RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/TPR/G/174 
11 December 2006  
 
(06-5845) 
Trade Policy Review Body Original:  French 
   
 
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
Report by 
 
CHAD 
 
  
 
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishi ng the Trade Policy Review Mechanism 
(Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization), the policy statement by Chad is attached. 
 
 
Note: This report is subject to restricted circ ulation and press embargo until the end of the first 
session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on Chad. Chad WT/TPR/G/174 
 Page 3 
 
 
CONTENTS 
 
  Page 
I. OVERVIEW 5 
II. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 5 
 (1) M ACROECONOMIC POLICY  5 
 (i) Economic situation 5 
 (ii) Economic outlook 6 
 (2) F OREIGN INVESTMENT REGIME  7 
III. ANALYSIS OF THE TRADE POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION 
FRAMEWORK 7 
 (1) T RADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  7 
 (2) T RADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  12 
IV. TRADE POLICY FORMULATION BY SECTOR AND SECTORAL POLICIES 12 V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 
 
  Chad WT/TPR/G/174 
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I. OVERVIEW 
1. Located in the centre of Africa, Chad is a large Sahelian country covering an area of 
1,284,000 km2.  It is entirely landlocked, and shares its bor ders with six countries:  Libya to the north, 
the Central African Republic to the south, Sudan to  the east, and Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger to the 
west.  The closest sea port is the port of Douala, Cameroon, 1,700 km from N'Djamena. 
2. Chad achieved independence on 11 August 1960.  Its political system is governed by the 
Constitution of 1996, which was am ended in 2005 to enable the President of the Republic to be 
elected several times.  Under the new administrative structure, the country is divided into 18 regions 
including N'Djamena, the capital;  55 departments;   and 254 sub-prefectures.  The decentralization 
characteristic of the Chadian State is in progress. 
3. The Republic of Chad comprises several sedimenta ry basins and sub-basins of which most 
have yet to be explored.  Its popul ation was estimated at 8.3 million in  2004, with an average density 
of seven inhabitants per square kilometre – very low in comparison to the average for sub-Saharan 
Africa.  The country is divided into three climatic  zones - the Sudanian zone, the Sahelian zone, and 
the Saharan zone - and has two seasons:  a rain y season and a dry season.  Average annual rainfall 
varies from one zone to the other, with 800 to 1, 200 mm for the Sudian zone, 400 to 800 mm for the 
Sahelian zone, and less than 30 0 mm for the Saharan zone. 
4. Chad is a member of several international, regional and subregional organizations, including 
the United Nations (UN), the African Union (A U), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the 
Organization for the Harmonization of Business La w in Africa (OHADA), the African Intellectual 
Property Organization (AIPO), the Central African  Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC), 
the Economic Community of Central African Stat es (ECCAS), the Permanent Inter-State Committee 
for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), a nd the Community of Sahelan-Saharan States 
(CEN-SAD). 
II. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
5. Since the 1990s, the Chadian Government has b een pursuing an adjustment process with the 
chief objective of restoring the country's economic viability through structural reforms in order to 
prepare the ground for renewed growth.  During the pre-oil era, the Chadian economy was dependent 
on a number of factors that influenced the country's development policy, including: 
 - The climate, with irregular rainfall influencing agricultural production; 
 
 - the international economic environment, w ith the deterioration in the terms of trade 
for basic commodities, such as cotton,  of which Chad is an exporter. 
 
