WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/TPR/M/233 
8 October 2010 
 (10-5137) 
Trade Policy Review Body 
14 and 16 September 2010  
 
 
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
THE GAMBIA 
 
Record of the Meeting  
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Bozkurt Aran (Turkey) 
 
  Page 
 
I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 3 
II. OPENING STATEMENT BY THE REPR ESENTATIVE OF THE GAMBIA  4 
III. STATEMENT BY THE DISCUSSANT 6 
IV. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 10 V. REPLIES BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GAMBIA AND ADDITIONAL 
 COMMENTS  20 
VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 26 
 
Note:   Advance written questions by WTO Memb ers and the replies provided by The Gambia are 
reproduced in document WT/TPR/M/233/Add.1 and will be available online at:  
http://www.wto.org/english/tr atop_e/tpr_e/tp_rep_e.htm.    WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 3 
 
 
  I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 
1. The second Trade Policy Review of The Gamb ia was held on 14 a nd 16 September 2010.  
The Chairperson H.E. Mr. Bozkurt Aran (Turkey) welcomed the delegation of The Gambia, headed 
by H.E. Mr. Yusupha Kah, Minister of Trade,  Regional Integration and Employment, and the 
discussant, H.E. Mr. Shree Servansing (Mauritius).   
2. The Chairperson recalled the purpose of the Trad e Policy Reviews and the main elements of 
the procedures for the meeting.  The report by The Gambia was contained in document 
WT/TPR/G/233 and that of the WTO Secretariat in WT/TPR/S/233. 
3. Questions by the following delegations had been  submitted in writing at least two weeks in 
advance and had been transmitted to the delegation of The Gambia:  the United States;  India;  the 
European Union;  Japan;  Canada; and the Republic of Korea.  
4. The following delegations submitted written questio ns after the two-week deadline:  Turkey 
and Brazil.  
5. The Chairperson noted that he had considered  the reports prepared for the Review and 
recognized that The Gambia had made good progress since its first review in 2004.  A large number 
of new trade- and investment-related laws had been  passed, showing the Government's will to ensure 
that its legislation was in keeping with the needs of  today's trading world.  In the period, there had 
also been steady and even rapid GDP growth aver aging 6% a year, despite negative effects of the 
world financial crisis on the tourism sector, a nd hence the economy as a whole, in 2008-09.   
6. The Gambia was open to foreign direct investme nt from all sources, which was contributing 
to encourage the expansion of its services sectors.   The Gambia had undertaken commitments under 
the GATS in 12 service subsectors.  It was one of the least-developed countries that had undertaken 
the highest number of commitments in the contex t of the Uruguay Round and subsequent negotiations 
on services. 
7. The Gambia's economy was vulnerable to tre nds in the world economy and in neighboring 
countries, with a very narrow economic base - groundnuts, fisheries, tourism - and significant 
infrastructural difficulties.  It would be interesti ng to hear from the delegation the Government's plans 
as to how the constraints on economic devel opment may be eased and eventually overcome. 
8. The ECOWAS common external tariff defined and bound the structure of import duties and 
rules of origin that The Gambia could apply. It  benefited in principle from “Everything but Arms” 
access to the EU and from AGOA access to the U.S. ma rket, but capacity constraints again appeared 
to inhibit development of trade in these areas.  It would be interesting to h ear from the delegation how 
they envisage the development of their tr ading structure in the next few years. 
9. The Gambia had been a beneficiary of the Integr ated Framework, and now of the EIF.  One of 
the challenges that we can address in this meeting is  to identify the principal capacity constraints The 
Gambia now faces in its trading system, and how we, as Members of the WTO and international agencies, can best assist it in overcoming these.  Identifying these constraints and possible solutions 
would be one useful outcome of this Review. WT/TPR/M/233 
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  II. OPENING STATEMENT BY THE REPR ESENTATIVE OF THE GAMBIA 
10. Despite the very limited human and financial capacities as an LDC Member State of the 
WTO, The Gambia is committed to fulfilling its obli gations under the multilateral trading system.  I 
believe this Review taking place today is an exampl e in that direction.  However, we do acknowledge 
that it is a daunting challenge for my country to be  current on all fronts at once. Hence the reason why 
we are more up to date on some obligations than ot hers.  We will however continue to work hard at 
improving compliance with the various obligations. It is  heartening to note that with the support of the 
WTO Secretariat and other partners, like AITIC, The Ga mbia is now able to be more up to date in its 
notifications.  Enquiry points for both SPS and TB Ts were set up and our Draft Food Safety and 
Quality Bill was sent to WTO Members for comments.  
11. Since the last Trade Policy Review of The Gambia in  2004, the Gambian economy managed 
to overcome various adverse nationa l and international developments to grow at an average 6.3% 
between 2006-08, with inflation in the single digits . Moreover, despite the severity of the global 
economic crisis of 2009, our small economy weathere d the storm relatively well, with an estimated 
real GDP growth of 4.5%
 in 2009.  
12. The Gambia entered into an Extended Credit Facility arrangement with the International 
Monetary Fund from 2007 to 2009. However, due to  the non-observance of one major benchmark, 
The Gambia requested for an extension of the Facility for another year, ending February 2011. 
13. The Gambia Government remains committed to  implementing sound macroeconomic policies 
for sustainable development and poverty reductio n.  We are currently in our second Poverty 
Reduction Strategy (2007-2011), where trade and trad e-related issues have ga ined more prominence 
than in the first Strategy.  My Ministry and other st akeholders are sparing no effort to ensure that trade 
is recognized as a key pillar for sustaine d livelihoods and poverty reduction.  
14. In line with this, and cognizant of the potentia l positive impact that trade could have in a 
small open economy like ours, The Gambia Government  continues to jealously guard its commitment 
to its liberal trade regime.  In the past few year s, the Government has formulated a Competition Policy 
and created a Competition Commission.  A first comp rehensive Trade Policy h as also been recently 
formulated to facilitate a better coordination of the different sectors’ intervention in trade and related 
matters.  An Export Development Strategy is also  being developed by the newly created Gambia 
Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA).  
15. The Government of the Gambia is also investing a lot of resources in improving trade 
facilitation.  Since our last Trade Policy Review, customs and tax administration in The Gambia has 
also undergone significant reforms all geared toward s more efficiencies.  A Central Authority called 
the Gambia Revenue Authority has been created in 2006.  Clearance of goods is faster and less cumbersome and the paper work has been reduced and mostly computerized.  Procedures are more 
customer-friendly and the ASYCUDA++ system is  fully operational. A new Customs Act was 
enacted earlier this year to be in line with intern ational standards and best practices in the domain of 
tax administration.  These improvements in trad e facilitation are very essential to a welcoming 
business and investment environment.  
16. The Gambia also attaches great importance to regional economic coopera tion and integration. 
The Gambia is a fully active member of the Economic Community of West African States 
(ECOWAS) since its creation in 1975. The Gove rnment of the Gambia also ratified and is 
implementing the vast majority of the ECOWAS  Protocols and Conventions.  In the Economic 
Partnership Agreement between W est Africa and the EU, The Gamb ia supports the West African 
position of a development-oriented EPA, which w ill reflect the development needs of our region, 
particularly the small economies such as The Gambia’s.  WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 5 
 
