuation, although it continues to use reference va lues for some items, mainly second-hand cars”.  
22. Does Ghana intend to change this prac tice with regards to second-hand cars?  
(3) INTEGRATION OF TRADE INTO DEVELOPMENT PLANS  WTO Secretariat's Report, page 21, para. 11 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Un til recently, Ghana did not have a coherent trade 
policy”.  
23. Was particular technical assistance received to  establish this new trade policy framework?  
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE
 
(1) INTRODUCTION  WTO Secretariat's Report, page 22, para. 2 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Two  additional charges, the ECOWAS levy and the 
Export Development and Investment F und Levy, apply only on imports”.  
24. Could Ghana elaborate on these charges and explain what they consist of?  
(2) MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS  The WTO Secretariat's Report, page vii, para. 2  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “the Government remains heavily reliant on import duties 
(including VAT and excise duties), which make up more than 55% of the public revenue”.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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25. Does Ghana intend to reduce its reliance on im port duties? If so, which strategy does Ghana 
intend to apply?  
(i) Customs procedures and valuation  
The WTO Secretariat's Report, page 23, para. 9  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “G hana has reportedly been implementing the WTO 
Agreement on Customs Valuation since April, although the underlying legislation has not yet been 
adopted. It encounters certain difficulties in implementing the Agreement […]”.  
26. Which difficulties is Ghana encountering?  
(iv) Other charges affecting imports 
The WTO Secretariat's Report, page 29, para. 29 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “The d estination inspection fee, payable directly to the 
inspection company, is 1% of the c.i.f. value of imports”.  
27. Does Ghana consider the current system of destination inspection to be efficient and 
satisfactory?  
(v) Import prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing  
WTO Secretariat's Report; page 30, para. 35  According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, "The Imports and Expor ts (Prohibited Goods) 
Regulations of 1994 prohibit commerc ial imports of used or second-h and: handkerchiefs; underpants; 
mattresses; and sanitary ware. Importation of used LPG  cylinders, toxic waste, turkey tails, foreign 
soil, and medical soap containing mercuric iodine is also prohibited".  
28. Can Ghana explain the rationale for such prohibitions?  
29. Does Ghana consider to introduce furthe r measures, e.g. on tomato paste?  
(vi) Standards and other technical requirements  
(b) SPS measures  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 32, para. 46  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, "Ghana  […] prohibits the importation of poultry products 
from certain countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa because of avian influenza; and of bovine 
meat from certain European and North American countries affected by BSE”.  
With regard to Avian Influenza please coul d Ghana provide information on the following: 
30. Could Ghana ensure that it applies all OIE reco mmendations with regard to eventual import 
restrictions for reasons of avian influenza (AI)? If not, please could Ghana clarify? 
31. Could Ghana ensure that import restrictions ar e not being applied to EU exports of heat-
treated poultry products?   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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32. If so, could Ghana ensure that import restric tions are in accordance to OIE recommendations 
(Article 2.7.12.20.), which state that heat-t reated meat (following a process which ensures 
destruction of AI virus) can be safely traded  regardless of the AI status of the exporting 
country.  
An exporting country can re-gain its AI free status  after 90 days with no outbreaks, in accordance 
with the OIE Animal Health Code. Furthermore, the EC would also like to point out that, according to 
the OIE, countries with outbreaks of AI only in the wild bird population should not suffer any import restrictions on poultry products. 
33. Could Ghana confirm whether it is following the above-mentioned approach, in accordance 
with international recommendations?  
With regard to BSE, please could Ghana provide information on the following:  
Article 2.3.13.1. of the OIE Terrestrial Animal H ealth Code stipulates the list of commodities which 
should not require any BSE related conditions, “r egardless of the BSE status of the exporting 
country”. This list includes inter alia deboned skelet al muscle meat from cattle 30 months of age or 
less, milk and milk products, semen and in vivo, derived cattle embryos collected and handled in 
accordance with the recommendations of the Intern ational Embryo Transfer Society, and hides and 
skins and gelatine and collagen prepared  exclusively from hides and skins.  
34. Is Ghana following the above-mentioned approach?  
35. Could Ghana ensure that it applies thes e OIE recommendations? If not, please could Ghana 
clarify?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 32, para. 47  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, "Ghana  has not submitted any SPS notifications to the 
WTO". 
Under the SPS agreement (Article 7) , it is stated that Members shoul d notify changes in their sanitary 
or phytosanitary (SPS) measures and shall provide information on their SPS measures.  
36. Which steps is Ghana taking and intends to take  so as to make sure that Ghana is notifying 
systematically changes in their SPS measures,  taking into account that Ghana has not 
submitted any SPS notification to the WTO to date? 
(3) MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING EXPORTS  
(v) Export processing zones  WTO Secretariat's Report, page 35, para. 62  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “The  importance of export processing zones (EPZs) has 
grown considerably in recent years […] There are four EPZs in Ghana”.  
37. Have export processing zones been a useful tool in order to promote exports?  
38. Does Ghana intend to increase the number of EPZs?  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
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(4) MEASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE  
(ii) Government procurement  WTO Secretariat's Report, page 37, para. 79  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Ghana is neither a signatory nor an observer to the WTO 
Agreement on Government Procurement”.  
39. In light of the fact that the new WTO Ag reement on Government Procurement is more 
developing country-friendly, does Ghana intend to join the WTO Agreement on Government 
Procurement in the nearby future?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 37, para. 80  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “In 200 6, price quotation was the preferred procurement 
method, used for […] international competitive tendering (12%) […]”.  
40. Does Ghana intend to increase the share of intern ational competitive tendering in the nearby 
future?  
WTO Secretariat's report, page 37 and §8, para. 80 and 84  
There seems to be an inconsiste ncy between paragraph 80 which stat es that price quotation was the 
preferred procurement method while  paragraph 84 states that competitive tendering is the preferred 
procurement method.  
41. Could Ghana explain this inconsistency?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 38, para. 86 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, „Goods  satisfying the local-content conditions attract a 
margin of preference of up to 20%, depending on the local content“.  
Consequently, foreign bidders de facto are forced to  make offers at a reduced rate in comparison to 
Ghanaian bidders. However, this w ill not always be possible to foreign bidders. In contrast, the public 
procurement market in the EC is open to foreign bidders.  
42. What are the local content requirements?  
43. Does Ghana intend to abolish this marg in of preference of up to 20%?  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “Statistical data are not available on the share of imports 
in public procurement in Ghana”.  
44. Will such statistical data be available in the future?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 39, para. 88 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “The  state-owned Ghana National Procurement Agency 
has been transformed into an export promotion ins titution […] and is no longer in charge of public 
procurement”.  
45. Which consequences will the transformation of the Ghana National Procurement Agency into 
an export promotion institution ha ve for public procurement?   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 15 
 
 
(iii) State trading, state-owned enterprises, and privatization  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 39, para. 92 and page ix, para. 15 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “There  are 33 fully state-owned enterprises in Ghana”. 
On page ix, it is mentioned that “State-owned en terprises continue to play a significant role in the 
economy”.  
46. Does Ghana intend to reduce the role of state- owned enterprises in its economy? If so, how?  
(iv) Competition policy and price controls  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 40, para. 93 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report,  “Ghana does not have legislation on  
anti-competitive practices, such as abuse of dominant position, price-fixing, or market sharing. A draft 
bill has been under consideration for several  years, but has not been enacted”.  
47. Does Ghana envisage the adoptio n of competition policies?  
48. Are there plans for an ECOWAS competition au thority on the table? If so, when will they 
likely be implemented?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 40, para. 94 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, “In the absence of a legal competition framework, the 
Government uses moral suasion to pr event anti-competitive cases […]”.  
49. Does Ghana consider this practice to be useful and effective?  
IV. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR  
(5) SERVICES  (ii) Financial services  
(a) Banking  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 59, para. 77  
It is understood that banking applications ar e subject to economic needs tests (ENT's).  
50. Could Ghana inform us about the specifi c main criteria applied in these ENT's? 
(iii) Communication  
(a) Telecommunication  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 61, para. 87  
On the basis of the existing GATS schedule of co mmitments in the telecommunications services we 
see that there are certain restrictions in market  access such as the existence of a duopoly and the 
formation of joint ventures.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 16  
 
51. In this regard, could Ghana describe the state of play of the telecommunications sector while 
providing also, if possible, the actual number of competitors present in each segment of the market (fixed, mobile, local, in ternational etc) in Ghana?  
52. Furthermore, which is the impact of the require ment to form joint ventures in the incentives 
of third country operators to enter the telecoms markets in Ghana?  
(iv) Transport  
(c) Water transport  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 63, para. 105  
It is understood that in Tema Port, the container te rminal facilities are operated by a consortium rather 
than by a number of private companies and that facilities for bulk and break-bulk cargo remain under 
the control of GPHA. Furthermore, it is understood that stevedore tariffs are not market-determined, 
but are decided by GPHA which also applies royalties to tariffs.  
53. With regard to these practices, could Ghana cl arify GPHA's role and policy concerning the 
operation of port facilities, and could Ghana pr ovide details of any changes envisaged for 
GPHA's role in the future? 
54. With reference to Ghana's policy objective to  develop a maritime hub and gateway for West 
Africa, could Ghana comment upon whether it in tends to revise its policy concerning access 
to the international market for maritime trans port services, which is currently characterised by 
a limitation restricting international maritime transport services suppliers to a 20% share of 
the bulk and liner cargo markets? 
(v) Tourism  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 65, para. 108-113  
55. Could Ghana inform us on how many people work in the tourism sector and what has been 
the evolution in the last years?  
56. Could Ghana inform us on how much of the FDI a ttracted by the country in the last years has 
been in the tourism sector? 
57. Could Ghana provide us with additional informa tion about their existing plans to promote the 
tourism sector, and what measures the governme nt is taking to ensure non-discrimination of 
foreign service suppliers? 
58. Could Ghana inform us about their plans for improving professional education and training 
related to the tourism sector? 
59. Could Ghana inform us about its assessment of the effect of the tourism sector in overall 
economic growth and employment, and in particular in other economic sectors like 
construction, transport, computer servic es, education and professional training?  
60. Could Ghana inform us about the existing legi slation applicable to tour managers (i.e. 
professionals accompanying groups of tourists in  their travel through the country) and tourist 
guides? Could Ghana inform us about the plans that the government is considering to reduce 
or eliminate discrimination of foreign service suppliers in these fields?  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 17 
 