(1) MACROECONOMIC POLICY  
(i) Economic situation 
6. Over the past five years (2000-2005), Chad's ec onomic growth rate has been high, averaging 
11.3 per cent.  This result is due chiefly to the de velopment of the Doba oilfields and the production 
of crude oil, as well as to the good performance of the agricultural sector. 
7. Chad's population has grown at an average of 2. 5 per cent.  Per capita gross domestic product 
(GDP) remains low in comparison to the other coun tries of the subregion.  Meanwhile, the average 
inflation rate for the period is 3.6 per cent.  In spite of the remarkable breakthrough of the petroleum WT/TPR/G/174 Trade Policy Review 
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subsector, the Chadian economy remains dependent  on the primary sector, which has accounted, on 
average, for approximately 69.5 per cent of GDP over th e past few years.  The primary sector is also a 
major provider of jobs, employing 70 to 80 per cent of  Chad's active population.  Food crops (millet, 
sorghum, maize, rice, ground nuts, beans, etc.) represent 5.1 per cent of GDP. 
8. Chad's industrial and cash crops are cotton, s ugar, and tobacco, together with a product 
gathered in the wild, gum arabic, which also c ontributes significantly to GDP.  The country's main 
export, cotton, is of particular social and ec onomic importance, representing 40 per cent of total 
agricultural export revenue in 2004.  Livestock br eeding is the other mainstay of Chad's economy, 
accounting for 27 per cent of revenue, with a large national herd made up of bovine animals, sheep, 
goats, and camels, a census of which is currently being conducted.  Forestry, fisheries and mining 
represent approximately 10 per cent of GDP.  The secondary sector accounts for 53 per cent of non-oil GDP, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8 per cent of GDP between 2000 and 2005 
distributed among the manufacturing industries, which include cotton lint, crafts, water and electricity, construction and public works.  The tertiary sector, comprising trade, transport, administration, etc., accounts for a total of 22.2 per cent of GDP, with trade making up the largest 
share. 
9. As regards public finances, budgetary revenue has increased by CFAF 282,384 billion, thanks 
to the exceptional income from th e Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and to oil 
revenue.  Expenditures increased as well between 2000 and 2005, reaching 
CFAF 281,207.238 billion.  An audit of the public internal debt, financed by the European Union 
(EU), is currently under way, the idea being to anal yse the situation up to 2006 in order to determine 
the true amount involved.  Meanwhile, Chad's outst anding external debt increased slightly, with an 
accumulation of arrears and an increase in the am ounts drawn.  As of 30 September 2006, the 
outstanding external debt totalled CFAF 848,54 5 billion, with the multilateral debt representing 
CFAF 769,035 billion and the bilateral debt, CFAF 79,510 billion.  Payments totalled 
CFAF 28,142 billion as of that date.  At the e nd of September 2006, the total amount drawn was 
CFAF 16,260 billion. 
10. Chad's monetary unit is the CFA franc (franc of Financial Cooperation in Central Africa) 
adopted by the CAEMC.  The issuing bank is th e Bank of Central African States (BEAC), which 
manages the common monetary a nd exchange policies of the Ce ntral African Monetary Union 
(CAMU).  The CFA franc is pegged to the Euro at a fixed parity:  1 Euro = 655,957 CFA francs or 
1 CFA franc =  0.001524 Euros.  In addition to the BEAC, there are seven credit institutions (primary 
banks):  the BAC (formerly the BAST), ECC, ECO Bank (formerly the BIAT), BSIC, CBT, FBT, and 
the SGTB. 
(ii) Economic outlook 
11. In June 2003, the Chadian Government adopt ed the National Poverty Reduction Strategy 
(NPRS) which was approved by the donors, including the IMF and the World Bank, in 
November 2003.  The NPRS, which sets out to reduce poverty by half (50 per cent) by 2015, aims to 
achieve five priority objectives:  good governan ce, strong and sustained growth, human capital 
development, better living standards for the most  vulnerable population groups, and protection of the 
environment.  In 2005, the legislative texts cr eating the institutional follow-up mechanisms were 
adopted.  The NPRS is currently being revised. 
12. In the area of good governance, the Government  took a number of institutional and regulatory 
measures, including: Chad WT/TPR/G/174 
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 - In 2004, the creation of a Ministry of State Control and Ethics , exclusively 
responsible for the general control, insp ection, and monitoring of activities in 
government services and private associations or institutions benefiting from State 
support or subsidies, and for safeguarding ethi cal standards in public life.  It reports 
to the Government; 
  - the adoption of an anti-corruption law in 2000 (Law No. 004/ER/2000 on the misuse 
of public property, corruption, peddlin g of influence and similar offences); 
 
 - the creation of an audits section as one of three sections of the Supreme Court;   - the creation of the Collège de contrôle et de surveillance des revenus pétroliers  (Oil 
Revenue Control and Supervision Board – CCSRP), an independent body which 
reports to the Government; 
 
