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WT/TPR/S/370

24 April 2018(18-2575) Page: 1/92

Trade Policy Review Body

TRADE POLICY REVIEW

REPORT BY THE SECRETARIAT

GUINEA

This report, prepared for the fourth Trade Policy Review of Guinea, has been drawn up by the WTO Secretariat on its own responsibility. The Secretariat has, as required by the Agreement establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), sought clarification from Guinea on its trade policies and practices.

Any technical questions arising from this report may be addressed to Jacques Degbelo (tel.: 022 739 5583), Catherine Hennis-Pierre (tel.: 022 739 5640), Michael Kolie (022 739 5931) and Alya Belkhodja (tel.: 022 739 5162).

Document WT/TPR/G/370 contains the policy statement submitted by Guinea.

Note: This report is subject to restricted circulation and press embargo until the end of the first session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on Guinea. This report was drafted in French.

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CONTENTSSUMMARY...................................................................................................................61   ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT.......................................................................................81.1   Main features of the economy....................................................................................................81.2   Recent economic developments...............................................................................................101.3   Trade and investment performance..........................................................................................121.3.1   Trends and patterns in merchandise and services trade.......................................................121.3.2   Foreign direct investment trends and structure.....................................................................132   TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES........................................................................162.1   Overview...................................................................................................................................162.2   Trade policy formulation and objectives...................................................................................172.3   Trade agreements and arrangements......................................................................................172.3.1   WTO.......................................................................................................................................172.3.2   Regional and preferential agreements...................................................................................192.3.3   African Union (AU)..................................................................................................................192.3.4   Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).......................................................192.3.5   Relations with the European Union........................................................................................192.3.6   Relations with the United States............................................................................................202.4   Investment regime....................................................................................................................203   TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE.......................................................233.1   Measures directly affecting imports..........................................................................................233.1.1   Customs procedures, valuation and requirements................................................................233.1.2   Rules of origin........................................................................................................................273.1.3   Customs duties......................................................................................................................273.1.3.1   MFN applied tariff................................................................................................................273.1.3.2   Tariff bindings.....................................................................................................................323.1.3.3   Duty and tax concessions...................................................................................................333.1.3.4   Tariff preferences................................................................................................................343.1.4   Other taxes affecting imports................................................................................................343.1.5   Internal taxes.........................................................................................................................353.1.5.1   Value added tax (VAT)........................................................................................................353.1.5.2   Fixed import levy................................................................................................................363.1.5.3   Excise duty..........................................................................................................................363.1.6   Import prohibitions, restrictions and licensing.......................................................................373.1.7   Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures.........................................................383.1.8   Other measures affecting imports.........................................................................................383.2   Measures directly affecting exports..........................................................................................383.2.1   Procedures and requirements................................................................................................383.2.2   Taxes and levies....................................................................................................................393.2.3   Export prohibitions, restrictions and licensing.......................................................................403.2.4   Export subsidies and promotion.............................................................................................40

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3.2.5   Export financing, insurance and guarantees..........................................................................413.3   Measures affecting production and trade.................................................................................413.3.1   Incentives...............................................................................................................................413.3.2   Standards and technical regulations......................................................................................423.3.2.1   Standards, technical regulations, testing, certification and accreditation..........................423.3.2.2   Packaging, labelling and marking.......................................................................................443.3.3   Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements..............................................................................453.3.4   Competition and price control policy.....................................................................................473.3.4.1   Competition policy..............................................................................................................483.3.4.2   Price regulation...................................................................................................................483.3.5   State trading, State-owned enterprises and privatization......................................................493.3.6   Government procurement......................................................................................................523.3.7   Intellectual property rights.....................................................................................................544   TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR..................................................................................564.1   Agriculture, forestry and fishing................................................................................................564.1.1   Overview................................................................................................................................564.1.2   Agricultural policy..................................................................................................................584.1.3   Trade policy by principal category of agricultural products...................................................614.1.3.1   Rice.....................................................................................................................................614.1.3.2   Coffee, cocoa, cashew........................................................................................................614.1.3.3   Other crops.........................................................................................................................624.1.3.4   Livestock and animal products...........................................................................................634.1.3.5   Fisheries..............................................................................................................................654.1.3.5.1   Overview..........................................................................................................................654.1.3.5.2   Regulation........................................................................................................................664.1.3.5.3   International trade in fisheries products..........................................................................674.2   Mining and energy....................................................................................................................684.2.1   Mining and quarrying.............................................................................................................684.2.1.1   Overview.............................................................................................................................684.2.1.2   Mining regime.....................................................................................................................714.2.1.3   Environmental and social considerations............................................................................744.2.2   Energy and water...................................................................................................................744.2.2.1   Hydrocarbons......................................................................................................................744.2.2.2   Electricity............................................................................................................................754.2.2.3   Water..................................................................................................................................774.3   Manufacturing sector................................................................................................................774.4   Services.....................................................................................................................................784.4.1   Transport services..................................................................................................................784.4.1.1   General...............................................................................................................................784.4.1.2   Maritime transport..............................................................................................................784.4.1.3   Port services.......................................................................................................................80

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4.4.1.4   Road transport....................................................................................................................824.4.1.5   Rail transport......................................................................................................................824.4.1.6   Air transport........................................................................................................................834.4.2   Telecommunications and postal services...............................................................................844.4.2.1   Overview.............................................................................................................................844.4.2.2   Regulation...........................................................................................................................854.4.2.3   Postal services....................................................................................................................874.4.3   Financial services...................................................................................................................874.4.3.1   Overview.............................................................................................................................874.4.3.2   Banking system...................................................................................................................884.4.3.3   Microfinance........................................................................................................................894.4.3.4   Insurance services..............................................................................................................894.4.4   Tourism and crafts.................................................................................................................904.4.4.1   Tourism...............................................................................................................................904.4.4.2   Crafts..................................................................................................................................914.4.5   Professional and business services........................................................................................915   APPENDIX TABLES.................................................................................................93

CHARTS

Chart 1.1 Structure of merchandise trade, 2011 and 2015..............................................................14Chart 1.2 Direction of merchandise trade, 2011 and 2015...............................................................15Chart 3.1 Breakdown of the applied MFN tariff rates, 2017..............................................................29Chart 3.2 Applied MFN duty rates, by WTO product group, 2011 and 2017.....................................30Chart 3.3 Escalation of applied MFN tariff rates by manufacturing industry, 2017...........................32Chart 4.1 Main agricultural exports, 2009-2016...............................................................................57Chart 4.2 Main agricultural imports, 2012-2016...............................................................................58Chart 4.3 Rice imports, 2012-2016...................................................................................................61Chart 4.4 Livestock...........................................................................................................................64Chart 4.5 Imports of meats and poultry offal, 2009-2016.................................................................65Chart 4.6 Mining products: prices and exports, 2010-2016..............................................................69Chart 4.7 Volume of container traffic in West Africa, 2016...............................................................81Chart 4.8 International departures, 2011-2017................................................................................83

TABLES

Table 1.1 Basic economic indicators, 2011-2016................................................................................9Table 1.2 Balance of payments, 2011-2016......................................................................................11Table 2.1 Notifications by Guinea to the WTO, 2011-2017...............................................................18Table 2.2 Benefits under the Investment Code.................................................................................21Table 3.1 Structure of MFN duties, 2011 and 2017...........................................................................29Table 3.2 Brief analysis of MFN duties, 2011 and 2017....................................................................31

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Table 3.3 Number of lines with applied rates higher than the bound rates......................................33Table 3.4 Exemptions and other exceptions to the normal VAT regime...........................................36Table 3.5 Customs revenue, 2011, 2014-2016.................................................................................37Table 3.6 Tariffs for analysing samples of imported products..........................................................44Table 3.7 Tariffs for verifying the quality of goods leaving the national territory.............................44Table 3.8 Agri-food standards approved in 2015..............................................................................45Table 3.9 Enterprises with a State holding, 2017..............................................................................49Table 3.10 Government procurement statistics, 2011-2016.............................................................54Table 3.11 Statistics on industrial property rights, 2011-2017.........................................................54Table 4.1 Food crops, 2012-2017......................................................................................................57Table 4.2 Mining statistics, 2010-2016.............................................................................................70Table 4.3 Main mining duties and taxes collected, 2013 and 2016..................................................71Table 4.4 Mining export taxes...........................................................................................................72Table 4.5 Recapitatulation of texts governing merchant shipping....................................................78Table 4.6 Overall goods traffic at the port of Conakry, 2010, 2015, 2016........................................81Table 4.7 Telecommunication indicators, 2011-2016.......................................................................84Table 4.8 Financial services, 2011-2016...........................................................................................88Table 4.9 Guinea inbound tourism indicators, 2011-2015................................................................90

APPENDIX TABLES

Table A1. 1 Structure of exports, 2011-2015....................................................................................93Table A1. 2 Destination of exports, 2011-2015.................................................................................94Table A1. 3 Structure of imports, 2011-2015....................................................................................95Table A1. 4 Origin of imports, 2011-2015.........................................................................................96

Table A3. 1 Products to which Guinea applies customs duty rates different from the ECOWAS CET.....................................................................................................................................97

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SUMMARY

1. During the period covered by its Fourth Trade Policy Review (TPR), Guinea introduced a number of reforms that helped to improve its economic situation. The adoption of a new Mining Code, the implementation of targeted measures in the agricultural sector, and the revival of hydro-electric power generation all helped to improve the attractiveness of the Guinean economy, which is heavily dependent on mining resources. As a result, the annual GDP growth rate, less than 2% in 2010, rose to over 5% in 2011 and 2012 before gradually subsiding to 3.5% in 2015 owing to problems in the mining sector, aggravated in 2015 by the Ebola epidemic, which seriously hampered economic activity. With the end of the epidemic in 2016, mining activities recovered and the agricultural sector began to perform well.

2. On the macroeconomic front, the tightening of monetary policy, including the decision to halt the Central Bank's financing of the budget deficit, brought the inflation rate down from 21% in 2011 to 8% in 2016. This was due in part to a budgetary policy that sought to optimize revenue collection while eliminating low-priority expenditure, so that in spite of the sharp fall in the world prices of Guinea's raw materials exports, the budget deficit had all but disappeared by 2016. However, owing to the sharp inequalities in the country's wealth distribution, the level of poverty remains a concern. Though there has been a slight improvement, the UNDP Human Development Index remains low, and Guinea is still in the group of least developed countries. Its economy is essentially dependent on the mining sector, with bauxite, gold, iron and diamonds accounting for approximately 95% of its goods and services export revenue.

3. As a net importer of goods and services, Guinea has an external current account deficit which rose from 17% of GDP in 2011 to 33% in 2016, with imports of goods and services representing approximately double the value of exports. Mining and hydro-electric power were the two main foreign direct investment targets during the review period both declining considerably with the collapse of raw material prices and the Ebola epidemic. Consequently, the share of goods and services exports in GDP, already particularly low by regional standards at 32%, fell to approximately 27% in 2016, highlighting the need to diversify the economy. In the meantime, the share of imports dropped from 53% to 47%. The relative decline in exports and imports led to a drop in the ratio of trade in goods and services to GDP from 85% in 2011 to 74% in 2016. And yet this ratio still testifies to the importance of trade for Guinea, whose main trading partners remain the European Union (although its share in both imports and exports has decreased), China, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland.

4. At the WTO, Guinea has bound approximately 40% of its tariff lines, including all agricultural products and about 30% of non-agricultural products, at rates ranging from zero to 75%. The simple average of the bound rates is 20.4%, or 39.6% for agricultural products and 9.9% for non-agricultural products. As a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), since 2017 Guinea has applied the common external tariff (CET), which is entirely ad valorem at rates of zero, 5%, 10%, 20% and 35%. As a result, the applied tariffs for more than 600 tariff lines exceed Guinea's WTO bound rates. On the whole, however, the average tariff protection has remained unchanged since 2011 at approximately 12%.

5. Guinea also applies the other community import duties and taxes, including the ECOWAS Community levy and the African Union community levy, the registration tax, the processing and assessment fee, and the supplementary tax (centime additionnel). In addition, Guinea uses the CET "accompanying measures" (i.e. the import adjustment tax and the supplementary protection tax), which are optional and applied nationally, further complicating the border taxation system. Finally, Guinea also imposes internal taxes, including VAT at a standard rate of 18%, and excise duties on imports and local products.

6. Generally speaking, it might be worth reviewing the utility and cost of certain required import and export documents, including the "descriptive import declaration", in order to consolidate the progress already made, particularly in the computerization of certain trade procedures. Guinea is in the process of switching its customs system from ASYCUDA++ to ASYCUDA World, and apparently it is possible to submit customs documents electronically. The 2015 Customs Code provides for an approved economic operator regime, which should be established in the near future. However, pending the introduction of a modern system of risk analysis, goods are chiefly directed through the red channel requiring physical inspection of the documents and the goods, including through a scanner, against payment. The preshipment inspection system was dismantled in April 2017, and export procedures were facilitated by the

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creation of a single window. However, a detailed customs declaration is still required, together with a whole range of documents, and there remain a considerable number of heavy taxes and fees.

7. During the review period, Guinea's participation in WTO technical assistance activities grew considerably. However, its notifications to the WTO under the various agreements remain scarce. Guinea has not yet ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, nor has it notified the categories of measures under that Agreement. Several reforms have been undertaken since 2011 to improve the business climate. The reform of the exchange system helped to reduce the black market exchange premium considerably. A new Investment Code was promulgated in the hope of promoting investment by creating a single window to streamline and facilitate formalities. A mechanism is also being introduced to promote public-private partnerships. A privatization strategy is under way, and reforms have been introduced to enhance financial supervision of public companies, now governed by the OHADA Treaty.

8. Guinea's handling of technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures would benefit, inter alia, from better coordination among the various bodies responsible for these matters and for quality control at the border. Little use was made of competition provisions during the period. The government procurement regime, with its complex institutional framework, favours the awarding of contracts by direct negotiation: a peak was reached in 2016 when more than 92% of contracts were awarded by that method. Meanwhile, Guinea has yet to notify the WTO of its legislation on intellectual property rights. It has not ratified the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement, which could give it better access to lower-cost medicines, nor has it designated a contact point under Article 69 of the TRIPS Agreement. Guinea has not notified any anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard measures, or any export support measures.

9. Guinea's development potential in agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture is considerable. Agricultural exports, which are centred on a few products, have increased sharply in the wake of the guidance and incentive measures introduced. Guinea's extensive waterways also constitute an exceptional asset which it is beginning to exploit for hydroelectric power. Further reforms could turn Guinea into an important regional exporter of electricity. On the other hand, the contribution of fisheries to the national economy has significantly diminished since the last TPR in 2011, owing in particular to overfishing of several fish species, structural weaknesses, and a lack of investment in sustainable fisheries.

10. Guinea has faced a growing external demand for bauxite, its main export product, following the ban on non-refined bauxite exports imposed by other countries. Its new mining legislation reflects the determination of the authorities to improve the transparency of contracts, to increase the amount of income the State derives from the country's mining resources, and to find other ways in which the sector can contribute to the national economy. Under this policy, 30% of the cost of each project should go to local enterprises that might be able to supply mining companies. Moreover, mining taxes are degressive, from raw materials to processed products. Guinea was declared compliant with the standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in 2014.

11. There has been a surge in telecommunication services since the relevant regulations were improved. On the other hand, there is a need for investment in transport infrastructure so that transport services can better fulfill their role in the country's development. Following the adoption of the implementing texts for the Public-Private Partnership Law of 2017 (PPP), more financing may be available for the modernization of the physical infrastructure and administration of the port of Conakry, whose obsolescence has a direct impact on international and regional trade. The PPP could also help with further work on the road infrastructure.

12. Financial services are open to foreign presence, whatever the origin of the capital, as long as the companies are established under domestic law. New provisions have been introduced in a number of areas, including risk-based supervision, bancassurance and micro-insurance, controlling money laundering and combating the funding of terrorism. Tourism is among the services where there is potential for development, since Guinea has thus far been spared security problems. Its liberal tourism policy and its exceptional national assets could also be exploited in the framework of the PPP.

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1  ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

1.1  Main features of the economy

1.1.  Located in West Africa, Guinea covers an area of 245,957 km2 and had a population of some 12.4 million in 2014. It has a 320-km coastline offering huge opportunities for trade in port services, in addition to providing the country with major fishing grounds; and it also possesses abundant natural resources, including about one third of the world's bauxite reserves, along with deposits of diamonds, gold and iron, among other minerals. Guinea also has vast hydroelectric potential, as well as large areas suitable for agriculture (Section 4).

1.2.  Despite its multifaceted potential, the Guinean economy, based essentially on mining, is still striving to develop and diversify, in order to overcome its perennial problem of absolute poverty. The agriculture sector employs the vast majority of the economically active population, but it continues to operate with rudimentary techniques that restrict productivity and farm incomes.

1.3.  Despite an improvement in its business climate as measured by the Doing Business indicator, thanks particularly to a simplification of business start-up procedures, weaknesses continue to hamper the country's economic development. Poor-quality infrastructure and difficult access to energy and credit, compounded by the high costs of these two factors, significantly impair the attractiveness of the Guinean economy.

1.4.  Guinea remains a least developed country (LDC), and its per capita gross national income of US$490 in 2016 ranks it in the low-income bracket.1 Social development is a major challenge: according to the 2016 Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Guinea's Human Development Index (HDI) was 0.414 in 2015, ranking it 183 rd

out of 188 countries and territories, and classifying it as a country of low human development. The poverty rate, which was already high when last estimated in 2012 (55%), has probably risen further in recent years due to the 2015 health crisis (Ebola) and the slowdown in mining activities.

1.5.  The overall sectoral distribution of GDP remained broadly unchanged during the review period (Table 1.1). Mineral products, especially bauxite, form the central pillar of the Guinean economy; and the predominant services sector is mainly driven by mining-related transactions, which also absorb a large share of construction activities.

1.6.  In addition to its vital role as the main source of livelihood in rural areas, agriculture also generated about 21% of GDP in 2016, up from around 17% in 2011. This growth has been steady and appears to reflect government efforts to exploit the country's vast agricultural potential. Extractive and manufacturing activities, which to some degree are related owing to the relative importance of alumina production, are the other main components of GDP, although their contributions have fluctuated slightly owing to the volatility of international commodity prices. Although the manufacturing sector (mainly agrifood, chemical and metallurgical processing units) is relatively marginal, it offers possibilities for economic diversification.

1.7.  The informal sector plays a preponderant role in the Guinean economy, producing over 50% of GDP. It is also a very strong source of jobs.

1.8.  Pursuant to its obligations under Article VIII of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guinea maintains a foreign-exchange regime without restrictions on payments and transfers relating to current international transactions. The Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) intervenes twice a week on the foreign-exchange market by holding a multi-rate foreign exchange auction with currently operating commercial banks.

Table 1.1 Basic economic indicators, 2011-20162011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

MiscellaneousNominal GDP (GNF billion)a 45,175.7 53,358.1 57,855.7 61,573.5 65,627.2 75,000.4Nominal GDP (US$ million)a 6,785.1 7,638.0 8,375.3 8,778.5 8,767.2 8,370.8Real GDP (annual variation (%)) 5.5 5.9 3.9 3.7 3.5 6.6Per capita GDP (US$ at current prices) 689.1 758.8 813.7 834.2 814.8 760.9Inflation (annual average) 21.4 15.2 11.9 9.7 8.2 8.1Population (million) 9.8 10.1 10.3 10.5 10.8 11.0Sectoral distribution of GDP at current

1 Online information viewed at: https://donnees.banquemondiale.org/?locations=XM-GN.

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2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016prices (% of GDP)a

Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing 17.4 18.6 19.3 19.3 20.8 21.0 Agriculture 7.6 9.1 9.3 9.4 10.0 12.8 Livestock, hunting and related services 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.4 3.2 Forestry 1.7 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 1.8 Fishing, fish farming and aquaculture 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.1 4.3 3.1Mining and quarrying 16.9 16.1 13.9 13.7 11.1 15.7Manufacturing 11.3 11.6 11.9 12.2 12.0 10.7 Of which: Agribusiness 3.4 3.3 3.5 3.0 2.9 2.1Production and supply of electricity, gas and water

0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6

Construction 6.3 6.4 6.1 6.1 5.0 4.7Services 47.4 46.6 48.0 47.9 50.3 47.4 Commerce 19.5 21.1 21.6 20.9 21.6 19.0 Hotels and restaurants 2.1 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.6 Transport 4.7 4.4 4.4 4.1 4.8 4.4 Post and telecommunications 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.7 Other tradable services 8.1 7.9 8.0 7.0 7.5 7.5 Public administration 6.3 5.6 7.4 8.2 8.3 8.4 Other non-tradable services 6.2 4.8 3.9 5.3 5.8 5.8National accounts at current prices (% of GDP)a

Final consumption 97.5 92.2 97.4 99.8 102.6 99.0 Public 14.9 11.6 12.9 18.2 20.1 17.5 Private 82.6 80.6 84.5 81.6 82.4 81.6Gross fixed capital formation 22.8 28.1 23.0 23.9 23.9 17.9 Administration 8.3 5.7 6.9 10.1 10.0 6.7 Private 14.5 22.4 16.1 13.8 13.8 11.1Mines 2.0 2.6 3.7 4.4 3.9 2.0Other firms 5.6 13.5 7.6 4.9 5.3 3.5Households 6.9 6.3 4.8 4.5 4.7 5.6Variation in inventories 1.5 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 3.0External balance -21.7 -21.3 -20.5 -23.8 -26.6 -19.9 Exports 31.6 32.7 28.3 27.0 23.6 26.9 Imports 53.3 54.0 48.8 50.8 50.2 46.9External sectorGuinean franc per US dollar (annual average)

6,658.0 6,985.8 6,907.9 7,014.1 7,485.5 8,959.7

Real effective exchange rate(variation %; - = depreciation)

-3.6 11.5 12.3 8.4 12.6 -9.2

Nominal effective exchange rate(variation %; - = depreciation)

-18 -0.5 2.6 1.5 5.9 -14.5

Gross disposable reserves (US$ million) 855.0 643.0 705.0 752.0 461.0 608.0Gross disposable reserves (less imports) 4.4 3.4 3.0 3.7 2.2 3.0FDI inflows (US$ million) 956.1 606.5 134.0 77.1 48.2 n.a. as a percentage of GDP 14.1 7.9 1.6 0.9 0.6 n.a.Inward FDI stock (US$ million) 1,442.2 1,884.2 2,018.1 2,086.1 2,171.1 2,275.4 as a percentage of GDP 21.3 24.7 24.1 23.8 24.8 27.2Total foreign debt (% of GDP) 49.1 18.1 16.8 16.2 15.8 16.5 Direct investment -955 -604 -1 77 48 -1,513Public finance (% of GDP)Revenue and grants 15.1 17.0 14.8 17.0 14.9 16.4 Revenue 13.6 14.9 13.7 13.9 13.7 14.8 Mining sector 2.9 3.0 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.4 Non-mining sector 9.7 11.2 10.6 10.9 10.7 11.9Direct taxes 2.2 3.3 2.6 2.2 2.1 2.3Indirect taxes 6.4 7.9 8.0 8.7 8.6 9.6Taxes on goods and services 4.2 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.8 6.9Taxes on international trade 2.2 2.7 2.9 3.2 2.8 2.7 Non-tax revenue 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.5 Grants 2.6 2.0 1.1 3.1 1.2 1.7Total expenditure and net lending 16.0 19.4 18.6 20.2 21.8 16.6 Current expenditure 12.2 11.8 12.0 13.7 14.1 12.1Primary current expenditure 10.7 10.5 11.2 12.7 13.3 10.7Wages and salaries 3.9 3.3 3.6 3.8 4.1 4.4 Investment expenditure 3.9 7.1 6.6 6.4 7.6 4.4 Net lending and restructuring expenses 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1Overall balance, commitments basis Excluding grants -3.5 -4.4 -5.0 -6.3 -8.1 -1.8 Including grants -0.9 -2.4 -3.9 -3.2 -6.9 -0.1Total public debt (% of GDP) 78.0 35.4 45.7 45.4 53.0 n.a.n.a. Not available.a Estimates for 2014 and 2015; forecasts for 2016.