 
Distribution services  
61. Could Ghana indicate how many people work in the distribution sector and what has been the 
evolution in the last years? 
62. Could Ghana confirm how much of the FDI attracted by the country in the last years has been 
in the distribution sector? 
63. Could Ghana share its assessment of the effect of the distribution sector in overall economic 
growth, employment and social development, and also in other economic sectors like construction, transport, computer servic es, education and professional training?  
64. Could Ghana inform us about existing legi slation applicable to retailing services? 
Business services 
65. Could Ghana inform us about the legislation applicable to management consulting and the 
measures the government is taking to ensure non- discrimination of foreign service suppliers?  
66. Could Ghana inform us about the legislation applicable to services related to management 
consulting and the measures the government is ta king to ensure non-discrimination of foreign 
service suppliers?  
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  
(2) MAJOR FEATURES OF THE ECONOMY WTO Secretariat's Report, page 2, para. 5 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, the Bank of Ghana has targeted "a level of international 
reserves equivalent to at least three months of imports of goods and services […]".  
1. Could Ghana please outline how the target of obtain ing international reserves equivalent to at 
least three months of imports of goods and services will be achieved?  
(2) RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 2, para. 6  
The WTO Secretariat's Report states: "Although labour market statistics in Ghan a are scant, available 
data on advertised job vacancies indicate that risi ng GDP growth has translated into growing labour 
demand, particularly in the services sector".  
To the EC, this way of measuring GDP growth is not clear.  
2. Could Ghana please clarify this method to measure GDP growth?  
WTO Secretariat's Report,  page 3, para. 7 
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, "inflation was 10.9% in 2006 and 10.2% in the first 
quarter of 2007".  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 18  
 
3. Could Ghana please provide us with the most recent inflation figures, i.e. the fourth quarter of 
2007 or the third quarter of 2007?  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 3, para. 8 
It is indicated that subsidization of petroleu m products account for a large share of government 
expenditure. However, the Ghanaian government has consistently highlighted the need for a full cost 
recovery and has gone ahead to set up a board that manages pricing of petroleum products.  
4. Could Ghana please clarify if it intends to furt her pursue a subsidization policy of petroleum 
products or a policy of full cost recovery of petroleum products?  
(3) TRADE AND INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE  
(i) Trade in goods and services  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 8, para. 16  According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, "The EC's share dropped […] from 43% in 2000 to 36% 
in 2006".  
5. What are the reasons for this performance?  
6. Why have the shares of China and India been experiencing growth within the same period?  
7. What are the main components of imports from China and India?  
(4) OUTLOOK  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 9, para. 20  
According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, "T he medium-term outlook for Ghana's economy is 
positive, with strong growth projected. According to the IMF, real GDP is expected to grow at over 
6% annually in the medium term, and between 7% a nd 9% in the long term; this may help to further 
reduce poverty and to achieve the millennium development goals".  
According to the EC, the medium and long terms for the achievement of set targets are left hanging 
without specifics.  
8. Could Ghana please specify by providing appropriate time-bounds?  
II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 
 
(1) GENERAL FRAMEWORK  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 10, para. 3 
The main changes in Ghana's trade-related legisla tion since the last TPR in 2001 are highlighted.  
9. Could Ghana please elaborate on the objectives of  these amendments, e.g. why has a law on 
public procurement been introduced?   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 19 
 
 
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 11, para. 5 
10. Could Ghana please elaborate on the special functions of the cross-Ministerial Trade Sector 
Program?  
(3) INVESTMENT REGIME  WTO Secretariat's Report, page 12, para. 10  
The WTO Secretariat's Report states: "In line with its development strategy, Ghana seeks to promote 
the private sector as the engine of economic grow th, with an enabling environment for private 
investors, both domestic and foreign. Several measu res have been put in place for this purpose".  
According to the EC, the promotion of the private sector as the engine of growth with an enabling 
environment for private investors must be explained further. 
11. Could Ghana please clarify about policy initia tives and the general direction in order to 
promote the private sector?  
12. Which steps is Ghana undertaking in order to re duce the costs of funds which translate into 
higher lending rates?  
IV. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR 
 
(3) MINING AND ENERGY  
(i) Mining  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 51, para. 45  
It is understood that gold production has been st agnating, while diamond, bauxite, and manganese 
production was increasing. Table IV.7 however show s that bauxite is fluctuating, more than 
increasing, and in 2005 reached same levels as befo re 2001. It is also understood that over last years 
gold prices have reached highest levels since ever.  
13. Could Ghana provide more detailed analys is, providing a background to the bauxite 
production fluctuation?  
14. Are there correlations to transport services (or their lack of, c.f. para 98)?  
15. Could Ghana provide for 2006 production figur es and background analysis to understand gold 
production stagnation, given the high gold prices of last years? 
(5) SERVICES  
(iv) Transport  
(a) Land transport  
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 62, para. 95  
It is understood that the Road Sector Development Programme  (RSDP) has ended 
31st December 2007.  
To the EC's information, in 2007, Ghana has a tr unk road network with a size of about 12,000 km, 
feeder roads network of 29,000 km, and urban roads of 9,000 km. WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 20  
 
16. Could Ghana please elaborate on transport sector planning for 2008 and onwards, in view of 
ongoing assistance provided by WB, EC, and othe rs, towards transport policy development 
and multi-modal sector planning?  
17. Could Ghana also provide updated data on road network size and on its condition? 
WTO Secretariat's Report, page 63, para. 98  
The WTO Secretariat's Report states: "As part of privatization efforts, the Ministry of Harbors and 
Railways has decided to grant a 20-year concessi on to a private company through a build, operate, 
and transfer (BOT) arrangement".  
The EC is aware that such arrangement existed fo r mining related freight transport over the western 
railway link to Takoradi Port. 
18. Could Ghana please provide further information on the status, the exact scope, the functioning 
and the effectiveness of this build, opera te, and transfer (BOT) arrangement?  
COLOMBIA
 
1)  ¿Qué componentes específicos del Programa de Apoyo al Sector Comercial (2006-2010) que 
actualmente está en proceso de aplicación por parte de la República de Ghana, son  favorables a una 
mayor liberalización del régimen de importaciones del país? 
2)  ¿Cuales son las principales características de la política agrícola actual de Ghana, en materia 
de comercialización internacional de  dichos productos y cómo serí an las políticas encaminadas a una 
mayor liberalización de dicho sector? 
3)  En el Apéndice de Cuadros del Informe del Secretariado, específicamente en el Cuadro AI.1 
“Estructura de exportaciones 2000-2006” se observa que entre 2000 y 2002 el valor exportado de 
banano a la UE es prácticamente irrisorio y en d eclive. Luego desaparece entre 2003 y 2005. En 2006, 
aparece reportado USD 3,2 millones. ¿Este repunte del valor exportado de bana no en 2006 se debe al 
actual régimen preferencial que para este producto  que aplica la UE a favor de los países ACP? 
JAPAN  
The Secretariat Report (WT/TPR/S/194) 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE (4) MEASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE (v) Intellectual property rights  (Question 1: page 42, paragraph 101) 
As for compulsory licenses, the Secretariat report states that public interest reason includes 'the 
development of vital sectors of the economy'.  
(1) Please indicate any specific criteria of determining 'the development of vital sectors of the 
economy'.  
(2) Please provide and outline any specific case in  which compulsory license was granted on the 
basis of 'the development of vital sectors of the economy' as public interest reason.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 21 
 
 
GHANA'S REPLIES TO QUESTIONS 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES  
1. Does Ghana intend to improve its  labour market statistics? 
In the long-term yes. However, it would take some time and resources since it is difficult 
to have data on those employed in the informal  sector. Moreover there is no legislation which 
compels the various private companies to report on their employment levels. 
2-4. According to the WTO Secretariat's Repor t, "Subsidization of petroleum products accounts 
for a large share of government expenditure". 
An automatic adjustment mechanism for pri ces of petroleum products was introduced 
since 2005, and this has enabled government to pa ss on price increases to consumers rather than 
direct subsidization. The automatic adjustment  does allow for cross-subsidization between 
prices of products that have a disproportio nate impact on the poor. This however, is 
expenditure neutral in the sense that it does not involve any additional expenditure outlay from budgetary resources. 
i. What is the rationale for subsid izing petroleum products at this scale? 
Currently, there is no subsidization of petroleum products.  
ii. Does Ghana intend to reduce government expenditure for petroleum products? 
This is no longer applicable. 
iii. Does Ghana consider that the subsidization of petroleum products contributes to sustainable 
development?  
An automatic adjustment mechanism for prices of petroleum products is currently in 
place, and this has proved to be more sustainable.  
5. According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, "G hana's current account has generally been in 
deficit since 2001".  What measures does Ghana inte nd to undertake in order to tackle the current 
account deficit? 
As is typical with most oil-importing, commodity exporting countries, Ghana's current 
account tends to experience wide swings with  the volatility in commodity prices in the 
international markets. This notwithstanding, Gh ana's external payment position continues to 
exhibit resilience on account of increased expo rt earnings, and increased inward private 
remittances as well as other private capital flows.  Thus, although the current account deficit has 
widened mainly on account of higher oil payments, this has been fully financed with significant 
inflows of official and private capital.  Variou s measures are now in place to boost particularly 
Ghana's non-traditional exports. The President's  Special Initiative on Cassava Starch, Cotton, 
Textiles and Garment are all meant to assist th e private sector to be able to penetrate the 
external market and increase their export earnings. 
The Ghana investment Promotion and the Free Zones Laws are meant to provide 
incentives to the private sector both local and foreign to produce for the export market.  
Conessional loans and grant facilities such as the EDIF loans and grants and the Venture 
Capital Fund are all meant to make medium to long term funds available to exporters at 
reasonable price to enhance their activities.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 22  
 