 - the opening, in the cities, of commerc ial courts, under the responsibility of the 
Ministry of Justice; 
  - the creation, in 2005, of a ministry respons ible for human rights and relations with the 
National Assembly, responsible to the Prime Minister;  and 
  - creation in 2006 of a Ministry of Solidarity and Microcredit . 
 13. In the socio-political area, the focus is on st rengthening the basic conditions for attaining 
economic and trade policy objectives identified by the Government which include consolidating 
democracy, security and peace;  strengthening nationa l solidarity;  and tackling education and culture. 
(2) F
OREIGN INVESTMENT REGIME  
14. In Chad, investment is regulated by an Invest ment Code which dates back to 1987, certain 
provisions of which lapsed with the tax and cust oms reform introduced in 1994.  An Investment 
Charter is in the process of being adopted in an e ffort to adapt to the realities of the subregional 
environment, in conformity with the Community  Investment Charter for the harmonization of 
strategies within the CAEMC, in force since 1999. 
III. ANALYSIS OF THE TRADE POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION 
FRAMEWORK 
(1) TRADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  
15. Since the 1990s, Chad has been  firmly committed to liberalizing trade with a view to 
achieving steady and sustainable growth.  Trade is an  integral part of poverty reduction, which is the 
main objective of Chad's socio-ec onomic development policy.  The Government's main trade policy 
objective is to build up a dynamic economy open to the outside world.  To that end, it has adopted an export-oriented strategy, favouring increased supply in order to be able to participate effectively in 
world trade.  Measures have been taken to im prove and promote the expansion of production. WT/TPR/G/174 Trade Policy Review 
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(i) Domestic trade 
 
16. Domestic trade is chiefly regulated by the following instruments:  Law No. 30 of 
28 December 1968 on prices, economic intervention and the repression of economic offences;  Law 
No. 20/PR/1967 of 9 July 1967 introducing a card fo r aliens engaged in trade, supplemented by 
Ordinance No. 31/PR/ET of 4 October 1967;  Ordina nce No. 006/PR/84 of April 1984 on the status of 
traders;  the uniform acts of OHADA;  the Invest ment Code of 1987;  the Community Investment 
Charter;  and the different CAEMC regulations, in particular the regulations on anti-competitive 
practices and those on State practices affecting trade between Member States. 
17. A draft law on competition is in the process of being amended.  In March 2004, a joint 
economic enforcement group was set up to combat unfa ir trade practices.  Prices have generally been 
liberalized since the 1990s, with th e exception of tariffs for water and electricity distributed by the 
Chad Water and Electricity Company (STEE), which are fixed by the State;  the price of generic medicines, which are fixed in accordance with ag reed profit margins of 20 per cent for wholesalers 
and 30 per cent for the private pharmacies and stores;  and the price of butane gas.  Privatization 
reforms are under way. 
18. Any economic operator wishing to engage in co mmercial, industrial or crafts activities must 
obtain prior administrative authorization renewable every five years.  Introduced by Ordinance No. 006/PR/84 of 12 April 1984, this authorization is issued by the Ministry of Commerce.  In addition to this administrative authorization to en gage in commercial and/or industrial and crafts 
activities, foreign economic operators must obtain a sp ecial card for foreign traders, industrialists and 
craftsmen introduced by Law No. 20/PR/67 of 19 July 1967, also issued by the Ministry of Commerce subject to a favourable opinion of the ad hoc commis sion responsible for delivering the card, which is 
renewable annually. 
(ii) Foreign trade 
 19. The chief laws and regulations governing foreign trade are: 
 - Decree No. 452/PR/85 abrogating Decree No. 282/PR/85 on import procedures.  
Under this Decree, imports from any country may enter freely.  However, the Ministry of Commerce may, for health, security or other reasons, prohibit the importation of one or several products; 
 
 - Order No. 054/MCPI/DG/DC/95 abolis hing import licences and establishing the 
negative list of products subject to special import authorization.  The first article of 
this order states that import and export licen ces are abolished, and further stipulates 
that the products or product group "sulphur and other explosives" shall be subject to 
prior authorization delivered by the Ministry of Commerce; 
  - Decree No. 451/PR/95 of 29 July 1995 abrogating Decree No. 113/ET/65 of 
11 July 1965 regulating the exportation and re-exportation of prod ucts, merchandise, 
foodstuffs and items of all kinds from Chad .  Under this Decree, all merchandise, 
products, foodstuffs and items may be freel y exported.  However, the Ministry of 
Commerce and Handicrafts may, if necessary, prohibit or restrict the exportation of a 
product; 
 Chad WT/TPR/G/174 
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 - Decree No. 138 bis/PR/MEPHP/88 regula ting exports of livestock and livestock 
products.  This Decree authorizes the exporta tion of live cattle a nd livestock products, 
with the exception of breeding females and calves. 
 
