WTO TRADE POLICY REVIEW OF GABON
Statement by U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Linnet Deily
Geneva, June 26, 2001

Opening Remarks:

Thank you Mr. Chairman. The United States welcomes the delegation from Libreville for Gabon's first WTO trade policy review. We commend the Secretariat for its report on Gabon's trade policy regime. We also appreciate the Government's report. These reports and the entire TPR process can be useful, not only in understanding and improving trade policy formulation but also in furthering coordination of trade-related activities throughout the Government. We have produced a series of questions stemming from these reports. We look forward to receiving answers and learning more about Gabon's trade policies and practices.

The U.S. and Gabon enjoy a good bilateral relationship. We recognize the successful efforts of Gabon's Government and people in establishing stability in a turbulent region and appreciate Gabon's service as a safe haven during evacuation operations. We are also proud of the work of the over eighty U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in Gabon, who through many different projects are serving to promote deeper understanding on a person-to-person level between the citizens of our two countries. We are also working with the Government of Gabon to promote conservation of the Central African forests through our regional CARPE program (Central African Regional Program for the Environment).

The United States and Gabon also enjoy growing, and important, commercial relations in oil and other sectors. United States imports from Gabon were estimated to be around $2 billion in 2000, representing 68% of Gabon's total exports. The United States is also Gabon's second biggest supplier. U.S. foreign investment in Gabon is more than $200 million. We hope to further expand these commercial ties with Gabon.

The United States is committed to encouraging Gabon's development through increased trade. This is demonstrated by Gabon's eligibility as a beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). It allows Gabon to export a wider range of duty-free products to the United States, already its principal export market, and support Gabon's efforts to diversify its exports. Another step, in this regard, was the signing, in 2000, of a bilateral agreement with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). This agreement will help to increase investment from the United States in Gabon. This in turn will increase development by providing a safer, more inviting, investment climate.

Gabon has one of the highest per capita income figures in sub-Saharan Africa, over USD 4,000. The economy is dominated by the oil sector, which accounts for more than half of government revenue, almost 40 percent of GDP, 50 to 60 percent of gross investment, and over three-quarters of merchandise exports. The Government is trying to diversify its economy through the development of such sectors as tourism.

Since 1994 Gabon has intensified efforts to liberalize its trade structure through the introduction of a VAT, the adoption of an investment charter, the privatization of parastatals, and the formulation of a competition policy. These reforms should help ensure stability while reducing the structural restraints that an expansive public sector can impose on an economy.

Gabon and the WTO

Mr. Chairman, the United States and Gabon share a commitment to strengthening the multilateral trading system through the WTO. We commend Gabon for the leadership role it played in successfully hosting the African Trade Ministers Conference in November 2000 and in using the conference and workshops to increase awareness and understanding of WTO issues.
Turning to the built-in agenda negotiations, we welcome the active participation of Gabon and the Africa group in the GATS negotiations. We share the belief that trade in services is important to Africa, and are pleased with Gabon's recognition that the service industry is crucial to development. The United States believes that Gabon's specific commitments in financial services and tourism are important steps toward expanding its economic growth. We hope that Gabon will expand its commitments in telecommunications, and in other sectors, since it would send a strong signal to international investors about its resolve to create a favorable environment for trade and investment.

We recognize that Gabon has signed the Customs Valuation Agreement and appreciate that the CAEMC has passed the necessary acts into community law. We note however that implementation, which was supposed to start on January 1, 2000, has been delayed and would urge that Gabon implement this law as soon as possible.

So far Gabon has made relatively few notifications to the WTO. As noted in the Secretariat report the lack of notifications appears to derive from a lack of information and technical expertise on the part of the officials in the responsible ministries that deal with the various WTO agreements. The US commends Gabon for setting up a National Supervisory Committee to monitor the WTO agreement and urges the Government to increase its efforts further to improve coordination and interaction among the various ministries and technical and private-sector institutions, which would also help to increase timely notifications. .

On-Going Matters of Concern

Although Gabon is one of the few WTO members to bind all of its non-agricultural tariff lines, it has relatively high tariffs, a mean of 22.2%. We are encouraged by Gabon's commitment to binding its entire schedule, however, we are extremely concerned that 40% of tariff lines exceed Gabon's commitments. We urge the Government of Gabon to address this as soon as possible in accordance with WTO rules.

We also note with concern that while Gabon applies the CACEU common external tariff to most tariff lines, certain lines are subject to a Gabonese tariff as well. This temporary surcharge is in effect a dual charge and was supposed to have been abolished by June 30, 2000.

We appreciate the fact that Gabon is a party to many of the international intellectual property
right agreements, but as the Secretariat report notes, the Gabonese authorities explain that the defense of copyright rights is hampered by the "still timid role of the Customs and economic police" and the fact that the Agence Nationale de Promotion Artistique et Culturelle (ANPAC) is still not in operation.

In terms of customs administration Gabon has taken steps to improve clearance procedures, however, there are still considerable delays and inconsistencies in its application. An overly bureaucratic and expensive clearance process can be a major deterrence to trade and we urge Gabon to continue to take steps to address this problem in a substantive way.

We note that Gabon's economy remains heavily dependent on oil, manganese and timber extraction. Attempts to diversify the economy have met with limited success. Investment is hindered among other things by high costs and various non-tariff trade barriers. Telecommunications, air transport, port, and oil refining are managed by inefficient parastatals and have been targeted for privatization. We understand that the timing of privatization has slipped and urge Gabon to pursue this as rapidly as possible.

Conclusion

In recent years Gabon has undertaken some important steps towards trade liberalization and economic reform. Being one of the most stable and prosperous African countries Gabon has been able to benefit from these changes. However, more needs to be done. We look forward to
continue to work with Gabon both bilaterally and multilaterally to support them in their efforts. As part of this process we look forward to the discussion in this review.