Government through sound macroeconomic ma nagement in the last seven years has 
created a stable macroeconomic environment charac terised by low inflation, reduced interest 
rate and stable exchange rate to assist industr y and investors in general to better management 
their forecasting and planning, and once the cu rrent oil price problem abates, Ghana's current 
account will definitely experience an improveme nt. Ghana has also discovered crude oil in 
amounts that could turn its trade deficit into a surplus by 2010. 
According to WTO Secretariat's Report, climatic conditions and rising energy prices, 
among others, make the projections about the de velopment of the Ghanaian economy difficult, 
thus creating a climate of uncertainty. 
6. How does Ghana intend to decrease its depende ncy on general conditions it cannot influence? 
Unreliable climatic conditions affect Gh ana's development through two main sectors 
directly: the Agricultural sector as a result of erra tic and unreliable or insufficient rainfall and, 
the effect of the Energy sector through low genera tion of electric power by the Akosombo Dam.  
With respect to ameliorating the impact of  climatic conditions on agricultural sector, 
Government has embarked on a strategy to expl oit the vast and untapped water resources in the 
country, both surface and underground for irrigation.  
Already, gravity drip irrigation system has been installed in some areas. 
A new model of micro irrigation system ha s also been introduced under the Special 
Programme for Food Security.  
Installation of manually operated lift pumps on  existing wells is being done in other 
places.  There is also the construction of new da ms and rehabilitation of existing ones to make it 
possible to carry out are year round farming in  the semi arid areas through irrigation. 
Introduction of water harvesting technique through bonding, low cost water lifting 
devices and the use of a prototype wind pump to lift underground water for irrigation.  In 2007 
alone about 100 mechanised boreholes were drille d and approximately 2,000 hectares were put 
under surface irrigation. 
In 2008 government plans to facilitate the ut ilisation of 10,000 hectares under formal 
and informal irrigation. All such policies and ac tivities are intended to reduce the risk posed by 
the unfavourable climatic conditions and make agriculture more reliable and rewarding. This 
also has implication for stabilising major macro variables such as GDP growth and inflation, 
both of which have very high agricultural content. 
The risk posed by rising energy prices is e qually applicable to all non producers of this 
resource. It imposes further fiscal burden on th e economies of such countries as well as balance 
of payments problems as the countries use th eir scarce resources to import the commodity. 
Ghana has since 2006 liberalised the pricing of petroleum products and, therefore, 
ostensibly eliminated the risk of rising pri ces becoming a fiscal burden to the public budget. The 
consumer pays the full cost of the products whic h is determined by an independent regulator, 
thus removing all forms of government subsidie s to the product.  The government is further 
diversifying its energy sources as a way of reducing the impact of the high energy prices on economic activities, especially industry.  Alt ernative energy sources for the medium-to-long 
term, such as solar energy and nuclear ener gy are being explored. Government has also 
embarked on the construction of an Hydro Elec tric Project at Bui which will add additional 
400 MW of power to the pool.  The West Africa Power Pool to which Ghana is a member also 
seeks to increase energy trading in the sub-region.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 23 
 
 
There is the West Africa Gas Pipeline Project  which is now ready to deliver relatively 
cheaper natural gas to fuel thermal plants in the country. 
Apart from the effort of ensuring the relia ble supply of energy at reasonable prices to 
fuel the development agenda of government, en ergy conservation programmes have also been 
embarked on to educate the public on specifi c steps they could take to conserve energy. 
7. What steps is Ghana taking in order to make growth more sustainable? 
• Macroeconomic stability – very important to sustainable growth. 
• Infrastructural development – Eurobond pr oceeds directed towards roads, railway, 
water and electricity. 
• Provision of medium- to long-term funds at  reasonable interest rate for entrepreneurs 
and investors in general. 
• Good governance and protection human rights.   
• With sound macroeconomic environmen t, good government and supportive 
infrastructure, the private sector will be enco uraged to take up the task of investing in 
production. 
8. Ghana's investment regime is liberal, with some sectoral exceptions, including small- scale 
mining, fishing and retail trade. Does Ghan a intend to keep these sectoral exceptions? 
Ghana wants to attract investments, especia lly foreign direct investments, but at a 
higher level. Investments in some sectors are low and is meant to encourage investment by local 
small and medium scale investors who do not have large capital. However, foreign investment in 
some of these sectors are allowed, with the exception of lotteries. It is only the minimum capital 
requirement which is higher. 
Whether this policy would be changed would depend on the development objectives of 
Ghana and policy changes with time. 
9. How does Ghana seek to meet challenges to i nvestment in order to make the investment 
environment more attractive to foreign direct investment? 
To meet the challenges of low productivity, high  cost and difficult access to finance, land 
ownership etc, the government of Ghana has put in place measures to improve the investment climate and enhance the production process throug h new technology and the expansion of road 
infrastructure network. It would also embark  on programmes already mentioned above, to 
improve water and energy production and distribu tion. Interest rates are being brought down 
through sound and stable macro-economic polici es, while the problem of land acquisition is 
being solved through the provision of multi-purpose land banks. The Ministry of Information and national orientation is also embarking on programmes to bring about attitudinal change in the labour force to increase produc tivity. However, technical assistance will be needed to train 
and improve the skills of the labour force. 
10. What is the rational for any enterprise with fo reign participation to register with the Ghana 
Investment Promotion Council? 
It forms part of the government's mechanism to monitor foreign direct investment flows 
into the country and also monitor operations of foreign investors. WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 24  
 
13. WTO Secretariat's Report page 13, Para. 13.  According to the WTO Secretariat's Report, 
"there is compulsory local participation in minera l and oil projects, whereby the Government acquires 
a 10% in ventures at no cost.  Non-Ghanaians are no t allowed to engage in small mining".  What is 
the rationale for this practice? 
Ghana has been engaged in mining for a very  long time. As a result government has 
invested a lot in that sector by way of infras tructure (i.e. good road network in the country, 
availability of water, electric power) and geologi cal data as well as highly trained mining and 
mining-related technical personnel.  Government thinks  that it is only fair that it takes part in 
ventures that would use these facilities which have been provided at a cost to the country.  The 
10% free carried interest which is paid only wh en a company declares dividends is considered 
as appropriate. 
Small scale mining is meant to: 
• Create legal jobs for Ghanaians who are desirous of undertaking mining as a vocation.   
• Reduce illegal mining on concessi ons for large scale operators. 
• Reduce rural-urban migration. 
• Provide access to gold  for local jewellery manufacturers. 
• Generate economic activities in the area s where small scale mining takes place. 
 A concession for small scale mining is limit ed to a maximum area of 25 acres.  This is 
considered too small to attract substantial in vestment. Non-Ghanaians are therefore encouraged 
to get into medium to large scale operations.  
13-14.  What is the rational for compulsory local  participation in mineral and oil projects and 
government acquisition of 10% equity in ventures,  at no cost? Does Ghana intend to change this 
practice? 
The reason for local participation in minera l and oil projects is to promote local small 
and medium investors and also ensure that pe ople in the locality are involved in local 
environmental issues during the projects. The govern ment has also over time, invested a lot in 
that sector by way of infrastructure (i.e. good r oad network in the country, availability of water, 
electric power) and geological data as well as highly trained mining and mining-related technical personnel.  Government thinks that it is  only fair that it takes part in ventures that 
would use these facilities which have been provide d at a cost to the country. The land on which 
mineral and oil projects are loca ted are also considered as a national asset, therefore, the 10% 
acquisition of equity by government is held in trust for the people of Ghana. 
15. Does Ghana intend to change the constitution to modify Article 266 by which foreigners may 
not own land in Ghana? 
In Ghana all lands are not owned by individua ls but rather owned by traditional rulers 
who hold it in trust for their people. Therefore this provision of the constitution applies not only 
to foreigners, but to Ghanaians as well. Howev er a committee is studying this provision to find 
out the possibility for amendments. 
16. When does Ghana intend to inco rporate WTO Agreements into its domestic legislation?  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 25 
 
 
Some of the WTO Agreements have been incorporated in the domestic laws of Ghana. 
Others are in the process of being ratified, and th en they would be part of the domestic law.  
17. and 39. Does Ghana intend to join any Plur ilateral agreements in the nearby future? 
No Ghana has not decided yet to join an y Plurilateral WTO Agreements in the near 
future. It will join if it is in line with its development interests. 
18. When will the establishment of an ECOWAS Cust oms Union be finalised? What is the latest 
update? 
The establishment of an ECOWAS Customs Union is being driven by the ECOWAS 
Commission and the 15 ECOWAS Member stat es. Ghana alone has no control over, and 
therefore cannot tell, when the Customs Union w ill be finalised. Currently a joint committee 
(ECOWAS/UEMOA) is working on the establishm ent of a Common External Tariff which is 
necessary for the formation of a Customs Union.  When that is completed then the ECOWAS 
Commission in collaboration with ECOWAS Memb er states will fix a date for the Customs 
Union to come into force. 
19.   What measures is Ghana undertaking in or der to decrease corruption in customs? (WTO 
Secretariat's Report, page 15, para. 24) 
 The Ghanaian customs authorities acknowledge that there is some corruption within the 
service.  This unhealthy trend appears in the rep ort of the Justice Badoo Committee, appointed 
by the Government of Ghana, to investigate op erational irregularities in the Customs, Excise 
and Preventive Service (CEPS). 
 The Management of Ghana Customs views this issue with all seriousness it deserves and 
has demonstrated their unflinching commitment to reduce it to the barest minimum if not 
eradicating it altogether.  Following the arrest  of five (5) customs officers on charges of 
corruption at the Tema Car Park  in September, 2007, Management of CEPS, together with the 
then Minister for National Security, undertook a to ur of some Stations within the Country, to 
instil a sense of patriotism in customs officers a nd urge them to eschew all negative tendencies in 
order to redeem the sinking image of the Service. 
 Other measures being undertaken to control corrupt practices in Ghana Customs 
include the following: 
• Ghana Customs is in active collaboration with the United States Customs and Border 
Protection Unit for the training of officers in integrity issues which relate to core customs operations.  The programme sets a code of ethics for the officers aimed at eradicating the negative public perception of CEPS. 
• The Management of Ghana Customs have noted the importance of identifying and 
eliminating factors that encourage corr uption.  Some actions taken include:  
o end-to-end automation of customs syst ems and processes to ensure minimum 
human intrusion between officers and stakeholders.  This will eliminate possible opportunity for corruption: 
- using audit trails and the time-release study principle in the Ghana 
 Customs Management System (GCMS) effectively to monitor officers; WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 26  
 