20. Chad's exports focus on oil, cotton, live cattle and gum arabic. 
21. The customs regime applied by Chad is that  of the CAEMC, which provides for the free 
movement of persons and goods fro m member countries and a common external tariff (CET).  This 
external tariff, which is a product of the tax an d customs reform, seeks to  ensure that the same 
conditions are applied to all enterprises in the subr egion by rationalizing the classification of imports 
into four tariff categories, each with a single customs duty: 
 - 5 per cent for essential goods; 
  - 10 per cent for raw materials and capital goods;   - 20 per cent for different intermediate goods; 
 
 - 30 per cent for wage goods;   - generalized preferential tariff (TPG) at a rate of zero per cent.  
22. Other taxes are collected at the customs cordon, namely: 
 - Excise duty for a category of products; 
  - community integration tax (TCI).  23. Trade support structures include: 
 - The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, Mining and Crafts (CCIAMA), 
which is a consular chamber.  Under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce 
and Handicrafts, it is responsible for re presenting, protecting and promoting the 
common interests of economic operators in th e area of trade, industry, agriculture, 
mining and crafts.  Among the CCIAMA's objectives is the promotion of the private 
sector and the assistance of private enterprises in their relationships with foreign 
countries; 
  - the Chadian National Employers' Counc il, an employers' organization whose 
objectives include the representation and de fence of the economic interests of 
members; 
  - the commercial courts, which are already operational in the cities;   - the National Investment and Export Promotion Agency (ANAPIE), which is in the 
process of being set up; 
 
 - forwarding companies and establishments;  and   - insurance and reinsurance companies.  WT/TPR/G/174 Trade Policy Review 
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24. Chad is a founding member of the leading multila teral institutions, and participates actively in 
their work.  It places great emphasis on regional a nd bilateral cooperation, in  particular with the 
neighbouring countries.  It has signed trade agreemen ts with several African and European countries.  
Chad is an active member of the CAEMC and ECCAS – both of them subregional economic 
groupings – and it belongs to the CEN-SAD, a grouping of Sahelo-Saharan States.  It is a member of 
the Cotonou Agreement – a partnership agreement wi th the European Union.  Being an ACP country 
and an LDC, Chad is a beneficiary of the non-recipr ocal preferential agreements which provide access 
to the EU markets for its products.  Under the Cot onou Agreement, of which Chad is a signatory, the 
CAEMC is mandated to negotiate economic part nership agreements (EPAs) on its behalf. 
25. As regards the Uruguay Round, Chad signed, inter alia , the Final Act in Geneva, and ratified 
the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO, afte r which it became an original WTO Member on 
19 October 1996.  In that connection, it made co mmitments under all of the WTO agreements.  As a 
full Member, Chad provides national treatment to foreign products and grants most-favoured-nation 
(MFN) status to other WTO Members.  Of all of  the Uruguay Round trade agreements that Chad 
signed, only six are effectively implemented, becau se they relate directly to the country's current 
economic structure, which is essentially based on  agriculture and livestock:  the Agreement on 
Agriculture with its domestic support, market ac cess and export competition pillars;  the Agreement 
on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures;  and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. 
26. During the Uruguay Round, Chad bound all of its tariff lines relating to agricultural products 
at a ceiling rate of 80 per cent, and 75 per cent for passenger transport vehicles.  In the area of trade in 
services, Chad has made commitments in tourism and travel agency related services.  In conformity 
with WTO rules, it has submitted a number of notifications.  Chad is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and is  a signatory member of the revised Bangui 
Agreement creating the AIPO.  A national structure for liaison with the OAPI, under the Ministry of 
Commerce and Handicrafts, is responsible for the management of intellectual property titles. 
27. Under the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation, it is the transaction value that should be 
taken into account by the customs authorities of Me mber countries.  Unfortunately, this requires 
considerable technical and human resources that Chad does not have. 
28. Chad is one of the leading African cotton producing countries.  Indeed, cotton plays an 
important economic and social role in Chad, al one accounting for more than 5 per cent of GDP, 
70 per cent of agricultural export revenue and approxi mately 60 per cent of total export revenue — at 
least before the development of oil — and providing  subsistence for approximately 3 million people.  
Accounting for 2,500 jobs or 10 per cent of all State employees, the Chadian cotton company, Cotontchad, acting as the sole operator in the sector, is the country's second largest employer after the 
State itself.  As the main export crop, it provides a source of regular income for the rural population.  In Chad, cotton is a strategic product which contri butes to the economy, to trade and to employment, 
and hence to the country's economic and social de velopment.  Moreover, since cotton is produced 
above all by small producers, it has a positive im pact on poverty reduction in the producing areas.  
Cotton is considered by many Sahelian countries,  including Chad, to be an example of economic 
success.  The labour force, chiefly domestic, is paid  low wages, and the crop is harvested manually.  
Thanks to its quality/price ratio, Chadian cotton h as a natural comparative advantage.  Not only is 
cotton the main source of income in rural areas, it is  also a tool for modernization and diversification, 
and a source of financing for social activities and for structuring the rural community. 
29. At the macroeconomic level, cotton provides the St ate with an export revenue that is far from 
negligible.  It contributes to improving the agricultural sector as a whole through agricultural innovation, and has a direct positive impact on cerea l, livestock and dairy production through the use Chad WT/TPR/G/174 
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of cotton by-products in cattle feed (seed cotton and cottonseed cakes).  Packaging, transport and 
shipping have generated considerab le employment in the cotton sector, since up to 95 per cent of the 
cotton is exported.  Many more jobs could be cr eated if some of the cotton were processed locally. 
30. However, Chadian cotton production and export activities have come under serious threat 
over the past few years owing to the massive subs idies granted by developed countries such as the 
United States and certain EU countries to their co tton producers.  These subsidies have indirectly 
resulted in a drastic fall in cotton prices, causing enormous problems for Chadian cotton producers, 
not to mention the considerable losses in revenue su ffered by the country over the past few years.  
They undermine the competitiveness of Chadian cott on, with serious social consequences for the 
farming communities in the cotton producing areas:  persistent problems in providing health care and 
schooling for the children, dilapidation of existing in frastructure and equipment, and a lack of food for 
families and sustainable housing.  In short, the im poverishment of rural areas is growing more and 
more visible with the decrease in income of the cotton growers. 
31. With their income being eroded year after year by this unfair competition resulting from the 
subsidies granted by the wealthier countries to th eir producers, cotton growers could very well end up 
abandoning their activity.  The lack of competitiven ess of cotton (due to the subsidies and to the 
problems faced by the sector) is contributing to the increase in poverty among cotton growers.  In 
order to reform the cotton sector and to boost the competitiveness of cotton, Chad has launched a 
number of initiatives in the following areas: 
 - Productivity improvement; 
 