 
  17. Our vision in the medium to long term is for Th e Gambia to be an even more active member 
of the multilateral trading system that would be in a position to discharge all its  obligations and within 
the stipulated time frames.   Our aspiration for the country remains one that can produce commodities 
and services of international standards and observe  the rules of fair trade.  We believe that 
international trade can be beneficial to small and vul nerable economies.   It is our conviction that the 
development interests of the less developed WT O Members could and should be largely taken on 
board in the context of the multilateral trading system .  In this vein, The Gambia is still hopeful that 
with a little more effort and commitment from all, the Doha Round coul d be concluded as the 
Development Round it was set out to be.  That wa y the smaller, less privileged WTO Members will 
continue to have all the incentive to believe in the multilateral trading system as a fair and open 
system. 
18. In conclusion, please allow me to once again thank the WTO Secretariat, and all other 
partners, for all their valuable assistance over the y ears. The Government of the Gambia will continue 
to work closely with the WTO Secretariat and a ll Member States to make the multilateral trading 
system more responsive to our needs and help make in ternational trade the engine of growth in all our 
countries.  WT/TPR/M/233 
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  III. STATEMENT BY THE DISCUSSANT (H.E. Mr. Shree Servansing (Mauritius)) 
19. The Gambia is a small LDC with an average per capita income of approximately US$420 in 
2007 and a ranking of 168 out of 182 in the UN Development Index.  Overall, recent economic 
performance of The Gambia is encouraging with an  average GDP growth of 6.2% since 2003 and a 
generally stable macroeconomic environment.  Grow th is essentially driven by service industries such 
as trade, tourism, transport and telecommunications.  In fact, The Gambia ranks as one of the high 
growth economies in Western Africa.  However, grow th fell to 4.6% in 2009 because of the impact of 
the international economic crisis but it is estimated  that The Gambia’s growth will pick up in 2010 
with the good performance of agriculture and tourism. 
20. In terms of trade and economic governance, it c ould be said that The Gambia, since its last 
trade policy review in 2004, has gone through a phase of institutional consolidation and capacity-
building improvement.  The Gambia has benefitte d from successful public-sector reforms including 
the institution of the Integrated Financial Manage ment Information System (IFMIS) for improving 
transparency in public finance and also the setting up of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) aiming at fiscal consolidation a nd improvement of tax collection. 
21. The Gambia has recently run substantial trad e and current account deficits through significant 
public and external debts.  One of the macroeconom ic challenges facing the authorities is to contain 
debt to a sustainable level, in particular high co st domestic public debt which amounted to 24% of 
GDP in 2009. 
22. The public external debt of The Gambia is also on an increasing trend from US$555.2 million 
in 2003 to US$676.7 million in 2 006.  With interest payments accounting to 25% of GDP in 2009, 
debt obligations are crowding out essential public expe nditure programs.  In spite of benefitting from 
a substantial reduction in its external debt follo wing HIPC completion point in 2007, its calculated 
debt service to exports ratio still places The Gambia in the list of high debt-distressed countries.  In 
this regard, the Government has formulated in 2 009 a Medium Term Debt Management Strategy for 
2010-2012 to manage debt sustainability. 
23. The trade, business and investment framewo rk of The Gambia has undergone major 
developments during the period under review.  The Gambia as a Member of ECOWAS has now aligned its tariffs with the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) as well as adopted the ECOWAS community levy of 0.5% to all imports from outside the area. 
24. In fact, a new Customs and Excise Act was en acted in April 2010 whose objective was the 
domestication of ECOWAS common customs tariffs, inter-state road transit of goods, the ECOWAS 
Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), the WT O Customs Valuation Agreement, ASYCUDA++ 
customs processing as well as the inclusion of anti-dumping and countervailing measures. 
25. These legislative innovations have improved the ge neral predictability and transparency of the 
fiscal and trade policy framework of The Gambia, hence eliminating much of the incoherence and 
discretionary allowances in fiscal and trade policies.  The Gambia needs to pursue in this effort of tax 
simplification with further tax reductions and tax user-friendly administrative procedures to improve 
competitiveness and transparency and hence attract bus iness.  For example, the policy still allows for 
widespread possibilities for suspensions or remissions of tariffs  written in the Customs and Excise 
Act. In many countries, this opens the way for arbitr ariness and disturbs the level playing field. More 
information is needed from the authorities on how these are applied and how far they are applied. 
26. Overall the ECOWAS tariff structure shows th e readiness of The Gambia to embrace regional 
integration in the long term interests of developm ent against immediate benefits from re-export trade 
which will definitely suffer.  The Gambia is also further consolidating its integration in the global  WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 7 
 
 
  trading system as the average applied tariff falls from 19% to 14%.  It also renders obsolete the high 
WTO bound rates of The Gambia which contained a lot of water as the effective tariffs are the 
ECOWAS tariffs. The Secretariat Report also indi cates that dependence on trade-related tax revenue 
is declining.  Sales tax is a major revenue earner and the government is pla nning to replace the Sales 
Tax with a Value Added Tax to be furt her in coherence with ECOWAS polices. 
27. Another important piece of legislation that helped to improve the investment climate is the 
enactment of The Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency Act (GIEPA Act) of 2010 which 
consolidates into one legislation the former Investment Promotion Act and the Free Zones Act.  The 
Act provides for investment incentives under the Sp ecial Investment Certificates and streamlines 
incentives for export processing zones and micro, sma ll and medium-sized businesses. In parallel, the 
Gambian authorities have under the overall respons ibility of the Ministry for Trade, Regional 
Integration and Employment (MOTIE) improved ma instreaming of trade in government policy and 
also improved policy coherence and inter-minister ial cooperation through th e re-invigorated National 
Trade Policy Decision Making Committee which regroups all the major stakeholders from 
government, private sector and civil society. 
28. The proactive trade enhancement policy pursued  by The Gambia is reflected in the new 
“Trade Policy Action Program” drawn up in 2009.  The Action Program is a bold and ambitious one 
which aims to set The Gambia on a development pa th which significantly moves it from being a mere 
re-exporter of goods to a real domestic producer an d exporter of value added goods and services.  It 
would be good if the Gambian de legation could provide an update  on this action plan and the 
constraints it is facing in its implementation. 
29. Another important development is the moderniza tion of the country’s IP legislation. A new 
Copyright Act was passed in 2004 which replaced  the old UK Copyright Act of 1915 while on 
omnibus legislation, the Industrial Property Ac t of 2007 updated The Gambia’s IP architecture on 
patents, trademarks and industria l designs and utility models. The S ecretariat Report mentions that 
implementation regulations for the I ndustrial Property Act are still being cr afted. It would be useful to 
know when these regulations would be ready so th at the Act could be fully operational. Having a 
good IP legislative framework is an important step but  enforcement of IP protection is the other part 
of the equation. It would be in teresting to know from the Gambian delegation how does the authorities 
ensure effective enforcement, what  are the capacity constraints they face in this regard and whether 
any assistance is required from the international comm unity. It would be also useful to know when 
The Gambia plans to notify its IP legislation to the WTO. 
30. In spite of important strides in its economic and trade governance framework, the 
maintenance of macroeconomic stability and a successf ul attempt in attracting FDI over the review 
period, The Gambia remains a vulnerable and small LD C with numerous constraints.  Poverty is very 
rampant as 58% of the Gambians live below the pover ty line mainly in rural areas.  The 2010 “Doing 
business” World Bank Report ranks The Gambia at 140 out of 183 countries.  The World Economic 
Forum ranks The Gambia 123 out of 157 in  the Index of Economic Freedom in 2007. 
31. The economy remains relatively undiversified and limited by a small internal market.  
Services have been faring well with much FDI boos ting the tourism, telecommunications and banking 
sector, accounting for over half of GDP.  But agriculture remains an underperforming sector 
contributing only one third of GDP despite engaging 70% of employment.  However, a structural change to crops with higher productivity has been observed mainly with the increasing importance of 
NERICA rice cultivation which also contributes to food security.  But major challenges in agriculture 
remain, more particularly low productivity, low value-added through lack of further processing 
mainly in ground-nut production which is the most  important export crop. Quality assurance and SPS 
problems remain serious constraints hindering exports. WT/TPR/M/233 
Page 8  
 
  32. With such low productivity, the sector has fe w linkages with other sectors in the economy, 
hence exacerbating its development potential and lock ing farmers in a poverty trap.  Farmers have 
insufficient access to agricultural inputs (seeds  and fertilizers), poor access to product markets, 
inadequate infrastructural services as irrigation and roads, high energy costs and lack of access to 
credit.  Land use and ownership seems also a problem  owing to unclear land te nure legislation, hence 
not conducive to long term priv ate sector investment in land.  
33. A large share of The Gambia’s imports mainly  from the EU involves agricultural products.  
32.9% of imports from the EU were food material s and vegetables in 2009, probably necessitated by 
tourism and hotels.  But considering the cost of tr ansport, such substantial imports from a high cost 
source reflects a sub-optimal development of The Gamb ia’s agriculture potential.  Hence, the role of 
government in securing a better enabling environment in terms of infrastructure and cross-linkages 
cannot be overemphasized. 
34. The manufacturing sector also remains a marginal sector as it contributes only 5% to GDP. 
This is despite The Gambia’s being a beneficiary of major preferential trade arrangements as an LDC, namely under EBA, AGOA and other GSP schemes from developed and some developing countries.  
This reflects the usual problems of supply-side c onstraints and lack of capacity in small economies 
and therefore the need to address their problems in a more comprehensive manner beyond mere granting of market access opportunities. While Th e Gambia has reviewed the micro, small and 
medium enterprise sector to identify constraints, it has also evolved an action plan to address 
shortcomings in the sector.  This is an area wher e Aid for Trade can certainly be of help to The 
Gambia. 
35. A related problem for building capacity is access to finance.  In spite of a dynamic and 
growing banking sector, financial institutions are ve ry risk-averse and bank- lending to the private 
sector is very low although banks are extremely liquid.  The micro-finance institutions and the 
village-savings and credit associations set up by Government are quite dynamic and play a useful 
creditor role in the micro sector.  But this has a limited role.  While this deficiency of banking activity 
in granting loans may have its source in structural and legal constraints, it is also believed that the 
dominance of foreign owners may also be a cause due to their lack of knowledge of the local context. 
36. However, The Gambia has a comparative adva ntages in certain sectors which can become 
main drivers of the economy.  Fisheries developmen t and services in general but particularly tourism 
can be placed in this category.  The Gambia’s fi shery resources have been characterized as extremely 
rich by the FAO although unsustainable exploitatio n will not eventually shelter it from overfishing 
and depletion, hence the need for sustainable manage ment of these resources. Artisanal fisheries is an 
important source of employment for Gambians and the main protein nutrient for 40% of animal protein consumption in the country.  Unfortunately, the sector is not contributing its full potential to 
GDP.  There is a lot of surplus leakages from the economic point of view in the industrial fishing 
sector.  Defying Gambian regulations, industrial vessels land their catches in foreign ports and 
transship on high seas which represents an economic loss to The Gambia.  In this regard, one of the 
impediments adversely impacting downstream activiti es in fishing at landing and post-harvest stage is 
the lack of deep-water port facilities and processing in frastructure.  While fishing activity itself is an 
investment-heavy enterprise, The Gambia would gain  a lot if it invests in upstream and downstream 
post-harvest facilities to create a sea-food hub in The Gambia which would optimize returns from 
such a significant natural resource that it possesse s.  The 2009 Fisheries Management Plan and the 
Fisheries Policy Act of the Gambia developed with FAO assistance are good foundations but they do 
not integrate an appropriate economic and business vi sion that would make the sector an important 
pillar of the economy by developing a hub of activ ities around fisheries and port activities. The need 
to meet high quality compliance norms including SPS measures will be an important requirement to 
develop the sector.  WT/TPR/M/233 
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  37. The weaknesses that The Gambia’s economy suffers  from are typical structural constraints of 
an LDC and a small vulnerable economy.  However,  it is gratifying to see that the Gambian 
authorities cannot be accused of complacency as there is  a proactive approach to come to grip with 
their development problems. The country enjoys  social and political peace and relative macro-
economic stability. It is important that The Gambia  be supported in its efforts. Trade mainstreaming 
and inter-ministerial coordination of trade policies and trade promotion is clearly being undertaken in 
The Gambia. Consistency in policy development by a ll Ministries will be a key factor in achieving 
improved international assistance. The internati onal community, more particularly the developed 
countries and the multilateral institutions, have a r esponsibility here. Measures such as enhanced Aid 
for Trade and effective assistance through the EIF will assist The Gambia in moving to a path of 
sustainable development. 
38. I strongly believe that The Gambia can be a succ ess story. It enjoys social and political peace 
based on a sustained good governance record. It has put in train an economic reform and 
modernization programme to improve economic govern ance and sustain growth. I am sure that with 
the right incentives and support from the interna tional community, The Gambia will achieve new 
milestones in its development. WT/TPR/M/233 
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  IV. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 
UNITED STATES 
 
