PRESS RELEASE 
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION, OR DISTRIBUTION BY NEWS AGENCIES UNTIL 
1400 GENEVA TIME ( 1200  GMT) 15 JUNE 2005  
 
PRESS/TPRB/248 
15 June 2005 
 
(05-2483) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: ECUADOR 
Continued reform would improve resilience and sustain economic 
growth 
Since the early 1990s, Ecuador has taken substantial steps to liberalize and improve the 
predictability and transparency of its trade regime through autonomous, regional and multilateral initiatives, with all the tariff lines bound and M FN rates progressively reduced, according to a WTO 
Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Ecuador. 
 However, the report notes that some non-tariff barriers persist, notably non-automatic import 
licensing, as well as lengthy customs procedures and the use of reference prices. Foreign 
investment generally receives national treatment but there are constraints to private investment in some sectors.  
 
The report says that addressing these en other trade and investment barriers would help sustain economic growth and enhance the ability of Ecuador’s economy to respond to external shocks in 
the absence of an independent monetary policy. 
 The WTO report, along with a policy statement by th e Government of Ecuador, will be the basis for 
the first Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Ecuador by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 15 
and 17 of June 2005.  
The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/ tratop_e/tpr_e/tp248.htm  
 
• Secretariat report 
> Contents and summary observations  > Economic environment  
> Trade and investment regimes  
> Trade policies and practices by measure  > Trade policies by sector  
> Appendix tables  
• Government report  
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
• Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). PRESS/TPRB/248 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
 Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each 
review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William 
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at 
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews  
 
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States 
Next reviews: 
The Philippines : 5 and 7 July 2005 
Egypt : 26 and 28 July 2005 
Trinidad and Tobago : 14 and 16 September 2005 
 For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews  
 
 
END