 - agricultural research;   - improved ginning techniques;   - training of professionals in classing with electronic cotton classing equipment; 
 
 - local processing of cotton.  32. This trade policy is conducted in conformity  with the WTO rules.  Chad hopes that its 
partners will support its reform efforts, and is st ressing the importance of ensuring coherence between 
trade policy and development programmes. 
33. At the international level, Chad has been very  active in developing a coherent foreign trade 
policy with respect to cotton.  Since 2003 it has been  participating in the Sectoral Initiative in Favour 
of Cotton – which calls for the elimination of tr ade-distorting cotton subsidies – and has defended, 
with its partners (Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali) the cotton cause at the WTO.  Negotiations were 
given priority and cotton is now identified as a product (in fact the only product) that should be 
addressed "ambitiously, specifically and expeditiously". 
34. In addition to negotiations, Chad has used the tools made available by the WTO to defend its 
trade interests.  In October 2006, it participated  (for the second time) as a third party in the dispute 
between Brazil and the United States on the eliminat ion of subsidies on upland cotton.  The Dispute 
Settlement Body is tasked with verifying complianc e by the United States with the decisions taken 
during the preceding dispute. WT/TPR/G/174 Trade Policy Review 
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(2) TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
35. Since 2004, Chad has had a Permanent Missi on to the United Nations Office and Other 
International Organizations in Geneva.  In the cap acity building area, Chad has benefited from several 
workshops, seminars, and training courses at the WTO in Geneva, and elsewhere.  Regarding the 
Integrated Framework, the Government has ju st adopted the Diagnostic Trade Integration 
Study (DTIS) and Chad will soon benefit from Window II financing. 
36. Chad's efforts to ensure the effective implem entation of the WTO agreements and rules and 
greater awareness thereof within the country could be  helped by increased t echnical assistance in the 
following areas:  capacity building of customs staff;  specific capacity building of the ten officials, 
five from the Ministry of Commerce and Handicrafts and five from the Ministry of Higher Education 
that were briefly trained as trainers in the frame work of the WTO multilateral trade negotiations (from 
6 to 13 May 2006 in N'Djamena);  expansion a nd improvement of human resources, as well as 
mechanisms for gathering, managing and disseminati ng import- and export-related trade information;  
information and training in the form of courses,  workshops and seminars  covering negotiations, 
notification, customs valuation, non-tariff barriers, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, 
standardization, services, and in particular, the WTO and its agreements in favour of parliamentarians 
and civil society;  setting up of a national standardization body;  etc. 
IV. TRADE POLICY FORMULATION BY SECTOR AND SECTORAL POLICIES 
37. Generally speaking, the Government determin es and implements national policy, and the 
National Assembly promulgates the corresponding legi slation.  The promulgated laws are published 
in the Official Journal.  Each ministry formulates po licies relating to its field of activity.  The Ministry 
of Commerce and Handicrafts is responsible for formulating trade policy, monitoring its 
implementation, and ensuring compliance.  It does this in coordination with the ministries as a whole, the other institutions concerned, and the private sector , depending on the nature of the matter at issue. 
38. Chad's industrial development is very limited.   Ten enterprises alone account for most of the 
country's industrial fabric.  These include a seed cotton processing and ginning factory ( Société 
cotonnière du Tchad );  a sugar and sugar by-product manufacturing facility ( Compagnie sucrière du 
Tchad );  a cigarette manufacturing plant ( Manufacture de cigarette du Tchad );  a plant manufacturing 
cooking oil, household soap, and seedcakes using co tton by-products (oil and soap factory forming 
part of Cotontchad );  a brewery for local consumption (b eer, sweetened and unsweetened carbonated 
beverages);  a corrugated iron sheet manufacturing pl ant;  a mineral water factory;  a refrigerated 
slaughterhouse in N'Djamena;  a modern br ick factory;  and a gold production facility. 
39. The Ministry of Commerce is the WTO focal poi nt, and as such, it is the leading entity for 
WTO matters.  Generally speaking, the Ministry intends  to give priority to a number of actions aimed 
at boosting industrial development:  introduction of a regulatory framework conducive to investment 
by reforming the Investment Code (a national i nvestment charter is shortly to be adopted);  
introduction of a system of accreditation, certification,  standardization and quality assurance;  creation 