39. We thank the Government of The Gambia for the background report it submitted for this 
review and look forward to a candid and constr uctive exchange of information regarding The 
Gambia’s trade policies and practices.  It is our hope that this review will serve to recognize and 
reinforce the trade policy advances that the Govern ment of The Gambia has made as well as to 
identify areas in which further attention and action is needed.  
40. The Gambia, an original Member of the WT O, has traditionally demonstrated a strong 
commitment to open markets and free trade.  We commend it for the significant steps it has taken in 
recent years to liberalize trade and to modernize it s trade and investment regimes.  We note, for 
example, the government’s restructuring of applied ta riff rates and its efforts to promote investment.  
These measures have contributed to steady growth in the national economy over the past six years.   
41. However, as described in the comprehensive Report prepared by the WTO Secretariat, The 
Gambia still faces many challenges in improving its trade environment and employing trade to boost 
economic growth and development and to alleviate poverty.  Perhaps the greatest of these challenges 
is to achieve broader diversification of the Gamb ian economy, especially in the export sector.  As the 
government has acknowledged, the Gambian econo my is over reliant on groundnuts and fishery 
exports and is hampered by an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. 
42. As the Secretariat Report sugg ests, there are trade policy me asures the Gambian government 
can take to help address these challenges.  For example, duty and tax exemptions are granted 
unevenly, weakening the transparency and predictab ility that investors seek.  On the other hand, we 
are encouraged by the government’s efforts to implement its program of economic and structural 
reforms, including fiscal reforms under the guidance of the World Bank and the IMF.   
43. Most of The Gambia’s exports to the United St ates enter our market duty-free either on an 
MFN or a preferential basis.  We took particular note of the Secretariat Report’s observation that, 
while The Gambia qualifies for a variety of preferential trade programs, it has not made optimum use 
of them.  For example, The Gambia exported onl y US$8,000 worth of goods to the United States 
during the first six months of 2010 under duty -free provisions of AGOA and the U.S. Generalized 
System of Preferences.  In our view, however , there are many goods which The Gambia could 
conceivably produce more competitively and export to the United States which would also benefit 
from duty-free treatment under AGOA and GSP, such as fresh vegetables, cut flowers, and processed 
cocoa products.  My government is always pleased  to consult with the Gambian government on the 
means by which The Gambia might make better us e of the market access opportunities offered under 
AGOA and GSP to improve the competitiveness of its exports to the United States. 
44. We recognize The Gambia’s need for trade po licy capacity building assistance in order to 
improve its trade environment and to participate mo re effectively in the WTO.  The United States 
offers trade capacity building programs and trad e-related technical assistance through its West 
African regional USAID mission in Ghana and its regional competitiveness hub, also in Ghana. We 
note that the government accessed funding in late 2009 under the EIF Trust Fund which provided an 
opportunity for the Gambian government to enhance its  trade policy formulation and to ensure that 
trade is mainstreamed at an operational level into  The Gambia’s national development strategy.  The 
United States is interested to know the status of Th e Gambia’s efforts to ensure that trade becomes a 
core element of the government’s development plans.    
45. The United States also champions the WTO’s work on trade facilitation especially because 
we believe that it holds such promise for developi ng country Members. For this reason, the United  WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 11 
 
 
  States is eager to know about the steps the Ga mbian government is taking to assess its trade 
facilitation needs. 
46. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight several other areas that deserve special 
attention in our view.  The Gambian government does not appear to have given sufficient attention to 
intellectual property rights protection and enforcemen t, which is of particular concern given active 
Gambian involvement in the re-export trade. 
47. We are also interested to know about the steps The Gambia is taking or plans to take to 
address its sanitary and phytosanitary concerns, in a way that takes into account its obligations under 
the WTO agreements.  We understa nd The Gambia’s capacity constraints in making changes to its 
sanitary and phytosanitary system.  But we would urge the government to be guided by those 
agreements in its efforts to achieve The Ga mbia’s sanitary and phytosanitary objectives. 
48. Furthermore, the Secretariat Report notes that wh ile The Gambia has privatized several state-
owned and state-controlled firms over the years, little h as been done recently to continue this process.  
Renewed progress on privatization will go a long wa y toward helping to improve the Government 
fiscal situation and to improve the trade and investment environment. 
49. Finally, I would like to make positive note of  the government’s procurement legislation, 
especially its requirements to establish the Gambia Public Procurement Authority and to decentralize 
procurement decisions.  
50. In closing, while we recognize the capacity cons traints that may have limited The Gambia’s 
participation in WTO activities, we, nonetheless, encour age The Gambia to play an active role in the 
Doha Development Agenda negotiations.  The Unite d States believes that LDCs such as The Gambia 
have much to gain from a balanced and ambitious  result in the Doha negotiations that include 
meaningful new market access opportunities for all.  Such a result could further enhance opportunities 
for The Gambia to broaden its export base, its expor t markets and hence its opportunity to diversify. 
The United States looks forward to working with  The Gambia toward bringing the round to a 
successful conclusion. 
INDIA 
51. Despite two droughts in 2002 and 2007, the gl obal financial and economic crisis, the 
Gambian economy has registered solid economic perfo rmance with average growth rate of over 6% 
during 2006-2008 and holding inflation to low single-digit rates. The Gambia has made some important gains in education and health indicators in recent years; the gender gap has also narrowed, 
in life expectancy The Gambia ranks  above the Sub-Saharan average.  
52. However, there are some areas of concern on wh ich the Gambian authorities may have to take 
effective steps.  These are: growing trade imbala nce, bringing down lending rates and increasing 
lending to productive sectors of the economy, brin ging down public debt, meeting export quality 
requirement of its produce, reducing debt distress in post-HIPC completion phase; debt obligation are 
crowding out essential public expenditure programmes,  reforming public sector enterprises to stem 
losses, strengthening fiscal discipline .  
53. India and The Gambia enjoy warm and friendl y relations. Dr. Mamadou Tangara, Minister of 
Foreign Affairs of The Gambia visited India last  month. During the visit, two sides explored 
possibilities of further enhancing bilateral ties of c ooperation especially in capacity building.  During 
the visit, India announced a grant to Gambia to be ut ilised in education and health sectors.  India also 
offered to set up one “Hole-in-the Wall (HiWel) wo rk station in the Gambia for children to learn WT/TPR/M/233 
Page 12  
 