- introduction of Electronic Tracking  and Monitoring Systems for cargo 
and vehicles.  The systems auto-gen erate data and reports and have 
eliminated the use of human escorts and the problems associated with 
them especially diversion. 
o enhancing the competences of officers thro ugh continual training and retraining, 
exposure to customs perspectiv es in other jurisdictions; 
o invoking and applying severe sanctions (i ncluding dismissals and prosecution) 
on offending officers and the public who induce officers; 
o application of the articles of the Revised Arusha Declaration (2003) which 
include: 
- a published Code of Conduct for officers;  
- improved work conditions; 
- improved remuneration and reward packages; 
- improved pension packages.  
o ensuring transparency of all custom s procedures, processes and practices 
through the publication of a Service Charters, reconstruction and re-
introduction of a website (www.ghanacustoms.gov.gh).  
 The Commissioner of Ghana Customs and members of Top Management have 
expressed seriousness in ensuring that these pr ogrammes are strengthened and sustained to 
totally reduce the corrupt tendencies within the or ganisation.  Client services units will set up at 
all Stations across the country to handle compla ints from the public.  An "Internal Affairs 
Unit" is in the process of being established to help monitor the activities of officers and thereby 
ensure that they display a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their duties at all 
times.  
• The Government of Ghana has also recently passed the "Whistle Blowers Act" which 
aims at encouraging the exposure of corrupt ion and other illegal practices within the 
country.  
21. What products and what proportion of Ghanai an exports to the US are benefiting from AGOA 
scheme? 
Bilateral trade profile between United States and Ghana 
 2004 2005 2006 Percentage 
AGOA 
2006 2007 
YTD Percentage 
AGOA 
2007 YTD 
Agricultural products:                 
 US Imports from Ghana  23,272 35,538 74,970 42,988 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  5,197 4,931 7,121 9.50% 
4,189 9.74% 
Forest products:              
 US Imports from Ghana  37,821 43,862 44,068 36,129 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  5,056 4,209 2,301 5.22% 
3,624 10.03% 
Chemicals and related products:              
 US Imports from Ghana  2,531 1,618 1,010 579 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  5 18 1 0.10% 
6 1.04% 
Energy-related products:              
 US Imports from Ghana  59,183 57,982 48,951 44,768 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  55,970 44,655 25,877 52.86% 
29,476 65.84% 
(cont'd)  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 27 
 
 
 2004 2005 2006 Percentage 
AGOA 
2006 2007 
YTD Percentage 
AGOA 
2007 YTD 
Textiles and apparel:              
 US Imports from Ghana  7,432 5,208 9,564 6,521 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  7,111 4,985 8,834 92.37% 
6,247 95.80% 
Footwear:              
 US Imports from Ghana  3 1 0 0 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  1 0 0   
0   
Minerals and metals:              
 US Imports from Ghana  5,673 9,523 6,677 838 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  72 100 46 0.69% 
51 6.09% 
Machinery:              
 US Imports from Ghana  61 161 100 46 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  0 0 0   
3 6.52% 
Transportation equipment:              
 US Imports from Ghana  31 8 0 206 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  3 4 0   
0 0.00% 
Electronic products:              
 US Imports from Ghana  464 113 92 78 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  0 0 3 3.26% 
0   
Miscellaneous manufactures:              
 US Imports from Ghana  2,736 1,007 1,403 656 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  598 520 1,150 81.97% 
170 25.91% 
Special provisions:              
 US Imports from Ghana  1,268 4,240 5,393 1,221 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  0 0 0   
0   
All sectors:              
 US Imports from Ghana  140,474 159,260 192,228 23.58% 134,031 32.65% 
Total AGOA including GSP provisions of AGOA  74,014 59,422 45,333  43,767  
Value (1,000 dollars) - Year-to-date Jan.-Sept. 
Source:  U.S. Department  of Commerce. 
Figure 1
Ghana's exports to the United States by sector, 2006
Agricultural products
16
Forest products
5Textiles and 
apparel
19Miscellaneous
manufactures
3
Source: Data provided by www.AGOA.info.Per cent
Energy-related 
products
57
 
 WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 28  
 
Figure 2
Ghana's AGOA exports to the United States, 2006
Minerals and metals
3
Miscellaneous manufactures
1
Forest products
23Chemicals and 
related products
1
Source: Data provided by www.AGOA.info.Per cent
Special provisions
3
Agricultural products
39Energy-related 
products
25Textiles and
 apparels
5
 
22.   Does Ghana intend to change its valuation practice with regards to second-hand cars? (WTO 
Secretariat's Report, page 19, para. 2)   
No, and not soon.  The practice has been dete rmined to be the best option and under the 
current circumstances, namely: 
• most of these cars are personal imports wh ich may not meet the criterion "put up for 
sale for export into a country of import"; 
• the conditions of Article 7 would only apply to the original purchaser of the new cars; 
• there is the difficulty of verifying the tran saction price of the purchase of the second-
hand car; 
• the original price paid at the time of first  purchase/registration and the history of the 
transaction get obscure as ownership of such vehicles change over time;  
• these cars are imported at varying stages of u se and/or repair/replacement of parts, the 
costs of which are difficult to determine and/or verify; 
• the practice of using the manufacturers ex-factory price (in the year of manufacture) 
and depreciating same at a predetermined rate  is considered objective and fair.  It 
conforms with the principles of taxation i.e.  equity, certainty, convenience and economy.  
Under the practice, importers pay the same amo unt of duties for the same model of cars 
manufactured in the same year.  
24. Could Ghana elaborate on the ECOWAS Levy and the Export Development and Investment 
Fund Levy, applying only on imports?  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 29 
 
 
The ECOWAS Levy is a levy imposed by all ECOWAS countries on imports from 
countries outside the region and not Ghana alone, at a rate of 0.5%.  It goes into an ECOWAS 
Fund for regional development opera ted by the ECOWAS Commission. 
 The Export Development and Investment Levy is a 0.5% charge on all imports as a levy 
for a fund to support production for ex ports at concessionary interest rates. 
26. Which difficulties is Ghana encountering? (The WTO Secretariat's Report, page 23, para. 9) 
• Very high levels (90%) of invoices submitted on consignments imported are considered 
fraudulent, fake, fictitious or forged, and sometimes with the connivance of the 
exporters/suppliers. 
• A large percentage of trade, in Ghana, is  conducted by the informal sector with scant 
documentation.  Evidence of the actual transaction value is therefore difficult to establish e.g. lack of documentation of ba nk transactions for use as evidence of 
payments made. 
• Under Ghana's Destination Inspection Scheme, Valuation and Classification is carried 
out by the Destination Inspection Companies. Ghana Customs therefore lacks a credible price database and appropriate softwa re for data mining and analysis. 
• There is a low competence level in the unders tanding and application of the agreement 
amount both the customs officers and their stakeholders.  The ability to practically 
apply the provisions of the Agreement is  a major challenge which needs to be 
surmounted. 
• Some of the Destination Inspection Companies have not performed to expectation 
resulting in pressures on the customs officers at al l Ports and Stations.  There is the need 
to properly equip the facilities adequa tely to cope with these challenges.   
27. Does Ghana consider the current system of  destination inspection to be efficient and 
satisfactory? 
Yes, the destination inspection has reduced drastically the incidence of over-invoicing 
and under-invoicing of goods. It has also ensured that goods that are declared are those imported into the country through cross ch ecking of the HS code classification. 
28. Can Ghana explain the rational for the prohibiti on of commercial importation of some used or 
second-hand goods? 
The prohibition of commercial importation of some used or second-hand goods is for 
human health and safety reasons because of uncertainty about the quality of the products. 
29. Does Ghana consider to introduce furthe r measures e.g. on tomato paste? 
The restriction on the importation of tomato paste is a temporary one based on human 
health and standards. The Government is taki ng measures to rectify the situation very soon. 
30. OIE requirements: Could Ghana ensure that it applies all OIE recommendations with regard 
to eventual import restrictions for reasons of avian influenza (AI)? 
Ghana applies OIE recommendations with regar d to the importation into the country.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 30  
 
Currently, there is no EU country that is banned from exporting poultry and poultry 
products into Ghana. Even when there has been an outbreak of avian influenza, Ghana has not 
restricted importation from EU because of th e confidence in the EU veterinary system. 
33. BSE:  Ghana has no restriction on the importation of beef. The only restrictions are on 
specific risk materials. Boneless beef is a llowed to be imported into Ghana from the EU. 
34-35. Ghana is guided by Article 2.3.1.3.1 of  the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code. 
36. What steps is Ghana taking to make sure th at it is notifying systematically changes in SPS 
measures? 
The problem is more of lack of coordination  between the Institution responsible for SPS 
issues (Ministry of Agriculture), other Agencies r esponsible for Health and Food safety and the 
Ministry of Trade and Industry. To ensure syst ematic notification in changes in SPS measures, 
the Ministry of Trade has drawn the attention of, and impressed upon the Ministry of Food and Agriculture the need to regularly notify th e WTO when there are ch anges in SPS measures. 
Moreover the Ministry of Agriculture which is the focal point on SPS issues needs Technical 
Assistance to participate in SPS meetings to  update and improve understanding of SPS issues. 
37.  Have Export Processing Zones been a useful tool in order to promote exports? 
A distinction will have to be made between the export processing zone concept and the 
EPZ/enclave as localization of industries.   
The Export Processing Zone/F ree Zone Concept has been a useful tool in promoting 
exports.  Without the implementation of the ex port processing zone, some companies located in 
Ghana would not have been attracted to Ghana.  
With regard to the EPZ/enclave, the EPZ/en clave have provided the needed land and 
infrastructure needed to attract companies to  locate in Ghana and under the free zones 
programme.  The location of two EPZs/enclaves ne ar the port was also intended to make export 
and import easy for investors located within those zones.  However, because the programme 
allows companies to locate anywhere in Ghana and still enjoy the benefits most companies have 
chosen to locate outside the designated enclaves.   The enclaves in themselves have therefore not 
been important in promoting exports as it was intended to be.   
However as a concept, and on the whole, the implementation of the programme has 
succeeded in attracting export or iented investments to Ghana.  
38.  Does Ghana intend to increase the number of EPZs? 
Ghana is implementing its free zones scheme under two regimes:  the export processing 
zone/enclave type regime and single factory regime.   As indicated, investors can therefore locate 
in the designated export processing zones or anyw here in Ghana as single factory free zones and 
still enjoy the incentives the programme offers.  
Due to his flexibility, most of the companies have opted to locate outside the enclave.  
The designated enclaves have therefore not been fu lly utilized.  Also, due to the high cost of 
providing adequate infrastructure to the designated zones/enclaves, only one enclave out of the four has been serviced.  Even though the Board has intention of having one enclave in every 
region, this cannot be implemented unless the four  enclaves designated have been fully serviced 
and fully utilized by investors.     WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 31 
 