of a national investment and export promotion agency (ANAPIE) providing for a single window;  strengthening of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, Mining and Crafts;  and development and fitting out of infrastructure so as to provide facilities for investors. 
40. Chad's specific policy objective in the crafts area is to introduce a national policy for the 
promotion of the crafts sector.  This will involve, inter alia , setting up a programme for the training of 
craftsmen;  developing regulations for the crafts sect or;  developing promotion strategies for the crafts 
sector by branch and by subsector;  organizing and assisting craftsmen in their relations with the Chad WT/TPR/G/174 
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ministry in charge of employment;  introducing a financial and tax system adapted to the needs of the 
crafts sector;  promoting associative and cooperative movements in the crafts sector;  obtaining easier access for craftsmen to funds under economic develo pment and poverty reduction programmes and to 
bank loans at a reasonable interest rate;  and creating a crafts village. 
41. Among the ministries and institutions involved in the trade policy review process, some have 
a particular role to play.  For example, the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Planning is 
responsible for the formulation, coordination, fo llow-up and implementation of the Government's 
economic and financial development policy and for mobilizing the necessary resources.  Its mission is 
to organize and monitor government and treasury  accounts, customs taxes and duties and property 
taxes;  approve public contracts and leases to be co ncluded by the Government in keeping with the 
threshold established in the Government Procuremen t Code and subsequent texts;  to prepare and 
develop the general State budget;  to monitor the implementation of the general State budget;  to 
manage the domestic and foreign debt;  etc. 
42. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Intern ational Cooperation is 
responsible for the formulation, coordination, implementation and follow-up of the Government's 
foreign policy, and for international cooperation.  The Ministry of Agriculture is in charge of 
formulating, coordinating, monito ring and implementing the Governme nt's agricultural policy.  Its 
trade policy related activities include developing an d monitoring the implementation of agricultural 
legislation and phytosanitary, quality and conformity  control of products.  It is also involved in 
orienting and coordinating the marketing stra tegy for agricultural products through studies on 
promising subsectors, training of the persons involve d, and efforts to improve the competitiveness of 
agricultural products in order to develop the country's considerable potential in that area;  and finally, 
its activities extend to food security policy, with the creation of the National Food Security Office 
(ONASA). 
43. Before 2003, the rural sector as a whole was the motor of the Chadian economy, accounting 
on average for 40 per cent GDP and employing 80 per cent of the country's active population.  Indeed, 
agriculture – in the form of cereal crops, cash crops, root crops and tubers – plays a major role in the 
economy and is estimated alone to account for more than 24 per cent of GDP.  In order to transform agriculture into a genuine driving force for de velopment, the Chadian Government developed a 
master plan for agriculture which seeks to boost the sector's performan ce by acting decisively in the 
water management area as a safegua rd against the cyclical impact of  climatic variations.  Thus, the 
Government has been pursuing the objectives set forth in the master plan for water of developing 
100,000 hectares by 2020;  combating crop pests, in  particular bird and locust infestations;  
agricultural research;  extension;  and the transfer of responsibility to producers.  The reorganization 
of the National Office for Rural Development (OND R) to ensure greater proximity of extension 
services for producers fits in with this objective. 
44. Chad has successfully incor porated the CAEMC Common Agricultural Strategy in its 
agricultural policy and strategy.  The Ministry of Livestock is responsible for formulating, 
coordinating and implemen ting national policy with respect to  the production and exploitation of 
animal resources, the development of pasture land,  the management of pasture resources and the 
organization of professional livestock breeders with respect to the parties concerned.  It is also responsible for developing, applying and monitori ng the laws and regulations pertaining specifically 
to livestock breeding, in particular phytosanitary measures. 
45. Livestock farming is Chad's leading source of revenue.  In spite of its importance to the 
country's economy, it remains traditional, and based  on transhumance.  A number of general and 
specific objectives have been set with a view to boosting the competitiveness of this sector, including WT/TPR/G/174 Trade Policy Review 
Page 14 
 