  computers in a minimally invasive environment. A protocol for consultations between foreign offices 
of the two countries was also signed. 
54. India-The Gambia trade is steadily growing. India’s main items of import from The Gambia 
are raw cashew and cotton while its exports to Gambia are cotton yarns, fabric and made ups, 
pharmaceuticals etc. The Gambia is a beneficiary of India’s Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for 
the LDCs. 
55. The Gambia was included in the first phase of the Pan African Network Project, a partnership 
between India and Africa realising dreams of di stance education and telemedicine.  The biggest 
project ever undertaken in Africa by India is al so equipped to support e-governance, e-commerce, 
infotainment, resource mapping, meteorological and other services in African Countries besides 
providing connectivity between Heads of State of th e African countries. India has also extended Lines 
of Credit to The Gambia for a tractor assembly pl ant and construction of National Assembly Building 
Complex.   
EUROPEAN UNION 
56. Despite challenging global and domestic c onditions, the Gambian economy has performed 
well in recent years. Real GDP grew by an average of 6% a year since the last TPR, and up from an 
average of 3.6% during 2004-06.  Even during the global economic crisis in 2009, real GDP growth 
was strong and mainly led by a continued rebound in  agricultural production. The Gambia has made 
considerable progress implementing structural reform s, particularly in the areas of public financial 
management, debt management, and financial sect or development. Good progress has also been 
achieved toward meeting some of the Millennium De velopment Goals, particularly in health and 
education, even if challenges still remain.  
57. As indicated in the WTO Secretariat's Report, Th e Gambia is also working hard to implement 
a comprehensive Trade Policy Action Programme, a nd to pass new legislation concerning customs 
and excise, intellectual property, standards, te lecommunications, and competition, amongst others. 
The EU, as well as other WTO Members and interna tional institutions, are supporting The Gambia in 
stepping up its efforts towards the implementation of this Programme. We also commend The Gambia 
on its ambitious objective to become "a dynamic middle income country" by 2020. This will entail 
very hard work, but the EU is sure that all r ecommendations and conclusions  drawn during this TPR 
will help The Gambia to make headway towards this objective. However, economic progress will 
have to be underpinned by a genuine improvement  of socio-economic indicators and the respect of 
basic freedoms and Human Rights, which are n ecessary conditions for pursuing the sound and 
sustainable development of the country.  
58. With regard to the Trade Policy Programme, I woul d like to refer in particular to two policies 
on which the EU would like to encourage The Gambia  to step up its efforts. First, The Gambia is 
currently formulating its SPS laws and regulations which we hope will improve  and clarify its import 
conditions and requirements, and will equally make easily availabl e all related documentation. The 
EU is supporting this process by financing progr ammes aimed to both support the compliance with 
the international SPS standards, and notably WT O rules, and to improve the import regulatory 
framework. Second, we would like to encourage Th e Gambia to continue striving towards improving 
its customs legislation and management, which will  be underpinned by the effective implementation 
of the ASYCUDA++ customs data system and the cons olidation of its tariff regime in line with the 
application of the ECOWAS common external tariff. It is important to note that the greater the number of bound tariff lines, the greater the predictab ility and investors' confidence in The Gambia's 
trade and investment framework.   WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 13 
 
 
  59. It should be also reminded that The Gambia's  economic base continues to be relatively 
narrow, and therefore, The Gambia would be highl y benefited from pursuing diversification of its 
production and exports in order to support sustaina ble development and poverty reduction. To this 
end, the need to increase levels of foreign investme nt will be critical, which in turn requires creating a 
more competitive business climate. The new Competition Act of 2007 is of course a very important 
step forward to this endeavour.  
60. As a small country highly dependent on trade, The Gambia has a particular stake in regional 
cooperation in order to boost its attractiveness as an investment location and its trade competitiveness. 
Hence, its consolidated integration into ECOWAS is of outmost importance. Transit infrastructure 
development and procedure harmonisation, together w ith the removal of barriers to trade within the 
region, are key priorities to actively pursue together with its neighbours. This is especially important 
for The Gambia given its nature of transit country  that serves as base for re-export to its neighbouring 
countries, and the high potential of Banjul's port to become the most important one in the region. This 
is why the EU has been strongly encouraging such  efforts, supporting them on the ground through the 
regional approach to Economic Partnership Agreem ents and development aid.  It is thus not 
accidentally that more than half of the 10th European Development Fund allocated for The Gambia - 
which totals €76 million - is devoted to infr astructure and regional interconnectivity.  
61. The EU is the main trading partner for The Gambia, accounting for more than 20% of its 
world trade. In 2009, this amounted to €128 million.  The Gambia has been involved in the Economic 
Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with th e EU, together with 15 other West African 
countries. This trade and development agreement is  designed to drive Gambia's economic growth as 
the basis for poverty reduction and balanced econom ic and social development; and helping The 
Gambia to become more competitive by lowering import costs and providing  access to affordable 
quality services. As mentioned before, the EPA fac ilitates The Gambia's regional agendas such as 
joining the ECOWAS common external tariff and gra dual moves towards a more integrated and more 
efficient regional market. It should be stressed  that this agreement will be underpinned by EU 
development co-operation in order to reinforce The Gambia's institutional and productive capacities 
and help necessary adjustment processes. It should also  be recalled that that the EU, via the European 
Development Fund is the largest donor in The Gambia.  
62. And additionally as an LDC, The Gambia is able to access the EU market duty-and quota- 
free under the "Everything But Arms" initiative. Ne vertheless, the EU is confident about the 
additional benefits of the proposed EPA for The Gambia, not only by virtue of enhanced market 
access in the EU, but also its role in facilitating st ructural reform and deeper regional integration. 
63. Today I have to pay special attention to clarify the ultimate objectives of the EPA, as the 
reader of the Secretariat's Report may not get the full picture of what EPA entails and how the negotiations are proceeding.  This has to be said with  certain regret, as the EU finds in the report, in 
particular, in paragraphs 46 and 47 of Chapter II an unsubstantiated and one-sided description of the 
ongoing EPA negotiations with The Gambia. The EU fails  to see in the text an accurate description of 
the benefits and positive impact the EPA will bring to The Gambia's economy and trade policies. On 
the contrary, a number of negative aspects have been  stressed, which, in our view, have not been 
sufficiently assessed, in an independent and thoro ugh fashion. The report has included observations 
and remarks from just one party in the negotiati ons which are presented as a fact, without an 
independent assessment from the Secretariat or accu rately quoting the authors of those remarks, 
which puts into question the neutrality of the Report.   Furthermore, only some aspects of the issues 
under discussion have been highlighted, which represen t still restricted information, and ultimately 
give an incomplete picture of the current state of  the negotiations and raises more concerns about the 
report's accuracy.  WT/TPR/M/233 
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  64. Some examples: Firstly, it is important to clarif y that the market access offer of West Africa 
remains under negotiation, both in terms of covera ge and timeframes, which the EU would like to 
improve in order to optimise its pro-development impact.  Secondly, the MFN clause, as proposed by the EU, is a non-discriminatory provision that does not impede any future trade deals either party may want to negotiate, and does not c over ACP or African countries in or der to encourage deeper regional 
integration.  Thirdly, the EU has paid a great deal of attention – and not "little response" as the 
Secretariat's Report inaccurately notes - to West Africa 's concerns about the potential negative effect 
of EU agricultural subsidies on West African farmer s, with the EU providing extensive analysis and 
proposing inter alia  the elimination of EU export subsidies on products liberalised by West Africa. 
And as we very well know in this house, all in ternal domestic support for agriculture is being 
discussed within the framework of DDA negotiations . Fourthly and lastly, significant progress has 
been achieved not only on financing development cooperation but also in areas as broad as 
cooperation in agriculture, safeguards, institu tional arrangements and rules of origin.  
65. We therefore encourage the Secretariat to strive towards more balanced and accurate 
descriptions in all its reports in order produce mo re independent, analytical groundwork for TPR for 
the benefit of readers of these reports.  
66. In closing, the EU would like to underline the importance regarding placing trade related 
objectives at the heart of The Gambia's development strategy. The EU is confident that The Gambia 
will take the necessary measures to improve the politi cal climate so as to maximise the effects of 
sound economic policies, and of the EU's assistance provided under the 10
th EDF. The EU is 
committed to continuing the cooperation with The Gambia in creating enabling environment for 
investment, trade and sustainable economic growth. The Gambia is a country with large potential, so 
we hope that this TPR will not only give The Gambia  feedback on its policies so as to stimulate it to 
follow a stable, open and gradual liberalization path, a nd to improve its policies,  but we also hope that 
this review will provide food for t hought also for the rest of us.  
JAPAN 
67. Gambia has been developing steadily. Gambia’s  average real GDP growth rate from 2003 to 
2008 was nearly 6%. Although it decreased to 4.6% in  2009, it is expected to reach 5% in 2010. 
According to the Secretariat’s report, this growth has been driven by the creation of new industries 
such as tourism-related services, communications and constructions, which attracted most of the 
rapidly growing FDI inflows.  
68. As for trade, 80 % of Gambia’s export is re-expor t, and 60 % of the remaining is food related. 
Such trade composition is likely to be a cause for the vulnerability of the economy.  
69. The government of Gambia is aware of its  potential and issues and has undertaken the 
necessary measures, as seen in the “Trade Policy Action Program” drawn up by the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment.  
70. Japan hopes that Gambia will continue to prom ote investment and will diversify its economy 
through such measures as the rationalization of the tax system and the establishment of legal 
frameworks, in order to stimul ate the economic development.  
71. Japan welcomes the reduction and simplification of MFN applied tariffs, which have been 
conducted as a part of ECOWAS tariff harmonization.  This harmonization will serve not only for the 
integration of its economy to the regional market but also to the global market.  
72. Japan understands the need for Gambia to recei ve a continuing assistance, including the Aid 
for Trade. Among others, the development of infrast ructures and the capacity building are keys for the  WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 15 
 