 
40. "In 2006, Price Quotation (PQ) was the preferred procurement method...."  Does Ghana 
intend to increase the share of ICT? 
41.  There seems to be inconsis tency between paragraph 80 which st ates that Price Quotation was 
the preferred procurement method while para. 84 st ates that competitive tendering is the preferred 
procurement method;  could Ghana explain this? 
The default procurement method for Ghana is certainly Competitive Tendering. It is not 
correct that Price Quotation (PQ) is the preferred method. This erroneous impression must 
have resulted from the Performance Measurem ent Indicator scored under PQ which was the 
highest at 38.72% in 2006. The explanation is  that only small value procurements apply 
PQ method. The prescribed threshold for applic ation of PQ is only about US$22,000 for 
goods/services and $53,000 for works. The procuremen ts of most of the entities were of small 
value in 2006 (it should be noted that the law does not allow bulk breaking, so the small values 
were not due to bulk breaking). ICT is applicable when the procurement value exceeds a 
threshold of US$1,6m for goods/services and $2.1m for works. 
42. What are the local content requirements? 
The guidelines on Margin of Preference are h ereto attached as Appendix A, in response 
to question 42 above.  
43. Does Ghana intend to abolish this margin of preference? 
As to whether Ghana will abolish the margin of preference (MOP) system, we state that 
MOP is a recognized measure in procurement practice internationally (including the World Bank's procurement regulations), and Ghana deemed it relevant for Inclusion in its procurement law; hence it will not be abolished. 
44. Will such statistical data be available in the future?  
On the WTO's report that Statistical data a re not available on the share of imports In 
public procurement in Ghana, we indicate that a system will be put in place to capture such data. 
45. What will be the consequences of transfor ming the Ghana National Procurement Agency 
(GNPA) into an export promotion in stitute for public procurement? 
There will be no consequences for public  procurement since Ghana now has a Public 
Procurement Board and a new Procurement La w to which all public procurement must 
conform. All Ministries, Departments and various  institutions can engage in procurement based 
on the new law. 
47. Does Ghana envisage the adop tion of competition policies? 
Yes Ghana has plans for a competition b ill. It has received promise of technical 
assistance from the Swiss Government to put in place a competition bill. 
48. Are there plans for, and when will an ECOWAS Competition Authority be established? 
There are plans by the ECOWAS Commission for the establishment of an ECOWAS 
Competition Authority to implement a common regional competition policy. However, Ghana 
has no control as to when the Authority will be established. WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 32  
 
49. In the absence of a legal competition frame work does Ghana find the practice of moral 
suasion to prevent anti-competitiv e cases useful and effective? 
Though not the best of practices, in the absen ce of a competition law, the Government of 
Ghana has found the use of moral suasion to p revent anti-competitive practices useful and 
effective as attested to by the two cases. Howe ver, as mentioned above, the Government of 
Ghana has received promise of technical assistance to put in place a competition bill, which will 
provide the legal framework to p revent anti-competitive practices. 
50. It is understood that banking applications are subject to economic needs tests (ENTs) . Could 
Ghana inform us about the specific main criteria applied in these ENTs? 
Banking applications are not subject to eco nomic needs tests (ENTs). Actually, banking 
applications are checked only to ensure syst em compatibility and security. Thus, the main 
criterion is to ensure that these conform to the known range of applications.  
55. Could Ghana inform us on how many people wo rk in the tourism sector and what has been 
the evolution in the last years?  
The steady growth of tourism in Ghana ha s led to significant employment creation. 
Direct jobs have been created over the years in  the hotel accommodation, food and beverage 
units (formal and local restaurants), nightcl ubs/entertainment, transport (travel agencies and 
tour operations, taxis); natural and cultural attraction centers, and souvenir sub-sectors. 
Indirect jobs have also been created throug h the supply of goods and services needed by 
tourism-related businesses.  
Available statistics showed that direct jobs  created by the sector rose from 49,757 in 
2005 to 59,335 in 2007 while that of indirect jo bs rose from 123,066 to 146,756. The sectors 
contribution in addressing unemployment especi ally for the youth cannot be underestimated. 
56. Could Ghana inform us on how much of the FDI attracted by the country in the last years has 
been in the tourism sector? 
Investment Attracted By the Tourism Sector 
Year Total No. of projects Total investment cost (GH¢m) 
  %  % 
2001 19 11.11 4.94 5 46 
2002 17 12.32: 3.45 5.70 
2003 19 12.50 3.73 3.39 
2004 24 13.11. 38.23 22.07 
2005 15 7.08 3.70 1.97 
2006 19 7.98 13.96 0.63 
2007 30 1053 7.90 0.17 
Source:   Ghana Investment Promotion Centre. 
Reliable record from the Ghana Investment. Promotion Centre indicated that, 
cumulatively, 143 projects Were registered for the tourism sector from January, 2001 to December, 2007, representing 10.37% of the total, number of projects registered in the country 
for the period. The corresponding total Investment Cost was GH¢75.91 Million. 
57. Could Ghana provide us with additional inform ation about their existing plans to promote the 
tourism sector, and what measures the government is  taking to ensure non-discrimination of foreign 
service suppliers?  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 33 
 
 
The tourism sector continues to contribut e to Ghana's socio-economic agenda of 
generating growth and poverty reduction.  
The policy thrust of the sector is the development of pro poor and sustainable tourism 
aimed realizing the potentials of the sector by making Ghana a preferred and quality tourism destination in Africa, whilst preserving the count ry's cultural, historical and environmental 
heritage se. 
In line with its policy to promote Ghana as a preferred and competitive destination in 
Africa, the following programmes are put in place: 
(i) participation in International Tourism Fairs and Exhibitions and Conferences to 
showcase Ghana's diverse and rich tourist pr oducts to the generating markets;  
(ii) organisation of major National and International Events Annually;  
(iii) development and updating programmes and events  on the Official Tourism Website i.e. 
www.tourinoghana.com;  
(iv) production of tourist literature i.e. brochures, CD-ROMs, video films, maps etc. for 
distribution;  
(v) hosting of International Media and Travel Writers on Familiarization Tour of the 
country;  
(vi) intensifying collaboration with the private sector and other stakeholders to enhance the 
quality and diversity of the tourist products as well as packaging and marketing of the products. 
It is pertinent to mention that there is no discrimination against foreign service. 
providers in the tourism sector. Indeed concessi ons, incentives and tax relief applicable to 
operators in the hotel, Catering, travel and tour establishments etc are also enjoyed by foreign 
service suppliers as enshrined in the L.I.1817 – Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (Promotion of Tourism) Instrument, 2005. The in vestment laves of the country even guarantee 
repatriation of profits by foreign service suppliers.  
58. Could Ghana inform us about their plans for improving professional education and training 
related to the tourism sector?  
Professional education and training is very dear to. the Ministry since it is the bedrock 
of quality service delivery. 
In order to improve professional educatio n and training, the Ministry is currently 
collaborating with the private sector to deve lop a demand driven training standards and 
curriculum for tourism hospitality training institutions. Under a current JICA Project the 
syllabi for tourism hospitality training institut ions are being developed.  Accreditation Board 
for Tourism Hospitality Training will be established. 
59. Could Ghana inform us about its assessment of  the effect of the tourism sector in overall 
economic growth and employment, and in particul ar in other economic sectors like construction, 
transport, computer services, education and professional training?  
The contribution of tourism to national eco nomic development is very significant in 
terms of employment creation, boosting of small and medium enterprises and revenue WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 34  
 
generation particularly foreign exchange genera tion. Currently tourism is the 4n highest foreign 
exchange earner for the country after gold, co coa, and remittances of Ghanaian residents 
abroad. It is estimated that over US$1.2 billion was realized by the sector in 2007.  This figure is 
expected to appreciate considerably to over US$1. 5 billion in 2008 because of major events such 
as the African Soccer Tournament, UNCTAD etc that the country is hosting. 
60. Could Ghana inform us about the existing le gislation applicable to tour managers (i.e. 
professionals accompanying groups of tourists in th eir travel through the country) and tourist guides? 
Could Ghana inform us about the plans that the government is considering to reduce or eliminate 
discrimination of foreign service suppliers in these fields? 
The LI.1293 Tour Operators (Registration and Licensing) Regulations of 1983 guides 
the regulation of the following:  
– tour Operators; – tour Guides; – travel Agents; – tour Wholesalers; and 
– car Rental Operators. 
Basic requirements amongst others include: 
– registration with the Ghana Tourist Board; – must have the requisite qualification; –  must be professionally certified through the respective trade association;  – must be licensed by the Ghana Tourist Board License is renewable annually;  
– tour Operators must submit annual ret urns and statistics of tours handled. 
Additional comments and questions 
1. Could Ghana please outline how the target of obta ining international reser ves equivalent to at 
least three months of imports of goods and services will be achieved? 
Ghana's exports have experienced strong growth  over the last five years, growing at an 
average of 15.1%. The non-tradit ional exports sector in particular has seen significant growth 
over the period. In addition, private remittances and other private capital flows including portfolio flows and foreign direct investment h ave witnessed a surge over the period. Thus, in 
spite of the current difficulties brought on by the continued volatility in the international crude oil markets, Ghana's external position has rem ained resilient and is expected to strengthen 
further in 2008 and beyond.   
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 
Gross Reserves End Period (US$m) 364.8 640.4 1425.6 1726.7 1894.9 2266.7 2394.26 
Gross Reserves in Months of Imports 1.2 2.2 3.2 3.3 3.5 3 2.9  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 35 
 
 
2.  Although labour market statistics is scant in Ghana, could Ghana clarify the method of using 
advertised job vacancies to measure GDP growth? 
This question assumes that Ghana uses advertised job vacancies to measure GDP 
growth. However, this is not the correct meanin g of the report. Ghana's GDP is measured by 
the "expenditure approach" of measuring national income. 
3. Could Ghana please provide us with the most recen t inflation figures, i.e. the fourth quarter of 
2007 or the third quarter of 2007? 
Inflation figures for the fourth quarter of 2007 are provided below: 
Month Inflation Rate (%) 
October  
November  December  10.14 
11.40 12.75 
5-7.   According to the WTO Secretariat report, the EC's share of Ghana's trade dropped while that 
of China and India grew. What are the reasons and main components of imports from China and 
India? 
The share of China and India in Ghana's trade in absolute terms is still far less than 
EC's share of Ghana's trade. However, there is  some growth in India and China's share in 
recent years compared to previous years. This could be part of the new geography of world 
trade (South-South trade).  
The main components of the trade are as follows: 
India 
Ghana's Imports Ghana's Exports 
Motor vehicles and parts, tyres, Iron and steel, sacks and bags, 
Tractors, Machinery and parts, electrical Goods, cement, paper 
and paperboards, Chemicals, printed books.  Coconut, cashew nuts, other oil seeds, aluminium waste and scrap, 
fruits, unwrought aluminium, timber.  
China 
Imports Exports 
Herbicides, pneumatic tyres, household Goods, preserved 
tomatoes, textiles and woven Fa brics, cotton yarn, footwear, 
building materials, telephonic e quipment, Electrical goods, public 
motor vehicles, bicycles, Electricity meters, leather products, 
cement clinkers, Sewing machines.  Cocoa beans and products, copper waste and scrap, timber, natural 
rubber, aluminium waste and scrap, vegetable products.  
8.  The medium-term outlook for Ghana's econom y is positive, with strong growth projected. 
Could Ghana specify by providing appropriate time-bounds? 
The figures are from the IMF report and it woul d be difficult for Ghana as a country, to 
put timelines on a definition by the IMF. However, for Ghana the targeted growth rates are our growth horizon by 2015, in conformity to th e achievement of the Millennium Development 
Goals. 
9. Why has a law on public procurement been in troduced? (WTO Secretariat's Report, Pg 10, 
para 3) 
There is the need to streamline public sector procurement to ensure judicious, efficient 
and economic use of national resources in an environment of fairness, transparency and 
accountability. WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 36  
 
