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TRADE POLICY REVIEW: GHANA

Trade liberalization has helped to achieve higher economic growth

Since its last Review in 2001, Ghana’s macroeconomic fundamentals have improved considerably. The steps taken to liberalize the trade regime through, inter alia, the reduction of its applied MFN tariffs and structural reforms, have helped Ghana to achieve higher growth rates, reaching 6,2% in 2006, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Ghana.

The current tariff structure, the report notes, inhibits the competitiveness of certain industries and may not encourage investment in others. Infrastructural problems and difficult access to financing also limit Ghana’s economic performance.

The report says that continued reforms, including adoption of a competition policy, streamlining of customs procedures, rationalization of the tariff regime, further privatization, and the improvement of Ghana’s multilateral commitments on goods and services, would improve the predictability of its trade regime and contribute to better resource allocation with higher economic growth in the mid-term.

The WTO Secretariat report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Ghana, will be the basis for the third TPR of Ghana by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 28 and 30 of January 2008.

• 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

• Revisions and Corrigenda of the above documents may be issued approximately 2 weeks after the meeting.

• Chairperson's concluding remarks

• Minutes of the meeting are available approximately 6 weeks after the meeting.

• Questions and answers by WTO Members are available approximately 6 weeks after the meeting.

• 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 statement 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 WTOs full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRBs meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Geneve 21 and through the on-line bookshop .

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

Mexico: 11 and 13 of February 2008
Brunei Darussalam: 25 and 27 of February 2008
Madagascar: 2 and 4 April 2008