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Source: Statistical data provided by the authorities; IMF Country Reports Nos. 13/192, 14/244, and 16/365; IMF, IMF Data, viewed at: http://elibrary-data.imf.org; World Bank, Databank, viewed at: http://databank.banquemondiale.org/data/home.aspx; and UNCTADstat, viewed at: http://unctadstat.unctad.org/FR/Index.html.

1.2  Recent economic developments

1.1.  In 2011, Guinea was just emerging from a long period of political and socio-economic turmoil that culminated in a military coup in 2009/2010. The military takeover led to serious macroeconomic imbalances, including a growing budget deficit and an explosion of central bank lending to the Government. Foreign exchange reserves dwindled to the equivalent of under 1% of total imports, inflation rose to an annual rate of over 20% and external arrears accumulated with bilateral and multilateral creditors.

1.2.  Following the December 2010 presidential elections, the country's new civilian authorities embarked on a wide-ranging macroeconomic stabilization programme, which paved the way for a programme supported by an arrangement with the IMF under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), covering 2010-2015. The third generation of the 2013-2015 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP III) has formed the basis for Guinea's development policies and strategies.

1.3.  Major structural reforms have also been implemented, including the adoption of a new mining code designed to promote transparency in the exploitation of the country's mineral wealth; the start of mining contract renegotiations; and the creation of a special investment fund to ensure optimal use of mining revenues. The adoption of a new investment code and the establishment of an investment promotion agency are other elements of these reforms. Steps have been taken to shore up the financial viability of the public electricity company Électricité de Guinée (EDG), with a view to lowering public subsidies in the medium term. Moreover, the Government has stepped up its intervention in agriculture by supplying inputs to farmers.

1.4.  As a result, GDP has rallied, driven by a vigorous performance in the agriculture sector, an influx of investments in the mining sector and greater confidence among private investors. The growth rate rose from less than 2% in 2010 to over 5% in 2011 and 2012. Nonetheless, real GDP growth faltered in 2013 and then trended firmly down until 2015 (Table 1.1). The slowdown in 2013 and 2014 was caused by difficulties in the mining sector resulting from external and domestic shocks. The fall in international commodity prices and the concomitant slowdown in investment in large-scale mining ventures, including the Simandou iron ore project and the Guinea Alumina Corporation project, compounded by closure of the Fria plant's only alumina production unit, have reduced potential GDP growth.

1.5.  In 2015, the economy continued to suffer from declining commodity prices and weakening demand from emerging countries. Economic activity was seriously harmed by the Ebola epidemic and the resulting border closures, which restricted international travel and hence the number of visitors and foreign investment. Implementation of the PRSP III was bolstered by the Post-Ebola Recovery (Emergency) Plan, which aimed to repair the socio-economic damage caused by the epidemic and prepare Guinea to withstand future health problems. In 2016, the World Health Organization declared the end of the Ebola epidemic. Growth bounced back to 6.6% in the same year, boosted by an increase in electric power generated from the Kaleta dam (240 MW), a rapid increase in production by the bauxite firm, which had started operations in 2015, and a strong performance in the agriculture sector.

1.6.  In the framework of dialogue with the Government, supported by recommendations made in the various strategic frameworks, budgetary policy has been tighter since 2011 and remains anchored on cash-based expenditure management. The budget deficit (including grants) dropped sharply from over 10% of GDP in 2010 to below 1% a year later, thanks to several revenue collection measures, the elimination of low-priority expenditure and the suspension of certain government procurement contracts. The fiscal deficit remained relatively modest (below 5% of GDP) until 2014, before widening significantly as fiscal policy was relaxed in response to the revenue shortfall resulting from the slowdown in economic activity and additional expenditures to combat the Ebola epidemic. Then, in 2016, the deficit narrowed sharply thanks to economic recovery and a broadening of the tax base.

1.7.  The BCRG pursues an objective of price stability (targeting inflation at or below 10%) pursuant to the norms established under the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). Central bank lending to the Government is limited to 5% of the government's average ordinary annual income over the

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past three financial years. In practice, however, the BCRG has not carried out such an operation since 2011. Inflation has fallen steadily from 21.4% in 2011 to 8.1% in 2016, due to the tightening of monetary policy and the halting of BCRG advances to the public sector.

1.8.  To contain the inflationary pressures experienced since 2010, in March 2011 the Central Bank increased the required reserves ratio from 9.5% to 17% and raised its policy interest rate from 16.75% to 22%. On 19 October 2011, it raised the reserve requirement again to 22% before gradually reducing it to a level of 18% by 25 February 2015; the policy rate was gradually lowered to 11% by 25 February 2015 before rising again to 12.5% in April 2016.

1.9.  The current account remains in deficit and has generally reflected the behaviour of trade in goods and services (Table 1.2). The balance remained relatively stable (in absolute-value terms) until 2015 owing to the weakness of imports, particularly of capital goods, before jumping sharply in 2016 in the wake of major mining, energy and infrastructure projects.

1.10.  Guinea's total external debt/GDP ratio dropped from 49.1% in 2011 to 18.1% in 2012, thanks to a substantial reduction in its external debt stock following attainment of the completion point of the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) in 2012. Multilateral creditors provided debt relief of US$1.4 billion, partly through the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). Guinea's official bilateral creditors in the Paris Club granted additional relief of US$500 million.2 During the review period, steps were taken to strengthen external debt management. In addition to the recent creation of a commission to evaluate the country's external debt, a National Public Debt Committee (CNDP) was set up in March 2014 and tasked with preparing and overseeing the implementation of a national debt policy and a medium-term debt strategy. The debt/GDP ratio has been stable since 2013 at around 16% (Table 1.1).

1.11.  According to the IMF, Guinea's medium-term outlook is favourable although risks persist. These good prospects should be borne out by the 2016-2020 National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES), which is projecting a vision of good governance, economic transformation, human capital development and sustainable resource management. In 2017, the Guinean authorities reached an agreement with IMF staff on an economic policy and reform programme that could be supported under the ECF. The programme will underpin the PNDES.

Table 1.2 Balance of payments, 2011-2016(US$ million unless otherwise indicated)

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016Current account -1,161.4 -1,038.6 -1,189.8 -981.7 -1,020.2 -2,744.9Goods and services balance -1,167.5 -1,049.1 -872.5 -787.3 -835.6 -2,670.9 Credit 1,505.7 2,086.7 1,989.8 2,130.1 1,859.6 2,467.7 Debit 2,673.2 3,135.7 2,862.3 2,917.4 2,695.2 5,138.6Balance of merchandise trade -668.8 -316.4 -252.8 -306.1 -410.6 -2,015.1 Exports, f.o.b. 1,428.3 1,927.6 1,886.3 2,066.3 1,781.1 2,414.4 Imports, f.o.b. 2,097.1 2,244.0 2,139.1 2,372.4 2,191.8 4,429.4Balance of trade in services -498.7 -732.7 -619.7 -481.2 -425.0 -655.8 Credit 77.4 159.1 103.5 63.8 78.4 53.3 Of which: Transport 4.6 4.8 9.8 0.4 8.0 9.0 Travel 2.1 1.4 n.a. 16.7 23.0 15.6 Debit 576.1 891.8 723.2 545.0 503.5 709.2 Of which: Transport 287.9 303.9 296.4 283.0 249.9 492.1 Travel 33.1 23.4 50.0 18.2 30.4 12.3Primary income -133.4 -122.0 -405.1 -212.2 -143.2 -154.8 Credit 22.2 31.5 5.5 21.5 35.5 34.1 Debit 155.6 153.5 410.6 233.7 178.7 188.9Secondary income 139.5 132.5 87.9 17.8 -41.3 80.8 Credit 407.5 305.3 309.7 2,086.7 1,247.2 964.1 Debit 268.0 172.9 221.8 2,068.8 1,288.5 883.3Capital account 139.7 248.4 243.8 257.9 230.9 164.2Financial account -1,061.8 -554.4 736.1 448.9 544.4 -660.1 Direct investment -955.2 -603.6 -1.1 77.06 48.2 -1,513.4 Portfolio investment -211.6 3.1 n.a. 16.44 54.7 1.1 Other investment -521.5 -11.6 663.5 254.12 225.9 1,015.0 Reserve assets 626.6 57.6 73.7 101.27 215.5 -162.9Errors and omissions (net) -40.1 235.8 1,682.2 1,172.7 1,333.7 1,920.5Indicators (%)Current account balance/GDP -17.1 -13.6 -14.2 -11.2 -11.6 -32.8Merchandise trade balance/GDP -9.9 -4.1 -3.0 -3.5 -4.7 -24.1

n.a. Not available.

2 Online information viewed at: http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2016/12/31/Guinea-Second-Review-Under-the-Three-Year-Arrangement-Under-the-Extended-Credit-Facility-40733.

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Source: IMF, Balance of Payments. Viewed at: http://elibrary-data.imf.org.

1.12.  Annual GDP growth could average 4.5% over the next five years, and inflation is expected to ease gradually to 5% by 2019. The basic fiscal balance is likely to remain close to 0.5% of GDP owing to funding constraints and a policy of building up reserves.3 The main downside risks stem from a steeper global growth slowdown which would hinder mining activity and from political uncertainty.

1.3  Trade and investment performance

1.3.1  Trends and patterns in merchandise and services trade

1.1.  Trade in goods and services has shrunk gradually from around 85% of GDP in 2011 to close to 74% in 2016, apparently owing to a reduction in mining equipment imports as mining activity has slackened.

1.2.  Guinean statistics suffer from reliability problems. They are generally incomplete, and their presentation for the review period requires the use of different data sources. Moreover, registered exports are systematically lower than the amounts recorded by the respective trading partners for imports of the same products from Guinea, which suggests that exports are not always declared. Nonetheless, the available statistics show exports rebounding between 2011 and 2012 following a good harvest of agricultural commodities, especially rubber. This performance was not repeated during the review period, however. Bauxite exports (ore and concentrates) plummeted in 2012, following the closure of the country's only alumina production unit. A sharp decline was recorded in 2015, following border closures in the wake of the Ebola outbreak (Tables A1.1 and A1.3). During the review period, the export structure continued to be dominated by commodities, including bauxite ores (Table A1.1 and Chart 1.1).

1.3.  Imports trended upward in 2011-2014, before slipping back somewhat in the following year, owing to slacker bauxite mining activity and the concomitant reduction in capital goods imports (Tables A1.1 and A1.3). The import basket is much more diversified and consists mainly of food products, fuels, manufactures, machinery and transport equipment, and chemicals (Table A1.3 and Chart 1.1). Guinea imports most of its food products and capital goods.

1.4.  Europe remains the top destination for Guinea's export products, absorbing nearly half of its total foreign sales. By country, France and Switzerland were the leading destinations for Guinean exports from 2011 to 2013; but their shares have decreased significantly since 2014, probably because of the fall in commodity prices and the poor returns from commodity trade. Since 2014, India, the United Arab Emirates and Ghana have become Guinea's main export destinations (Chart 1.2 and Table A1.4). The European Union, particularly the Netherlands, Belgium and France, remains the chief source of imports. By country, the Netherlands' share gradually decreased from 2011 to 2014, and China became the main source of Guinean imports in the following year (Table A1.4 and Chart 1.2).

1.5.  Services trade remained in deficit during the review period. After worsening in 2012 as the country's economic activity gathered pace, the gap gradually narrowed until 2015 owing to the sluggishness of mining activities and the halting of several major works. In 2016, trade in services (imports and exports) increased sharply and the deficit widened further (Table 1.2). Service imports mostly consist of freight and insurance, although engineering services associated with large-scale works undertaken by mining firms are also important. The main service trade inflows reflect business tourism activities.

1.3.2  Foreign direct investment trends and structure

1.1.  Foreign investment is largely targeted on infrastructure building and the mining industries. Nonetheless, efforts are under way to diversify the beneficiary sectors, including the adoption of a new Investment Code and the drafting of a law on public-private partnerships (Section 2).

1.2.  The lack of dynamism on international commodity markets and the recent health crisis have eroded foreign investment flows since 2011 (Table 1.1).

3 Online information viewed at: http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2016/12/31/Guinea-2016-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-and-Statement-by-the-44152.

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Chart 1.1 Structure of merchandise trade, 2011 and 2015

2011 2015

(a) Exports (f.o.b.)

Other0.4%

Agriculture6.5%Manufactures

16.3%

Non-monetary gold

40.1%

Aluminiumores

36.6%

Total: US$1.7 million Total: US$1.6 million

(b) I mports (c.i.f.)

Food products 20.4%

Manufactures54.3%

Non-electrical machinery

16.4%

Other semi-finished products

8.9%

Other1.0%

Chemicals8.5%

Other manufactures 5.8%

Iron and steel1.8%

Electricalmachinery

4.7% Transport equipment8.2%

Fuels24.3%

Food products23.4%

Manufactures58.9%

Non-electrical machinery

11.3%

Other semi-finished products

7.8%

Other2.6%

Chemicals10.8%

Other manufactures

7.2%

Iron and steel3.0%

Electrical machinery

4.5%

Transport equipment14.3%

Fuels15.1%

Total: US$1.9 million Total: US$2.1 million

Other10.9%

Agriculture3.9%

Manufactures12.8%

Non-monetarygold

45.9%

Aluminium ores

26.5%

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data from the UNSD Comtrade database (SITC Rev.3); and United Nations, ITC TradeMap.

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Chart 1.2 Direction of merchandise trade, 2011 and 2015

2011 2015

(a) Exports (f.o.b.)

CIS3.1%

Other11.3%EU-28

30.2%

United States5.4%

Switzerland1.7%

India16.4%

United Arab Emirates

9.9%Ghana22.0%

Total: US$1.7 million Total: US$1.6 million

(b) I mports (c.i.f.)

EU-2847.2%

China 8.8%

Other Asia16.5%

America7.6%

Asia28.1%

Africa11.4% Middle East

3.8%

Other1.8%

India 2.9% Asia33.6%

EU-2838.1%

India10.9%

Other Asia7.8%

America4.9%

Africa10.0%

Middle East10.3%

Other3.1%

China 14.9%

Total: US$1.9 million Total: US$2.1 million

CIS11.3%

Other11.0%

EU-2847.6%

United States4.5%

Switzerland21.6%

India 0.8%

United Arab Emirates

3.3%

Source: WTO Secretariat estimates based on data from the UNSD Comtrade database (SITC Rev.3); and United Nations, ITC TradeMap.

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2  TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES

2.1  Overview

2.1.  Since its last Trade Policy Review, Guinea's institutional and legal framework has for the most part remained unchanged. The current Constitution, in force since 7 May 2010, proclaims Guinea as a democratic State. It also enshrines the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches.

2.2.  The President of the Republic of Guinea is the Head of State and the guarantor of state sovereignty, territorial indivisibility and citizens' rights and freedoms. He oversees compliance with the Constitution, international commitments, laws and judicial decisions. He also ensures the proper functioning of state authorities and continuity of the State. He is elected by direct universal suffrage and his tenure may not run beyond two consecutive five-year terms. The current President was re-elected on 11 October 2015 for a second, consecutive, term of office. The President appoints the other members of the Government. The Government formulates and implements policies in the various areas, draws up draft finance laws and implements state budgets.

2.3.  The National Assembly, comprising 114 deputies elected for renewable five-year terms, exercises legislative power and oversees the Government's activities. It adopts legislation, including the finance laws. One third of deputies are elected by single-ballot, single-member majority voting and two thirds from a national list by proportional representation. The latest legislative elections were held on 28 September 2013.

2.4.  Judicial power is vested in the courts and tribunals. The Supreme Court (the country's highest court for administrative and judicial matters) is the court of first and last instance in regard to the legality of regulatory texts and of acts of the executive authorities. Its decisions are final and are binding on the Executive, the Legislature and all other judicial bodies. The Court of Auditors is responsible for a posteriori oversight of public finances. The judicial system also includes the Constitutional Court, which is tasked with reviewing the constitutionality of laws and ordinances and conformity of international treaties and agreements with the Constitution, in addition to which it has jurisdiction over electoral matters and fundamental rights and freedoms. The judgments of the Constitutional Court are final. The High Court of Justice is empowered to judge the President of the Republic and members of the Government for acts deemed to be high treason and for offences committed in the exercise of their functions. No such case has ever been brought before the Court. Rulings by the High Court of Justice are not subject to appeal, save in the case of pardons or judicial review. Commercial matters are dealt with by the ordinary courts as Guinea has no commercial court.

2.5.  The Constitution remains the highest ranking law in the country's legal order. In the domestic hierarchy it takes precedence over laws, ordinances, decrees and orders. Laws, ordinances, decrees, opinions and orders must be published in the Official Journal. International treaties and agreements have force of law once signed and ratified, subject to their implementation by the other parties. The President of the Republic signs and promulgates international treaties and agreements, which must, in principle, be ratified by the National Assembly. Treaties that are applicable as law are automatically enforceable.

2.6.  In principle, the main questions relating to international trade, such as the customs tariff or trade agreements, can be implemented only by virtue of a law passed by the National Assembly. However, rates can be changed and all or part of the duties and taxes stipulated in the tariff can be suspended or restored by a decree of the President of the Republic. The initiative for such reforms comes from the Minister responsible for the economy and finance.

2.7.  The National Assembly may, under special circumstances, for a given period of time and for the purposes it specifies, empower the President of the Republic to take measures that are normally within the field of legislation. Within the limits of the time-frame and competences stipulated by the Enabling Law, the President of the Republic issues ordinances which enter into force immediately upon publication, but lapse if a draft law on their ratification is not submitted to the National Assembly before the date fixed by the enabling legislation.

2.8.  During the period under review, Guinea adopted a number of laws relating to trade and/or investment, in the following areas in particular: investment, government procurement, fishing and aquaculture, mining, hydrocarbons, transport and telecommunications (Sections 3 and 4).

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2.2  Trade policy formulation and objectives

2.1.  The main function of the Ministry responsible for trade is to design, formulate and implement the Government's trade policy, including bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral trade agreements involving Guinea.0 It draws up domestic trade regulations and coordinates trade negotiations. It is also responsible for fostering the competitiveness of Guinea's economy.

2.2.  Other Ministries are also involved in trade policy formulation and implementation. The Ministry responsible for the economy and finance plays an important role in trade policy matters through the Directorate-General of Customs, which is under its authority; the Ministry responsible for foreign affairs handles Guinea's participation in the work of the African Union; and the ministries responsible for sectoral matters are involved in the design and implementation of Guinea's trade policy within their respective areas of competence, including agriculture, fisheries, industry, crafts and the various services subsectors.

2.3.  Private-sector organizations are generally consulted, on an ad hoc basis, on trade policy formulation, implementation and follow up. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Guinea (CCIG) may propose to the Government any measure conducive to the development of business, industrial or services activities and may express its opinion on relevant issues.

2.4.  The overall aim of Guinea's trade policy is to create an environment conducive to the development of trade, especially exports, and investment, so as to enable the country to attain its economic growth and poverty reduction targets, as laid down in its national development plan.

2.5.  The National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES) sets out the Government's main trade-related priorities, focusing mainly on the modernization of customs procedures, improvement of transport infrastructure, export development and the facilitation of global market access for agricultural products.

2.6.  Regional economic integration within ECOWAS remains an important component of the trade policy of Guinea, which has been implementing the ECOWAS common external tariff (CET) since January 2017.

2.7.  Guinea has considerable export development potential, especially in the following sectors: citrus and other fruit, agri-food and commercial crafts. Tourism also offers major opportunities for trade in services.

2.3  Trade agreements and arrangements

2.3.1  WTO

2.1.  Guinea is an original Member of the WTO. It is recognized as a least developed country (LDC). It has not signed any plurilateral agreement concluded under WTO auspices. The concessions made by Guinea during the Uruguay Round are contained in Schedule CXXXVI as regards goods, and in document GATS/SC/102 as regards services. It accords at least MFN treatment to all its trading partners.

2.2.  Guinea has never been party to any dispute under the WTO. Since the previous review of its trade policies, it appears to have made progress in the area of trade transparency. Several trade measures have been notified since 2011 (Table 2.1).

Table 2.3 Notifications by Guinea to the WTO, 2011-2017Requirement WTO document ContentSanitary and phytosanitary measures

G/SPS/N/GIN/1 of 5 December 2014

Phytosanitary control of plant imports and exports

G/SPS/N/GIN/2 of 5 December 2014

Lists of pests of economic importance and of plant quarantine pests

G/SPS/N/GIN/3 of 5 December 2014

Procedures for the collection of samples of plants and plant products for import and export

G/SPS/N/GIN/4 of 5 December 2014

Health conditions for the production and placing on the market of fishery and aquaculture products

G/SPS/N/GIN/5 of 5 December 2014

Law No. L/95/046/CTRN of 19 August 1995 containing the Livestock and Animal Products Code

0 Decree No. D/2008/040/PRG/SGG of 24 July 2008.

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Requirement WTO document ContentG/SPS/N/GIN/6 of 8 August 2016

Sanitary inspection of fishery and aquaculture products

G/SPS/N/GIN/7 of 8 August 2016

Quality parameters for the water used in fishery and aquaculture product processing establishments

G/SPS/N/GIN/8 of 8 August 2016

Regulations governing the importation of fishery and aquaculture products

G/SPS/N/GIN/9 of 8 August 2016

Official controls for fishery and aquaculture products

G/SPS/N/GIN/10 of 8 August 2016

Microbiological and chemical criteria applicable to fishery and aquaculture products

G/SPS/N/GIN/11 of 9 August 2016

Approval of 39 agri-food-related standards

GATT Article XXVIII:5 G/MA/324 of 7 January 2015

Invocation of paragraph 5 of Article XXVIII

Subsidies and countervailing measures, Article 25.11 and 25.12

G/SCM/N/202/GIN of 19 June 2015

Notification under Article 25.11 and 25.12 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

Anti-dumping practices, Article 16.4 and 16.5

G/ADP/N/193/GIN of 19 June 2015

Notification under Article 16.4 and 16.5 of the Agreement

TBT Article 3.2 G/TBT/N/GIN/1 of 26 November 2014

Order No. A/98/2269/MPSPIC/CAB/SGG approving three Guinean standards on cement

Customs valuation, Article VII – Article 22.2

G/VAL/N/1/GIN/1 of 22 December 2014

Notification under Article 22 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994

GATT Article III:3 S/C/N/775 of 28 November 2014

Notification pursuant to Article III:3 of the WTO Agreement on Trade in Services

S/C/N/776 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/777 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/778 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/779 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/780 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/781 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/782 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/783 of 28 November 2014S/C/N/784 of 28 November 2014

Source: WTO document.

2.3.  During the review period, Guinea's participation in WTO technical assistance activities grew considerably, from 17 activities in 2011 to 101 activities in 2016.0 Guinea participates in the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) for technical assistance to least developed countries. The first phase of the EIF in Guinea (2012-2017) focused on technical capacity building for officials of the Ministry responsible for trade; on development of the mango sector; and on capacity building for the National Quality Control Office (ONCQ).

2.4.  Guinea has not yet ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement or notified the WTO of the list of its category A measures. (Table 2.1)

2.3.2  Regional and preferential agreements

2.1.  Guinea is a member of several regional trade groupings, including the African Union (and the associated African Economic Community) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). As an LDC, it receives trade preferences from the EU and United States. The other more developed countries grant it trade preferences in accordance with their national preference schemes.

2.3.3  African Union (AU)

2.1.  Guinea is a member of the African Union (AU), successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The organs of the AU include the Assembly of Heads of State and Government; the

0 Global Trade-Related Technical Assistance Database (GTAD). Viewed at: http://gtad.wto.org/index.aspx?lg=en&.

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Executive Council; the Commission; the Permanent Representatives Committee; the Peace and Security Council; the Economic, Social and Cultural Council; a Court of Justice; and a Pan-African Parliament.

2.2.  The AU aims to become an economic and political union. The Abuja Treaty provides for the establishment of the African Economic Community (AEC) by 2028, using existing regional economic communities (RECs) as pillars. Guinea participates in this process through ECOWAS.