10. Could Ghana please elaborate on the special functions of the cross-Ministerial Trade Sector Support Programme? (WTO Secretariat's Report, Pg 1, para 5) 
The Trade Sector Support Programme is superv ised by a team which meets weekly to 
review implementation progress of the progra mme and give directives on removal of 
implementation bottlenecks and the way forward. 
TRADE POLICY BY SECTOR 
Mining and Energy 
Find below a Table showing production figures for some minerals including 2006 
figures. 
Table 1 
Mineral production for years 1999 to 2006 
Year Production figures 
 Gold Diamonds Bauxite Manganese 
1999 2,608,102 681,565 355,263 638,937 
2000 2,457,152 878,011 503,825 895,749 
2001 2,361,345 1,000,072 678,449 1,076,666 
2002 2,236,833 963,493 683,654 1,135,828 
2003 2,274,627 904,089 494,716 1,509,432 
2004 2,031,971 905,344 498,060 1,507,085 
2005 2,138,944 1,065.923 606,700 1,719,589 
2006 2,33,784 972,991 841,775 1,699,546 
Source: Finance, Research and Marke ting Unit, Minerals Commission. 
13. Could Ghana provide more detailed anal ysis, providing a background to the bauxite 
production fluctuations? (WTO Secretar iat's report, page 51, Para. 45) 
The bauxite mine is located about 240 km fr om the port of Takoradi where the bauxite 
is transported for export.  The railway has been the most reliable means of transporting large 
volumes of ore.  Any problems with the railway system therefore cause delays, resulting in less 
ore hauled.  Bauxite production fluctuations a re therefore mainly due to the inability of the 
Ghana Railway Corporation (GRC) to haul the re quired quantities of ore from the mine to the 
port due to frequent breakdowns.  There are no  problems with the mining operations at the 
mine site. 
14. Are there correlations to transport services? 
Yes. 
15. Could Ghana provide for 2006, production fi gures and background analysis to understand 
gold production stagnation? Given the high gold price of last year. 
For the production figures see Table 1 above. Ghana's gold production went a little 
above 2.6 million ounces in 1999.  There was then a gradual decline annually to 2,031,971 ounces in 2004 (ref. Table 1).  Years 2005 and 2006 saw some increases in production 
figures.  Form the foregoing, production declin ed for a period, and started increasing from 
2005.  There was therefore no stagnation as such. 
Reasons:  Anglo Gold Ashanti for a long time  was the largest gold producing mine in the 
country.  The gold was being produced from its underground mine at Obuasi and surface mines at Ayanfuri, Iduapriem, Obuasi and Bibiani.  However, deposits at Obuasi and Ayanfuri got  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 37 
 
 
depleted, leaving the underground mine and surf ace mines at Iduapriem and Bibiani.  The 
Bibiani mine has been acquired by the Central African Gold which is currently carrying out 
exploration work on the property.  Although Gold Fields Ghana has since stepped up production to become the leading gold producer,  the increased production has not off-set the 
decline. 
The increases in 2005 and 2006 are due to two new mines that came on stream during 
that period.  Chirano started production in 2005 while Newmont Ghana Limited started 
production from its Ahafo mine in mid 2006. 
CANADA
 
2. (a)  What is meant by "the deve lopment of vital sectors of the economy"? 
The Patent Act is silent on what constitutes "The development of vital sectors of the 
economy" under the interpretation section. Govern ment use provisions may be employed in any 
circumstances to advance public interest. It should be noted that countries are at liberty to determine the grounds for compulso ry license for government use. However, it is envisaged that 
Ghana in using this flexibility will advert her mind to Article 7 and 8 of the TRIPS Agreement 
which provides a framework for the interpretation and implementation of intellectual property 
rights. 
Though no specific interpretation has been provided exploitation by government or 
authorized persons for public interest will ensure th at appropriate measures consistent with the 
provisions of the Agreement are taken to develop the vital sectors of the economy which 
promotes competition and balance the righ t of owners in compliance with TRIPS 
Under the TSSP, the IP components are to ensure technology development by academia, 
research institutions, agricultural and industr ial sectors of the econo my. In any case TRIPS 
allows member states to determine area s that are vital to their economy. 
As such the meaning of "the development of vital sectors of the economy" may by 
analogy from Article 7 and 8 of TRIPS and the TSSP be deemed to refer to sectors that the 
government may consider necessary  for the promotion of industry, agriculture, health and 
commerce (the list being non-exhaustive as TRI PS does not list the reasons that might be used 
to justify compulsory license) as the ultimate pur pose of compulsory license is to seek the public 
interest of a country.  
2. (b)  To what extent efforts must be made  to obtain authorization of the right holder on 
reasonable commercial terms and conditions? 
Ghana's Patent Act, 2003 contains similar conditions for the issuance of a compulsory 
license as required under TRIPS. U nder the current law there is no need to engage in prior 
negotiation for compulsory license for government  use or national emergency or circumstances 
of extreme urgency or public non-commercial use (Article 31 (b) of TRIPS).  
The law provides that where the government knows, that a patent is or will be used by 
or for the government, the patent holder is to be informed promptly or as soon as reasonably 
practicable. Adequate remuneration (i.e. Compen sation) is then paid by the government agency 
or contractor to the patent holder (Art. 31(h) of TRIPS taking into account the economic value 
of the Minister's decision as determined in the decision. 
Under the law, prior to a compulsory li cense being issued, the potential licensee is 
expected to engage in prior negotiations with the patent holder Efforts must be made to a very WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 38  
 
large extent to obtain authorization of the right holder on reasonable commercial terms and 
conditions. The request for such a license must be  made after the expiration of four years from 
the date of the filing of the application or three years from the date of the grant of the patent. 
Under the law there is a requirement for the payment of adequate remuneration by the compulsory licensee to the patent holder. 
4. Canada would appreciate if Ghana could pr ovide further information on the protection 
provided to "expressions of folklore" under Ghana's Copyright Act, including a substantive definition 
if one exists. 
 Under the interpretation section of the Copyright Act, 2005 "folklore" means the 
literary, artistic and scientific expressions belonging to cultural heritage of Ghana which are 
created, preserved and developed by ethnic communities of Ghana or by an unidentified 
Ghanaian author, and includes kente and adinkra designs, where the author of the designs are not known, and any similar work designated  under the Act to be works of folklore. 
5. Canada would be grateful for further inform ation on why compatible enforcement regulations 
have not yet been adopted as well as progress on adoption.  
Little Progress has been made in respect of enforcement related rules.  The Industrial 
Property Section of the Registrar-General's Depa rtment needs technical assistance to come up 
with a comprehensive piece of subsidiary legislat ive instruments which take into consideration 
international developments which have taken pl ace after the promulgation of her IPR laws for 
instance the Patent Act was passed before the 30
th August decision.  There is the need to amend 
the law to reflect current development and also include stakeholders views in respect of some of 
the proposed amendments to the Acts which will inform the drafting of the legislative 
instruments. The Ministry of Trade has  initiated the process of forming a National Intellectual 
Property Committee, whose work among others will involve ensuring that a working group is 
formed to be assisted by experts to expe dite work on the legislative instruments. 
Pg 42. WT/ TPR/S/194 (Measures affe cting production and trade IPR) 
The Protection Against Unfair Competition Act of 2000 (Act 589) provides for 
protection of undisclosed information and data submitted for regulatory approval of  the 
marketing of pharmaceutical  or agricultural chemical products which utilize new chemical 
entities in accordance with Article 39 of TRIPS from unfair commercial use however exclusivity 
is not required where it is necessary to prot ect the public (and against unfair commercial use.) 
6.  How does the government of Ghana plan to reconcile marked tariff escalation in sub-sectors 
such as food and beverages, textiles and appare l leading to uncompetitiveness in these sectors to 
policy of attaining middle-income status by 2015? 
Note has been taken of Canada's concern. However, the difference in tariffs is to 
temporary protect the infant local agri-industr ies and to create more jobs. To improve their 
competitiveness will involve the attraction of the necessary investment. Hence investment 
incentives are in place to attract the needed in vestment and make the agri-industry and textiles 
and apparel industries competitive in the long term. 
7. Canada would appreciate  an update by Gh ana on measures being taken to control rough 
diamond smuggling, especially efforts to extend the Kimberly Process. 
Export of rough and uncut diamonds is r estricted. Moreover awareness creation and 
sensitization programmes are on-going. Unapproved routes used by smugglers are being 
watched closely while detectors have also been introduced at some of the ports.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 39 
 