 
a sustainable increase in animal production, an increase in the income of breeders and other actors of 
the subsector, and improvement of pastoral water re sources.  The authorities also want to develop the 
marketing and exportation of livestock products and by-products, to build up a proper institutional 
framework that reflects the policy of State withdraw al and helps to ensure the efficient management 
of livestock development, to transfer responsib ility for restructuring the production chains and 
providing support for the grassroots associations to the professionals, to build up the quantitative and 
qualitative capacity of human resources, to strengthe n the role of research in the development of 
livestock breeding, and to develop a modern and efficient animal health system. 
46. The Ministry of Petroleum plays a leading role in the area of hydrocarbons in general and the 
exploitation of the country's petroleum resources in pa rticular.  It is responsib le for the formulation, 
coordination, implementation and follow-up of gove rnment policy in the hydrocarbons area, more 
specifically, for organization, research, and the techni cal and administrative control of all oil-related 
activities;  the supervision, guidance, coordinati on, and control of oil research and of activities 
relating to its sphere of competence, in particul ar the production, transport, storage, refining and 
distribution of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons;  th e building of a hydrocarbons database;  and the 
preparation and dissemination of texts relating to  the legislation, regulation and taxation of 
hydrocarbons and their enforcement in cooperati on with the ministerial departments concerned. 
47. The Ministry of Mining and Energy is res ponsible for the formulation, coordination, 
implementation and follow up of the Government's mi ning and energy development policy.  Under its 
supervision, the Chad Water and Electricity Co mpany (STEE) holds a monopoly on the distribution of 
water and electricity, whose prices are fixed by ministerial order according to a price structure.  
Electricity is thermally generated using diesel fuel.  Its cost is the highest in the world, and the 
country's development and economic activity is seriously hampered by the poor territorial coverage.  
Chad has abundant and varied mineral resources, but little has been done to exploit them.  The 
extraction of sodium carbonate and gold has only just begun. 
48. In the electricity sector, the Government is conducting a social policy aimed at reducing the 
cost per KW for the most disadvantaged population groups through the construction of a topping plant 
to refine part of the DOB's crude oil and supply the STEE in diesel fuel.  The Ministry of the Environment and Fisheries is responsible for form ulating, coordinating, implementing and following-
up the Government's environmental and fisheries polic ies.  Chad is rich in  forest species, which 
include the Senegal gum acacia ( Acacia Senegal ) in the central areas, and shea nuts in the south.  
Gum acacia is currently the most important species,  with an estimated production of 20,000 tonnes for 
a 50,000 tonne market.  Chad ranks second among world pr oducers.  Gum arabic is one of the forestry 
products that is exported to certain  African countries, including Nigeria, and western countries, above 
all the United States. 
49. Fishing is an important activity in Chad.  It is practised on Lake Chad and on the two 
permanent waterways, the Logone and the Chari, as well as the semi-permanent  waterways of Batha, 
Barh Azoum, Barh Kôh, Barh Salamat, and the Ma yo-Kebbi, Lake Iro, Lake Lé ré and Lake Tikem.  
In order to improve its environmental and fisheri es policies, Chad has adopted a number of measures, 
which include combating deforestation and the encro achment of the desert, strengthening the capacity 
of central and regional services, organizing fisher men and providing them with  training, developing 
and modernizing aquaculture and fish farming and developing ot her fisheries-related activities, 
promoting and developing forestry, processing an d converting fishery pr oducts, promoting new 
subsectors (gum arabic, shea nuts, soapberry, tamarind,  and date palm), promoting alternative energy 
sources, and properly completing the project to transf er the waters of the Oubangui to Lake Chad. Chad WT/TPR/G/174 
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50. The cultivation of spirulina around Lake Chad is  currently a small-scale operation that could 
be modernized in order to market the product on a large scale with a label.  The Ministry of Tourism 
Development is responsible for exploiting the coun try's enormous potential for tourism.  In 1998, it 