2.3.  In 2012, the AU decided to establish, by 2017, a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), with the main objective of boosting intra-African trade. The CFTA was launched in July 2015. The CFTA negotiations will be carried out in two phases, the first essentially covering trade in goods and services, and the second covering investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy.

2.3.4  Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

2.1.  Guinea is a founding member of ECOWAS, which was established in May 1975. ECOWAS was notified to the WTO in 2005 under the Enabling Clause. The aims of the Community are to promote cooperation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent. Its objective is to promote cooperation and integration within the West African subregion, harmonize trade and investment practices for its 15 member countries and ultimately achieve a full customs union.

2.2.  Under its free trade agenda, ECOWAS put in place a regional mechanism known as the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS). To benefit from the ETLS, companies must be registered, and must register their products as meeting the rules of origin specified under the scheme. In other words, dual approval has to be secured.

2.3.  The ETLS identifies three categories of product: unprocessed goods, traditional craft products and industrial products (both finished and semi-finished). Industrial or processed goods are subject to dual approval, including compliance with the rules of origin in force (Section 3).

2.4.  Guinea, like the other members of the Community, has set up a National Approval Committee (CNA) for industrial products. The CNA is made up of representatives of the Customs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Guinea (CCIG) and the Ministries responsible for trade, industry and cooperation. It examines applications for the approval of products submitted by enterprises and makes recommendations to the Ministry responsible for cooperation (which handles matters relating to ECOWAS). Since January 2017, Guinea has aligned its national tariff on the ECOWAS common external tariff (CET) (Section 3).

2.3.5  Relations with the European Union

2.1.  Guinea is a signatory to the Cotonou Agreement (successor to the Lomé Convention) between the European Union (EU) and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Agreement was signed on 23 June 2000 and entered into force in April 2003. It was first revised in 2005, then again in 2010. Its trade provisions constitute one of the mechanisms for cooperation between the ACP countries and the EU. Until 31 December 2007 the latter, by way of a waiver, admitted under the duty-free regime non-agricultural products and most agricultural products originating in 78 ACP countries (excluding South Africa), on a non-reciprocal basis. In June 2014, a regional agreement was initialled by all parties. In December 2014, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was signed by the EU and by all West African States with the exception of Nigeria, The Gambia and Mauritania.

2.2.  The agreement will enter into force in its entirety after it has been ratified by all the parties.

2.3.  Because of its LDC status, Guinea, in common with 12 other countries of the "West Africa" configuration, enjoys duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market for all its exports (with the exception of arms and ammunition), under the EU's "Everything But Arms" (EBA) initiative. However, Guinea derives little benefit from this owing to the weakness of its exports, characterized by a limited export basket with a significant concentration of raw materials. In 2016, some 0.1% of Guinean products were exported to the EU under the EBA scheme; virtually all (raw materials) entered duty free but under the MFN regime.

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2.3.6  Relations with the United States

2.1.  The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has since 2000 been an integral part of the United States' international cooperation efforts vis-à-vis Africa. The AGOA allows duty-free, quota-free exports of 6,400 product categories to the US market, including clothing and footwear, wine, certain motor vehicle components, a variety of agricultural products, chemicals and steel from 40 sub-Saharan African countries, including Guinea. The AGOA was initially designed for an eight-year period, from 2000 to 2008, but was then extended to 2015. On 29 June 2015, it was again extended, this time for ten years until 2025.

2.2.  In 2009, Guinea was suspended from AGOA benefits, which were restored to it in 2011. Guinea's utilization of AGOA preferences remains low, having amounted to 6.9% in 2016.

2.4  Investment regime

2.1.  During the review period, Guinea undertook reforms of the legal and institutional framework of its investment regime in the interests of attracting new inflows to enable diversification of its economy. A new Investment Code was adopted in 2015.0 It guarantees identical treatment of Guineans and foreigners, unless otherwise provided in treaties and agreements concluded by Guinea. It likewise guarantees the repatriation of earnings of all descriptions on invested capital, including dividends and the proceeds of liquidation. Under no circumstances, however, may foreigners hold more than 40% of the shares of companies engaged in the radio or television broadcasting of general or political information.

2.2.  The Code applies to companies operating in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, as well as to several services activities. Expressly excluded from its scope are business activities defined as resale in the same state of goods purchased outside the enterprise. Likewise excluded from its scope are activities that are eligible under specific codes, such as the Petroleum Code or the Mining Code, which provide concessions under specific regimes. In 2017, a decree was adopted for the creation of a special economic zone (ZES) in Boké. According to the authorities, regulatory acts are in the process of being adopted to enable development of the ZES. A number of zones (Massayah, Kouria, Sanoyah and Tonkoya) have, moreover, been declared as industrial.

2.3.  Authorizations/licences are required in order to engage in activities involving the production or distribution of water or electricity for commercial purposes; financial or telecommunication services; the manufacture and marketing of medicines, explosives or poisons; and the provision of health or education services.

2.4.  The Code provides for tax and customs concessions (as determined by the Finance Law for 2014) under a preferential regime. Investors registered in the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register (RCCM) who are up-to-date with their tax obligations and engaged in business start-up or expansion projects can benefit from concessions under the preferential regime, subject to fulfilment of the following conditions:

in the case of a new company, where the project provides, cumulatively, for the investment of at least GNF 200,000,000 and the creation of at least five permanent jobs for Guinean nationals;

in the case of a company expansion, where the investment project provides for an increase of at least 35% in the production of goods and/or services or in the number of jobs for Guinean nationals.

2.5.  Companies enjoying concessions under the Investment Code are also required to prioritize the use of workers from the Guinean labour market and of local raw materials; to comply with the relevant quality standards; to provide the authorities responsible for controlling access to the preferential regime with the information they require; and to remain in good standing with the tax authorities (Table 2.2).

0 Law No. L/2015/008/AN of 25 May 2015.

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Table 2.4 Benefits under the Investment Code

Concessions Start-up phase(exemption for up to three years) Production phase (relief)

Customs Exemption from all duties and taxes on the importation of equipment and materials apart from motor vehicles, except for the registration tax (TE) (0.5%) and the processing and assessment fee (RTL) (2%) applied to the c.i.f. value

With no time limit, RTL at 2%, customs duties at 6% and VAT at 18% on the importation of inputs or raw materials.

Internal taxes Exemption from the business tax, the single property tax (CFU), the lump-sum payroll tax (VF) and the apprenticeship tax (TA), except for the 1.5% vocational training contribution (National Office for Vocational Training and Further Training (ONFPP))

In zone Aa:For eight years:- Reduction in the rate of the minimum flat-rate tax (IMF), industrial and commercial profits tax (BIC), corporation tax (IS), business tax, and CFU: 100% in years 1 and 2; 50% in years 3 and 4; and 25% in years 5 and 6.- Reduction in the rate of the VF, TA and TE: 100% in years 1 and 2; 50% in years 3 and 4; and 25% in years 5, 6, 7 and 8.

In zone Bb:For ten years:- Reduction in the rate of the IMF, BIC, IS, business tax and CFU: 100% in years 1, 2 and 3; 50% in years 4, 5 and 6; and 25% in years 7 and 8.- Reduction in the rate of the VF, TA and TE: 100% in years 1, 2 and 3; 50% in years 4, 5 and 6; and 25% in years 7, 8, 9 and 10.

a Zone A comprises the region of Conakry and the prefectures de Coyah, Forécariah, Dubréka, Boffa, Fria, Boké and Kindia.

b Zone B covers the remainder of the national territory.Source: Online information viewed at: http://www.apip.gov.gn/?q=content/cadre-juridique-fiscal; and Finance

Law for 2014.

2.6.  The Private Investment Promotion Agency (APIP-Guinée), established in 2011 and restructured in 2014, reports to the Office of the President of the Republic. It is a public administrative institution with legal personality and financial and managerial autonomy.0 Its mission is to promote private investment and implement the Government's domestic and foreign private investment development policy. It also serves as the Permanent Secretariat for the Presidential Council for Investment and Public-Private Partnerships (CPI-PPP), established under the authority of the President of the Republic for the purpose of fostering direct dialogue between the State, the private sector and civil society in the interests of enhancing Guinea's investment environment. According to the authorities, the CPI-PPP is not yet fully operational.

2.7.  In 2017, the Government set up the Guinée Business Forum (GBF) to serve as a further mechanism for consultation between the public sector, represented by a "Public Reform Committee", and business leaders from Guinea's private sector.

2.8.  APIP-Guinée provides a single window for administrative, legal, tax and other formalities. It receives requests for approval under the preferential regimes of the Investment Code, which confer eligibility for tax or customs concessions. Requests for access to benefits under the Code are studied by APIP-Guinée, the National Customs Directorate, the National Tax Directorate and any other public service deemed to have a relevant say in the matter.

2.9.  Approval, in the form of a decree by the Minister responsible for industry, small and medium enterprises and private sector promotion, is given, in principle, within a maximum of 15 working days following receipt of the request. The list of goods exempt from duties and taxes is attached to the approval decree. All relevant information is, in principle, made public. The monitoring of projects approved under the Investment Code, as well as the control of tax and customs concessions accorded and of investor commitments, are entrusted to an Approval Follow-up Committee. In 2016, APIP-Guinée reported 62 companies approved under the Investment Code (as against 18 in 2015 and 26 in 2014), representing projected investments worth over

0 Online information from APIP-Guinée, viewed at: http://www.apipguinee.com.

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GNF 1,930 billion (1,173 billion in 2015 and 1,669 billion in 2014) and at least 4,130 jobs (1,191 in 2015 and 5,644 in 2014).

2.10.  During the review period, Guinea improved the company registration procedure. According to the authorities, registration takes around 72 hours. A law establishing a commercial court was adopted in 2017 in order to expedite dispute settlement procedures.

2.11.  In July 2017, Guinea adopted a law intended to promote public-private partnerships and establish the conditions for their implementation.0 However, this law has not yet come into effect.

2.12.  In the World Bank's Doing Business 2018 report, Guinea is ranked 125th out of 190 economies in terms of the ease of starting a business, as against 133rd in 2017.0 Although the performance ratings for Guinea are good in terms of minimum capital needed, facilitation of procedures and short completion times, the cost of setting up a business as a percentage of per capita income is relatively high in Guinea (67.5%) as compared to the other countries of sub-Saharan Africa (approximately 54%).

2.13.  Guinea has signed 24 international investment agreements, including 18 reciprocal investment promotion and protection agreements and one double taxation agreement on the avoidance of double taxation. Apparently eight of these agreements have been ratified and have taken effect.0

2.14.  Guinea is a member of the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). It is also a signatory to the Convention of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention).

0 Law No. 0032/2017/AN of 4 July 2017.0 Online information viewed at: http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/guinea#starting-a-

business.0 UNCTAD (2010). The countries with which Guinea has ratified these agreements are: Benin, Cameroon,

China, France, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius and South Africa.

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3  TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE

3.1  Measures directly affecting imports

3.1.1  Customs procedures, valuation and requirements

3.1.  Any economic operator wishing to engage regularly in import (or export) activities must obtain a trader's card, valid for two years, from the Ministry of Trade. This card shows the commercial register number, the bank account number and, where appropriate, the tax registration number (NIF). To obtain a trader's card it is necessary to:

pay a fee of GNF 200,000 in the case of partnerships or GNF 300,000 in all other cases;

submit a copy of the document of registration in the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register issued by the Private Investment Promotion Agency (APIP) for GNF 212,500 in the case of partnerships and between GNF 700,000 and GNF 1,800,000 in all other cases.

3.2.  Since its last Trade Policy Review in 2011, Guinea has taken measures to facilitate trade and thereby reduce import clearance times and costs. New trade facilitation measures were introduced with the adoption of a new Customs Code in June 2015; these were aimed at making the clearance loop paper-free, in particular by processing customs documents electronically.

3.3.  The progress in computerization recorded since 2011 includes the switch by customs offices from the automated customs system ASYCUDA++ to ASYCUDA WORLD. According to the authorities, most of the offices in Conakry have switched to ASYCUDA WORLD. Guinea has a total of 37 customs offices, including ten in Conakry. All of the offices in Conakry are computerized, together with four offices in the rest of the country. The ASYCUDA WORLD system is available in nine offices in Conakry and it is planned that the hydrocarbons office should make the switch in January 2018.

3.4.  Customs formalities have been speeded up by introducing electronic document transmission (manifest, declaration). Provisional submission and removal procedures are possible subject to the lodging of security corresponding to the amount of duties and taxes payable. Other advances include the improvement of the electricity network and the conclusion of protocols of agreement with certain importers to facilitate the procedure pending the establishment of the approved economic operator (AEO) regime, for example, for worn clothing. Electronic payment is not yet in place.

3.5.  The computerized offices are linked to all customs clearing agents for goods declaration purposes. The computerization of declarations has simplified customs procedures, the time required for which remains comparable with what it was in 2011, namely 48 hours. Since 2011, further progress has been made with the simplification of tax and customs formalities, including the project to interconnect the Customs, the Central Bank, the tax administration and the European Union's Trade Support and Regional Integration Programme (PACIR) with the other countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The OEA programme, as defined in Article 18 of the new Customs Code, has not yet been implemented.

3.6.  There is, moreover, an urgent release procedure which takes around 24 hours. It is granted for the rapid release of certain categories of goods, in particular, medicines and perishable foods. The application for urgent release must be made by an approved customs clearing agent, using a document (a "bonded" submission) which specifies the clearance times. Urgent release applications must be sent to the Customs at least seven days prior to the arrival of the goods in Guinea. There are special procedures for UN aid consignments.

3.7.  Customs procedures are governed by the new 2015 Customs Code. The main innovations include electronic filing of the manifest and the OEA system, which is not yet in place. An ECOWAS Community Customs Code has been drawn up, but has not yet been adopted by the States. Once the Community Code has been adopted, the national Customs Code will be reviewed.

3.8.  All imports, other than those explicitly exempted, with an f.o.b. value equal to or greater than US$2,000, require the prior signature, by the importer or by an approved customs clearing agent, of a descriptive import declaration (DDI) with the Ministry responsible for trade. Joint Order No. A/4892/MC/MEF/SGG of 23 September 2014 of the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of the

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Economy and Finance amends and supplements the 2009 Order concerning the creation of the DDI and descriptive export declaration (DDE) single window, with a view to improving collaboration between the Central Bank, the Customs and the Treasury Directorate. According to the authorities, these measures were taken for statistical purposes in order to analyse the differences between intentions to import and actual imports and support the operators. In the case of exports, the DDEs enable the Ministry of Trade, together with the Central Bank, to monitor the repatriation of foreign currency earnings from exports.

3.9.  The issuance of the DDI is subject to the payment of a fee, the amount of which is established in Article 9 of the joint order. The amount of the fee, which has not changed since 2011, is calculated on the basis of the f.o.b. value of the goods at the following rates:

GNF 400,000 for goods with a value of GNF 50,000,000 or less.

GNF 600,000 for goods with a value of between GNF 50,000,000 and GNF 100,000,000.

GNF 800,000 for goods with a value of between GNF 100,000,000 and GNF 200,000,000.

GNF 1,000,000 for goods with a value of between GNF 200,000,000 and GNF 250,000,000.

For imports with an f.o.b. value of more than GNF 250,000,000, the fees are paid at the rate of GNF 1,000,000 for each tranche of GNF 250,000,000.

0.5% of the f.o.b. value for imports of petroleum products.0

The sum of GNF 15,000 in file processing charges required for the DDI in the last TPR has been abolished.

3.10.  Imports of the following goods are exempt from payment of the fee for filing a DDI: pyrotechnic products (for mining), pets, local specialties and traditional craft products of the ECOWAS member countries, and gifts offered by foreign governments or international organizations.

3.11.  A DDI is valid for six months on a non-renewable basis. The DDI form, completed and signed by the importer, must be accompanied by the following supporting documents:

the trader's card;

the business activity card;

the tax registration number (NIF);

the bank cheque or receipt for payment into the account opened by the Treasury with the Central Bank;

the pro forma or final invoice; and

where appropriate, the transport document (bill of lading, air waybill, consignment note) or other shipping document.

3.12.  The fees are all paid into the account of the Treasury's Central Receiver with the BCRG and distributed as follows: 80% is allocated to the State budget, while 20% is used to fund the operation and equipment of the DDI/DDE Service.

3.13.  The import verification programme implemented by BIVAC International, a subsidiary of Bureau Veritas, was terminated at the end of March 2017, after being extended by the Government in 2013. According to the authorities, this activity is to revert to the Customs. The commission charged under the import verification programme has been abolished.

0 Article 11 of the 2014 Joint Order.

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3.14.  The goods must be cleared by the importers or by approved customs clearing agents.0 The profession of customs clearing agent is regulated by Order No. A/2015/6244/MDB/SGG of 4 December 2015. Approval is granted for an indeterminate period by the Minister responsible for customs at the proposal of the Director-General of Customs and is subject to certain conditions, including the exercise of the profession as the main activity and the submission of numerous documents, including a certificate of registration in the Commercial Register, a certificate of registration with the National Tax Directorate, a birth certificate, a certificate of nationality, an extract from the judicial record less than three months old, a curriculum vitae attesting to five years of professional experience or the holding of a higher education diploma in customs studies and the result of a vocational test.

3.15.  Customs clearing agents are approved to operate throughout the country. Under Article 16 of the 2015 Order, the clearing agent's remuneration is fixed by the Director-General of Customs after consulting the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and/or the President or representative of the Federation of Approved Customs Clearing Agents, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the price legislation. According to the authorities, in practice the remuneration of customs clearing agents is set freely; however, a draft text proposing a remuneration ceiling was under consideration in 2017.

3.16.  In general, to clear imported goods, it is necessary to produce the originals of the invoice, the DDI for goods worth at least US$2,000, the bill of lading or the air waybill, the packing list, the certificate of origin and a phytosanitary certificate where applicable. Depending on the circumstances, other documents may be required, under specific regulations. Special authorizations are required to import fuel, asbestos, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and arms, ammunition and explosives.

3.17.  Physical checks may be carried out by customs inspectors in the port or airport. Depending on their level of risk, in customs the goods must pass through: a red channel (high risk), requiring a physical inspection of the documents and the goods before clearance; a yellow channel (medium risk), for inspection of the documents and scanning of the goods; or a green channel (low risk), for clearance without the need for inspection. In practice, at the end of 2017, all goods were being directed through the red channel. However, the switch to ASYCUDA WORLD will make it possible to introduce a risk management system in 2018.

3.18.  According to the authorities, an EU project to improve the application of the risk management system is in the process of being implemented. To this end, an Information, Risk Management and Control Policy Division has been established and is working to target certain goods. The origin of the products and their sensitivity are being targeted in order to intensify controls. The project includes the establishment of a framework institution and a risk management selectivity committee. It is expected that ASYCUDA WORLD will facilitate implementation.

3.19.  The goods are also scanned; the related charges, payable by the importer, amount to: US$65 per full or partially loaded 20-foot container, and US$100 per full or partially loaded container in excess of 20 feet in length. Empty containers are scanned but there is no charge. Two scanners are available for inspections. Almost all the containers pass through the scanner. Following scanning, in 90% of cases, inspection takes place on the premises of the importer. In suspicious circumstances and where the products are considered sensitive, a systematic inspection is carried out at the dockside.

3.20.  Where all the documents are available, the average stay of the goods in customs has been reduced from ten days in 2011 to three days in 2017. The average clearance time recorded in 2017 was 48 hours for all procedures combined, including the release for consumption procedure.

3.21.  At the end of 2017, there were 373 operators connected to ASYCUDA WORLD, used for processing imports and exports. The information needed to make out the customs declaration is not specified on the Customs website, which is currently non-operational and being revised. Goods are declared electronically and it will soon be possible to submit the necessary supporting documents in the same way. Electronic declaration is mandatory in all the computerized offices.

3.22.  All imported or exported goods must form the subject of a detailed declaration assigning them to a customs procedure. At importation, the detailed declaration must be lodged as soon as the goods arrive at the customs office (when there is no summary declaration) or within a period of

0 Articles 134 to 136 of the 2015 Customs Code.

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three days following the arrival of the goods. It may be lodged in advance, prior to the arrival of the goods at the office.0

3.23.  To facilitate clearance, economic operators may establish warehouses, clearance areas and container terminals. These sites can be used for the temporary storage of imported goods (which are not immediately declared under a detailed declaration) and of goods that have fulfilled the declaration formalities and to which a customs export or re-export procedure has been assigned. The legal provisions are contained in Articles 126 to 131 of the 2015 Customs Code. The maximum stay of the goods in warehouses or clearance areas is fixed at 30 days for seaborne goods and ten days for the rest. The duties and responsibilities of the operator form the subject of an undertaking on its part secured by an annual bond. Ten or so of these entities were active in 2017.

3.24.  Guinea confirms that it has been applying the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation0 since March 2010. The WTO provisions on customs valuation have been incorporated into Articles 30 to 37 of the Customs Code. A "technical committee responsible for implementing the transaction value of the WTO Agreement in the customs clearance of goods" has also been set up by the Director-General of Customs.0 In the event of doubt with regard to the value stated, the customs administration may ask the importer for further evidence. If the doubts persist, the customs value will be determined by applying the other valuation methods for which the Agreement provides. The customs administration must inform the importer of its final decision, together with its reasons for reaching that decision, in writing and within a "reasonable period of time".

3.25.  There is deviation from the transaction value for a number of specific products set out in two lists: one for social purposes and the other where systematic undervaluation on the part of the operators is suspected. "Official values", fixed by the authorities, are used for the following products: rice 25% broken, powdered sugar, wheat flour (for social purposes) and cigarettes, which are very sensitive to smuggling (to correct possible undervaluation). Guinea is requesting assistance with the detection and correction of under-invoicing.

3.26.  The Special Tariff Commission has been renamed the Customs Appeals Commission (an independent body).0 An order of the Minister responsible for customs establishes the membership of this Commission and its rules of procedure.0 It is composed of representatives of the supervisory Ministry, the private sector and the Ministry of Justice.

3.27.  However, in the first instance the objections raised by importers and users are examined at the level of the Studies, Regulation and Tariffs Division of the Directorate-General of Customs through its tariffs and values section. In the event of disagreement, the operator may then resort to the Appeals Commission, or ultimately to the courts. In practice, no dispute has been taken to the courts. The cases often concern value and, to a lesser extent, tariff classification. Statistics on the number of cases heard by type of dispute are not available.

3.28.  In December 2017, Guinea had not yet ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

3.1.2  Rules of origin

3.1.  Guinea has not notified any non-preferential rules of origin to the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin. The Customs Code does not contain any relevant provisions.

3.2.  However, according to Article 26 of the Customs Code, the country of origin of a product is that in which it was wholly obtained, that is to say, in which the product was harvested, raised, extracted from the soil or manufactured. The rules to be followed for determining the origin of goods obtained in a country using products harvested, raised, extracted from the soil or manufactured in another country are established by international conventions or by order of the Minister responsible for customs. Where rules of origin are concerned, the agreements that bind Guinea are the ECOWAS provisions and the Guinea-Morocco Trade and Tariff Agreement. Guinea

0 Article 133 of the Customs Code.0 Order No. A/2010/2872 MEF/SGG of 23 March 2010 and WTO document G/VAL/N/1/GIN/1 of

22 December 2014.0 Decision No. 00333 of 18 August 2010.0 The Customs Appeals and Expertise Commission was established by Article 48 of the 2015

Customs Code.0 Order No. A/2017/1385/MB/CAB/SGG of 13 April 2017.

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applies preferential rules of origin within the context of ECOWAS and the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP).0

3.3.  For products to be considered originating the ECOWAS rules require that:

the products be wholly obtained in the member States;

processed products be classified in a tariff heading different from that of the inputs used;

the minimum proportion of inputs of Community origin be 60%;

the value added to the raw materials used amount to at least 30% of the ex-factory cost price of the products net of tax.

3.4.  Certificates of origin are issued by the Ministry of Trade. Dual approval (for enterprises and products) is required.

3.5.  In the case of Guinea, 19 enterprises and 64 products have been approved within ECOWAS. The sectors concerned include agri-food products, such as fruit juice, beer, wheat flour, broths, fish, instant coffee, and sweets, as well as manufactured products, such as wire ties and nails, sheet iron, soap, paint, mastics, colorants, adhesive for cement, mattresses, furniture, tableware, anti-mosquito products, rubbish bins, plastic packaging and other articles of plastics, and mineral fertilizers. Approval is granted once and for all. The tendency is to use approval and no longer require the certificate of origin. The ECOWAS certificate of origin is valid for six months with a single entry.