 
With regard to the Kimberly Process, some of the activities undertaken so far include: 
(a) stakeholders' workshop as well as sensitization workshops have been organized to 
educate the security agencies on the scheme to empower them to identify and arrest 
offenders; 
(b) the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PPM C) was also asked to be more vigilant 
in their dealings with licensed buyers to prevent the corruption of the scheme with 
conflict diamonds; 
(c) a Joint Task Force, which is a national body, has been formed with oversight 
responsibility to ensure compliance with the Ki mberly Process certification. It has come 
out with an action plan and held meetings with the EC and the US on technical 
assistance; 
(d) copies of Ghana's Kimberly Certificate auth orized signatures, Rough diamond import 
procedures, Kimberly Law, have been sent to  Customs, Excise and Preventive Service 
(CEPS) and Ghana Immigration Service; 
(e) diamond deposits and winning sites have been compiled. The estimation of actual 
production capacity of some diamond producing areas, notably Akwatia and its 
environs by the Geological Survey Depart ment and the Minerals Commission has 
commenced. However, other areas which need  large capital to determine production 
capacity cannot be tackled until mo re technical assistance is sourced; 
(f) renewal of licenses and registration with th e issuance of new Identity cards by PPMC, 
with the provision of receipt books for ro ugh diamond purchases by traders at Akwatia, 
with 500 traders registered to date; 
(g) spot checks have been made by PPMC offici als with the police to check and sanction 
traders operating without licenses; 
(h) registration of smalls-scale miners, tr ibuters and labourers with compliance of 
production figures by the Minerals Commissi on. For monitoring purposes licenses are 
renewable every quarter on condition that production figures are submitted every 
month. 
8.  Does Ghana's Minerals and Mining Act of 2006 and regulations under development address 
the issue of putting in place a streamlined pro cess for negotiation and payment by mining companies 
of land use payments at the local level? 
Yes, under the mining laws and regulations some of the proceeds are set aside for land 
reclamation etc. as a result of mining activities in a locality. 
9. What steps has Ghana taken to date to ensu re that royalties and taxes paid for development 
use are accompanied by an adequate level of tr ansparency? Could an update on implementing the 
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) be provided? 
The EITI Committee has been set up and colla borating with the mining companies and 
local government/traditional rulers. Meetings to ensure awareness creation and transparency 
about the royalties and taxes paid and their use have been held. There are however, administrative procedures in the palaces of chiefs  and traditional rulers that must be followed 
and these will be streamlined to ensu re the fullest possible transparency. WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 40  
 
JAPAN
 
1. Specific criteria for determining "devel opment of vital sectors of the economy". 
 No definition provided in the Act.  Subject to  interpretation at the national level (Refer 
to Answer to Canada). 
2. No specific case. 
UNITED STATES  
II. (4) (iii) (b) AGOA (pg 17 para. 31) 
The omission in Ghana's report about Ghana' s eligibility to export apparel duty-free to 
the United States using third country fabric until 2012 is an oversight. 
III. (2) (iv) Other charges affecting imports (pg 29 para. 27-29)  What steps is Ghana taking to ensure th at levies (ECOWAS Levy and EDIF Levy) are 
consistent with GATT Articles I and VIII? 
This has been answered already in quest ion by EU. (Refer to question 24 above) 
However the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has 
commissioned a study to examine the fee structure on Ghana's import regime. The 
recommendations from the study would be used as inputs to bring the fee structure in 
conformity with the WTO guidelines. 
III. (2) (v) Import prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing 
Q1 Why does Ghana require permission for films imported through certain ports but not through 
others?  What is the purpose of the "permission"? (Page 30, para 37, Table III.6)  
Essentially, this is a regulatory measure for the smooth administration of the conditions 
for importing such material (also known as "channelling"): 
• Cinematograph films are sensitive and require careful handling;  
• There may arise the need for screening to determ ine if the material on the films do not 
offend public safety and morality; 
• Expertise and tools for such critical evaluati on are too scarce for deployment to all entry 
points.  The selected sites are the three main  points of entry and account for some 95% 
of import trade into Ghana.  
Q2 Why does Ghana restrict imports of the products named in table III.6?  What is the purpose of 
the required permits or certificates? (Page 30, para 37 and Table III.6) 
• the restrictions are to guard public safety, security and/or morality; 
• the conditions of restrictions are imposed  by legislations sponsored by other 
Government or quasi-government institutions.  Customs enforce these laws on behalf of 
these institutions, such role termed "agency duties"; 
• the list of restricted imports and exports a re however being reviewed, revised and for 
updated by the relevant institutions to have them conform with current international agreements, protocols, conventions, etc.   WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 41 
 
 
Table III.6 
Import Restrictions, 2007 
Products Authorizing Authority Requirement Purpose 
Gold coins, current in the United Kingdom Minister of Finance Licence  Protection from 
counterfeiting  
Rough or uncut diamonds Minister of Finance Licence Enforcement of the 
Kimberly  Process  
Arms and ammunition Minister of Interior Permit Public Security and 
safety 
All communication equipment National Communication Authority Permit National security  
Pharmaceuticals Ministry of Health  
Food and Drugs Board Certificate 
Licence Health and safety 
Cinematography films through any port or 
entry other than Tema, Takoradi, or Kotoka International Airport Commissioner of CEPS Apply to the 
Commissioner Regulatory and 
monitoring measure for copyright, morality, etc. 
Goods bearing designs in imitation of money Minister of Finance  Licence National Security and 
Economy  
Handcuffs Minister of Interior  Licence National Security and 
Public safety  
Machines for duplicating keys Minister of Interior  Licence National Security and 
public safety 
Condensed or evaporated milk containing less than 8% by weight of milk fat and dried or 
milk powder containing less than 26% by 
weight of milk fat Commissioner of CEPS Apply to the 
Commissioner Public Health 
Gambling machines Ministry of Finance  Permit Public safety and 
Security  
Live plants and animals Ministry of Agriculture Permit Disease control  and 
phystosanitory  
Nets and traps for animals Ministry of Agriculture Permit Environmental Wild life 
protection 
Mercury Ministry of Trade/ Inspector of 
Mines Permit Environmental 
Protection and Public Health  
African prints (wax print) Ghana Standards Board Permit, prints may be 
imported only through the 
port of Takoradi Quality Control and 
Interlectual Property 
Rights Protection.  
Poultry products (from certain countries) Minister of Trade/ Minister of 
Agriculture  Public Health  
III. (2) (vi) Standards and other technical requirements 
 What criteria does the Government of Ghana u se to determine whether products are "high risk 
goods"? (Page 31, para 40) 
With Ghana Customs, goods are classified as high or low risk under the selectivity 
principle.  The classifications arise out of the following criteria:   
• government policies; 
• tactical concerns of customs in relation to the Government policies; 
• operational systems i.e. at the ports and borders.  
The classification of goods, in view of the points above, are carried out in relation to the 
following: 
• high revenue yielding goods; 
• public safety concerns e.g. electrical and frozen goods;  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 42  
 
• public health e.g. the "Sin" products (17 containers of counterfeit Malboro cigarettes 
described as footwear and said to be in transit were recently detected and destroyed), 
fake drugs; 
• environmental protection e.g. chemicals;  
• national security concern; 
• intellectual property rights protection.  
III. (4) (v) Intellectual Property Rights  What measures or instruments do the Trade Sector Support Programme's 27 projects contain 
to protect intellectual property rights? (WT/TPR/194 Pg 10, para 25) 
One of the components of the Trade Sector Support Programme deals with intellectual 
property rights. This component seeks to institute an intellectual property regime that encourages innovation and facilitates productivity  improvement and competitiveness. This will 
be done through strengthening the Registrar Ge neral's Department and the Copyright Office to 
effectively administer intellectual property rights. This will include the replacement of the 
current paper-based system with an automate d industrial property management system and 
electronic copyright registers which will be establis hed as turn-key projects. Relevant legislation 
will be amended or drafted to ensure effective coverage of all areas of the TRIPS Agreement. 
Sensitization of the Judiciary through colloqui a and educational campaigns for the public to 
increase awareness will be undertaken. Regarding piracy and counterfeit goods, a task force 
will be established to eliminate counterfeit goods from the marketplace. A patent information 
point will also be established to support entrepren eurs to access relevant information on existing 
technologies. 
IV (2) (ii) Key subsectors  What steps is Ghana taking to allow for th e importation of U.S. bone-in-beef in accordance 
with OIE international guideline? (Pg. 49, para 33) 
 Ghana applies OIE recommendations with re gard to the importation into the country.  
 Currently, the USA is not banned from expo rting poultry and poultry products into 
Ghana. Even when there has been an outbreak of avian influenza, Ghana has not restricted 
importation from U.S. because of the co nfidence in the U.S. veterinary system. 
 BSE:  Ghana has no restriction on the import ation of beef. The only restrictions are on 
specific risk materials. Boneless beef is allowed to be imported into Ghana from the USA.  In 
this Ghana is guided by Article 2.3.1.3.1 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code. 
Question about Child Labour 
The government of Ghana since independence recognized the problem of child labour 
and has put in place a comprehensive legal fr amework to deal with it.  The 1992 National 
constitution guarantees the protection of the child  from engaging in any work that constitutes a 
threat to his or her health, education or developm ent.  The Children's Act, 1998, (Act 560) seeks 
to protect the right of children, including the right to education, health and shelter and 
proscribes the engagement of children in exploitati ve labour, in line with Article 28(2) of the 
Constitution.  These guarantees reflect the nation's growing concern about the employment of children, particularly in activities that are exploitative or otherwise harmful to their proper development.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 43 
 
 
National Legislation:  
¾ Ghana has done a great deal in bringing its national laws in line with the international 
instruments to which it is a signatory.  
¾ Ghana thus has a comprehensive national le gal framework for addressing child labour 
issues and the protection of children from expl oitative child labour.  The laws include 
the 1992 National Constitution, the Children's Act 1998 (Act 560), the Criminal 
Amendment Code, 1998 (Act 554) Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 697), the Domestic 
Violence and Whistle Blowers' Acts. 
The Ministry of Women and Children Affa irs is to facilitate operations of a 
Management Board on the Human Trafficking Act.   A secretariat has been established, a Plan 
of Action drawn up for the full implementation of the Act.  It has also launched the Early 
Childhood Care Development (ECCD) policy and a Strategic Plan of Action for women and children's development which will contribute significantly to the child labour combat. 
Ghana was the first country to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 
(UNCRC), adopt at the 1990 World Summit on Children, and followed up with the development 
of a National Plan of Action dubbed, "The Child Cannot Wait", in June 1992.  This Plan of Action  provided the critical policy framew ork, programmes, strategies and demonstrated 
Government commitment to meet the urgent needs of children. 
Government also promptly ratified the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) 
Convention (No.182) in June 2000.  Ghana, although yet to ratify the ILO Minimum Age Convention (No. 138) of 1973, has reflected its main provisions in the Children's Act 1998 (Act 560).  The Act sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years, the age which coincided with the age for completion of basic education.  Ghana has also ratified the African Charter on 
the Right and Welfare of the Child.  The Crimin al Code was amended for the Criminal Code 
(Amendment) Act 1988 (Act 554) to strengthen the provisions for sexual offences and to prohibit customary or ritual servitude, such as the "trokosi" system practiced in parts of the Volta Region. 
Ghana for the past seven years, had receive d support from the ILO/IPEC to develop 
and pilot test activities in small scale SECTOR -SPECIFIC projects covering different facets of 
work against child labour.  Successful interventi ons have been scaled up to combine workplace 
monitoring, social protection, non-formal ed ucation and training scheme in integrated 
programmes.  These have helped in the assessme nt of the extent and nature of child labour, 
formulation of policy and protective legislation, provision of formal and non-formal education 
to identified child workers, support to poor  families, capacity building and establishing 
programme enhancing mechanisms for effect ive coordination and national ownership. 
KOREA
 
