Transcript Trade Remedy Administration

TRADE POLICY MAKING
PROCESS IN MALAWI
Presentation by Mr. H.J.K. Mandindi
Director of Trade, Ministry of
Industry and Trade
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Contents
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Introduction
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Malawi Trade Policy
The Integrated Trade and Industry Policy
Trade Policy Instruments
Strategies
Bilateral, Regional and Multilateral Trade Agreements
Process of Trade Policy Making
Mainstreaming Trade Policy into
development strategies
Conclusion and Recommendations
national
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Introduction
• The formulation, implementation and
management of Trade Policy in Malawi
is the responsibility of the Ministry of
Industry and Trade
• The Ministry undertakes this task by
taking into account the interests of the
Government, private sector and
consumers
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Malawi Trade Policy
• The Malawi Trade Policy is directed towards:
– Maintenance of an open economy, with relatively low tariffs
(average of 13.5%) and general absence of non-tariff
barriers;
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achievement of economic growth;
improvement of standards of living;
employment creation; and
attainment of strong balance of payment position.
• The Policy aims at creating an environment that is conducive to
efficient and competitive performance of the private sector both
domestically and internationally
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Malawi Trade Policy– cont’d
• The Trade Policy contributes to the
realization of the Malawi Government vision
of “transforming the Malawi from a
predominantly importing and consuming
country to a predominantly producing and
exporting country”.
• The Policy is premised on the need to
integrate the country and to participate
effectively in the multilateral trading system.
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The Integrated Trade and
Industry Policy
• The Policy was developed in 1998.
• It is guided by the Government vision
and the Malawi Growth and
Development Strategy (MGDS)
• The policy is WTO compatible (2002
Malawi Trade Policy Review)
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The Integrated Trade and
Industry Policy – cont’d
• Policy ensures adequate supply of essential
goods and services through
– efficient distribution and import procurement;
– consolidation of existing and diversification of
export markets;
– generation of foreign exchange;
– diversification of export products;
– development of a conducive trading
environment; and
– increasing participation of Malawians in
trading activities.
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Trade Policy Instruments
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Tariffs, quotas, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, trade
remedies(anti-dumping duties,
countervailing duties [cvd] and
safeguard measures)
Government directives
Laws i.e. the Control of Goods Act
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Strategies
• National Export Strategy - improving the
terms of trade and competitiveness of
Malawi products.
• Private Sector Development Strategy creating an enabling environment for
the growth of the private sector.
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Bilateral, Regional and Multilateral
Trade Agreements
• Malawi – Botswana Customs Agreement - symmetrical
(1st July, 1955);
• Malawi – South Africa Trade Agreement – asymmetrical
(1967, 1990);
• Malawi – Zimbabwe Trade Agreement – symmetrical with
lists of sensitive products (1st November 1994);
• Malawi – Mozambique Trade Agreement – symmetrical
with lists of sensitive products (28th December, 2005);
and
• Malawi – People’s Republic of China Agreement on
Trade, Investment and Technical Cooperation –
asymmetrical (25th March, 2008).
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Bilateral, Regional and Multilateral
Trade Agreements – cont’d
• Protocol on Trade of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) {17 August
199}; SADC FTA {17 August 2008}
• Common Market for Eastern and Southern
Africa (COMESA) {8 December1994};
COMESA FTA (31 October, 2000)
• Marrakech Agreement establishing the WTO
• Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) European Commission (EC) Partnership
Agreement – currently negotiating for an
Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with
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Bilateral, Regional and Multilateral
Trade Agreements – cont’d
• Beneficiary of the African, Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) of the United States
of America,
• Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSPs),
• EC Everything But Arms (EBA) Initiative,
• Canada, Japan and India initiatives for Least
Developed Countries (LDCs).
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Trade Policy Making Process
• process is demand driven
• emanates from Ministry’s mandate to regulate
and align trade to current Government
policies, regional and multilateral trading
systems and the interests of private sector
• Consultations with stakeholders are done
through inter-agency meetings convened by
the Department of Trade and regular
meetings of the National Working Group on
Trade Policy (NWGTP)
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Process of Trade Policy
Making- cont’d
• The recommendations from inter-agency meetings are
submitted to the Minister of Industry and Trade, through the
Director of Trade and Principal Secretary, for consideration and
decisions
• Recommendations on trade policy matters that impact on other
Government policies are processed through Cabinet by the
Minister of Industry and Trade
• After Cabinet approves the said recommendations policies are
made
• Policies requiring enactment of laws are processed further
through Parliament
• Implementation, monitoring and review of Trade Policies is done
by the Department of Trade in the Ministry of Industry and Trade
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Mainstreaming Trade Policy into
national development strategies
• The Ministry of Industry and Trade has the
responsibility of mainstreaming trade policy
into national development strategies to
ensure effective implementation of the
policies
• Main instruments that are used for
mainstreaming trade include: the formulation
of the MGDS, Public, Private – sector
Dialogue (PPD) and sectoral consultations
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Conclusion
• The trade policy-making process is
highly consultative and takes into
account the interests of Government,
private sector and consumers
• Mainstreaming of trade policies into
national development strategies is
crucial for effective implementation of
the policies
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Recommendations
• Consultative fora such as the NWGTP and
PPD to be strengthened to ensure that the
interests of stakeholders ( government,
private sector, consumers, etc) in trade policy
formulation and implementation are taken into
account
• Institutional capacities of stakeholders,
including non-state actors (i.e. civil society) in
formulation of trade policies be enhanced
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THANK YOU
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