 
  development of Gambia. Japan has contributed in  2009 to floods prevention, water supply etc. 
through the grant aid. We hope that Gambia will c ontinue its efforts to strengthen its infrastructure 
necessary for the development of its production, the improvement of people’s life as well as for its 
institutional capacity.  Japan will continue to  support Gambia as well as the international 
organizations and other members. 
REPUBLIC OF KOREA 
73. The reports show that The Gambia has enough pote ntial to be the centre of trade in Western 
Africa with the government’s relatively liberal tr ade policy, good port facilities and a simple and 
efficient customs system compared with many other developing countries. 
74. However, my delegation sees areas that woul d need further improvement such as the 
infrastructure, particularly in the fields of tr ansport, electricity and communication, as well as the 
business environment, especially in the fields of ta xation and financial policy.  More importantly, my 
delegation believes that it is necessary for The Gamb ia to implement robust and adaptive plans over a 
long period of time in order to achieve  self-sustaining economic development. 
75. The Secretariat’s Report has it that, in 1996, Th e Gambia adopted such a development plan 
titled “The Gambia Incorporated: Vision 2020”. This plan calls for the transformation of The Gambia 
into “a dynamic middle income country” by 2020 and remains the Government’s overall guiding development policy document. 
76. According to Korea’s own experience of im plementing Five-Year Plans for Economic and 
Social Development in the 1960’s and 1970’s to st rategically pursue economic growth, it is important 
to constantly adapt policies to changing circumst ances without losing sight of the ultimate aim; to 
identify future bottlenecks to growth as early as possi ble and act to remedy them; to choose and focus 
on growth drivers; to foster an environment ma rked by peace and security, quality education, and 
good infrastructure. 
77. Support for the private sector with a strategic appr oach to industrialization, and trade based on 
striking a timely balance between government interv ention and market autonomy is also important. 
78. In this context, my delegation would like to encourage The Gambia to keep in constant 
contact with relevant internationa l organizations and the rest of th e world so as to remain up-to-date 
on the recent global financial and economic crisis, the challenges of climate change, the energy crisis 
and other economic and social transformations. Successf ully adapting to these challenges is crucial in 
achieving The Gambia’s development objectives. 
79. Korea was able to successfully build its economy after decades of colonial rule and the post-
Korean War devastation. Only 40 years ago, povert y was rampant, the levels of human development 
were low and Koreans, as well as the rest of the world, were pessimistic about the prospects of 
development in Korea. 
80. Today, as a member of the G20 and Chair of th e G20 Seoul Summit to be held in November, 
Korea is willing to use its position to support effo rts to strengthen African countries’ representation 
and voice in the global economic and financial governance architecture. Ko rea will also strive to help 
G20 meetings contribute to poverty re duction and development cooperation. 
TURKEY 
81. Our bilateral relations with The Gambia are modest with a trade turnover of US$20 million. 
The Gambia has benefitted from Turkey’s GSP sch eme since 2001. The trade volume doubled in the WT/TPR/M/233 
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  last five years. We have a bilateral trade a nd economic cooperation agreement signed in 1988. In 
November 2009, Vice President of The Gambia Isat ou Njie Saidy paid a visit to Turkey, which 
constituted the first high official visit between the two countries. 
82. It is impressive that The Gambia has achieved an average of 6% growth over the last six 
years. It seems that “The Gambia Incorporated: Vision 2020” has been working well as also shown in 
doubling of the per capita GDP between 2003 and 2008.   However, achieving sustainable growth is 
still a challenge, and declining share of the interna tional trade in the composition of the GDP is a 
reason for concern.  
83. In this respect, we commend the recent effort s by The Gambia to address the trade policy 
objectives in a more systematic way through “Trade  Policy Action Program”. We fully support The 
Gambia’s objective of the establishment of a transparent trade regime and a more coherent policy 
making through this Program.  
84. Turkey is willing and ready to provide technical assistance to Th e Gambia to reach this aim. 
Obviously, increasing the predictability of the trad e environment will very much support the growth 
potential in The Gambia. In this sense, we also belie ve that the customs reform will contribute to the 
process.  
85. We note with pleasure that the considerable liberalization in the tariffs applied by The 
Gambia due to its adaptation of the ECOWAS’s ta riff schedule. We hope that The Gambia will keep 
this momentum of harmonizing with ECOWAS and all tariff lines will become bound. In our 
perspective, completing the ECOWAS integration process in a rapid manner is perhaps one of the 
most important ingredients to ensure the future growth in The Gambia.  
86. We also would like to underscore that The Gamb ia is one of the leas t developed countries 
with extensive commitments in the field of services after the Uruguay Round.  
87. The Gambian’s TPR reports clearly show the si gnificance of the trade facilitation negotiations 
as well as the Aid for Trade and Enhanced Integrated Framework programs for the least developed countries. These may become pivotal for them to redu ce the costs of trading across the borders, and to 
adopt modern SPS and TBT appli cations in exportation.   
BRAZIL 
88. Brazil congratulates The Gambia for the improve ment in its economic performance in past 
years. As mentioned in the Report by the Secret ariat, despite the global economic recession, which 
reduced the expansion of The Gambia’s GPD to 4.6%  in 2009, The Gambia achieved an average real 
annual GPD growth of nearly 6% in the past six y ears. That represents solid growth by any standard. 
89. Brazil notes the prudent macroeconomic policies adopted by the Gambian Government that 
resulted in curbing inflation. Indeed, it has b een kept at single digits since 2005. Those are 
encouraging steps in the generation of a stable ec onomic environment, a crucial enabling condition for 
the acceleration of development. 
90. We would like, therefore, to recognize and co mmend The Gambia for its efforts to implement 
sound policies so as to guarantee fiscal, monetary a nd financial discipline. Strict measures requiring 
significant institutional adjustments were adopted, as we can see by the impressive array of laws 
enacted during this period. Figures show that th ose measures have certainly bore fruit, as most 
macroeconomic indicators displayed marked improvement.    WT/TPR/M/233 
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  91. We strongly recommend the Gambian Government to continue and strengthen its efforts to 
alleviate poverty; create an enabling business envi ronment; overcome infrastructure debilities; reform 
the administrative and taxation systems;  and diversify the Gambian economy.  
92. Brazil also notes with satisfaction the new Ga mbian fisheries policy and regulations, which 
combine an economic development strategy for the sector with the enhancement of the management 
of the fish resources at the artisanal, industrial and aquaculture levels, encouraging responsible fishing 
and strengthening surveillance.       
93. Commercial relations between Brazil and The Ga mbia have intensified throughout the past 
years but it has still room for improvement. Braz il is the fifth major exporter to The Gambia. 
Nonetheless, exports from The Gambia to Brazil are yet much bellow of their potential. We believe 
that the implementation of the Brazilian Duty Free Q uota Free trade program in favor of LDCs, will 
be an important step to change th at situation and improve bilateral trade in favor of Gambian exports. 
The DFQF scheme is expected to have a 100%  coverage, from the start of the program. 
94. In that sense, Brazil praises the efforts of the Gambian Government to overcome the supply 
side constraints, obstacles preventing The Gamb ia from fully benefiting from these non-reciprocal 
preferential schemes.  
95. Brazil is encouraged by the The Gambia commitment to a ru les-based multilateral trading 
system and to modernize its trade and investment regime. 
96. We hope that the recent progress achieved by th e people and the Government of The Gambia 
is only the beginning of a much needed virtuous cycle, which will push the country towards greater prosperity in the coming years. 
97. Brazil stands ready to further enhance its c ooperation with the Gambian Government, as we 
are convinced that strengthening South-South Cooperation is an important means to enable the sharing of technologies and practices developed under similar social and economic conditions.  
SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU  
98. We were particularly pleased to note, both fro m the encouraging remarks of H.E. Minister 
Kah and from the Secretariat Report, that The Gamb ia achieved an annual average GDP growth rate 
of 6.1% between 2006 and 2008, and the economic  performance improved further in 2009.  
Moreover, the outlook for the Gambian economy in 2010 is positive, with real GDP expected to grow 
by another 5% this year.  The great progress th at has been achieved serves to illustrate the 
effectiveness of the series of economic policy and st ructural reforms implemented by the Government 
of The Gambia since its last TPR review. 
99. Looking at the economic performance from a sector al perspective, there has been a notable 
improvement in The Gambia’s rice production,  which increased from 34,000 tonnes in the 2008/09 
cropping season to 64,500 tonnes in 2009/10.  This remarkable early result for the “Project for 
Doubling Rice Production in Five Years”, in whic h my government has the pleasure work closely 
with the Gambian Government and to provide vari ous assistance, is a good example of the value of 
bilateral cooperation. In the same way, we believe that bilateral c ooperation in other sectors where we 
provide technical support, such as “The Vegeta ble Production Project” and “The Tilapia Farming 
Project”, will deliver similar positive results fo r The Gambia in terms of food supply and poverty 
reduction.  
100. For many years now, my government has been e xploring ways of strengt hening bilateral trade 
and economic ties with The Gambia.  This trade polic y review provides us with an extremely valuable WT/TPR/M/233 
Page 18  
 