Preferential Trade Regime 
How does the Interim EPA Agreement signed be tween Ghana and the EU last December 
2007 satisfy the requirements of Article XXIV of GATT? 
The Interim EPA Agreement initialled by Ghana and EU satisfies the minimum 
requirements of Article XXIV of GATT because it is goods only and covers substantially all the 
trade between the two partners [(90%) 100% EU, 80% Ghana] over a reasonable period 
(Transition period) of 15 years. The 15 years tr ansition period is justified because of the 
differences in the level of development between Ghana (developing country) and EU (developed country) which qualify for the exceptional case fo r the extension beyond 10 years. The Interim WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 44  
 
Agreement is to be signed in June 2008.  Ho wever, this Interim Agreement will be superseded 
by the on-going regional ECOWAS-EC EPA negotiations when completed.  
Customs clearance for air cargo 
What is the view of the Ghana Government on the reported difficulties in the importation of 
high value goods through the airport? (W T/TPR/S/194, page 23, para 7-11)   
Not clear. There are two types of air cargo: 
• normal air cargo shipment:  currently the cust oms clearance of such cargo is very fast 
and without hiccups especially where the declarant submits good documents;  
• express shipment:  these normally  involve courier shipments.  
To which of these does the question relate? The above notwithstanding, the concerns have be en noted and we wish to assure all that 
any such matters are of interest to the Government of Ghana and Ghana Customs Authorities.  
We would wish to resolve the matter to the mutual  benefit of both parties (Korea and Ghana).  
We would further wish to get into direct b ilateral discussions with the other party to 
iron-out the issue raised and identify any need s, including technical assistance in streamlining 
procedures where necessary.  
BRAZIL
 
Regarding notifications under the SPS agreement, the report of the Secretariat has noted that 
Ghana did not submit any notifications to the WT O. What are the main difficulties faced by the 
Government of Ghana to notify SPS measures?    
The problem is more of lack of coordination  between the Institution responsible for SPS 
issues (Ministry of Agriculture), other Agencies r esponsible for Health and Food safety and the 
Ministry of Trade and Industry. To ensure syst ematic notification in changes in SPS measures, 
the Ministry of Trade has drawn the attention of, and impressed upon the Ministry of Food and Agriculture the need to regularly notify th e WTO when there are ch anges in SPS measures. 
Moreover the Ministry of Agriculture which is the focal point on SPS issues needs Technical 
Assistance to participate in SPS meetings to  update and improve understanding of SPS issues. 
COLOMBIA
 
1. What specific components of the Trade Sector Support Programme (2006-2010) currently 
being implemented by the Republic of Ghana are c onducive to greater liberalization of the country's 
import regime? 
There are specific components in the Trade Sector Support Programme (TSSP) under 
the multilateral trade component, to ensure effe ctive participation by Ghana in international 
trade negotiations in support of national developm ent objectives in the areas of the Agriculture, 
Non-Agricultural Market Access as well as the s ervices negotiations at the WTO. There is also 
the Import-Export regime component which seeks to ensure a level playing field for all economic operators through effectiv e and systematic application of  a transparent tariff regime. 
All these are conducive to greater liberaliz ation of the country's import regime.  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 45 
 
 
2. What are the main characteristics of Ghan a's current agricultural policy in terms of 
international marketing of agricultural products, an d how would policies be directed towards greater 
liberalization of that sector? 
Apart from cocoa, Ghana exports few agricultural products in significant quantities. 
The main non-traditional agricultu ral exports are yams, pineapples, fish (salted, dried, smoke 
and frozen), crustaceans, banana s and various vegetables. The main agricultural products, 
besides cocoa (which accounts for 14% of agricul tural GDP), are cereals, such as maize, rice, 
millet and sorghum as well as starchy staples, su ch as cassava, yam, cocoyam and plantain – all 
of which account for 61% of agricultural GDP. Livestock accounts for around 7% of agricultural GDP, fisheries for 5% and forestry 11%. 
About 80% of agricultural production is from small holder family-operated farms, 
mainly below one hectare.  Large holdings prod uce mainly crops, such as oil palm, rubber and 
pineapples. Only about one-third of land suitable for agriculture is currently cultivated. 
In line with the Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Development Strategy (AADGS), 
the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has developed a Food and Agriculture Sector 
Development Policy (FASDEP). The FASDEP seeks to achieve the following:  
• Enhanced human resource development a nd institutional capacity building. 
• Improved financial services delivery. 
• Development, dissemination and adop tion of appropriate technology. 
• Infrastructure development. 
• Promotion of selected commodities and improved access to markets. 
As far as market access is concerned, the main  trade policy instrument at the border is 
the tariff. Ghana does not have any quotas. The a pplied tariff rate for agricultural products 
(HS Chapters 01-24) is 20%. 
During the Uruguay Round, Ghana bound almost all its agricultural tariffs (as all WTO 
Members did) at a ceiling rate of 99% from a base rate of 125% , effective in 2004. Lower bound 
rates of 40% and 50% were set on a few agricultu ral products to apply from 1995. The products 
subject to 40% bound rates include live poultry, milk and cream, wheat and oil cake. Tea was 
bound at a rate of 50%. 
Ghana does not maintaining any trade-distorti ng domestic support or export subsidies 
which had to be subjected to reduction commitm ents. Ghana is therefore not allowed to provide 
domestic support to its farmers beyond the 10% de minimis available to all developing 
countries.  
3.  According to the Appendix Table of the Secret ariat Report, specifically Table AI.1 "Structure 
of Exports, 2000-06", the value of banana exports to the EU was ne gligible and in decline between 
2000 and 2002, was reduced to zero between 2003 and 2005 and was reported as US$3.2 million in 
2006.  Is this rebound in the 2006 value of banana e xports due to the preferen tial regime for bananas 
currently applied by the EU in favour of the ACP countries? 
The value of banana exports from 2000 to 2 002 was negligible because strong winds 
destroyed almost all the banana trees and crops by the major exporting company, Volta River 
Estates at that time. The rebound in the 2006 valu e of banana exports by Ghana is not due to WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 46  
 
the preferential regime for bananas currently app lied by the EU in favour of ACP countries. 
Rather it was due to the injection of new inv estment by new companies after the catastrophy. 
ECUADOR
 
(a) In the framework of Ghana's trade policies,  the various forms of price and distribution 
controls on trade were eliminated.  Could you please elaborate? 
The various forms of price and distribution controls were abolished under the structural 
adjustment programme Ghana undertook during the 1980's and 1990's. 
(b) In connection with Ghana's tariff policy, the special tax of 20 per cent on the 28 items 
covering roughly 6 per cent of the tariff lines was abolished.  Could you please elaborate? 
The special tax of 20 per cent on 28 items was abolished as part of Ghana's trade 
liberalization policy and to remove the burden on consumers. 
(c) With respect to the TRIPS arrangements app lied by Ghana, we would grateful for further 
detail on the treatment given to international access for information technology. 
 
 
  WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
 Page 47 
 
 
APPENDIX A:  GUIDELINES ON MARGIN OF PREFERENCE 
Section 60 of the Act permits the use of a margin of preference (MOP) for the benefit of 
domestic suppliers, contractors a nd consultants.  The following Regulation is introduced to 
supplement the provisions of Section 60. 
The detailed application of a margin of pref erence shall conform to the specific terms of 
application contained in the Tender Docume nt and guidelines approved by the Public 
Procurement Authority as follows. 
A. THE  MOP  FOR  GOODS 
 Margins of Preference will be allowed under National Competitive Tendering as well as 
International Competitive Tendering. 
 Eligibility for preference for goods is det ermined by the sources of -the domestic goods 
and not by the nationality of the Tenderer. Th e Nationality of the Tenderer or Supplier is 
irrelevant, making it clear that the preference is given to the GOODS and not to the Tenderer. 
 To qualify under DOMESTIC GOODS the following conditions should be met: (i) Where local labour, raw materials and comp onents from within Ghana account for 
15 percent or more of the Ex-Works (EXW) price of the product offered; (20% margin 
of preference granted). 
(ii) Where imported raw materials or components constitute the bulk of the inputs and local 
labour and additional components are requi red for processing into finished products 
and the proportion of domestic value added is equal to 10 percent or more of the Ex Works (EXW) price of the' product-off ered; (15%) margin of preference granted). 
 (Note that Domestic Good in this contex t does not cover imported goods on which duty 
and sales tax have been paid).  
B. THE
 MOP  FOR  WORKS 
Under works, Margin of Preferences is app lied to International Competitive Tendering 
(ICT).  This is because in Ghana, most of  the contractors tendering for Works under the 
National Competitive Tendering are locally reg istered firms/contractors. Thus they are 
classified as DOMESTIC CONTRACTORS. 
To be eligible for the margin of domestic  preference for works under ICT, the following 
minimum criteria must be met:  
(i) Domestic Contractors (a) are registered and incorporated under the laws of Ghana; 
(b) have majority shareholding by Ghanaians; and 
(c) will not subcontract more than 50 percent of the total value of the works to foreign 
contractors. 
 These attract 10 percent MOP. WT/TPR/M/194/Add.1 
Page 48  
 
(ii)  Joint Ventures 
A joint venture between a domestic Contacto r and its foreign partner is eligible for 
MOP only if: 
(a) the domestic partners(s) would not qualify for the Work on technical or financial 
grounds without the foreign partner' s participation; and 
(b) the domestic partner(s) demonstrate a beneficiary interest of not less than 30 percent in 
the Joint Venture as demonstrated by the profit and loss sharing provisions of the joint venture agreement. 
 These attract 7.5 percent MOP. (iii)  Subcontracting by Foreign Firms 
Foreign firms may be eligible for domestic  preference if they undertake to do the 
following:  To subcontract 30 percent or more of the value of the works to a Domestic 
Contractor. 
This attracts 7.5 percent MOP. 
C. SERVICES 
To promote the development of Ghanaian technical and professional capacity to 
contribute to the economic progress of Ghana, the following incentive shall be under the 
Technical Scores when evaluati ng proposals for services.   
 Use of local expertise should be given prefer ence points ranging from 10 – 15 points (out of 
a total of 100 points) during the evaluation of T echnical Proposals.  The minimum of 10 points will 
be awarded where 40 percent of the Key Personnel are Ghanaians.  
__________