had a general policy statement issued on the develo pment of tourism, highlighting its importance for 
the country's socio-economic development.  It also relies on Law No. 19/PR/2002 regulating tourism 
establishments.  This law lays down the conditions for the construction, conversion and operation of 
tourism establishments (accommodation, restaurant services, and travel agencies). 
51. Tourism is the only services sector in which Ch ad has made commitments under the General 
Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).  These commi tments concern hotel and restaurant services 
and travel agencies, and guarantee free access to the Ch adian market.  The hotel sector is made up of 
private operators, and was opened up to fore ign operators when Chad signed the GATS. 
52. The Ministry of Postal Services and New Communication Technologies is responsible for the 
formulation, coordination, implem entation and follow-up of the Govern ment's policies in the relevant 
areas.  It launched the reform of the telecommunications sector by liberalizing the market.  The Société Tchadienne des Postes et de l'Épargne  (Post and Savings Company - STPE) operates postal 
and financial services.  It is present on the e xpress delivery market through the Express Mailing 
Service (EMS) together with declared private ope rators (DHL, SDV, SAGA Express, UPS, Universal 
Express and TNT).  In the telecommunications area, the Chad Telecommunications Company (SOTEL TCHAD) is responsible for operating the b asic network, with approximately 13,000 fixed 
telephony subscribers of which 80 per cent are concentr ated in Djamena.  Two private operators share 
the mobile telephony market:  Celtel and Millic om, with 400,000 subscribers distributed across 
several zones.  There is an increasing demand for m obile telephones and Internet in the large urban 
centres.  Rural telephony remains a major challenge for the future. 
53. Ordinary money transfers are carried out by the banks and postal services, while electronic 
transfers are carried out by private companies – Western Union Money Transfer and MoneyGram – in association with the STPE. 
54. The Ministry of Infrastructure is responsible for the formulation, implementation and follow-
up of the Government's infrastructure and transpor t policies.  The Government developed a national 
transport strategy (SNT) for the period from 2000 to 2009, updated to 2015, chiefly to open up the country both internally and externally and to ensu re access to the entire national territory throughout 
the year.  For the moment, Chad has approxi mately 1,021 kilometres of asphalted roads and 
4,288 kilometres of graded dirt roads.  Effort s will be made between now and 2015 to increase the 
figure for asphalted roads to 1,800 kilometres, and for graded dirt roads to 4,900 kilometres.  Chad does not have a railway.  It has an international ai rport with a 2,800 metre runway.  The liberalization 
of the transport sector, both air and land transport, has been completed. 
55. It should be noted that all of the ministerial de partments directly or indirectly involved in the 
trade policy review process are faced with enormous material, technical and human problems, and 
solving those problems will be a major challenge. 
V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
56. This trade policy report by Chad is consis tent with the Government's socio-economic 
development policy.  The aim of that policy is to c ontribute significantly to growth in order to achieve 
the global objectives of good governance, poverty reducti on, and integration into the newly emerging 
and constantly changing world economic context,  these being indispensable to the country's 
sustainable economic and social advancement. WT/TPR/G/174 Trade Policy Review 
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57. However, these objectives cannot be attained  without the support of the international 
community, which is why Chad is awaiting, from the WTO: 
 
 - A successful outcome to the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton in accordance 
with the Framework Agreement of July 20 04, i.e. the expeditious, specific, and 
ambitious treatment of the cotton issue; 
  - increased technical assistance in the capacity building area. 
 
58. As a least developed country, Chad is keen to  benefit fully from the Integrated Framework 
programme, and possibly the JITAP.  The Government  of Chad is counting on all its donors and other 
development partners for financial assistance, and urg es them in particular to step up their Official 
Development Assistance with a view to meeti ng the many socio-economic development challenges 
facing the country. 
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