3.6.  For the purposes of the Guinea-Morocco Agreement, a product is considered to be originating when the value added ratio is equal to or greater than 40%.

3.1.3  Customs duties

3.1.3.1  MFN applied tariff

3.1.  Guinea has applied the ECOWAS common external tariff (CET) since 1 January 2017, with a few exceptions allowed during the transition period, which expires on 1 January 2020. Although it entered into force on 1 January 2015, the application of the ECOWAS CET was postponed in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone due to the Ebola epidemic.

3.2.  The ECOWAS CET is based on the four-band WAEMU CET (0%, 5%, 10%, and 20%). The ECOWAS CET introduces a number of innovations, including a fifth 35% band (130 tariff lines). However, it is regarded as problematic in a number of sectors from the standpoint of competition and food security.

3.3.  The products to which Guinea applies rates different from those of the ECOWAS CET are contained in three lists (Table A3.1):

List A, which covers 90 products liable to the import adjustment tax (TAI). These are strategic products and the list is flexible. This list is comprised of products for which the CET is higher than the Guinean customs duty;

List B, which covers 30 products liable to the TAI during the transition period and for which the CET is lower than the Guinean customs duty;

List C, which covers 49 products liable to the supplementary protection tax (TCP) (previously called the degressive protection tax (TDP)).

3.4.  The tariff communicated by Guinea for the year 2017 is based on the 2017 version of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS); it is ad valorem for all lines. Taking into consideration the accompanying measures set out in the Community and national provisions (Lists A, B and C in the case of Guinea), the tariff applied by Guinea in 2017 can be described as follows: apart from the previous four bands (0%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) and the new 35% band

0 WTO document G/RO/78 of 10 November 2016.

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introduced by the ECOWAS CET, Guinea also has a 30% rate. The 6,128 ten-digit tariff lines are distributed as follows (Chart 3.1):

118 tariff lines at the rate of 0% within the zero category relating to essential products of a social nature comprising health, educational, cultural and informational items, together with equipment and inputs for agriculture, livestock farming and fishing – raw materials and inputs for manufacturing finished products in this category are subject only to the processing and assessment fee (RTL)0;

2,285 tariff lines at the rate of 5% within category 1 covering staples, unprocessed raw materials and capital goods;

1,391 tariff lines at the rate of 10% within category 2 for semi-finished products and industrial inputs;

2,165 tariff lines at the rate of 20% within category 3 reserved for end-consumer products and other products not included in the other categories;

47 tariff lines at the rate of 30%;

117 tariff lines at the rate of 35% relating to "specific goods for economic development", namely, certain agricultural, cotton (HS 52), soap and other products (HS 34); and

5 tariff lines where the rates are missing.

Chart 3.3 Breakdown of the applied MFN tariff rates, 2017

(1.9)

(37.3)

(22.7)

(35.3)

(0.8) (1.9)

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

0% 5% 10% 20% 30% 35%

Number of tariff lines

Note: The figures in parentheses correspond to the percentage of total lines. The figures do not add up to 100% because of the missing tariffs (five lines).

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities.

3.5.  With the application of the 2017 tariff, the average rate remained identical with that of the tariff applied in 2011, namely 12.1% (Table 3.1). The highest average rates are those applied to products of animal origin (23.5%) and clothing (20%). The average tariff protection for agricultural products (WTO definition) has been strengthened more than that for other products. On average, the tariff rates have fallen by more than 4 percentage points on transport equipment and by more than 3 percentage points on coffee and tea. The average tariff protection has increased by nearly 5 percentage points on products of animal origin, 2 percentage points on dairy products and 1.5 percentage points on beverages and tobacco and fishery products (Chart 3.2).

3.6.  When the ISIC definition is used, manufactured products become the most protected (with an average tariff of 12.3%), closely followed by agriculture (11.7%) and mining and quarrying (5.1%) (Table 3.1).

0 Article 20 of the 2017 Finance Law.

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Table 3.5 Structure of MFN duties, 2011 and 20172011 2017 Bound duty ratesa

1. Bound tariff lines (% of total lines) n/a n/a 39.72. Simple average of applied MFN rates 12.1 12.1 20.4

Agricultural products (WTO definition) 14.3 15.5 39.6Non-agricultural products (WTO definition) 11.7 11.5 9.9Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing (ISIC 1) 12.4 11.7 39.5Mining & quarrying (ISIC 2) 5.2 5.1 UnboundManufacturing (ISIC 3) 12.2 12.3 17.5

3. Duty-free tariff lines (% of all tariff lines) 3.2 1.9 0.84. Simple average of rates (dutiable lines) 12.5 12.4 20.95. Non-ad valorem duties (% of all tariff lines) 0.0 0.0 0.06. Tariff quotas (% of all tariff lines) 0.0 0.0 0.07. National tariff peaks (% of all tariff lines)b 0.0 0.0 0.18. International tariff peaks (% of all tariff lines)c 41.0 38.0 17.99. Global standard deviation of applied rates 7.0 7.6 15.610. Coefficient of variation 0.58 0.62 0.7711. "Nuisance" applied rates (% of all tariff lines)d 0.0 0.0 0.0n/a Not applicable.a The final bound rates are based on WTO consolidated tariff schedules database (CTS) (5,292 eight-digit

tariff lines, in accordance with the HS-12 nomenclature).b National tariff peaks are duties that are higher than three times the simple average of all applied rates.c International tariff peaks are duties that exceed 15%.d Nuisance duties are rates higher than zero but less than or equal to 2%.Note: The 2017 tariff consists of 6,128 tariff lines (ten-digit, in accordance with the HS-17 nomenclature).

The 2011 tariff consists of 5,763 tariff lines (ten-digit, in accordance with the HS-02 nomenclature).Calculations based on the national tariff line level.

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities and the WTO database.Chart 3.4 Applied MFN duty rates, by WTO product group, 2011 and 2017(%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

2011 2017

1. Agriculture2. Products of animal origin3. Dairy products4. Fruit, vegetables, plants5. Coffee, tea6. Cereals and other preparations7. Oilseeds, fats & oils

8. Sugar and confectionery9. Beverages and tobacco10. Cotton11. Other agricultural products12. Non-agricultural products13. Fish and fishery products14. Metals and minerals

15. Chemical products16. Wood, paper, etc.17. Textiles18. Clothing

19. Leather, footwear, etc.20. Non-electrical machinery21. Electrical machinery22. Transport equipment23. Other manufactured articles n.e.s.24. Petroleum

Average applied rate2011 - 12.1%2017 - 12.1%

Note: The tariff average calculations are based on 2011 (HS-02 nomenclature) and 2017 (HS-17 nomenclature.

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities

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3.7.  The rate dispersion has clearly deteriorated, with a coefficient of variation that has increased from 0.58 with the 2011 applied tariff to 0.62 with the ECOWAS CET. However, the proportion of international tariff peaks has decreased from 41% over the total number of lines under the tariff applied in 2011 to 38% in 2017, reflecting the re-categorization of certain products under lower rates. Global tariff escalation in 2017 remains comparable with that in 2011 with slightly higher rates. In other words, both nominal and effective protection levels remain comparable with those of 2011. The current taxation of inputs is one of the concerns expressed by certain industries.

3.8.  Overall, the tariff is characterized by mixed escalation (Table 3.2), slightly negative from raw materials (10.3%) to semi-finished products (10%) and positive towards finished products (13.8%). A breakdown at ISIC two-digit level reveals positive tariff escalation in the food; textiles and clothing; wood and articles of wood; paper, articles of paper, printing and publishing industries and in other manufacturing industries (Chart 3.3). Positive escalation does not encourage the industries concerned to seek competitiveness on the international markets and hence their development. Tariff escalation is mixed in the other industries, which aggravates the production costs of the enterprises that use taxed inputs and/or discourages them from improving their competitiveness.

3.9.  The ECOWAS CET does not provide for access to tariff quotas and Guinea does not maintain any such quotas.

Table 3.6 Brief analysis of MFN duties, 2011 and 20172017 2011

Number of lines

Simple average

rate(%)

Range(%) CVa

Duty-free tariff lines

(%)b

Simple average

rate(%)

Total 6,128 12.1 0-35 0.6 1.9 12.1Harmonized System (HS)Chapters 1 to 24 1,119 16.2 5-35 0.5 0.0 15.0Chapters 25 to 97 5,009 11.2 0-35 0.6 2.4 11.6By WTO definitionAgriculture 918 15.5 5-35 0.6 0.0 14.3Animal products 117 23.5 5-35 0.5 0.0 18.6Dairy products 35 14.3 5-35 0.7 0.0 12.3Fruit, vegetable, plants 237 17.4 5-35 0.4 0.0 16.8Coffee, tea 66 14.5 5-35 0.6 0.0 17.7Cereals and other preparations 117 13.5 5-35 0.6 0.0 13.7Oilseeds, fats & oils 97 11.2 5-35 0.6 0.0 10.7Sugar and sugar confectionery 20 12.8 5-35 0.7 0.0 12.2Beverages and tobacco 82 19.8 5-35 0.4 0.0 18.3Cotton 7 5.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 5.0Other agricultural products 140 9.5 5-20 0.6 0.0 8.6Non-agricultural products 5,210 11.5 0-35 0.6 2.3 11.7Fish and fishery products 271 15.8 5-20 0.3 0.0 14.3Metals & minerals 1,004 11.5 0-30 0.6 3.3 11.2Chemical products 1,011 7.6 0-35 0.8 4.6 7.4Wood, paper, etc. 322 11.7 0-35 0.6 4.3 11.2Textiles 617 16.2 0-35 0.4 0.3 16.4Clothing 218 20.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 20.0Leather, footwear, etc. 195 12.9 0-20 0.5 1.0 13.1Non-electrical machinery 570 6.8 0-20 0.6 1.2 6.4Electrical machinery 271 11.2 5-20 0.6 0.0 11.4Transport equipment 273 8.8 0-30 0.6 1.1 13.0Other manufactured articles n.e.s. 434 14.2 0-20 0.5 1.8 14.6Petroleum 24 13.1 0-20 0.6 8.3 13.4By ISIC sectorc

Agriculture, hunting, forestry & fishing

452 11.7 5-35 0.6 0.0 12.4

Mining & quarrying 103 5.1 0-10 0.2 1.0 5.2Manufacturing 5,572 12.3 0-35 0.6 2.1 12.2By stage of processingRaw materials 848 10.3 0-35 0.6 0.4 10.2Semi-finished products 1,924 10.0 0-35 0.7 1.4 9.9Finished products 3,356 13.8 0-35 0.6 2.7 13.7a Coefficient of variation (CV).b Percentage of total lines.c International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (Rev.2), electricity, gas and

water excluded (one tariff line).

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Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities and the WTO database.

Chart 3.5 Escalation of applied MFN tariff rates by manufacturing industry, 2017

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Note: The groups of products are those defined by the two-digit ISIC.Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities.

3.10.  The Ministry of the Budget established, by order, the National Common External Tariff Committee (CONATEC), an interinstitutional think-tank composed of representatives of the technical Ministries, civil society, the private sector and business associations. This body has as its objective the management of all issues linked with the effective implementation of the ECOWAS CET in Guinea. It is responsible for the work preliminary to the implementation of the CET; evaluating its impact on the economy, in particular on imports; and for proposing appropriate support measures such as the preparation of lists of products that fall within the scope of the TAI (List B) and the TCP (List C) and for monitoring the application of the CET.

3.11.  The difficulties encountered by Guinea in adopting the Community scheme relate to the use of different languages by the various ECOWAS countries, which is responsible for problems with the interpretation of the texts, as well as to the fact that some users and customs clearing agents are not sufficiently familiar with the scheme.

3.1.3.2  Tariff bindings

3.1.  Guinea has bound 39.7% of its tariff lines, namely, all agricultural products and 29.5% of non-agricultural products. The rates are ad valorem and range from 0% to 75%. The simple average of the bound rates is 20.4%, or 39.6% for agricultural products and 9.9% for non-agricultural products. Almost all the agricultural products are bound at a ceiling rate of 40% (97% of all agricultural tariff lines). Lower bound rates (5%-25%) apply to some agricultural products, such as wheat flour, pig fat, ship's biscuit, milk, cream and beer. Higher bound rates (75%) are applicable to tobacco products. A large proportion of non-agricultural lines are bound at 7% or less (64% of bound non-agricultural tariff lines); the higher bound rates (40%) apply to products such as coral, fish and crustaceans, inorganic or organic compounds, mercury and cork.

3.2.  At present, the applied rates exceed the bound rates on 10.9% of tariff lines. The majority of the lines concerned relate to non-agricultural products, mainly clothing and electrical and non-electrical machinery (Table 3.3). The difference between the applied and bound rates, together with the small proportion of bound tariff lines, detracts from the predictability of Guinea's tariff regime. The other duties and taxes are bound at 0%, 23%, 43%, 53%, 63% or 93%. Consequently, the application of other import duties and taxes by Guinea, including the Community levy and the TCP, poses a problem of fulfilment of commitments with respect to the goods for which these duties and taxes have been bound at zero.

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Table 3.7 Number of lines with applied rates higher than the bound ratesNumber of ten-digit lines

Total 652WTO agricultural products 11 Dairy products 4 Cereals and other preparations 2 Oilseeds, fats & oils 3 Beverages and tobacco 2WTO non-agricultural products 641 Fish and fishery products 29 Metals & minerals 50 Chemical products 20 Wood, paper, etc. 2 Textiles 56 Clothing 154 Leather, footwear, etc. 25 Non-electrical machinery 112 Electrical machinery 153 Transport equipment 17 Other manufactured articles n.e.s. 9 Petroleum 14Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities and the WTO database.

3.3.  Guinea's Schedule of Concessions was transposed into the 2002 version and then into the 2007 version of the HS and these schedules were certified in 2011 and 2014 within the context of the transposition exercise carried out by the WTO Secretariat. More recently, it was transposed into the 2012 version of the HS and approved by all Members during the multilateral review of 23 June 2017. In the absence of reservations on the part of WTO Members within 90 days, it was certified at the end of October 2017.

3.1.3.3  Duty and tax concessions

3.1.  The tariff exemptions regime has not changed since Guinea's last TPR in 2011. Order of the Minister of the Economy and Finance No. A/2006/1771/MEF/SGG of 21 April 2006 defines the imports and exports eligible for conditional and exceptional exemptions.

3.2.  The Guinean Customs Code provides for several customs procedures that allow for the suspension of import duties and taxes.0 These are: transit, customs warehousing, and temporary admission. Goods imported under a suspensive customs procedure must be placed under cover of a bond-note comprising, in addition to the detailed goods declaration, the importer's joint and several undertaking and his security recognized as good and solvent for the purpose of fulfilling, within the prescribed time-limits, the obligations for which the laws and regulations provide. The security may be replaced by a deposit corresponding in amount to the duties and taxes payable. The undertakings given are cancelled or the sums deposited reimbursed on sight of the discharge certificate issued by the customs clearing agent attesting to the fact that the obligations undertaken have been met. However, the Director-General of Customs may, to prevent fraud and guarantee the exportation or re-exportation of certain goods, make the discharge of the bond-note subject to the production of a certificate, issued by the Guinean or foreign authorities, stating that the goods in question have been received at the intended destination.

3.3.  Under the Customs Code, goods in transit may benefit from suspension of the duties, taxes and prohibitions applicable. They are no longer subject to transit duty or the sealing fee. The payment of 0.25% of the c.i.f. value for the guarantee fund is managed by the Chamber of Commerce. Temporary admission with total or partial relief from duties and taxes is granted for goods temporarily introduced into Guinea and intended to be re-exported after having undergone processing or re-exported in the same state. When these goods are no longer to be re-exported or warehoused, the regularization of the temporary admission bond-notes may be authorized by the Director-General of Customs subject to payment of the duties and taxes in force on the date of registration of the bond-notes in question. The Minister responsible for customs is authorized to determine the procedures under which goods authorized to leave the customs territory for further processing are subjected to payment of entry duties and taxes when re-imported. An order to this effect is in process of being prepared.

0 Articles 166 to 201 of the 2015 Customs Code.

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3.4.  In addition, the legislation provides for the establishment of public, private and special customs warehouses. In principle, warehousing suspends the application of the duties, taxes and prohibitions to which the goods are liable at importation. Restrictions on the entry, stay and removal of warehoused goods are determined by the Director-General of Customs. Goods may remain in a public warehouse for two years. At the end of this term, goods which have not been re-exported, if not prohibited, are subject to import duties and taxes. If these duties and taxes are not paid, the goods are automatically warehoused before being publicly auctioned by the customs administration. A warehousing tax equivalent to 0.5% of the c.i.f. value of the warehoused goods continues to be levied.

3.5.  The new 2015 Investment Code provides for different incentive regimes during the investment implementation period (installation phase and production phase) (Section 2.4). During the installation phase, which may not exceed three years, enterprises eligible for the benefits of the Code are exempt from entry duties and taxes, including VAT on the import of equipment and materials, with the exception of motor vehicles designed for passenger transport. The 0.5% registration tax and the processing and assessment fee (RTL) of 2% of the c.i.f. value of the imports are still payable. During the production phase, imported raw materials and inputs are subject to the 2% RTL, to a 6% fiscal charge and to VAT at 18%. Exemptions are also granted under the Mining Code (Section 4.2.1.2). The establishment agreements between the State and investors may also provide for fiscal and customs concessions.

3.6.  The annual loss of revenue due to exemptions amounted to around GNF 2,195 billion in 2016, as against GNF 1,841 billion in 2012 (including GNF 1,015 billion in 2016 for investment incentives, as against GNF 1,339 billion in 2012), that is, more than one third of annual customs revenue.

3.1.3.4  Tariff preferences

3.1.  Within ECOWAS, total exemption from import duties and taxes is, in principle, granted to ECOWAS-area products0 when they are deemed to be originating and accompanied by the required certificates of origin. However, the free movement of goods within ECOWAS is facing a number of difficulties, whence the weakness of intra-Community trade (Section 3.1.2).

3.1.4  Other taxes affecting imports

3.1.  As indicated above, apart from the tariff, goods (or their means of transport) are subject to other duties and taxes (ODTs) at importation. Seven ODTs were in force in 2017. Some of these levies are imposed by Community regulations, while others are national. They may be permanent or temporary in nature.

3.2.  The permanent levies are as follows:

Processing and assessment fee (RTL): 2% of the c.i.f. value of the imports, except for goods imported by embassies, mining companies and other entities accorded like treatment.

Supplementary tax (centime additionnel (CA)): 0.25% of the c.i.f. value of all imports not explicitly exempted by the law, as well as on the f.o.b. value of exports of agricultural products. The following are excluded from the scope of the CA: raw materials imported by local industries, goods in transit through Guinean territory, goods imported by mining-sector enterprises and those destined for government projects and contracts. This tax is levied on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Agriculture.

ECOWAS Community levy (PC): 0.5% of the c.i.f. value of all third-country imports into ECOWAS.

African Union community levy: 0.2% on all imports of certain products of non-African Union countries, adopted on 16 May 2017 but not yet being applied.

3.3.  The temporary, optional levies (Section 3.1.3.1) applied nationally to only 3% of tariff lines at most include:

0 The ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme has, in principle, been fully applied since 1 January 2004. Viewed at: http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/IDEP/UNPAN012953.pdf.

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the import adjustment tax (TAI) levied by Guinea on a few products (List B); and

the supplementary protection tax (TCP), which Guinea levies on certain products (List C) at rates of 10% or 15%.

3.4.  The 0.5% registration tax is applied to the c.i.f. value of all imports of capital goods, under the Investment Code and the Mining Code, for mining companies in the development phase and, in principle, exempt from customs duties.

3.1.5  Internal taxes

3.1.5.1  Value added tax (VAT)

3.1.  The VAT regime was instituted by Law No. L/95/035/CTRN of 30 June 1995, as supplemented by Law No. 009/95 of 28 December 1995 implementing the 1996 Finance Law. The rate, which was 18% at the time of Guinea's last TPR in 2011, rose to 20% in February 2016, before being restored to 18% by the 2017 Finance Law.0 It is collected on imports, deliveries of goods and services provided on Guinean territory by a taxable person, for consideration, as well as on commercial subsidies of any description.0

3.2.  VAT applies automatically to all natural or legal persons with an annual turnover equal to or greater than GNF 500 million, whatever the nature of their operations. Enterprises with an annual turnover of between GNF 150 million and GNF 500 million may be made subject to VAT on the authorization of the National Director of Taxes. Purchases of goods and services intended for the operation of enterprises that are holders of mining rights and exploration permits are subject to VAT.

3.3.  The VAT on imports is calculated on the c.i.f. value, plus the amount of the tariff, the RTL and, where appropriate, the excise duties and TCP. For locally produced goods, the tax base is the actual total amount of the price asked by the seller for delivering the goods or providing the services.

3.4.  The products exempt from VAT are listed in Table 3.4. Exports and international transport operations are zero-rated. Consequently, exports give entitlement to reimbursement of the tax collected on inputs used in the production of the goods concerned.0 Between 2007 and 2013, there were complaints of serious delays in the reimbursement of VAT. According to the authorities, since 2014 there has been an improvement in the collection of VAT revenue, which is channelled into an escrow account at the BCRG. The Directorate-General of Taxes (DGI) is responsible for the administrative management of VAT and the Treasury for its reimbursement.

Table 3.8 Exemptions and other exceptions to the normal VAT regimeList of goods and services exempt from VATa

Sales of stamps for the benefit of the State budget, together with imports of these goodsBanking operations and the services of credit institutions, which are subject to specific taxationTransfers of immovable property and movable tangible property other than those made by estate or leasing agentsOperations relating to the rental of undeveloped land and empty premisesSales, imports, printings and compositions of printed periodicalsServices or operations of a social, educational, sporting, cultural, philanthropic or religious nature provided by non-profit organizationsThe following goods:- rice;- wheat;- flour and additives used in its production;- bread;- edible oils;- palm oil;- fish (2012 Finance Law, Article 18).The following goods under conditions to be laid down by ministerial order:

0 Article 8 of the 2017 Finance Law.0 Article 356 of the 2015 General Tax Code.0 Reimbursements should be made in accordance with the procedure envisaged in Article 387 of the Tax

Code and Article 16 of Decree No. 95/354/PRG/SGG of 28 December 1995 and described in Article 8 of Order No. A/96/3330/MF/SGG of 18 June 1996 implementing the VAT (see Annexes 1 and 2) and supplemented by Joint Ministerial Instruction No. 1976/MEF/MBB/CAB/14 of 1 January 2014.

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List of goods and services exempt from VATa

- pharmaceuticals;- fertilizers and phytosanitary products;- school books and supplies;- domestic gas (as from January 2018).Sales of used goods by persons that have used them for business purposesVessel mooring, towing and piloting operations for loading goods at exportation, together with transit, loading and transhipping operations on goods intended for export (2014 Finance Law, Article 39)Sales of crops by the producersa Article 362 of the 2015 Tax Code.Source: Information provided by the authorities.

3.1.5.2  Fixed import levy

3.1.  A fixed levy of 10% of the c.i.f. value is payable on all imports of goods made by natural or legal persons not registered for VAT and for companies subject to income or profits tax on all local purchases of goods and services made by the State, local authorities, public establishments, mining enterprises, telephone companies, banks, insurance companies, microfinance institutions and oil companies. The State withholds the 10% on the invoices.0

3.1.5.3  Excise duty

3.1.  Guinea continues to impose excise duty at various rates (5%, 15%, 20%, 45%, 47% and GNF 135 per litre), on certain imports. The 5% rate applies to perfumes and toilet water; beauty and make-up preparations; hair preparations; pre-shaving and shaving preparations; and used motor cars more than five years old. The 15% rate applies to wigs; jewellery; and articles of goldsmiths' wares, other articles of precious metal, and articles of natural or cultured pearls. The 20% rate applies to cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or tobacco substitutes. The 45% rate relates to wine of fresh grapes, vermouth and other wines and fermented beverages; and ethyl alcohol, spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages. The 47% rate applies to beer made from malt. The rate of GNF 135 per litre applies to lubricants. The import excise duty regime is designed and managed by the Customs.