  opportunity to study its economic position and future  policy direction in detail, with a view to 
enabling greater trade cooperation between us in the future to our mutual benefit. 
SENEGAL 
101. The country is better placed than Senegal to th eir witness to the major reforms undertaken by 
the Government of The Gambia in order to meet  WTO requirements and to prepare meetings like 
today’s.  I am extremely proud to see the quality of  The Gambia’s Report and the enthusiasm with 
which the report was submitted.  The Gambia ha s made true progress despite the difficult world 
environment and the financial crisis.   
102. If The Gambia has achieved these excellent results it is largely thank to its virtuous policy 
which is characterized by free trade regime whic h has been implementing since its accession to the 
WTO in 1996.  The relatively low customs tariffs a pplied by The Gambia, with a maximum of 4% is 
an example of this virtuous policy, and it shows the testimony of The Gambia to maintain the openness of its market.  The Gambia deserves to be  supported by WTO Members who are able to do 
so because of the efforts it has made to r espect its multilateral trade commitments. 
103. Senegal will continue to go ahead in hand with The Gambia because of the friendship 
traditions between our two peoples who are really a single people living in two countries which are 
equally sovereign.  I would therefore encourage Th e Gambia to pursue its trade policy in order to 
increase these excellent results. 
BURKINA FASO 
104. Burkina Faso is pleased to participate to the second Trade Policy Review of The Gambia, 
fellow Member of ECOWAS.  I would like to make  a few comments on the trade policy carried out 
by The Gambia over the last few years. 
105. In the light of the Secretariat Report, the GDP growth has achieved an average of 6% over the 
last six years.  The impact of the financial cris is has been felt by the different countries in the 
subregion which has slowed down our GDP growth to  4.6% in 2009, but a growth rate of 5% is 
expected for 2010.  The indicators are promising fo r this sub-saharian African country, with very 
scarce resources and which is in the same boat as th e poorest developing countries in other words the 
LDCs.    
106. Regarding regional integration The Gambia has harmonised its customs duties within 
ECOWAS, and since 2006 it has adopted the common ex ternal tariff of that subregional organization 
to which we all belong in the subregion.   
107. I should also like to emphazise the fact that The Gambia has benefitted from the HIPC 
Initiative in 2007 which enabled to reduce the negative effects of its debt on its economy.  In 1996 
The Gambia adopted a government document defini ng the general economic policy which shows the 
will of The Gambia to boost its economy and to maintain the growth trend that it has been 
experienced in a number of years.   
108. In the context of investment promotion in 2010 The Gambia adopted the law on the 
Investment and Export Promotion Agency.  Like most of our countries we know that this is a 
testimony to the political will of the country to attract investors to the country and to increase the main growth. 
109. Agriculture represents a quarter of the GDP and employs three quarters of the active 
population and this is therefore a vital sector of  the economy.  We would like to congratulate The  WT/TPR/M/233 
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  Gambia for the efforts they have b een deploying to improve that sector.  They have taken measures to 
modernize trade and investment regimes.  The numerous efforts undertaken by The Gambia to 
relaunch its economy deserve support by the internati onal community, in particular its development 
partners.  In any case, Burkina Faso will always st rive to work alongside this brother country of 
ECOWAS, in the subregion as we both belong to  the ECOWAS common space, and we encourage 
The Gambia to continue working al ong the same line to maintain the levels of growth and to improve 
their macroeconomic indicators. 
KENYA 
110. We are encouraged to observe that in the past  six years, real GDP growth for The Gambia 
averaged nearly 6%, driven mainly by tourism related services, communications, and construction.  
This has been largely due to step s taken towards creating a stable m acroeconomic environment that is 
conducive for trade and investment. 
111. With respect to external trade,  we note that The Gambia is heavily dependent on re exports, 
tourism and remittances from overseas.  Import and export procedures are relatively simple and 
efficient compared with many other developing co untries.  We therefore encourage The Gambia to 
enhance its efforts towards diversification bot h in terms of export products and markets. 
112. On the agricultural sector, like in  my country, remains an important sector for The Gambia in 
terms of its contribution in promo ting economic growth and development.   In this context, there is 
need for The Gambia to improve productivity in this sector in order to reap maximum benefits being 
availed by the multilateral trading system. 
113. We also are encouraged by the strong performan ce of the services sector currently registering 
an average annual growth rate of 7.5% during 2005 to 2007 with communications, hotels and 
restaurants as major contributors.  We therefor e encourage The Gambia with the support of the 
international community to continuously moderni ze its services sector as it is essential in improving 
the competitiveness of its economy. 
114. We welcome the various regional integration initiatives being pursued by The Gambia under 
ECOWAS and EPA with the EU for mutual benefits. WT/TPR/M/233 
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  V. REPLIES BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GAMBIA AND ADDITIONAL 
COMMENTS 
115. I wish to thank WTO Members for their valued  observations and words of encouragement on 
The Gambia’s economic performance and steps taken to improve the trade and investment 
environment. The Government of The Gambia will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the 
multilateral trading system and continue to seek the support of its fellow WTO Members and 
development partners to address the supply side cons traints, particularly through the Aid for Trade 
initiative, to enhance The Gambia developm ent efforts towards poverty reduction.   
116. On the need for further tax simplification and improvement of customs procedures to enhance 
competitiveness and transparency to attract business, we are happy to report that the Government of 
The Gambia, with the support of the World Bank a nd the IMF, continues to introduce new tax and 
customs reforms and is deepening the implementa tion of existing reforms with the objective of 
strengthening and modernizing the tax administrati on system in The Gambia. The Income and Sales 
Tax Act 2004 and the Customs and Excise Act 2010 ha ve taken account of best practices in tax 
administration by incorporating the relevant inte rnational, regional and sub-regional protocols and 
conventions. On duty waivers, the Third Sc hedule to the new Customs and Excise Act 2010 
legislation ensures the non-discriminatory and transp arent application of the duty waiver regime. The 
new Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Act 2010 also provides clear guidelines for the granting of duty waivers and other incentives covere d under the Special Investment Certificate.  
117. Regarding the issuance of regulation on the implementation of the relaxation of ECOWAS 
rules of origin by Member States, this is the subject of negotiations within the ECOWAS Common 
External Tariff which is still ongoing.  
118. The Ministry of Trade recently completed the formulation of a National Trade Policy and 
Action Plan, for the implementation of which Gove rnment will seek the support of its development 
partners. Also a Medium Term Progr amme is being prepared in fulfillment of the requirements of the 
EIF Tier 2 guidelines so that funding of such project s would help in addressing supply side constraints 
to ensure consistency with the overa ll development objectives of The Gambia. 
119. The Gambia has made and continues to make efforts to adhere to its obligations and 
commitments under the multilateral trading system a nd has updated its laws relating to intellectual 
property rights. The Copyright Act 2004 and the Indus trial Property Act 1989 remain the laws guiding 
intellectual property rights in The Gambia. The impl ementation regulations for the Industrial Property 
Act is complete and has been in force since 2007. A semi-autonomous body, the Copyright Bureau, 
was established by the Copyright Act 2004 to police matte rs of copyright in The Gambia. By virtue of 
the Act, the Copyright Bureau is empowered to deal with all matters of copyright, including 
investigations and institution of legal proceedi ngs. However, inadequate  training and manpower 
constitute the biggest challenges facing enforcemen t of Intellectual Property Rights in The Gambia. 
The Government would welcome assistance, from th e WTO or its development partners, in staff 
training and improvement of facilities. 
120. The Gambia, like many other LDCs, has a high publ ic debt profile of which the Government 
is making efforts to reduce. Recently, the Mini stry of Finance instituted controls on public 
expenditures so as to reduce the budget deficit, resu lting in a drastic reduction in expenditures, thus 
enabling the economy to realise a positive basic balan ce. In an effort to reduce interest rate the 
Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank agreed to reduce the prime lending rate from 16 to 14% and 
it is hoped that these measures will help SMEs to access credit for investments. 
121. To better manage the country’s national debt, the Ministry of Finance also formulated a debt 
sustainability strategy in 2009. As part of the stra tegy, long term bonds are to be introduced to replace  WT/TPR/M/233 
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  the short term bonds and eventually reduce the volume of bonds in the market. This will also help to 
reduce domestic debt as governme nt borrowing will be lowered. 
122. The Government has launched an Entrepre neurship Promotion and Microfinance 
Development Project to help individuals and groups with training in entrep reneurship and access to 
microfinance across the country. This project is be ing supported by the African Development Bank in 
the form of a grant.  The Government has also e ndorsed the transformation of the Social Development 
Fund to a fiduciary with a mandate of financing i nvestment in the productive sector that would impact 
positively on poverty reduction and promote social development.  
123. The issue of standards continues to be a priori ty for The Gambia. The Government is working 
closely with the development partners to improve  conformity with international standards and 
progress is being made in this area. Some of the necessary infrastructure to improve quality is being 
constructed particularly in the fishery sector a nd key laboratories are being upgraded under the EU 
funded West African Quality Programme. The Govern ment’s efforts to establish a National Standards 
Bureau is already at an advanced  stage and by 2011 The Gambia Standard Bureau will be operational. 
A Food Safety Bill is also being drafted for the est ablishment of a food safety agency in 2011.  The 
Gambia has requested support from the STDF for a comprehensive strategy on SPS to provide the 
guiding framework in addressing the SPS issues. Th e Government will also need the support of our 
WTO Members and other development partners to  build the capacity of The Gambia Standards 
Bureau as well as the Food Safety Agency to make them functional. 
124. The Gambia is implementing the second gene ration of PRSP, which sets the national 
framework for reducing poverty and attaining th e MDGs. The PRSP II also serves as the medium 
term strategic framework for the realization of Vision 2020. To achieve a broad based growth and 
employment where the poor would share the benefits, the Government has come up with the Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE) whose focus will be on delivering growth that is sufficient and broad base enough to achieving poverty reduction targets.  
125. On the issue of infrastructure, the Government h as intensified its efforts to improve electricity 
supply in the Greater Banjul Area and the rural ar eas. This is evident in the signing of a Power 
Purchase Agreement with an Independent Power Provider as well as the improvements in the electricity transmission and distribution network in the Greater Banjul Area. With the support of the 
United Nations Industrial Development Organizati on, the Government is working on accessing the 
GEF grant to exploit the renewable energy potential of the country to complement its current capacity. 
To enhance the movement of goods and people, th e government has also embarked on a nationwide 
road construction and a good number of them have already been completed .  90% of the western 
region feeder roads projects are complete and the North Bank Region road projects are also 
completed. The construction of the South Bank ro ad from Mandinaba to Basse is also progressing 
well, although it has some setbacks as a result of funding constraints. 
DISCUSSANT 
126. The delegation has diligently replied to all wr itten questions asked and has today provided us 
with further clarifications on some of the issues raised during the first session. 
127. Once again, this underpins the strong commitme nt of The Gambia to a rule-based global 
trading system.  We have duly noted the earnest efforts of The Gambia to fulfil its WTO commitments including its notifications as well as th e honest admission of its capacity constraints to 
effectively do so. 
128. This has been a very fruitful exchange of  views on The Gambia’s economic and trade 
policies, the institutional capacity-building pro cess on-going in The Gambia to reinforce trade WT/TPR/M/233 
Page 22  
 
