World Trade body commends Nigeria’s economic reform strategy

World Trade body commends Nigeria’s economic reform strategy

The Trade Policy review body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (Chile) has commended the Nigerian government for its robust and broad-based economic reform during the fourth WTO Trade review.

The Chairperson of the WTO, Ambassador Mario Matus, gave the remark during the concluding part of the deliberations at the meeting in WTO’s Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Ambassador praised the steps taken by Nigeria to simplify customs procedures and recognized Nigeria’s efforts at diversification of the economy and regulatory reforms. He stressed that the reforms had to continue and be accelerated if Nigeria was to meet its own ambitious development goals.

The Chairperson pointed out that the fourth Trade Policy Review of Nigeria had given the body a better understanding of the country’s recent economic, trade and policy development. According to him, “this had enabled the WTO, collectively, to measure the challenges Nigeria currently faces in improving its economic prosperity.”

He noted that members welcomed the reduction in the average applied rate to Most Favoured Nation (MFN tariff, from 29 per cent in 2003 to 12 per cent in 2009) and reduction in the number of products on the import prohibition list.

Matus pointed out that certain measures taken by Nigeria might not be compatible with its WTO commitments in such area like import prohibition and restrictions, Nigeria Content Development Act, which discriminates against foreign suppliers of goods and services in the oil and gas sector.

Suggested reforms

The WTO meeting however suggested a number of areas where reforms could be beneficial to Nigeria and help strengthen its international trade and investment policies.

They include; domestication of WTO Agreement in Nigeria to give legal effect to it in local court and reform of multiplicity of other taxes and charges to import in addition to custom duties; difficult registration procedures and high cost of doing business in Nigeria; large number of draft bills before the National Assembly yet to be passed and burdensome customs procedures and documentation which need to be streamlined.

WTO members urged Nigeria to implement its planned reforms in competition policy, contingency measures, the petroleum industry and public utilities. They invited Nigeria to provide full transparency of its laws and regulations on import procedures and customs regulations.

Delegates noted that there was significant gap between the applied MFN tariffs and the bound rates and low level of tariff binding, which created uncertainty, and urged Nigeria to make its tariffs more predictable.

Delegates also encouraged Nigeria to jettison out-dated intellectual property right and speed up the passage of the new intellectual property Bill before the National Assembly.

They also noted the poor state of infrastructure and welcomed the Government’s new power sector roadmap and progress made in privatization and divestment in power generation, distribution and transmission

PR/Iheanacho/Williams