3.2.  When levied on local products, excise duty is called the tax surcharge and is collected by the DGI. A specific tax is levied on alcoholic beverages manufactured in Guinea, including beer and other alcoholic beverages. The excise duty is GNF 1,000 per bottle or can up to 50 cl and GNF 1,500 per bottle or can of more than 50 cl0, which differentiates the excise duty regime for local products from that for imports and fails to guarantee observance of the national treatment principle.

3.3.  The tax base for imports is the c.i.f. value plus duties and taxes of all kinds, with the exception of VAT. According to the authorities, excise duties are applied in the same way to imports and identical locally manufactured products, which are taxed at first sale or when released for consumption. The tax base for local products is the ex-factory selling price, net of VAT.

3.4.  The revenue generated by customs import duties and VAT on imports doubled between 2011 and 2016 (Table 3.5).

Table 3.9 Customs revenue, 2011, 2014-2016(GNF 1,000)Taxes on foreign trade and international transactions 2011 2014 2015 2016Fiscal import duty P 766,638,369 608,690,793 492,579,020 480,361,129

EP 966,659,993 947,209,542 1,160,608,081Fiscal export duty 262,534,278 266,254,119 211,233,897 388,110,648Excise duty 12,708,979 21,150,829 27,424,795 37,672,977Degressive protection tax 27,959,743 30,744,036 23,623,282 19,250,261Transit duty 2,132,361 0 0 0Storage charge 205,191 226,385 312,156 302,043Warehousing tax P 9,175,599 47,278,425 33,564,847 29,690,372

EP 3,139,928 3,740,544 5,016,343Processing and assessment fee P 136,471,940 79,643,683 54,130,106 54,301,487

0 Amending 2015 Finance Law.0 Article 432 of the 2015 General Tax Code.

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Taxes on foreign trade and international transactions 2011 2014 2015 2016

EP 194,793,378 200,140,395 241,779,660Proceeds of auction sales 1,057,473 3,913,320 1,251,998 1,365,110Customs registration tax 5,526,546 3,308,383 6,642,310 7,417,586Recovered from past financial years 24,326,723 40,105,923 53,804,676 40,209,060Customs fines and seizures 2,731,976 6,214,903 3,945,026 3,998,788VAT on imports P 1,015,509,111 886,755,382 734,326,636 821,657,180

EP 965,023,046 1,019,497,748 1,488,653,707Administrative services fee n.a. 0 0 0Tax on petroleum products P 1,845,508 87,431,255 488,443,131 762,173,303Road maintenance charge P 135,128,179 174,391,032 182,481,356 202,990,761Budget sub-total 2,403,951,976 4,385,724,813 4,484,351,465 5,745,558,496Treasury cheque, special series 38,846,536 240,879,637 97,199,548 68,639,050Budget total 2,442,798,512 4,626,604,450 4,581,551,013 5,814,197,546Deferred payments 2,004,697 3,867,234 3,732,948 5,196,116Supplementary tax (CA) for the Chamber of Commerce

16,672,811 18,437,855 17,299,052 19,837,155

Supplementary tax (CA) for the Chamber of Agriculture

1,793,327 9,513,022 9,888,232 13,114,293

Community levy 31,675,104 41,211,878 42,856,208 59,586,118Fixed levy 78,770,841 81,162,410 81,579,057 135,849,042Mineral extraction tax 0 0 161,535,657 117,328,346Stamp duties 0 0 0 27,730Treasury sub-total 130,916,780 154,192,399 316,891,154 350,938,800Overall total 2,573,715,292 4,780,796,849 4,898,442,167 6,165,136,346

n.a. Not available.Note: P (petroleum products); EP (excluding petroleum products).Source: Information provided by the authorities.

3.1.6  Import prohibitions, restrictions and licensing

3.1.  Guinea has never submitted a notification to the Committee on Import Licensing since it acceded to the WTO. In principle, all merchandise imports are subject to a descriptive import declaration (DDI). According to the authorities, the DDI is used for statistical purposes and issued against payment of an amount that varies with the value of the goods (Section 3.1.1). The DDI is supposed to be issued automatically.

3.2.  The prohibitions and restrictions on the entry and exit of products form the subject of Order of the Minister of the Economy and Finance No. A/2006/1772/MEF/SGG of 21 April 2006. At importation, the following products are prohibited: live animals and meat; equipment that can be used for minting coins; arms and ammunition, military equipment; obscene publications; medals and numismatic coins; poisons and narcotic drugs; explosives; plants and fertilizers; fuels; and asbestos. The reasons for prohibiting them relate to security, morality and custom. The importation of these products is covered by a special procedure.

3.3.  The importation of pharmaceuticals is subject to the prior approval of the Ministry responsible for health and the importation of currency to a special declaration procedure.

3.1.7  Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures

3.1.  Guinea has not made any notification to the WTO concerning contingency trade measures. However, there are similarities between the TCP and the safeguard measure.

3.1.8  Other measures affecting imports

3.1.  No agreement has been concluded with foreign governments or enterprises with a view to influencing the quantity or value of goods and services exported to Guinea. Likewise, the authorities are not aware of any such agreements between Guinean and foreign enterprises.

3.2.  The objective of the Letter on national local content policy of April 2017 is to achieve rapid, sustained and inclusive economic growth, driven by a private sector that creates jobs and adds value. Local content is defined as being the added value created by the employment of Guinean nationals, the purchase of local goods and services, subcontracting in favour of local enterprises, and activities at the level of all the value chains resulting from the upgrading and exploitation of local resources.

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3.2  Measures directly affecting exports

3.2.1  Procedures and requirements

3.1.  Export procedures have been facilitated by creating a single window for the DDI and the DDE. The registration formalities for exporters are also applicable to exporters (Section 3.1). Under the Customs Code, the goods must form the subject of a detailed declaration at importation and exportation. For exports and re-exports of a commercial nature, the declaration must be detailed, in writing and accompanied by all the necessary documents. Special declarations are required to export minerals and precious stones.

3.2.  The DDE is required for all exports with an f.o.b. value equal to or greater than US$2,000. It is filed with the DDI/DDE Service in the Ministry responsible for trade and is valid for a non -renewable period of six months. The supporting documents to be provided by the declarant are the same as for the DDI (Section 3.1.1).

3.3.  The issuance of the DDE is subject to the payment of a fee, the amount of which is determined as follows (Article 10 of the joint order)0:

GNF 1,500 per tonne for agricultural products; GNF 2,500 per tonne for manufactured products and various food preparations; GNF 2,500 per tonne for waste and scrap, ferrous or of glass, and ferrous composites; 0.27% of the f.o.b. value for industrial wood, sawn or processed; 0.35% of the f.o.b. value for animal or vegetable fats and oils; 0.85% of the f.o.b. value for engine oil, lubricants, and grease for machinery; 0.33% of the f.o.b. value for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and vinegar; 0.19% of the f.o.b. value for fish, fishery products, meat, poultry, eggs, raw hides and

skins and leather; and GNF 2,500 per tonne for any other product.

3.4.  Exports of the following goods are exempt from payment of the fee for filing a DDE: newspapers, personal effects, samples of products, and postal parcels. Moreover, there is a US$100 charge per container for passing goods through the scanner. A prime-ministerial instruction was issued in 2016 to abolish this charge for cashew nuts in order to promote cashew exports. In practice, other leading products (coffee and cocoa) have also benefited from this measure. According to the authorities, the concession made for coffee and cocoa is not covered by any legal text (Section 3.2.4).

3.5.  The certificates of origin and SPS certificates required by importing countries granting tariff preferences to Guinean products are issued to exporters by the Guinean Export Promotion Agency (AGUIPEX) via an official of the Directorate responsible for foreign trade, against payment of the sum of GNF 50,000 per certificate. They are then approved by the customs administration.

3.6.  Under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade, AGUIPEX's principal mission is to implement government policy on product development and the promotion of goods and services for export. AGUIPEX maintains a single window for helping exporters to obtain the various certificates (fumigation certificate, certificate of origin, SPS certificate, quality certificate) required for exports in order to validate the technical controls carried out by the various competent services. Exports of wood and agricultural and fishery products require a quality control certificate and a phytosanitary certificate issued by AGUIPEX, a packing certificate issued by the Customs, and a certificate of origin for the wood if export is permitted.

3.7.  There is a special procedure for exercising the profession of gold and diamond exporter. All gold exports are carried out by the Central Bank for the account of natural or legal persons duly enrolled in the commercial register. Gold must pass through the Central Bank's laboratory to be melted down and assayed against payment of GNF 300 per gram for laboratory costs. The quantity to be exported must form the subject of a regular declaration lodged with the customs services. The administrative and customs formalities are carried out once the exporter has proceeded to pay the export tax, equivalent to 0.55% of the value of the consignment to be exported, into the Treasury in foreign currency. The Central Bank's charge for accepting, holding and securely

0 Joint Order of the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of the Economy and Finance No. A/4892/MC/MEF/SGG of 23 September 2014 amends and supplements the 2009 Order relating to the creation of the single window for the DDI and the DDE.

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transporting each cargo to the airport is 0.15% of the value of the consignment for export. The 0.55% and 0.15% taxes have been suspended since June 2017 to encourage the repatriation of foreign currency.

3.8.  Exports must be domiciled with the Central Bank or a commercial bank. For all exports of mining products and in accordance with the foreign exchange regulations in force, the resident exporting customer is required to repatriate the equivalent in foreign currency of the quantity exported within 30 days of the date of shipment of the consignment. This repatriation period was reduced from 45 to 30 days in June 2017. The destination of the export consignment remains at the discretion of the exporter. For exports of other products the period is 90 days.

3.9.  Applications to export diamonds are dealt with by the National Bureau of Expertise (BNE) overseen by the Ministry of Mines, with a copy for the Central Bank's Directorate-General of Operations. The application must be accompanied by a copy of the export licence.

3.10.  In addition to the detailed export declaration and the transit order, the following documents are required when exporting gold or diamonds: the DDE, the dispatch notes, the invoice, the exemption form (according to the customs procedure), the specifications, the Central Bank's valuation document, and the certificate of origin for the diamonds (Kimberley Process Certification Scheme).

3.2.2  Taxes and levies

3.1.  Guinean legislation provides for an export revenue duty (DFE) ranging from 0% to 5%; a zero rate on agricultural and industrial products of Guinean origin; 2% of the value of re-exports of goods of foreign origin, previously imported against payment of the duties and taxes in force in Guinea; 3% of the value of gold and diamonds exported by natural persons, the Central Bank and other legal persons; and 5% of the value of exports of gold and other metals or precious stones by mining companies, except where an express provision of an agreement contains specific indications. In the mining sector, the 0.075% tax on exports of bauxite is collected by the Customs (Table 4.3). Other export revenue duty rates for other mining products are also negotiated and incorporated in special agreements concluded between the Guinean State and the mining companies.

3.2.  Apart from the DFE, AGUIPEX collects specific levies of US$13 per tonne on exports of coffee, cocoa and cashew nuts. These sums are used to finance the producers in these segments and to pay Guinea's contributions to various institutions (Interafrican Coffee Organization (IACO)0, International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)0, African Cashew Alliance0) and AGUIPEX's operating expenses. A levy of GNF 25,000 per tonne is imposed on exports of ferrous waste and scrap. Moreover, the supplementary tax (CA) is levied, at the rate of 0.25%, on exports of agricultural products, in principle for the benefit of the National Chamber of Agriculture (Section 4.1.2).

3.2.3  Export prohibitions, restrictions and licensing

3.1.  In principle, the quantitative restrictions on exports (including prohibitions) imposed by Guinea are derived from the treaties to which it is party. These are, in particular, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and the CITES (on protected species). Thus, some products, waste and/or species are subject to an export permit, certificate or prohibition. The Government may, when the circumstances so require, regulate or suspend the exportation of certain goods.0

3.2.  In fact, in 2015, two orders of the Minister of Trade prohibited the exportation by land of cashew nuts, coffee and cocoa.0 However, their exportation via the port and airport of Conakry continued to be authorized. In accordance with a prime-ministerial instruction any vehicle transporting cashew nuts will be seized and sold at auction. Moreover, a field-side floor purchase price for cashew nuts has been fixed at GNF 5,000 per kilo (€0.58) and only operators approved by the Ministry of Trade may market them.0

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.iaco-oiac.org . 0 Online information viewed at: https://www.icco.org . 0 Online information viewed at: https://www.africancashewalliance.com/fr.0 Article 12 of the 2015 Customs Code.0 Order No. A/2015/0212/MC/CAB of 16 March 2015 regulating the export of cashew nuts; Order

No. A/2015/064/MC/CAB of 28 January 2015 regulating the export of coffee and cocoa.

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3.3.  Raw diamond exports are subject to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the Central Bank houses the offices of the service responsible for issuing the certificates. The re-exportation of rice and the exportation of sugar during Ramadan and of petroleum products are prohibited in Guinea.

3.4.  In 2017, the list of prohibited exports included wild animals and their remains; live domestic animals and their meat and skins; seagoing vessels; capital; military equipment; historical, scientific and cultural objects; and gold and materials made of gold (except when authorized).0

3.2.4  Export subsidies and promotion

3.1.  With a view to promoting exports, Guinea's Customs Code provides for inward processing, which permits the importation, with suspension of duties and taxes, of goods which are to undergo working or processing before being re-exported. The authorization for inward processing is granted by the Director-General of Customs.0

3.2.  Moreover, the Investment Code accords a number of benefits to production enterprises exporting goods and services, with the exception of activities relating to the resale of goods in the same state, mining and petroleum sector enterprises, manufacturing, the sale of explosives, arms and ammunition, and banks and finance. These involve tax and customs concessions granted during the installation (three years) and production phases (Section 2.4).

3.3.  In addition, there are a number of bodies charged with promoting Guinean exports, mainly:

The Guinean Export Promotion Agency (AGUIPEX), which replaces the Export Formalities Support Centre (CAFEX) and provides information about marketing opportunities on the various markets, training of exporters and raising of their awareness of the techniques of international trade, and support for exporters in connection with their export approaches/formalities. An administrative public establishment with legal personality and financial and managerial autonomy, AGUIPEX is waiting for the decree on its organization and operating procedures. It is financed by State subsidies and fees for services rendered. Every export operation requires the disbursement of GNF 50,000 (fixed sum) to obtain the various certificates (fumigation certificate, certificate of origin, SPS certificate, quality certificate) (Section 3.2.1). The control fees (laboratory, analysis certificate) are not included in this fixed sum. The products identified by AGUIPEX as promising exports include pineapples, mangoes, shea butter, palm oil, sesame and fresh and processed leaves (cassava and sweet potato). Mango exporters benefit from a project to help finance the export of mangoes. AGUIPEX also produces statistics on exports of agricultural products.

The International Trade and Export Promotion Centre (CIEPEX), which organizes international fairs and exhibitions to promote Guinean products. Originally an NGO, CIEPEX is now a private centre financed by foreign experts (Germany, Canada) and by income from the fairs.

3.4.  According to the authorities, there are no industrial free zones in Guinea. The projects to set up the free zones of Kakossa, in the Forécariah prefecture (for agri-food industries) and Koba Taboriah in the Boffa prefecture (for mining industries) have failed to produce results.

3.5.  A project for a special economic zone (ZES) at Boké will include an industrial park, service areas, offices, a logistical platform, a commercial zone, tourism complexes, and residential areas. 0 Financed by a public-private partnership, its cost is estimated at US$2.08 billion. It will cover an area of 20 km2 and will be developed in three phases over a period of 20 years. It is planned to launch the project in January 2018. A law will establish the rules governing the operation and organization of the zone, including the rules for the administration and management of the ZES. According to the authorities, this project, managed by the Ministry of State responsible for

0 Prime-Ministerial Instruction of 11 April 2016 in which the head of government stressed that the Guinean cashew nut market was being invaded by numerous foreign buyers acting in violation of the regulations in force and the remedial measures taken by the Guinean Government.

0 Order No. A/2006/1772/MEF/SGG of 21 April 2006.0 Articles 244 to 248 of the 2015 Customs Code.0 Decree No. D/2017/089/PRG/SGG of 25 April 2017 on the creation of a special economic zone in the

Boké administrative region.

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public-private investment matters, is based on the Chinese model and has been encountering difficulties at the financial level.

3.6.  Guinea does not apply any voluntary export restraint measures.

3.2.5  Export financing, insurance and guarantees

3.1.  According to the authorities, Guinea does not have any export financing and/or guarantee mechanism.

3.3  Measures affecting production and trade

3.3.1  Incentives

3.1.  A new Investment Code was adopted in May 2015 by means of Law No. L/2015/008/AN. It instituted a preferential regime which grants tax and customs concessions for investment during the installation and production phases.0 To access the regime, investors must be in one of the eligible sectors and fulfil certain conditions. Qualifying enterprises must be involved in one of the following sectors:

agriculture, livestock, fishing, forestry and preservation of plant, animal or fishery products;

production and on-the-spot processing of local resources;

tourism and related activities, information and communication technologies (ICT), social housing, sanitation and urban and industrial waste processing;

road, port, airport and rail infrastructure;

health and education services, assembly and maintenance of industrial equipment, tele-services, road, air and sea transport services; and

arts and crafts sector.

3.2.  Investors registered in the RCCM, up-to-date with their tax obligations and engaged in business start-up or expansion projects are eligible for the preferential regime.

3.3.  The benefits of the preferential regime apply throughout the national territory, which is subdivided into two zones (A and B) (Section 2.4).

3.4.  Customs and tax concessions are granted to mining companies that have concluded agreements with the State (Sections 2 and 4).

3.3.2  Standards and technical regulations

3.3.2.1  Standards, technical regulations, testing, certification and accreditation

3.1.  In Guinea, standardization is governed by Law No. L/93/040/CTRN of 15 October 1993 on standardization and the certification of conformity with standards. There have been no amendments to this law since Guinea's last TPR in 2011. Under this law, the Guinean Standardization and Metrology Institute (IGNM) is responsible for coordinating the drafting of Guinean standards in all sectors of the economy. As a scientific and technical public establishment, it is under the supervision of the Ministry responsible for industry. Decree No. 105/PRG/SGG/89 of 20 May 1989 defines the composition and functions of the IGNM.

3.2.  In addition to performing its main role in the drafting of standards, the IGNM disseminates existing standards among users at national level; surveys standardization requirements and sets up standardization programmes; acquaints businesses with methods of quality control; manages the system of certification of conformity with standards by issuing certificates and administering a

0 Articles 16 to 33 of Decree No. D/2013/186/PRG/SGG promulgating Law No. L/2013/067/CNT of 31 December 2013 establishing the 2014 Finance Law.

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national quality mark (NG); promotes national standards on Guinean territory; evaluates, calibrates and checks measuring instruments used in trade, industry and laboratories; and participates in metrological and standardization work at regional and international levels.0

3.3.  The initiative in the drafting of a standard may come from any interested resident (natural or legal person). The proposal may relate to a new standard or the adoption of an international standard or its conversion into a national standard. Six technical commissions have been set up for this purpose, each within its sphere of competence, namely: building and civil engineering; fisheries; the agri-food industry; tourism and the hotel trade; electrical engineering; and chemistry, textiles and the environment. The process of adoption of a standard comprises several stages. Firstly, the IGNM, on the advice of the competent technical commission, adopts or rejects the initiative, depending on its importance for the national economy, health and safety or sales. Then draft standards are drawn up by the competent technical commissions and submitted to a public inquiry (involving government agencies, importers, producers, etc.) over a period of two to three months to ensure their conformity with the public interest. Foreign players residing in Guinea are also consulted. All the comments received are compiled and distributed within the technical commission concerned for appraisal and amendment with a view to the preparation of a final draft. Once the final draft has been approved by the commission, it is made available to the IGNM and the standard is published as adopted.

3.4.  Standards are approved by order of the Minister responsible for industry, after consulting the Ministers responsible for the sectors concerned. Approval renders the application of the standard mandatory (technical regulation) for all the public and private economic operators concerned.

3.5.  Standards may be revised in accordance with the procedures applied for drafting and approving them. In the event of problems with the application of approved standards, the Minister responsible for industry may grant waivers after consulting the Ministers whose services are concerned. However, requests for waivers must be based on good grounds. The waivers may relate either to the mandatory nature of the standard or to the implementation period. However, such waivers may not be granted where there is a risk of their being prejudicial to the public interest.

3.6.  At present, the IGNM has more than 600 Guinean standards (including technical regulations) mainly in the agri-food; cement; wood; fishing; building; textile chemistry; environment; and electromechanical sectors. In December 2017, Guinea had approved standards (technical regulations) in the agri-food industries (40, of which 39 in 2015), the building material industries (cement, wood, sheet metal roofing0), and chemistry (paints and varnishes)0, as well as six relating to environmental protection.0 At the end of 2017 an order was being drawn up with a view to approving eight standards relating to chemical products (cosmetic and personal hygiene products and bleach). According to the authorities, Guinea's standards and technical regulations do not make any distinction between imported and domestically manufactured products.

3.7.  There are several bodies responsible for quality control, depending on the area concerned (Section 3.3.3). Thus, the task of the National Quality Control Office (ONCQ) is to control the application of the regulations relating to the quality of consumer goods in Guinea, including with regard to packaging, labelling and marking. As a scientific and technical public establishment, the ONCQ comes under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and SMEs.0 The ONCQ is responsible for controlling the hygienic and normal commercial quality of, among other things, plant, animal and fishery products, cosmetics, medicines, soap and paint, at importation and exportation and on local markets. It has an analytical laboratory at its disposal.

3.8.  At importation, the inspectors are supposed to carry out three types of control:

documentary controls (certificate of origin, quality certificate and fumigation certificate);

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.iso.org/iso/fr/about/iso_members/iso_ member_body.htm?member_id=1763.

0 Order No. A/2003/4743/MCIPME/CAB/SGG of 25 June 2003 on the granting of approval and mandatory certification of conformity to the eight Guinean standards relating to sheet metal roofing.

0 UNDP (2005).0 Order No. A/2015/342/MIPMEPSP/CAB of 27 February 2015 approving six Guinean standards relating to

the protection of the environment.0 Order No. A/3492/2009/MCIPME/SGG of 1 December 2009 establishing the statutes and functions of the

ONCQ.

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identity controls to verify the correspondence between the documents provided and the characteristics of the product imported; and

physical controls based on inspection of the means and conditions of transport of the product, verification of the appearance of the product and its labelling and the taking of samples for analysis.

3.9.  Following inspection, entry into the national territory may be authorized if the product conforms to the standards and regulations in force. The inspector may authorize entry under certain conditions (for example, phytosanitary treatment), reject the product or seize and destroy it, if tainted or toxic.

3.10.  The main products subject to export controls are coffee, cocoa, cashew nuts, palm oil, mangoes and bananas. At exportation, the quality control certificate is issued by AGUIPEX.

3.11.  Conformity is certified by the IGNM and approved by applying the national conformity mark NG. In return, the IGNM collects fees, the amount of which is determined by the Finance Law. In practice, since Guinea's last TPR, the IGNM has carried out controls and issued certificates of conformity only for food products, in particular, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, wheat flour and vegetable oils, in addition to the cement conformity controls previously carried out. The certificate is required at importation for clearing these products. The quality controls for the other products subject to technical regulations are contracted out to various approved Guinean laboratories.

3.12.  Order No. 798/MCIPME/CAB/SGG of 3 February 2010 establishes the ONCQ's tariffs for 24 imported products (Table 3.6), for inspections carried out, depending on the mode of transport or warehouse, analyses of local production, and analyses of Guinean products at exportation.