  governance and enhance trade performance.  I am glad th at the Minister said that they have found this 
exchange positive and enriching and will be further en couraged to persist in the direction of further 
trade liberalisation for the development of The Gambia’s economy. 
129. The review has shown the good progress made by  The Gambia in revising and updating its 
trade and investment policies.  Trade-related refo rms are continuing, and new legislation has been 
introduced in many fields incorporating WTO principles. 
130. The Gambia’s economic integration with the West African are through ECOWAS is also 
going on steadily and negotiations between ECOWAS and the EU for an EPA are continuing.  Further 
and deeper regional integration is clearly a policy option that The Gambia is pursuing. 
131. These factors imply that the domestic trade po licy framework of The Gambia is becoming 
more stable and predictable, and that potentially greater integration at regi onal and multilateral levels 
is also occurring.  They should also improve th e business climate in The Gambia for both domestic 
economic operators and foreign investors. 
132. One key to success in these areas will be whether The Gambia will have the capacity, with a 
small administration, to implement its new legislation at home and to comply sufficiently with its 
various international obligations .  Adequate legislation on pa per is necessary, but effective 
implementation and compliance is the essential co mplement.  The support of the international 
community in this regard will be highly crucial. 
133. A good deal of underlying physical improvement has also been taking place, especially in the 
areas of telecommunications and roads.  However, the infrastructural develo pment necessary for The 
Gambia to diversify and promote its trade is not yet wholly in place.  In particular, the upgrading of 
port and river infrastructure, and provision of capacity to implement SPS measures in place in export 
markets, have yet to be completed. 
134. All of these efforts will require substantial fina ncial and human resources.  Members in this 
meeting have noted The Gambia’s needs for techni cal assistance and the financial capacity that goes 
with it. 
135. The Gambian Government has shown its determin ation to reform and restructure its trading 
system.  It is to be hoped that this determination will continue.  Equally, it is to be hoped that, over the 
next years, adequate and continui ng support will be available to ensure  that The Gambia is able to 
implement the new laws and regulations that it has formulated, comply with the regional and 
multilateral obligations that it is increasingly undertak ing, and develop its economic structure to fulfil 
its ambitious development objectives for 2020. 
EUROPEAN UNION 
136. The EU would like to thank the delegation of The Gambia for the replies provided to our 
questions, as well as the additional in formation provided today by Mr. Ka h.  At this point we would 
like to raise two follow up questions.  First, regard ing question 25 on excise duties, we would like The 
Gambia to please clarify the grounds on which excise taxes are applied to imports, and to specify if it 
is applied to all imports and whether they di ffer from the excise duties applied to the domestic 
products.  The second follow up question is to question 28, could The Gambia please indicate the timeframe for the publication of the import requireme nts and the list of quarantine pests.  We will 
submit these questions in writing through the Secretar iat and we will be looking forward to the replies 
in due time.  WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 23 
 
 
  UNITED STATES 
137. We have a couple of follow up questions.  Th e first one on question 15,  Does the Gambia 
have criminal penalties for cases of trademark count erfeiting?  The follow up question is:  Are these 
penalties applied by the courts in cases of willful  trademark counterfeiting?  How are these penalties 
sufficient to provide a deterrent, consistently wi th the level of penalties applied for crimes of a 
corresponding gravity? 
138. The other follow up question is also noted as question 15 in the responses, regarding border 
enforcement mechanisms.  The foll ow up question is:  Are legislative and regulatory provisions being 
considered that would permit the creation of an  enforcement mechanism to combat trademark 
counterfeiting and copyright piracy at the border? 
ZAMBIA 
139. Zambia did not pose any questions to The Gambia . This is because, The Gambia, like Zambia 
is an LDC and in many aspects, Zambia can relate to the challenges faced by The Gambia in striving to achieve robust growth through sound trade policies.   However, there is no doubt that through such 
dialogue, there are lessons to be learnt from th e resilient economic performance of The Gambia. 
140. My delegation is pleased to note that, as w as highlighted in the two commendable and 
comprehensive reports by the Government of The Gambia, and the WTO Secretariat, during the first 
session of this Trade Policy Review, as well as from the responses provided, The Gambia  has remained on track in implementing economic reforms, which have contributed to economic stability and positive growth trends prior to th e on-set of the financial crisis.  
141. The Gambia is among countries that have had impr essive growth rates of 6.3% since their last 
review and maintained single digit inflation before th e after effects of the financial crisis.  Harnessing 
the potential of the services sector contribution to LD C growth is one of the main areas that LDCs are 
beginning to exploit.  The Gambia’s experience in the tourism sector has revealed that there has been 
a services surplus as a percentage of GDP, rising from 7.5% in 2003 to levels above 10% in 2007. 
142. Despite the negative effects of the crisis, The Gambia has remained on its path of reform 
including in the areas of trade facilitation, cust oms and tax administration, competition policy and 
regional integration efforts.  The reforms have scored important positive strides in The Gambia’s 
economic and trade performance since the last review. 
143. Zambia therefore wishes to commend the G overnment of The Gambia for the efforts 
undertaken in addressing some of the issues that  impinge on the growth prospects. As a least 
developed country, The Gambia faces several challeng es that have constrained its effective integration 
into the multilateral trading system, As such, ma ny a time, The Gambian authorities are faced with 
challenges requiring tough decisions to be made. A case in point is the extension of the Extended 
Credit Facility Arrangement with the IMF to Februa ry 2011.  Zambia therefore commends the number 
of efforts including,  the continued active participation in the Economic Community of West Africa to address, in a coherent and integrated manner, infr astructural deficiencies and other bottlenecks faced 
in the region.  
144. To this end, my delegation exte nds gratitude to our cooperating partners that have played a 
significant role in complementing the efforts undert aken by the Government of The Gambia.  We 
believe that continued support towards the effec tive implementation of the various development 
policy initiatives has the potential of increasing The Gambia’s competitiveness, and ultimately 
contribute to enhanced trade and development. WT/TPR/M/233 
Page 24  
 