Table 3.10 Tariffs for analysing samples of imported productsNo. Product description Tariff (GNF)

1. Wines and spirits 5002. Tobacco and cigarettes 5003. Beer 5004. Rice and other cereals 5005. Flour 3006. Soft drinks 3507. Preserves and semi-preserves 3008. Pasta products, biscuits 3009. Edible oils 30010. Mineral oils 50011. Milk and milk products 30012. Drinking water 30013. Spices, herbs, onions 25014. Apples, fresh, and other fresh products 25015. Paint and related products 40016. Toothpaste 35017. Soap and cosmetic products 35018. Eggs and egg products 40019. Meat and meat products 40020. Batteries, candles and insecticides 35021. Medicines 50022. Sweets and sweetened products 30023. Margarine and mayonnaise 30024. Fish and fishery products 350

Source: Order No. 798/MCIPME/CAB/SGG of 3 February 2010.

3.13.  Depending on the mode of transport, the tariffs for inspections are GNF 4,500 for ships, GNF 2,000 for trains, GNF 500 for lorries and GNF 250 for storage and/or sales warehouses. For exports, the preliminary field-side verification tariff is GNF 200. Tariffs for verifying the quality of goods leaving the national territory have been fixed for the following products (Table 3.7):

Table 3.11 Tariffs for verifying the quality of goods leaving the national territoryProduct description Tariff (GNF)Coffee, cocoa, sesame, cashew nuts and other dry products, oilseeds

2 GNF/kilo

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Edible oils 20 GNF/litreFruit and vegetables 1 to 5 tonnes GNF 100

Over 5 tonnes GNF 200Source: Order No. 798/MCIPME/CAB/SGG of 3 February 2010.

3.14.  Guinea is not a signatory to any mutual recognition agreement (MRA). However, a cooperation agreement between the IGNM and the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) was signed in March 1998. The IGNM has been notified to the WTO as the national enquiry point for all questions relating to technical barriers to trade (TBT).0 A single notification was made to the WTO in November 2014 concerning the technical regulations in force.0 It relates to cements and states the conditions for possible specific controls of their particular characteristics (safety of the structure, in particular of large-scale works such as hydroelectric dams).0

3.3.2.2  Packaging, labelling and marking

3.1.  The Guinean technical regulations on packaging, labelling and marking cover, among other things, green coffee, "cement, ordinary or for tropical use" (packaging and marking); and pesticides, food additives sold as such and health foods (labelling). The labelling of pesticides must display, in French, information concerning, among other things, the nature of the product and its mode of action, the precise identity and the authorization number of its manufacturer, the uses for which the product is approved and the instructions for use.0

3.2.  Specific aspects concerning packaging, labelling and marking are defined in the 39 standards in the agri-food area approved in 2015. The products concerned and the product references are indicated in Table 3.8.

Table 3.12 Agri-food standards approved in 2015No.

Product Legal reference

1. Pineapples NG 02 – 01 -002/2013/codex stan 182-19932. Mangoes NG 02 – 01 -003/2013/codex stan 184-19933. Green beans, frozen, and wax beans, frozen NG 02 – 01 -005/2013/codex stan 113-1981 – green

beans, frozen, and wax beans, frozen4. Tomatoes NG 02 – 01 -006/2013/codex stan 293-2008 – fresh

fruit and vegetables (tomatoes) specifications5. Melons NG 02 – 01 -007/2013/codex stan/CEE/ONU FFV-236. Water melons NG 02 – 01 -008/2013/codex stan/CEE/ONU FEV-377. Fruit juices and nectars NG 02 – 01 -012/2013/codex stan 247-20058. Wheat flour NG 02 – 01 -022/2013/codex stan 158-19999. Papayas NG 02 – 01 -023/2013/codex stan 183-198310. Groundnuts NG 02 – 01 -024/2013/codex stan 200-199511. Whole maize (corn) meal NG 02 – 01 -026/2013/codex stan 168-198912. Mayonnaise NG 02 – 01 -030/2013/codex stan 168-198913. Dried vegetables NG 02 – 01 -038/2013/codex stan 171-198914. Shea nuts NG 02 – 01 -042/2013/ORAN 01-200615. Shea butter, unrefined NG 02 – 01 -043/2013/ORAN 02-200616. Edible sorghum flour NG 02 – 01 -044/2013/codex stan 173-198917. Gari NG 02 – 01 -045/2013/codex stan 151-198918. Edible cassava flour NG 02 – 01 -046/2013/codex stan 176-198919. Olive oil and pomace olive oil NG 02 – 01 -053/2013/codex stan 33-198120. Vegetable oils specifically named NG 02 – 01 -054/2013/codex stan 210-199921. Edible fats and oils NG 02 – 01 -055/2013/codex stan 19-198122. Rice NG 02 – 01 -057/2013/codex stan 198-199523. Maize (corn) NG 02 – 01 -058/2013/codex stan 153-198524. Honey NG 02 – 01 -061/2013/codex stan 12-198125. Whey powders NG 02 – 01 -084/2013/codex stan 08-197826. Food additives NG 02 – 01 -099/2013/codex stan 192-199527. Condensed milk NG 02 – 02 -001/2013/codex stan 281-197128. Corned beef NG 02 – 02 -003/2013/codex stan 88-198129. Whole milk powder and sweetened partially

skimmed milkNG 02 – 02 -005/2013/codex stan A 5 1971

30. Margarine NG 02 – 02 -013/2013/codex stan 32 1981

0 WTO document G/TBT/ENQ/38/Rev.1 of 8 July 2011.0 WTO documents G/TBT/36 of 23 February 2015 and G/TBT/N/GIN/1 of 26 November 2014. Viewed at:

http://tbtims.wto.org/fr/RegularNotifications/View/92736?FromAllNotifications=True.0 Order No. A/98/2269/MPSPIC/CAB/SGG approving three Guinean standards relating to cement.0 Order No. 5716/MAEF/SGG/96 of 3 October 1996.

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No.

Product Legal reference

31. Processed cheese and cheese spreads NG 02 – 02 -085/2013/codex stan 08 197832. Cream for direct consumption NG 02 – 04 -009/2013/codex stan33. Food-grade salt NG 02 – 04 -011/2013/codex stan 150 198534. Natural mineral waters NG 02 – 04 -012/2013/codex stan 108 198135. Broths and consommés NG 02 – 04 -013/2013/codex stan 117 198136. Sugar NG 02 – 04 -027/2013/codex stan 212 199937. Labelling of pre-packaged foods NG 02 – 04 -010/2013/codex stan 05-198538. Labelling of food additives NG 02 – 04 -014/2013/codex stan 156-199939. Labelling of and claims for pre-packaged foods for

special dietary useNG 02 – 04 -015/2013/codex stan 01-1985

Source: Order No. A/2015/1671/MIPMEPSP/CAB approving 39 standards in the agri-food area.

3.3.3  Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements

3.1.  Guinea is a member of the FAO's International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Commission, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

3.2.  Guinea's institutional framework for sanitary and phytosanitary measures has not changed since its last TPR. It is characterized by a predominance of fragmented regulatory texts that bring various ministries into play without any real coordination. Thus, several ministries, departments and agencies share responsibility for sanitary and phytosanitary controls and environmental protection. These are the Ministry responsible for public health; the Ministries responsible for agriculture and livestock; the Ministry responsible for fishing; the Ministries responsible for trade and industry; and the Ministry responsible for the environment.

3.3.  The services involved in the process of adoption of SPS standards are as follows:

National Service for the Protection of Plants and Stored Foodstuffs (SNPV-DS); National Quality Control Office (ONCQ); Guinean Export Promotion Agency (AGUIPEX); National Directorate of Foreign Trade and Competitiveness (DNCEC); National Directorate of Domestic Trade and Competition (DNCIC); National Directorate of Agriculture (DNA); Guinean Institute for Agricultural Research (IRAG); National Directorate of Veterinary Services (DNSV); National Office for the Sanitary Control of Fishery and Aquaculture Products (ONSPA); Boussoura Fisheries Research Centre (CRHB); Guinean Standardization and Metrology Institute (IGNM); National Directorate of Industry (DNI); National Directorate of Public Health (DNHP); National Directorate of Sanitation and the Living Environment (DNACV); Environmental Study and Research Centre (CERE); and Representatives of the private sector and civil society.

3.4.  Imports of animal products are controlled by the veterinary services of the Ministry responsible for livestock. The control procedures are carried out at three levels:

documentary controls to verify conformity with OIE standards;

identity controls, which consist in verifying the correspondence between documents provided and the characteristics of the product imported; and

physical controls, which consist in taking samples for analysis in the veterinary laboratory.

3.5.  In practice, cattle generally do not enter through the formal channels. In principle, if there are any doubts about an animal, it can be quarantined at the border for up to 40 days. During this time, its state of health is checked and random tests are carried out. If no anomalies are found, the animal is admitted for importation. In the event that a harmful organism is detected, quarantine is automatically longer, with the possibility of disinfection, destruction or change in intended use, which may be recommended as appropriate.

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3.6.  The introduction into Guinea of plant products, parts of plants, soil, manure, compost and all packaging, vehicles and containers used for transporting them is subject to the production of a phytosanitary certificate issued by the country of origin. Law No. L/92/027/CTRN establishing the phytosanitary control of plants at importation and exportation entrusts this task to the inspectors of the Plant Protection Directorate in the Ministry responsible for agriculture. Within the Directorate, the SNPV-DS is responsible for controlling plant products at importation, exportation and on local markets.0

3.7.  In principle, there are phytosanitary control posts at the ports, international airports and main land frontiers. In principle, products must be checked within a maximum of 72 hours and their perishability must be taken into account. The sample sizes for plant material intended for sowing, planting material (cuttings, rhizomes, tubers, etc.), other plant products transported in sacks or boxes, and fresh fruit are fixed by order of the Minister responsible for agriculture. After sampling, if the results of the analysis reveal an infestation, the products will, as appropriate, be placed in quarantine, disinfected, destroyed, or redirected.0 Order No. 2008/4361/MA/CAB of 5 November 2008 establishes, for the main crops, a list of harmful organisms necessitating plant quarantine.

3.8.  ONSPA is an administrative public establishment endowed with legal personality and financial and administrative autonomy. Created by Decree No. D/2013/N°127/PRG/SGG of 25 July 2013, it replaces the Fishery and Aquaculture Product Industry and Quality Assurance Service (SIAQPPA). ONSPA is responsible for the sanitary control of fishery products at landing, importation and exportation and on local markets, including monitoring of the application of the laws and regulations governing the fisheries profession (Section 4.1.3.5).0 It has a sensory analysis laboratory and concludes protocols of understanding with laboratories specializing in microbiological and chemical analyses (in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Mauritania). It is responsible, among other things, for identifying, characterizing and communicating on the health risks for fishery and aquaculture products (in application of HACCP principles) associated with the implementation of good hygiene and manufacturing practices.

3.9.  Since its last TPR, Guinea has adopted a number of texts relating to SPS, including:

Law No. 2015/026/AN of 14 September 2015 containing the Marine Fisheries Code;

Law No. 2015/027/AN of 14 September 2015 containing the Inland Fisheries Code;

Law No. 2015/028/AN of 14 September 2015 containing the Aquaculture Code;

Order No. A/2012/7085/PMSGG of 19 July 2012 relating to the vitamin A content of refined vegetable oil.

3.10.  In the autonomous Port of Conakry, the control services of the Ministry responsible for the environment are tasked, inter alia, with overseeing compliance with the international conventions which Guinea has ratified. In principle, they control imports and exports of all chemical products and by-products that could be injurious to human health or the environment. However, in practice, the services of the Ministry of the Environment are encountering serious difficulties in performing this task since some exporters and importers are evading the controls and not voluntarily taking certificates except in an emergency.

3.11.  Guinea has no legislation dealing specifically with GMOs.

0 Order No. 2015/1105/MA/CAB/DRH of 9 April 2015 establishes the statutes of the SNPV-DS.0 Order No. 2008/4362/MA/CAB of 5 November 2008.0 The principal reference regulations are as follows: Order No. A/4057/MPA/CAB/2007 relating to the

definition of quality criteria for water used in fishery and aquaculture product processing establishments; Order No. A/2009/4007/MPA/SGG/2009, amending No. 4053/4055/4056/4059/CAB/2007 establishing the microbiological and chemical criteria applicable to fishery and aquaculture products for human consumption; Order No. A/2009/4008/MPA/SGG/2009 regulating the conditions of transport for fishery and aquaculture products; Order No. A/2009/4009/MPA/SGG/2009 regulating the importation of fishery and aquaculture products; Order No. A/2009/4010/MPA/SGG/2009 amending No. A/4054/MPA/CAB of 14 November 2007, concerning the official control of fishery and aquaculture products; Order No. A/2009/4011/MPA/SGG/2009 amending No. A/4058 of 14 November 2007, establishing the health regulations governing the production and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products; Order No. A/2009/4012/MPA/SGG/2009 amending No. A/4051 of 11 November 2007 regulating hygiene conditions on board fishing vessels.

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3.12.  Guinea made a total of 18 SPS notifications to the WTO between 2014 and 2016. These notifications relate to one law and four orders (Table 2.1).

3.3.4  Competition and price control policy

3.1.  The regulatory framework for competition and price control has not changed since Guinea's last TPR. It is based on Law No. L/94/40/CTRN of 28 December 1994 and its implementing Decree No. D/94/119/PRG/SGG. Order No. 9579/MCIPME/SGG/2004 of 13 September 2004 set up a Standing Consultative Committee on Competition and Prices (CCPCP), which is very little operational. Within the National Directorate responsible for trade and competition, the National Competition and Prices Observatory (ONCP) collects information on the prices of strategic and essential goods with a view to informing the CCPCP and proposing measures to prevent the setting of excessive prices. It also oversees the application of the laws and regulations relating to the exercise of the profession of trader, free competition, and the use of legal units of measurement.0

3.2.  In periods of sharp price increases or shortages the State purchases foodstuffs, such as rice and sugar during the month of Ramadan, at the world price, and resells them at a subsidized price. Up until the entry into force of the CET, the State took responsibility for 10 percentage points of the rate for 25%-broken rice (12.5%). Since the entry into force of the CET, the State relies on wholesalers to import the products and market them at the agreed price. The State refunds them for the difference in charges after 90 days. The prices of these products are monitored by the services of the Ministry of Trade on a daily basis.

3.3.4.1  Competition policy

3.1.  In principle, the following anti-competitive behaviour is prohibited: any action, whether or not concerted, any agreement or understanding, express or tacit, or any combine having as its object or possible effect the prevention or limitation of market access or the free exercise of competition by other natural or legal persons or the obstruction of price setting through the free play of the law of supply and demand, by promoting artificial price rises or falls. Also prohibited is the abuse by an enterprise or group of enterprises of a dominant position on the domestic market or a substantial part thereof. Such acts are subject to a fine ranging from GNF 1,200,000 to GNF 6,000,000.

3.2.  The following are forbidden: any action or words tending to denigrate a competitor, disorganize or disturb the market or mislead the public, the use of loss-leaders, selling at a loss, corruption to win customers, refusal to sell a product or a service to a consumer including the withholding of a good without a legitimate reason, tied sales and services, and the imposition of retail prices. These acts are subject to a fine ranging from GNF 600,000 to GNF 1,200,000.

3.3.4.2  Price regulation

3.1.  In principle, Guinean legislation establishes free pricing. However, when exceptional circumstances result in the selling price of a strategic good or essential product becoming clearly unrelated to its cost price, it authorizes temporary price regulation measures, by order of the Minister responsible for trade and the adoption of an implementing decree, after consultation with the CCPCP.

3.2.  In 2004, the CCPCP drew up a list of essential and strategic goods.0 The main criterion adopted for the purpose of establishing the list of essential goods was that their consumption should be indispensable for satisfying vital needs. The following goods are listed: drinking water; rice; vegetable oil; fish; tomatoes; meat; wheat flour; bread; milk; and sugar. The prices of foodstuffs and other products are set on a case by case basis. Where strategic goods are concerned, the criterion adopted was their importance for achieving economic and social development objectives. The goods concerned are the following: petroleum products (petrol, diesel, kerosene and butane gas), the prices of which are set by approval; building materials (cement, reinforcing bars, sheet metal); pharmaceuticals; phytosanitary products; agricultural, fishery and livestock inputs; and school supplies.

3.3.  According to the authorities, only the prices of petroleum products and State-subsidized imported rice are under surveillance. However, the list of products has not been updated

0 Order No. 7075/PMCPME/SGG/2004 of 1 July 2004.0 Order No. 7058/MSIPME/SGG/2004 of 1 July 2004.

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since 2004. In general, the CCPCP and the ONCP hold meetings to decide on the price structure, after a phase of information gathering and subcommittee work. The information gathered relates, in particular, to:

invoices and other information provided by economic operators;

customs statistics and data provided by the Customs;

the results of investigations of the production units, local or foreign, at which the goods concerned are produced; and

data on the trends in the production of the main imports and their prices on Guinean markets.

3.4.  The subcommittee work consists of analysing the data collected, with a view to determining the margins applicable and the ceiling selling prices, in the light of certain economic factors (exchange rate, transport costs, etc.). The Ministry of Trade is responsible only for approval and for setting margins.

3.3.5  State trading, State-owned enterprises and privatization

3.1.  Guinea has submitted several notifications to the WTO concerning the absence of State trading enterprises within the meaning of Article XVII of the GATT.0 The last notification dates from 2003.

3.2.  At the end of October 2017, the State owned shares in 40 enterprises. In 18 of them its holding exceeded 50% of the capital (Table 3.9).0 The principal sectors concerned are mining, transport and transport support services, financial services, telecommunications, industry, agriculture, energy and trade. The State also has a presence in communication, fishing, tourism and housing. Seven enterprises hold monopoly positions in the mining, energy, transport and trade sectors.

Table 3.13 Enterprises with a State holding, 2017

No. Enterprise (acronym)

Lega

l sta

tus

Stat

e ho

ldin

g (%

)

Ministry responsible for technical supervision Lo

cati

on

Mon

opol

yWholly State-owned companies1 1 Office guinéen de publicité (OGP) WS 100 Communication Conakry2 2 Agence nouvelle d'aménagement des

infrastructures minières (ANAIM)WS 100 Mines Conakry Monopoly

3 3 Loterie nationale de Guinée (LONAGUI) WS 100 Presidency Conakry Monopoly4 4 Société guinéenne de palmiers à huile

(SOGUIPAH)WS 100 Agriculture Diécké

(Lola)5 5 Société d'électricité de Guinée (EDG) WS 100 Energy Conakry Monopoly6 6 Société des eaux de Guinée (SEG) WS 100 Energy Conakry Monopoly7 7 Société navale de Guinée (SNG) WS 100 Transport Conakry8 8 Société de télécommunication de Guinée

(SOTELGUI)WS 100 Telecoms Conakry

9 9 Société d'aquaculture de Koba (SAKOBA) WS 100 Agriculture Koba (Boffa)

10 10 Port autonome de Conakry (PAC) WS 100 Transport Conakry Monopoly11 11 Office guinéen des chargeurs (OGC) WS 100 Transport ConakrySemi-public companies12 1 Société sino-guinéenne pour la coopération en

développement agricole (SIGUICODA)SP 50 Agriculture Koba

(Boffa)13 2 Société de gestion et d'exploitation de

l'aéroport de Conakry (SOGEAC)SP 51 Transport Conakry Monopoly

14 3 Société mixte de dragage et de travaux SP 66,50 Transport Conakry

0 WTO documents G/STR/N/1/GIN/1 of 22 January 1996; G/STR/N/7/GIN, G/STR/N/8/GIN and G/STR/N/9/GIN of 24 March 2003.

0 Guinean legislation considers "wholly State-owned companies" (WS) to mean companies in which the State holds 100% of the capital and "semi-public companies" (SP) to mean those in which the State holds at least 50% of the capital. "Public limited companies with State participation" (LC) are companies in which the State holds a minority stake.

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No. Enterprise (acronym)

Lega

l sta

tus

Stat

e ho

ldin

g (%

)

Ministry responsible for technical supervision Lo

cati

on

Mon

opol

y

(SOMIDRAT)15 4 Guinéenne de la large bande (GUILAB) SP 52,00 Telecoms Conakry16 5 Société d'exploitation du backbone (SOGEB) SP 50,00 Telecoms Conakry17 6 Société guinéenne de construction (SGC) SP Housing Conakry18 7 Société minière de Niandan (SMN) SP 50 Mines MandianaLimited companies with State participation19 1 Banque internationale pour le commerce et

l'industrie de Guinée (BICIGUI)LC 7,50 BCRG Conakry

20 2 Banque populaire maroco-guinéenne (BPMG) LC 23,00 BCRG Conakry21 3 Banque sahélo-saharienne pour l'industrie et le

commerce (BSIC)LC 2,36 BCRG Conakry

22 4 Crédit rural de Guinée (CRG) LC 15 BCRG Conakry23 5 Union guinéenne d'assurance et de

réassurance (UGAR)LC 34,00 BCRG Conakry

24 6 La guinéenne à vie (LGV) LC 18,33 BCRG Conakry25 7 Société guinéenne de lubrifiants et

d'emballages (SOGUILUBE)LC 30 Trade Conakry Monopoly

26 8 Société guinéenne des pétroles (SGP) LC 7 Trade Conakry27 9 Ciment de Guinée (CDG) LC 39,11 Industry Conakry28 10 Aredor First Mining Company LMD (AREDOR

FCMC)LC 15 Mines Kérouané

29 11 Compagnie des bauxites de Guinée (CBG) LC 49 Mines Boké30 12 Société aurifère de Guinée (SAG) LC 15 Mines Siguiri31 13 Société d'exploitation des gisements de Kinéro

(SEMAFO GUINEE SA)LC 15 Mines Kouroussa

32 14 Société de distribution des chaînes de télévision (SODITEV)

LC 1,2 Telecoms Conakry

33 15 Société guinéenne d'hôtellerie et d'investissement (SGHI)

LC 45 Tourism Conakry

34 16 Société de manutention de carburant aviation de Guinée (SOMCAG)

LC 34 Transport Conakry

35 17 Société arabe-libyo-guinéenne pour la promotion agricole et agro-industrie (SALGUIDA)

LC 35 Industry Conakry

36 18 Société des bauxites de Dabola/Tougué (SBDT) LC 49 Mines Conakry37 19 Air Guinée International (AGI) LC 15 Transport Conakry38 21 Société guinéenne de gestion agro-industrielle

(SOGGAI)LC 15 Industry Conakry

39 22 Compagnie industrielle de pêche et de commerce (CIPECO)

LC 15 Fisheries Conakry

40 23 Société minière de Boké (SMB) LC 15 Mines Conakry

Source: Information provided by the Guinean authorities.

3.3.  The Privatization Unit at the Ministry responsible for finance administers the State enterprise reform process in collaboration with the National Directorate responsible for industrial development. Law No. L/2001/018/AN of 28 October 2001 on the reform of public enterprises and disengagement by the State sets the rules on the privatization of State enterprises. Any State disengagement process is subject to the prior authorization of the President of the Republic. This authorization is granted by decree adopted in the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister responsible for privatizations. The end of each disengagement procedure is confirmed in the same way.

3.4.  In general, the form of privatization adopted in Guinea is the total or partial transfer of the State's share of the capital of the State enterprise. However, without being limitative, the law also provides for the following forms: concession, sub-contracting, management contract and leasing (affermage). Privatizations are generally implemented by invitation to tender. An Inter-Ministerial Commission (Ministry of Finance and others) has been set up to manage the process. The technical, financial and social aspects are taken into consideration. An independent consulting firm is recruited by the Privatization Unit and the Minister responsible for privatizations to prepare the tender documents. It is the Ministry of Industry, responsible for technical analysis, and the Ministry of the Budget (Customs) that make the final choice of purchaser.

3.5.  According to the authorities, the bid of the potential purchaser identified as a result of the invitation to tender is assessed by the Directorate responsible for industry before being transmitted

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to the Privatization Unit. In the event of a favourable opinion, a contract document is drawn up and submitted for negotiation between the takeover candidate and the Guinean State. The final agreement must be validated by the supervisory Ministry for the State enterprise being privatized and the Ministry responsible for privatizations.

3.6.  Privatization may proceed by way of derogation when a takeover candidate addresses a request to the supervisory Ministry for the State enterprise in question. The latter transmits the request to the Minister responsible for privatizations, which asks the Privatization Unit to propose a takeover price. However, according to the authorities, there have been no such privatizations.