  145. Having a solution to both the trade and development aspects being  advocated for  by the 
Least Developed Countries in the current Doha Development Round negotiations will assist a country 
like  The Gambia to lift millions of their population dependent on the outcome of a truly development 
round out of poverty and  further e nhance growth prospects for The Gambia.  It is for this reason that 
the delayed conclusion of these negotiations  remain a matter of concern to us.  
NIGERIA 
146. As we are all aware, The Gambia is a relatively small sub-tropical country in West Africa, 
with a population of just 1.5 million.  As a collora ry, The Gambia is also a small least developed 
economy with a very narrow economic base.  Its re presentation abroad is limited, which may be the 
reason for the current lack of a representation here in  Geneva and the WTO in particular.  However, in 
spite of these limitations, the country has continued to play an active role in  international affairs, 
particularly within the West African and Islamic spheres.   As a member of the ECOWAS, The Gambia has played an active role in that organisa tion’s efforts to resolve th e civil wars in Sierra 
Leone and Liberia by contributing troops to th e ECOWAS cease fire monitoring group (ECOMOG) 
and the ECOMIL in 1990 and 2003, respectively.  The country had also sought to and mediated 
disputes in nearby Guinea-Bissau and the neighbourin g Casamance region of Senegal.  The Gambian 
military has participated in several other peacekee ping operations, including Bosnia, Kosovo, DRC, 
Eritrea and East Timor.  Other United Nations p eacekeeping operations to which The Gambia has 
contributed troops are UNAMID in Darfur, UNA MIS in Sudan, UNOCI in Cote d’Ivoire and 
MINURCAT in the Central African Republic. 
147. Since independence in 1965, The Gambia has c ontinued to register unprecedented levels of 
advancement in all sectors.  In particular, the count ry has made giant strides in the attainment of 
socioeconomic, political and cultural advancement.  In  the context of the country’s Vision 2020, this 
development has been manifested in the building of more schools, health facilities, roads, airports and 
seaports, as well as massive investments towards the provision of safe water and stable electricity supply, with a view to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  Today, the Gambian economy 
remains liberal and market-based with a hea vy dependence on subsistence agriculture and 
international trade through the historic relia nce on groundnuts for export earnings, re-export trade 
built up around its ocean port and a vibrant tourism sector  that has continued to create jobs for a large 
number of Gambians. 
148. It is against the above background that Ni geria would like to commend The Gambia for 
successfully tackling, since the last review in 2003 , the adverse effects of the droughts of 2002 and 
2007.  We also note that in spite of the adverse effects of the financial and economic crisis, the 
Gambian economy recorded an average real GDP grow th rate of 6% in 2006 and 2008, and 4.6% in 
2009.  The average inflation rated moderated from 17% in 2003 in 2003 to 2.15% in 2006.  Although it rose again to 5.45% in 2007, it still declined to 3. 0% in 2008.  Nigeria further notes that the main 
drivers of growth have been improved export performance of non-traditional crops, mining, 
construction, wholesale and retail trade, financ ial services and telecommunications.  Nigeria, 
therefore, welcomes the various trade liberalisa tion measures that have been undertaken by The 
Gambia since the last review, particularly the re duction of duties and taxes;  the adoption of VAT 
rather than sales tax;  the domestication in Ga mbian law of the ECOWAS provisions of the Common 
External Tariff;  and the establishment of the Co mpetition Commission to ensure fair and transparent 
trade policies and practices in the national economy.   However, Nigeria would like to hear from the 
Gambian delegation whether the Aliens Registration Ta x that was in place as of  July 2007, has been 
abolished or still subsists, including  whether the promise to exempt Nigerians from that tax has been 
duly effected. 
149. Nigeria and The Gambia, apart from coming from the same sub-region and being members of 
the ECOWAS, have enjoyed longstanding economic,  social and cultural ties that predate the  WT/TPR/M/233 
 Page 25 
 
 
  independence of the two countries from colonialism.  A large number of our citizens live, work and 
study in our respective countries.  The highest practi cal expression of the status of this friendship and 
cooperation has been the frequent exchange of visits  at the highest level.  In fact, the immense 
contributions made by Nigeria to the socioec onomic development of The Gambia has been duly 
recognised and acknowledged.  For instance, about 80% of personnel at the Gambian judiciary are 
Nigerians, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of The Gambia is a Nigerian, and a team of Nigeria 
volunteers are currently serving under the Nigeria T echnical Aid Corp programme in The Gambia.  
Nigeria offers training services to Gambian securi ty forces, immigration and other paramilitary 
agencies, thus contributing to the building of human resource capacity. 
150. Nigeria and The Gambia in 1985 established a Jo int Commission, leading to the signing of a 
general agreement on cooperation and friendship in 2003.  Othe r areas of cooperation include 
reciprocal investment promotion and protection, edu cation, law enforcement, health and agriculture. 
151. The pivotal role of the Nigerian private sector has also significantly contributed to deepening 
the relations between the two countries.  There has been a proliferation of subsidiaries of Nigerian 
banks in The Gambia;  and since these banks are not  allowed to repatriate money from their Gambian 
subsidiaries, there is very little chance that the Nigerian banking crisis would impact on their 
Gambian branches.  Nigerian insurance companies and educational centres have equally been set up 
in the country.  Leading Nigeri an commercial airlines also operate services to Banjul thereby 
improving accessibility, and assisting the country to develop stronger trade and economic ties with 
both Nigeria and its other ECOWAS neighbours.  Presently, a Nigerian-based ISO certified company, Dangote Group, has expressed interest to partner with Gambian entrepreneurs with a view to 
importing its products, mostly basic commodities like suga r, flour, salt, juice, vegetable oil, milk and 
cement. 
152. In conclusion, Nigeria believes that despite  its modest resilience and performance, the 
Gambian economy remains vulnerable and fragile.  On  that note, we urge Members to support and 
encourage The Gambia to intensify its efforts a nd sustain the current path of trade and economic 
reforms, by providing it with necessary fina ncial and technical assistance in order to, inter alia , 
substantially reduce the overall le vel of public debt as well as the reliance on rain-fed agriculture, 
establish the proposed Standards Bureau, and achieve  the objective of making The Gambia a transit 
hub.  We believe that such assistance would facilita te the attainment of the expected positive outlook 
of the economy.  Moreover, the government has clear ly identified its aid for trade objectives and has 
put in place the framework that would promote th e production of quality good s for exports as well as 
improve on competitiveness and the delivery of trade -related services.  This should ensure that The 
Gambia is well placed to take full advantage of the opportunities of its participation in the multilateral 
trade negotiations and other regional and bilate ral arrangements like the ECOWAS TLS, AGOA and 
the EPA between West Africa and the European Union.  WT/TPR/M/233 
Page 26  
 
  VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 
153. This second review of The Gambia has allo wed the TPRB to assess developments in the 
country's trade and related policies since 2004 and its future priorities.  I would like to thank 
Minister Kah and all his delegation for their hard wo rk in preparing for the Review and their excellent 
cooperation with the WTO team.  I am also grat eful to our discussant, Ambassador Servansing of 
Mauritius, for his perceptive observations. 
154. The Gambia has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, with GDP increasing by 
an average of over 6% during 2004-08.  The impact of the global financial crisis was felt in 2009, but 
data indicate recovery in 2010.  Nevertheless,  The Gambia still has an extremely narrow, 
undiversified production and export b ase.  Foreign debt remains high, and sectoral performance, 
particularly in tourism, remains vulnerable to exte rnal developments.  Members posed questions about 
The Gambia's overall economic policy, economic transformation objectives, and poverty reduction 
strategy;  its trade policy action programme;  progr ess in tax reforms;  regional relationships;  and 
access to markets under provisions relate d to least developed countries. 
155. Members commended The Gambia on structural re forms introduced since the last Review.  
These include full adoption of the ECOWAS common tariff;  adoption of a new Customs and Excise 
Act incorporating WTO provisions;  a new investment  law;  competition, fisheries, food standards, 
and intellectual property laws.  As noted by th e discussant, The Gambia had also undertaken 
significant fiscal reforms.  Members asked questions relating to the completion of the ECOWAS CET with a fifth band at 35%, the principles underlying the new Customs and Excise Act, provisions of the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency  (GIEPA) Act, and on specific areas such as 
differential application of excise duties, applica tion of sales and environmental taxes, anti-dumping 
and countervailing provisions, import restrictions, f ood standards policy, application of sanitary and 
phytosanitary certification, export duties, and intellectual property issues. 
156. Members noted that agriculture and fisheri es are underperforming, with serious quality 
assurance and SPS problems.  Manufacturing is ma rginal and limited to the domestic market.  
Members asked questions relating to  the groundnut and fisheries sectors,  policy towards micro, small, 
and medium-sized industries, mineral exploitation, extension of tourism policy towards new markets, 
tendering procedures for road infrastructure deve lopments, and possible revitalization of river 
transport. 
157. Human and infrastructural capacity building re mains one key aspect in the development of 
The Gambia's trade and related policies.  The Gambia was a beneficiary of the Integrated Framework 
from its launch in 1997, and accessed funding under th e Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Trust 
Fund in 2009.  It has also benefited from a wide range of WTO trade-related technical assistance activities.  I understand that the dele gation is using this visit to Ge neva to discuss EIF and aid-for-
trade issues with the Secretariat and Member s, and I hope these efforts will bear fruit. 
158. In conclusion, I believe that this Review has given us a constructive update on the changes in 
The Gambia's legislation and trade practices and the challenges that lie ahead.  I should like once 
again to thank the Government of The Gambia, thro ugh Minister Kah, for its full-hearted participation 
in the Review and comprehensive replies to the wr itten questions.  I hope th at The Gambia and other 
Members of the WTO will continue to work closel y together to mainstream trade policy into the 
country's development strategy, and that appropr iate steps can be taken via the EIF and other 
WTO-related facilities to do so. 
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