3.7.  In 2012, reforms were introduced to strengthen surveillance. A new Law No. L/2016/075/AN of 30 December 2016 on the financial governance of public companies and establishments in Guinea contains new provisions on relations with the State, indebtedness procedures, and the obligation to transmit information useful for monitoring activities and to publish budgets and accounts. The text implementing this law is in process of being drawn up. Public companies and establishments, called public bodies in the new law, are governed by OHADA Treaty commercial company law and the specific rules relating to them.

3.8.  According to Article 2 of the new law, public bodies may be:

Public administrative establishments (EPA), when their activities are mainly administrative and the majority of their resources are derived from the State budget.

Public industrial and commercial establishments (EPIC), when their main activity is industrial and/or commercial in nature and the majority of their resources are derived from the sale of goods and services. EPICs managed by the State are determined by decree on the proposal of the Ministry of Finance after consultation of the Council of Ministers.

Public limited companies (SA) when their main activity is industrial and commercial in nature and the majority of their resources are derived from the sale of goods and services.

3.9.  The new law of 2016 defines the conditions of establishment of public bodies and the modalities of their governance and supervision. Public companies, semi-public companies and administrative public establishments (EPA) are created by decree on the joint proposal of the Minister of Finance and the supervisory Minister. Public bodies have a board which determines their policies and oversees their implementation. The medium-term strategic policies of all the EPAs and public companies are set out in a programme contract covering a period of three to five years. The budgets, forecasts and accounts of the public bodies are published on the websites of their supervisory ministries.

3.10.  The new law defines the financial relations between public bodies and the State. The financial supervisors of the EPAs are the Ministry of the Budget and the Ministry of Finance. Pursuant to Article 8 of the Organic Law on finance laws, no levy, duty or tax may be directly charged to a public body,0 and the conditions and limits of its use of debt are also defined. In conformity with this Organic Law and its implementing texts, an EPA may not borrow or issue debt. All the funds of an EPA are deposited and managed within a single account opened in the name of the Public Treasury among the accounts of the BCRG. Public and semi-public companies may manage their cash in accounts opened in any private bank registered in Guinea. All financing operations with a maturity of more than 12 months must receive the prior authorization of the National Public Debt Committee following a report by the Minister of Finance.

3.11.  The new law provides for strategic management, including new contracts with the National Electricity Company (SNE) and the Guinea Water Company (SEG). The management contract with the SNE comprises a performance contract with an improvement in commercial services, new meters, an extensive communication campaign and a new dam. The new management contract with the SEG is in the drafting stage. The level of State participation provided for in the Mining Code is 15%, within the context of exploitation (Section 4.2.1.2).

0 Law No. L/2012/012/CNT of 6 August 2012 establishing the Organic Law on finance laws.

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3.12.  In accordance with three decrees dating from 2011, 19 State enterprises in the industrial sector have been identified for privatization.0 In application of these decrees and pursuant to Law No. L/2001/018/AN, the assets of the following four industrial units have been transferred to private operators:

The Sincéry de DABOLA oil mill, transferred back to a French company called Copéol.

The Sanoyah textile complex, divided into three lots, with two (the city and the factory extension zone) transferred back to a Guinean holding company called HOLDIPI. The third lot was transferred back to the company HYDROMIN SA, which will assemble agricultural machinery and buses.

The Kankan fruit juice factory (UJFK), transferred back to the Guinea Fruit Corporation.

The plastic products factory (SOGUIPLAST), transferred back to Société TAFAGUI.

3.13.  In 2017, the privatization strategy for the 15 remaining industrial units was in process of finalization. It provides for a three-year asset transfer programme. In accordance with this strategy, the following 14 factories will be transferred back to the private sector:

the Coton Kankan ginning mill; the ENTA factory – matches; the ENTA factory – cigarettes; the SOGUIREP retreading plant; SIAG Kassa; the Mamou agricultural equipment factory (USOA); the KASSA oil mill; the Kankan brickworks; the Mamou cannery; the Sérédou quinine plant; the N'Zérékoré sawmill and plywood factory; the Sérédou sawmill (Macenta); the Sérédou panel factory (Macenta); and the Chemicals Company (SOPROCHIM).

3.3.6  Government procurement

3.1.  Since Guinea's last TPR the regulatory framework for the administration of government procurement has undergone significant changes. In 2012, new legislation was adopted to regulate the government procurement system.0 Several texts relating to its implementation were also adopted during the review period.0

3.2.  The Code applies to procurement by public-law corporations and certain private-law corporations acting for the account of public-law corporations or benefiting from their financial support with a view to the execution of works, the supply of goods, or the provision of services, including intellectual services. Contracts awarded under financing agreements or treaties are subject to the provisions of the legislation in force in Guinea, insofar as they are not contrary to the provisions of those agreements and treaties.

0 Decrees Nos. 077/PRG/SGG of 10 March 2011, D/2011/158/PRG/SGG of 23 May 2011 and D/2011/176/PRG/SGG of 6 June 2011.

0 Law No. L/2012/020/CNT of 3 December 2012 establishing the rules governing the awarding, monitoring and regulation of government contracts and public service concessions.

0 Decrees Nos. D/2012/128/PRG/SGG of 3 December 2012 establishing the Government Procurement and Public Service Concessions Code; D/2014/165/PRG/SGG concerning the missions, functions, organization and operation of the National Government Procurement Directorate; D/2015/066/PRG/SGG concerning the organization and operation of the Government Procurement Regulatory Authority; D/2014/168/PRG/SGG concerning general provisions governing the thresholds for the awarding, monitoring and regulation of government contracts; and D/2014/169/PRG/SGG on the creation, functions, organization and operation of the contracting authorities' government contract awarding and monitoring bodies. Orders Nos. A/2016/6251/MEF/SGG raising the a priori- and post-monitoring thresholds of the procedures for awarding government contracts and public service concessions; and A/2015/066/MEF/SWGG enforcing the use of the standard tender documents and model reports on the assessment of bids stemming from the reform of government procurement.

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3.3.  The preparation of the documents for awarding government contracts is the responsibility of the contracting authorities benefiting from the purchase, in the event the "person responsible for government procurement" (PRMP), assisted by a Government Contract Award Commission, where appropriate. The PRMP is appointed by decision of the Minister responsible for finance and, among other things, draws up the annual procurement plans, which must receive a notice of no objection. Once this has been obtained, the entire procurement procedure is conducted by the National Government Procurement Directorate (DNMP), in collaboration with the PRMP.

3.4.  The Administration and Control of Major Projects and Public Procurement (ACGPMP) agency, under the direct authority of the President of the Republic, is responsible for approving annual procurement plans and overseeing the award and execution procedures. Expenditure in excess of GNF 5 billion is subject to prior ACGPMP control and lesser amounts to post-monitoring.

3.5.  The regulatory functions are assigned to the Government Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARMP), which, in principle, is an independent administrative body, endowed with legal personality and administrative and financial management autonomy. Thus, it concerns itself, among other things, with settling disputes relating to the procedures for awarding government contracts and public service concessions; carrying out independent and regular audits of the procedures for the award and performance of government contracts; as well as advising the Government on framing government procurement policy and developing capacity-building strategies.

3.6.  Under the Code, contracts may be awarded either by invitation to tender or direct negotiation. Open invitations to tender are supposed to be the rule. In practice, however, the authorities regularly resort to direct negotiation (subject to special authorization from the Minister responsible for finance) as the main government procurement method. In principle, recourse to direct negotiation should be exceptional, be justified in advance by the contracting authority, and have received the reasoned opinion of the ACGPMP and special authorization from the Minister responsible for finance. The ACGPMP and the DNMP should ensure that, in each budget year, the cumulative amount of directly negotiated contracts awarded by each contracting authority does not exceed 10% of the total value of government procurement. If a contracting authority were to request the Minister responsible for finance for authorization to negotiate a contract directly and the 10% threshold were to be crossed, other than in the event of the authorization being refused, the ARMP would have to be brought in to validate the procedure. Recourse to direct negotiation is subject to limitations relating, among other things, to the expertise of the provider, intellectual property rights issues, and military secrecy. During the review period, government procurement (in value terms) was dominated by the direct negotiation method, with a peak of more than 92% of government procurement in 2016. However, in terms of numbers, the tender procedure still came first (Table 3.10).

3.7.  The contracting authority may, as a matter of exception, use one of the alternative tender procedures, under the conditions specified in the legislation. Thus, the invitation to tender may be open, restricted, involve a competition, take place in two stages or be preceded by a pre-qualification stage.

3.8.  The notice of call for tender must necessarily be published in the Government Procurement Journal and in at least three national and/or international publications, as well as on websites. The contracting authority must inform every rejected bidder, in writing, of the reasons for the rejection of his bid.

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Table 3.14 Government procurement statistics, 2011-2016(GNF)Year Tender Direct

negotiationRestricted consultation Total

2011 Number of contracts 189 64 52 305Amount (GNF billion) 1,361 3,592 4,375 9,328

2012 Number of contracts 422 53 64 539Amount (GNF billion) 7,027 2,457 268 9,753

2013 Number of contracts 550 29 69 649Amount (GNF billion) 5,509 1,603 2,000 9,114

2014 Number of contracts 498 49 42 589Amount (GNF billion) 5,890 6,302 160 12,353

2015 Number of contracts 322 58 74 454Amount (GNF billion) 3,959 156 1,080 6,609

2016 Number of contracts 133 39 15 187Amount (GNF billion) 1,455 19,844 83 21,384

Source: Guinean authorities.3.9.  In principle, a national preference (not exceeding 7% of the amount of the bid for works or 10% for supplies and services) may be granted to domestic enterprises fulfilling the criteria defined by the legislation. The margin must be quantified in the tender documents in the form of a percentage of the amount of the bid. The authorities have pointed out that, in actual fact, the national preference system was not applied during the review period.

3.3.7  Intellectual property rights

3.1.  Guinea is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) created by the Bangui Agreement (1977), which was revised in 1999. It is also party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and to the Convention on Biological Diversity of 5 January 1992 and its Protocol of 29 October 2010.

3.2.  The Guinean services responsible for relations with WIPO and the OAPI are: the National Industrial Property Service (SPI), the national liaison body (with the OAPI), within the Ministry responsible for industry; and the Guinean Copyright Office (BGDA) in the Ministry responsible for culture.

3.3.  Guinea has not yet notified the WTO of its legislation on intellectual property rights. It has not ratified the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement. Nor has it designated a contact point under Article 69 of the TRIPS Agreement.

3.4.  The annual statistics on applications for the registration of industrial property rights indicate the predominance of applications for registering trademarks. A geographical indication registered in 2014 relates to "Ziama coffee" (Section 4.1.3.2) (Table 3.11).

Table 3.15 Statistics on industrial property rights, 2011-20172011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Patents 1 2 2 0 2 1 2Trademarks 52 92 94 122 125 145 160Industrial designs 8 10 25 60 71 36 39Trade names 5 8 1 2 4 6 4Geographical indications 0 0 0 1 0 0 0Source: National Industrial Property Service.

3.5.  Law No. 043/APN/CP of 9 August 1980 continues to govern copyright in Guinea.0 In general, where literary and artistic property is concerned, the texts applicable in Guinea are:

Law No. 043 of 9 August 1980 on the protection of literary and artistic works of the Republic of Guinea;

Decree No. 92/002/PRG/SGG 91 on the establishment and mode of operation of the BGDA;

0 UNESCO (2009).

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Order No. 14956/MEF/85 of 20 December 1985 instituting regulations on the tariffication of copyright fees derived from the use of literary, scientific and artistic works.

3.6.  The most common infringements of intellectual property rights (IPRs) recorded in Guinea are counterfeiting, fraudulent imitation and forgery. They relate to trademarks, copyright and related rights and, in particular, affect books; textiles; cosmetic and food products; spare parts; medicines; video and audio cassettes; mobile phones; pesticides and insecticides. Most of these articles are imported. The weakness of the sanctions, the precariousness and porosity of the borders and the low prices of the counterfeit products appear to be the main reasons for the recurrence of IPR infringements.

3.7.  The sanctions against infringements of IPRs are those stipulated in the Bangui Agreement. Their application remains very limited, indeed non-existent, including at the borders. In clear cases of seizure, counterfeiting is sanctioned by the anti-fraud services and the courts. Seizures are also made by the Customs, which has incorporated intellectual property in its recently revised Code.

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4  TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR

4.1  Agriculture, forestry and fishing

4.1.1  Overview

4.1.  Guinea has many assets which make it an ideal place to invest in agriculture, but which are still not exploited to their full potential. In addition to its long Atlantic coastline and its relative proximity to markets in industrialized countries, the country has a climate ranging from tropical to subtropical and including savannah, with a varied relief. Having an estimated water potential of 27,000 m3 per inhabitant per year, and average annual rainfall of over 1,300 mm, Guinea is classed as one of the most water-rich countries in the world. It has 7.5 million hectares of arable land for a population numbering around 13 million. Only 15% of this area is cultivated each year.

4.2.  In 2015, food insecurity affected some 1.9 million people (17.6% of the population), including 59,000 who suffered from severe food insecurity.0 Since then, however, food shortages seem to have become less frequent.0 Indeed, the agriculture sector, whose share in the Guinean economy had substantially diminished, has returned to growth under the impetus of the incentive measures put in place by the Government and described below. Nevertheless, this share is still low (Section 1.3) and has not yet recovered to the level of the early 1960s, when Guinea was one of the world's leading exporters of bananas and pineapples, and agriculture not only met all the country's food needs but also generated 60% of its export earnings, notably through the export of coffee and fruit.

4.3.  Rice is the main food crop (Table 4.1), but a quarter of domestic rice consumption depends on imports. Fruit (bananas, pineapples and mangoes) as well as maize, groundnuts, cashew nuts and oil palms are grown in Basse Guinée (Lower Guinea); Haute Guinée (Upper Guinea) grows cotton, rice, maize, groundnuts, shea and cashew nuts, and produces natural rubber and flower oils. Oil palms, tea, quinine, rice and fish farming are also found in Guineé forestière (Forested Guinea). Moyenne Guinée (Middle Guinea) produces potatoes, fonio and citrus fruit. Guinea also possesses substantial ligneous forestry resources, which are at risk from uncontrolled exploitation. Exports of ligneous forestry products amounted to 9,000 tonnes of wood in the rough in 2016.

4.4.  Agricultural exports, which are centred on a few products, have also reacted well to the reforms: they appear to have risen significantly during the period, to over US$160 million in 2016 (Chart 4.1). The main reform consisted in a Support Programme for export crops, such as coffee, cashew nuts and cocoa, which generate income for farmers over and above their food production. New improved varieties have been made available to producers, as well as inputs and tools for mechanization.

4.5.  Imports of agri-food products are still on the increase (Chart 4.2). A fall in imports of flour and the corresponding rise in imports of wheat probably reflect the establishment in 2014, alongside the Grands Moulins de Guinée (GMG) milling company, of Moulins d'Afrique, a new joint venture between Guinean and Moroccan private enterprises, for the processing of imported wheat to produce fortified flour and animal feed.

0 In Guinea, the World Food Programme provides school meals to 277,800 children in 1,600 primary schools thanks to a voluntary contribution from Japan, USAID and the Government of Guinea. Viewed at: http://fr.wfp.org/histoires/guinee-les-agricultrices-produisent-plus. See also: World Food Programme, Évaluation de la sécurité alimentaire en situation d'urgence - Guinée Conakry, July 2015. Viewed at: https://www.wfp.org/content/guinee-conakry-evaluation-securite-alimentaire-situation-urgence-july-2015.

0 Online information viewed at: https://reliefweb.int/report/guinea/guin-e-perspectives-sur-la-s-curit-alimentaire-f-vrier-2017-septembre-2017

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Table 4.16 Food crops, 2012-2017(Thousands of tonnes, unless otherwise indicated)Crop Variables 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017Rice Area 1,650 1,671 1,691 1,706 1,739

Yielda 1.12 1.15 1.17 1.20 1.25Outputb 1,852 1,913 1,971 2,047 2,174

Maize Area 513 538 567 581 589Yielda 1.25 1.25 1.23 1.25 1.30Outputb 641 672 698 727 765

Fonio Area 558 586 602 602 606Yielda 0.77 0.77 0.79 0.79 0.80Outputb 429 451 473 476 478

Groundnuts Area 477 484 535 612 670Yielda 0.75 0.75 0.79 0.80 0.90Output 358 363 422 490 569

Cassava Area 148 155 180 190 202Yielda 7.85 7.85 7.91 7.91 7.95Output 1,164 1,219 1,427 1,507 1,607

a Tonne/hectare.b Paddy.Source: National Agency for Agricultural and Food Statistics of Guinea.

Chart 4.6 Main agricultural exports, 2009-2016(US$ million)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Coffee (HS 0901)Cashew nuts (HS 0801)Coffee beans, whole or broken (HS 1801)Total agriculture

Note: Agricultural products group based on the WTO definition.Source: WTO Secretariat calculations, based on data obtained from Comtrade, mirror statistics, United

Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).

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Chart 4.7 Main agricultural imports, 2012-2016(Thousands of tonnes)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Rice Flour Onions Sugar Palm oil

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Source: Information provided by the authorities.

4.1.2  Agricultural policy

4.1.  As at end September 2016, the WTO Committee on Agriculture had not received any notification from Guinea since 1995. According to the authorities, the new agricultural policy is founded on the observation that Guinean farmers are engaged essentially in subsistence farming since they lack improved seeds, fertilizer and the necessary equipment and materials for modern and hence more intensive farming.

4.2.  Since 2012, therefore, as part of its National Policy for Agriculture Development: Vision for 2015, the Government has committed to implementing the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) launched by ECOWAS. In June 2017, the World Bank granted Guinea additional funding of US$23 million to facilitate this implementation. The aim of the WAAPP is to sustainably improve agricultural productivity and ensure food security for the population.0 The WAAPP has served, inter alia, to provide improved seeds. It envisages a significant increase in budgetary appropriations for agriculture. These ranged from 1.7% of the State budget (in 2005 and 2009) to a maximum of 5% (in 2007). Under the Finance Law of 2017, the proportion of State spending allocated to agriculture is scheduled to fall from 3.5% of the total in 2016 to 2.8% in 2017.

4.3.  A National Agricultural Investment Plan (PNIA) for 2010-2015 was instituted to accompany the ECOWAS agricultural policy and the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP/NEPAD). The PNIA was then reshaped in order to incorporate the goal of food security, thus becoming the National Agricultural Investment and Food Security Programme (PNIASA), for the period 2013-2017, and subsequently 2018-2025. Promoting export crops remains one of the objectives under the PNIASA, based on several measures, primarily:

strengthening the incentive framework and price incentives for producers;

technical assistance (promoting irrigation, supporting the acquisition and distribution of agricultural inputs and equipment);

professionalization and organization of producers; and

0 Mediaguinee. Viewed at: http://mediaguinee.org/2017/06/03/ministere-de-lagriculture%20lancement-officiel-du-financement-additionnel-ppaaowaapp.

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capacity building in access to agricultural markets, through the construction or strengthening of transport, packaging and storage infrastructure and facilities; support for quality and productivity; and the organization and pre-financing of agricultural exports.

4.4.  The National Directorate of Agriculture (DNA) in the Ministry of Agriculture (MA) is responsible for supervising the sector, but would like assistance to equip itself with a new website on which to post laws and other legislative and regulatory texts. The main agricultural research and outreach institutions include the National Rural Promotion and Agricultural Advisory Agency (ANPROCA) and the Central Institute for Agricultural Research (IRAG).0 The National Agency for Agricultural and Food Statistics tracks statistical data. The National Directorate of Water Resources of the National Soils Service (SENASOL) handles land zoning and soil analysis.

4.5.  Guinea's National Chamber of Agriculture is the leading professional association for farmers, livestock breeders, fishermen and foresters. It provides support for both individual and collective initiatives in rural areas. To facilitate farmers' access to inputs (seed, fertilizer, herbicides, insecticides, equipment and machinery), in 2011 the Chamber of Agriculture, in partnership with the DNA, was assigned the task of selling inputs to farmers at a subsidized price. The amount of the subsidy is GNF 250 billion per year (around US$28 million). To finance this activity carried out by the Chamber, the customs authority levies supplementary taxes (CA) of 0.25% of the c.i.f.  value of all imported goods and 0.25% of the f.o.b. value of agricultural exports (Sections 3.1.4 and 3.2.2).0 These levies are unlikely to encourage recourse to formal export channels. Moreover, the Chamber has stated in the context of this report that it has no longer been receiving these funds since 2010.

4.6.  Taxes on imports of agri-food products at the border increased following adoption of the ECOWAS common external tariff (CET). The average entry duty for agricultural products (ISIC  definition) stands at 15.5% (Section 3.1), as against 14.3% in 2011. The Ministry of Agriculture monitors import volumes and values of the principal foodstuffs, and their prices, through the Customs' ASYCUDA system (Section 3.1). These checks include the major importers' stock levels, and the prices charged by retailers.

4.7.  In theory, VAT applies to both domestic and imported products, in accordance with the principle of national treatment. Yet it is difficult, if not impossible, to levy VAT on local agricultural products because local production is fragmented and is virtually all in the informal sector. In practice, therefore, VAT constitutes a form of protection for production in the informal sector against competition from imported goods and those in the formal sector. Staple food products are exempt from VAT, as well as products subject to zero customs duty, such as seeds.

4.8.  In 2008, a law was promulgated granting legal status to farmers' organizations (OPs). The National Confederation of Farmers' Organizations of Guinea (CNOP-G) is responsible for purchases and the distribution of inputs, under the Emergency Agricultural Productivity Support Programme, which has since 2009 enabled the distribution of ploughs, tractors, motor pumps, etc., under the supervision of the OPs. These centralizing measures have served to give farmers greater independence and hence increase agricultural output.

4.9.  Agricultural income is subject to a 15% tax on agricultural profits (IBA). The IBA is not applied to new farms for a period of five years provided that a minimum investment of GNF 10 million (around €1,000) has been made. Agricultural producers may choose between this tax on actual profit and a flat-rate payment. Under the new Investment Code of 2016 (Section 2.3), investors are subject to the IBA after the fifth year, and to the ordinary regime for other taxes (payroll tax, business tax, etc.).

4.10.  One of the current objectives is connecting production areas. In this regard, the opening of a new road between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau could help to boost agricultural trade.

4.11.  Inputs are imported by the private sector, by the State and under cooperative arrangements. There is still no legislation on the import, distribution and control of fertilizer. Regulations were being drafted in 2017 to lay down the terms for the approval of importers and distributors of

0 Online information viewed at: https://www.ird.fr/les-partenariats/principaux-partenaires-scientifiques/afrique-de-l-ouest-et-centrale/mali/irag .

0 Joint Order No. 4557/MAF/MAE/MPA/SGG of 17 October 2000 on the establishment of supplementary taxes to fund the National Chamber of Agriculture of Guinea.

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fertilizer, together with standards for its storage, packaging, transport, distribution and control. Fertilizer is currently imported both by the private sector and by the State through the DNA. Under cooperation arrangements, the Moroccan Phosphates Board (OCP) supplied the DNA with 100,000 tonnes of fertilizer in 2016/2017, i.e. around three years' consumption, 20% of which in grant form. A Malian private plant TOGUNA has also been set up for the production of fertilizer. The Government subsidizes the purchase price to the tune of 50% of its cost for users, at prices set by joint order by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade.

4.12.  Under the new ECOWAS CET, most of the inputs and equipment used for animal, plant and fishery production (fertilizer, phytosanitary products, seed, plant and genetic materials, wrapping and packaging material, and fishing gear) continue to enjoy exemption from all import duties and taxes, including VAT. This is not the case for all agricultural tools, such as axes, forks, spades, clippers, tyres for agricultural machinery, watering equipment and sprayers.0

4.13.  The Guinean Rural Credit Bank (CRG) became a microfinance corporation, with share capital of GNF 8 billion (around US$900,000), and continues to grant agricultural loans of between GNF 100,000 and GNF 10 million (around US$1,100). The CRG's capital comes from the State, the French Development Agency (AFD), the Institute for Research and Application of Development Methods (IRAM) and the International Development and Investment Company. Its network has grown since 2011 from 85 to 126 local branches, spread over nine regions.

4.14.  According to the authorities, Guinea does not subsidize its agricultural exports. On the contrary, an increasing number of levies, including the 0.25% CA mentioned above or the new levy of US$13 per tonne on cashew, coffee and cocoa exports, is liable to reduce their competitiveness on export markets.

4.15.  Land planning and security of land tenure are a prerequisite for increasing rural income, since the absence of landownership titles that can be used as collateral for loans discourages investments in agricultural production. Indeed, it is still not possible to buy land in Guinea; over two thirds of the land belongs to the State and is inalienable (Section 2.4), and customary law continues to prevail over substantive law. Agricultural land is managed by village communities, tribal groups and other traditional landowners.

4.16.  There is nothing in the Land and State Property Code of 1992 on the applicable rural land planning rules for improving agricultural, forestry and livestock production, in particular as regards protection and use of protected areas, listed forests and agricultural, pastoral farming and soil restoration areas. To fill this void, a Rural Land Policy Document (DPFMR) had been drawn up in April 2001. There being no implementing texts for each sector, the Government undertook a study on rural land tenure, organized a land tenure consultation in 2012, and formulated a land tenure policy as an integral part of the Agriculture Policy Law that was being finalized at the beginning of 2018.

4.17.  Until such time as it has the mechanisms stemming from these reforms at its disposal, the Government is granting domestic or foreign private investors wishing to operate in the agricultural sector leases or land titles according to the magnitude of the investment and for a specified period, delimiting the zones and land areas concerned.

4.1.3  Trade policy by principal category of agricultural products

4.1.3.1  Rice

4.1.  Guinea is one of West Africa's major rice-growing regions, with an annual production of around 2 million tonnes. The Government's target, reiterated in July 2017, is self-sufficiency in rice by 2018.0 To this end, farmers are provided with fertilizer at half price as well as herbicides.

4.2.  There are some irrigated rice projects, but rice cultivation is mostly rainfed. Farmers sell the portion of their production which they do not consume themselves on local markets or to neighbouring countries. The country apparently exports some 150,000 tonnes of rice each year to neighbouring countries such as Guinea-Bissau or The Gambia. It would seem that high-quality rice

0 See, inter alia, HS Code 4011.61.0000, 8208.40.0000 and 8424.81.2000 of the ECOWAS CET.0 Online information viewed at: http://www.visionguinee.info/2017/07/10/alpha-conde-nous-ne-voulons-

plus-importer-du-riz/ .

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is exported, while imports are of low-priced broken rice. Imports are following an upward trend (Chart 4.3).

Chart 4.8 Rice imports, 2012-2016Millions of tonnes

269.4

495.9

648.7

516.1554.9

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016Source: Information provided by the authorities.

4.3.  There are eight main importers operating in the rice market in Guinea at present, and the market appears to be competitive. Import duty currently runs at 20% on rice in bags weighing 5 kg or less and 10% on bags weighing over 5 kg and on broken rice. Since 2012, the sale price of rice is no longer set or subsidized by the Directorate of Internal Trade within the Ministry of Trade.

4.4.  Böra Maalé Fanyi mangrove rice is a collective trademark branded by the Böra Maalé OP network, whose producers have been accompanied for several years by the GRET organization under several projects in support of the rice sector.0 This rice is produced and processed according to strict specifications that yield a level of quality highly appreciated by consumers.

4.1.3.2  Coffee, cocoa, cashew

4.1.  Exports of coffee, which is one of Guinea's oldest export subsectors, made a strong recovery during the period 2011-2016. Plantations are concentrated in the Guinée forestière region. Hulling and exports are handled by private companies. Guinean coffee is mainly exported in uncalibrated form ("unsorted"), which fetches around 20% below the world price.

4.2.  Under new regulations applied to coffee as well as to cocoa and cashew0, the market comprises collectors, who buy the product from producers in a given district or subprefecture to sell on to the buyer with which they are affiliated, and transporters. Floor prices for the crop year 2016-2017 are set as follows: coffee - GNF 9,000/kg (around US$1); cocoa - GNF 18,000/kg; and cashew - GNF 5,000/kg. The transporter's card issued to approved coffee, cocoa and cashew transporters is valid for one marketing season, reserved for Guinean citizens, and non-transferable.

4.3.  The buyer purchases and stores the product in a prefecture for delivery to an exporter. To obtain their respective trader's cards, which are valid for a given area and reserved for Guinean citizens, collectors and buyers have to submit an application comprising: registration in the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register (RCCM); registration with the federation of buyers and collectors for the respective product; certificate of accreditation issued by an exporter which is a member of the exporters' federation for the respective product.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.gret.org/les-pays/afrique-ocean-indien/guinee-2.0 Order No. A/6418/MC/SGG/16 laying down the conditions for organizing the 2016-2017 marketing

season for Guinean agricultural products.

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4.4.  Any operator that wishes to export coffee, cocoa or cashew must submit a file containing: handwritten application; copy of the trader's card (Section 3.1); copy of the registration in the RCCM; the tax registration number (NIF) (Section 3.1.1); the certificate of registration with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts of Guinea; a written undertaking to repatriate, through the Guinean banking system, foreign exchange earnings derived from sale of the exported product; registration number with the Federation of Coffee, Cocoa and Cashew Exporters. Since 2017, the coffee, cocoa and cashew exporter's card has been issued by the Guinean Export Promotion Agency (AGUIPEX) (Section 3.2); a total of 44 cards were issued or renewed in 2017.

4.5.  Any batch of coffee, cocoa and cashew for export has to be accompanied by the following documents at Customs: current valid exporter's card; customs declaration; descriptive export declaration; trade invoice showing the value of the product to be exported; quality certificate issued by the ONCQ (Section 3.3.2) or another approved company; certificate of origin and phytosanitary and fumigation certificate, both issued by AGUIPEX; proof of payment of the fee to the Coffee, Cocoa, Cashew Promotion Fund (US$13 per tonne) issued by AGUIPEX, which is financed by that fund; and the undertaking to repatriate foreign currency revenues. Coffee is exported mainly to Morocco and to the European Union. New markets since 2011 include Algeria, Egypt, Senegal and The Gambia.

4.6.  Coffee producers in Mont Ziama cultivate an area of 2,000 hectares. In 2014, Mont Ziama coffee obtained a geographical indication under the OAPI's programme to support the introduction of geographical indications (PAMPIG).0 It also obtained several fair trade certifications in 2016 and 2017.

4.1.3.3  Other crops

4.1.  The other main crops are cassava, maize, fonio and groundnut. All have seen increases in planted area and output, and some growth in yield (Table 4.1). State support for production of these crops is minimal, apart from the supply of inputs (as mentioned above), and trade in these products appears to be free, for both imports and exports. On the other hand, the potato subsector (52,729 tonnes produced in 2016-2017, up from 45,000 tonnes in 2009-2010) has been identified as needing to be promoted in order to boost growth in regional exports. A project has been implemented since 1992 by the Fouta Djallon Farmers' Federation (FPFD), with the collaboration of France, the European Union and the Common Fund for Commodities, to promote and organize the potato subsector specifically for export to regional markets.0 A "Belle de Guinée" trademark and its logo have been registered with the OAPI (Section 3.3). Exports of potatoes or seed potatoes go to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and Senegal. Potato imports are reportedly still subject to seasonal bans.

4.2.  Guinea does not produce wheat, but consumes large quantities of flour, some of which is produced locally and some imported subject to customs duty of 44.71% according to the authorities (compared to 32.75% for wheat). Only fortified flour can be imported into Guinea.0 There appear to be reference prices for imports (US$320 per tonne of fortified flour).0 These measures are designed to protect local mills.

4.3.  A "Project to develop the cotton subsector in Guinea" was adopted in May 2011. It creates a private company whose shares will be held mostly by the State and by the Géocoton company. The Géocoton Holding company, set up in December 2007 (51% owned by the group Advens and 49% by CMA-CGM), has reportedly announced an appropriation of €5 million to revive the subsector. Géocoton SA would be responsible for management and technical support. This project has led to the establishment of a cotton ginning plant, located in the prefecture of Kankan in Haute Guinée. Production rose from 45,000 to 120,000 tonnes of cotton lint between 2011-2012 and 2016-2017, with annual exports of 10,000 tonnes of cotton lint, chiefly to Senegal. The Géocoton plant supplies inputs on credit to 17,000 cotton farmers, who are supervised by staff from the plant.

4.4.  In 1987, the Government set up the Guinean Oil Palm and Rubber Tree Company (SOGUIPAH), which cultivates 22,000 hectares of plantations, including 5,500 hectares of rubber plantations. It markets and exports the palm oil and rubber it produces and also sets the price to producers. SOGUIPAH has an oil factory, a soap works and a plant to process coagulum. It is one of the largest

0 Online information from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), viewed at: http://www.cta.int/en/Media/Files/Guinee-cafe-Ziama_Haba3.

0 Online information viewed at: http://paysansfouta.org/?-Nos-produits-.0 Joint Order No. A/2006/4600 of 6 September on fortification of flour.0 Online information viewed at: http://www.sabarifm.com/node/170.

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firms in Guinea, with over 3,500 employees. The oil produced is exempt from VAT and, in principle, from customs duties for regional trade (Section 3.1.2).

4.5.  By virtue of its favourable climatic and geographical features, Guinea has remarkable potential for developing horticulture, if storage and transport infrastructure is built and effective marketing support provided. At the moment, fruit and vegetables are mostly produced on a small scale on family farms. Guinea has potential for manufacturing natural fruit juice. High customs duties (20%), on top of a 30% surcharge, result in strong protection of local production vis-à-vis imports.

4.6.  A quinine plant was set up in 1954 in the Macenta prefecture, covering an area of 250 hectares of cinchona plantations. In the past, it employed as many as 3,000 agricultural labourers. The cinchona was used to manufacture quinine and a medicine against malaria. The quinine plant having been abandoned by its owners, a presidential decree of 24 May 2011 ruled that it be taken over by the State.

4.1.3.4  Livestock and animal products

4.1.  The Ministry of Livestock is in charge of government policy and regulation in this sector. It has in particular the task of implementing the Livestock and Animal Products Code, which has been notified to the WTO0, and the six related decrees. Since 2004, following the implementation of the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Guinea has seen a strong increase in livestock numbers (Chart 4.4). This policy has consisted in subsidized provision of treatments (vaccination, spraying of animals) and other forms of support for breeders of all types of animals.

Chart 4.9 Livestock(Millions of heads; for poultry, tens of millions)

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

Bovine Caprine Ovine Poultry

2009 2012 2014 2016

Note: Estimates for 2016Source: WTO Secretariat calculations, based on data provided by the authorities; and FAOSTAT

4.2.  The National Directorate of Veterinary Services (DNSV) is the entity responsible for regulating trade in livestock products, the sale of veterinary products and veterinary activities, as well as cross-border transhumance. Veterinary laws and regulations are listed in a DNSV booklet. Five veterinary wholesalers were approved in 2017 for the import and sale of veterinary products and stockbreeding inputs; it is mandatory that they be incorporated under Guinean law or partnered with a Guinean veterinary consultant.

0 Law No. L/95/046/CTRN containing the Livestock and Animal Products Code. Viewed at: https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2014/sps/GIN/14_5249_00_f.pdf.

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4.3.  The current infrastructure includes, inter alia, the Central Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (a public body, in Conakry), which takes samples and analyses products at the request of companies. Each prefecture has a public abattoir or a public slaughter area; none of them meets international standards. The last OIE performance of veterinary services (PVS) gap analysis mission dates back to 2011. A veterinary legislation support project was implemented during the period April-December 2017.

4.4.  The strong growth in meat imports continued (Chart 4.5), especially of cut poultry. These imports stand at around US$20 million and bear the ECOWAS CET at generally 35%, a sharp increase over the 20% customs duty in 2011. Adding in VAT, which is not levied on local markets, total duties on meat come to nearly 60%, thus heavily penalizing consumers who are dependent on imports.

4.5.  There would appear to be substantial informal exports of cattle for slaughter to neighbouring countries (Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone, in particular). According to the DNSV, this might be explained by the many hidden border levies.

4.6.  Imports of milk in powder (HS 0402) appear to be systematically underestimated. Indeed, scrutiny of "mirror" statistics shows that Guinea's partners export milk products of an annual value of between US$25 and US$41 million (US$25 million in 2016) to Guinea, whereas Guinean statistics indicate imports of between US$3 and US$9 million depending on the year.

Chart 4.10 Imports of meats and poultry offal, 2009-2016(US$ million)

0

5

10

15

20

25

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Edible offal of bovine animals, swine, sheep, goats, horses,asses, mules or hinnies, chilled or frozen (HS 0206)

Meat and offal of poultry, fresh, chilled or frozen (HS 0207)

Other

Note: Based on Chapter 2 (HS).Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities.

4.1.3.5  Fisheries

4.1.3.5.1  Overview

4.1.  Guinea has a 300 km long shoreline and a continental shelf of some 43,000 km 2, up to 100 miles wide, which benefits from the upwelling of nutrient-rich cold waters. The exploitable fishing potential is estimated at between 150,000 and 250,000 tonnes of fish per year. 0 It is composed of four main species groups: pelagic fish, demersal fish, cephalopods, and shrimps and prawns. A large network of watercourses, estimated to extend for 6,500 km, also holds unexploited potential for fish farming on an industrial scale.

0 Boussoura National Centre for Fisheries Sciences (CNSHB), 2015.

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4.2.  Despite these natural assets, the sector's contribution to the national economy has significantly diminished since the last TPR in 2011, in particular due to overfishing of several fish stocks, an increasingly weak, under-resourced and ill-adapted governance system, and the lack of investment in sustainable aquaculture. The extent of the overfishing has led to severe depletion of fisheries resources and, consequently, loss of interest in Guinean waters on the part of trading partners.

4.3.  A Policy Letter on the development of fisheries and aquaculture published in 2009 having proved largely ineffectual, in 2013 the Ministry of Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Maritime Economy (MPAEM) organized the Consultation on Fisheries and Aquaculture, which led to the drafting of a Policy Framework Document on Fisheries and Aquaculture (DOCPA) for the five years up to 2018. Fisheries and aquaculture are considered as a growth sector, and one of the key pillars of the national economy in combating poverty. The DOCPA also attaches priority to small-scale fishing.

4.4.  A key factor, at the international level, in the elaboration of the DOCPA was Guinea's inclusion in 2013 in the European Union's list of non-cooperating third countries in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.0 This acted as a trigger for reforms towards more sustainable use of resources and action to combat IUU fishing. Guinea was delisted and declared to be in conformity in July 2016.0

4.5.  Efforts were made, inter alia, to assess the status of stocks, which served as a basis for the annual plans for the development and management of fisheries. From 2014 to October 2017, seven assessments were conducted, including under the West Africa Regional Fisheries Programme (WARFP). Thanks to these various campaigns, it was possible to calculate the biomass and determine the exploitable potential in a scientific manner.

4.6.  The decision in December 2016 to grant new licences to boats flying the Chinese flag angered local producers.0 In April 2017, within the framework of its "Hope in West Africa" ship tour conducted in West African waters against IUU fishing, the NGO Greenpeace International produced a damning report on fisheries activities in the seas off Conakry following its deep-sea expeditions. Most of the vessels boarded for illegal fishing were Chinese-owned, reflecting the fact that, according to the authorities, in 2017 the industrial fishing fleet was composed mainly of Chinese vessels.0

4.7.  The MPAEM did nevertheless strive to enforce the regulations. Surveillance was strengthened, with round-the-clock satellite observation, and periodic deployment of air surveillance. Fines were increased. All these measures appear to have helped reduce IUU fishing to some extent. Nonetheless, all available reports confirm that in 2017 a large proportion of the vessels present in Guinea's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) were fishing illegally, most of them in the area officially set aside for small-scale fishing, from which they are banned, and this is liable to lead to the demise of small-scale fishing boats and overfishing of small-scale fishing areas.

4.8.  Among the enterprises in the sector, the only public company, SOGUIPECHE, was privatized and its physical assets (in an advanced state of disrepair) were transferred to a Mauritanian-owned company. A new company, the Complexe industriel de pêche de Conakry, was set up. Four freezing tunnels were renovated, and an ice factory is in operation with a capacity of 30 tonnes/day. This upgrade in turn improves mooring, fuelling and storage conditions for industrial fishing.

4.1.3.5.2  Regulation

4.1.  Guinea modernized its legislative framework for fisheries in 2015. Fisheries activities are governed by the following new texts, available on the MPAEM's official website0, which take into

0 Council Regulation No. 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Viewed at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:286:0001:0032:fr:PDF.

0 Online information viewed at: https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/illegal-fishing-overview-of-existing-procedures-third-countries_en.pdf.

0 Online information viewed at: h ttp://www.financialafrik.com/2017/08/23/guinee-alpha-conde-limoge- son-ministre-des-peches-et-de-leconomie-maritime/#.Wd4Jyo9L_TA.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.greenpeace.org/africa/fr/Actualities/Blogs-de-Greenpeace-Afrique/des-poissons-qui-tombent-du-ciel-des-filets-v/blog/59228.

0 Online information viewed at: http://peches.gov.gn/index.php/codes#pêche-continentale.

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account the fundamental principles of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries0 and the principal relevant conventions on sustainable management of resources:

Decree No. D/2013/127/PRG/SGG of 25 July 2013 on the creation, organization, mission and functioning of the National Office for the Sanitary Control of Fishery and Aquaculture Products (ONSPA) (see Section 3.3.3);

Law No. 2015/026/AN of 14 September 2015 containing the Marine Fisheries Code;

Law No. 2015/027/AN of 14 September 2015 containing the Inland Fisheries Code; and

Law No. 2015/028/AN of 14 September 2015 containing the Aquaculture Code.

4.2.  In Guinea, marine fishing can be small-scale or industrial. There are around 30,000 small-scale fishermen, some of them foreign, distributed across 234 landing places along the coastline, and 7,500 canoes. Catches fluctuate between 200,000 and 250,000 tonnes/year. Small-scale fishing thus provides numerous jobs and contributes to food security.

4.3.  An annual Plan for the development and management of fisheries is drawn up by the National Centre for Fisheries Surveillance and Protection (CNSP), in cooperation with the Boussoura National Centre for Fisheries Sciences (CNSHB), and the National Directorate of Marine Fisheries (DNPM) within the MPAEM. The Plan covers both small-scale and industrial fisheries. In principle, any fishing authorization is subject to having a CNSP observer placed on board the ship. The Plan specifies the status of the resource, annual catch quotas, and fee schedules. The 2016 Fisheries Plan revealed that some species have become more abundant as a result of the stricter biological recovery and surveillance measures taken in 2014 and 2015.0

4.4.  The band from 0 to 12,000 nautical miles is reserved exclusively for small-scale fisheries. This type of fishing, governed by ordinary law, is in principle reserved for ECOWAS nationals; nationals of non-ECOWAS countries have to set up in partnership with Guinean citizens, and conclude a fisheries agreement with the Ministry to have access to small-scale fisheries resources, and then register their boats. In actual fact, small-scale fishing is practised by companies from Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana and above all Korea and China. Small-scale fishing boats must (in principle) offload all their catches in Guinea; but export companies are allegedly proposing trans-shipment and purchase at sea of all the exportable production, which is banned with the aim of maximizing returns on production.

4.5.  Indeed, since 2015, with the arrival of Korean and Chinese companies in the subsector, small-scale fishing has become increasingly export-oriented, as allowed under the new Fisheries Code (Articles 144 to 158). For 2017, exports total 127,000 tonnes of fresh fish, 8,400 tonnes of frozen fish, 42,000 tonnes of dried or salted fish, and 101,000 tonnes of smoked fish.

4.6.  Industrial fishing is largely dominated by foreign fishing boats operating under licence that mostly offload abroad. To engage in fishing, whether small-scale or industrial, it is necessary to obtain a fisheries licence or permit, in the allocation of which priority is given, in principle, to companies or vessels chartered by Guinean shipowners, which affords them "national status" (Articles 12 to 16 of the Fisheries Code). The fact that a boat is registered does not mean that it enjoys the status of Guinean vessel. Most boats fishing in Guinean waters are foreign vessels that are registered but do not have Guinean vessel status. Of the two types of foreign licence - fisheries agreement and free licence - only the latter was used in 2017, as Guinea does not have any current fisheries agreement (see below).

4.7.  The price of an industrial licence is the same whether the vessel is Guinean or foreign. The royalty fee for fishing rights, published annually in the Fisheries Development and Management Plan, varies according to the species involved, but does not depend on the nationality of the company. Industrial fishing is subject to an obligation to offload a proportion of catches for sale on the local market. Guinean vessels holding an industrial licence, on the other hand, are required to offload the totality of their catches, even when for export.

0 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Viewed at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-v9878e.pdf.0 Online information viewed at: http://www.spcsrp.org/sites/default/files/csrp/Etat_membre/Guinee/

spcsrp.org_QUI%20SOMMES%20NOUS_EM_Guinee_PLAN%20DE%20PECHE%202016_FR.pdf.

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4.8.  At the regional level, several bodies share the goal of conservation, development and rational exploitation of fisheries resources: the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, established by the Dakar Convention of 1991; the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea; the Subregional Fisheries Commission; and the Regional Fisheries Committee for the Gulf of Guinea. These bodies were all active in 2017.0

4.1.3.5.3  International trade in fisheries products

4.1.  Despite its potential in fisheries, there is a considerable shortfall of fish products on the domestic market, and Guinea imports up to 60,000 tonnes of fish products annually.0 Annual per capita fish consumption increased from 7.4 kg in 1989 to around 17 kg in 2016, although the figure is under 6 kg/year/inhabitant in some parts of Guinée forestière and Haute Guinée. As stated above, official exports of fisheries products are marginal.

4.2.  According to the authorities, the subsector was badly hit by the suspension of European imports of fisheries products in February 2007 on grounds of non-compliance with sanitary standards.0 In order to ensure the quality of Guinean fisheries products, in 2013 Guinea established a new sanitary office for fisheries and aquaculture products (ONSPA, Section 3.3.3).0 In 2017, Guinea received technical assistance from the European Union to bring the different segments of the production-export chain into line with the prevailing standards. No Guinean entity was approved to export products to EU markets in 2017; but the authorities hoped that the suspension would soon be lifted. The ONSPA expressed the need for assistance in the form of logistical resources and capacity building (training, facilities and inspection and official control equipment).

4.3.  As regards fishing in Guinean waters by vessels from EU member States, since 1983 Guinea has signed nine consecutive memoranda implementing fisheries agreements with the EU, but no new agreement has been signed since the suspension of the 2009 agreement. A series of agreements on trawler fishing have been signed between Guinea and China since 1997. Each of them allowed Chinese fishing vessels to fish in Guinean waters for a period of two years, against financial consideration. The agreement covering the period 1 January 2010 to 21 December 2011 set the number of vessels for the trawler and cephalopod fishing boat categories at 17, with the possibility of increasing this number to 30, but without any increase in the financial consideration, which was set at US$1 million annually. Guinea has not signed any further agreements with China or any other country since 2013.

4.2  Mining and energy

4.2.1  Mining and quarrying

4.2.1.1  Overview

4.1.  The mining sector accounts for 16%-17% of Guinea's GDP, and a similar proportion of total public revenues (donations apart), yet only 10,000 jobs (0.25% of the labour force). Mining products contributed 99% of Guinea's export income in 2016, as against 84% in 2015, thus constituting the bulk of the country's exports; this shows how dependent the economy is on its mining sector, and above all how vulnerable it is to fluctuations in world prices for mining products. In 2017, the mining register contained a total of 455 companies; although 33 of them alone contributed more than US$100,000 to the State budget.

4.2.  In particular, Guinea is one of the world's major producers of bauxite: the value of bauxite exports increased by 48% in 2016, to US$883 million, as a result of rising prices for this mineral on the world market. The other main export products, in value terms, are gold, the value of which rose exponentially (US$961 million in 2016); and diamonds (US$22 million, i.e. +22%), a performance chiefly attributable to the start of operations of the new company Guiter Mining. (Chart 4.6).

0 Economic and Social Council (2010).0 Any fisheries product from a foreign country or any product fished and/or offloaded by a vessel flying a

foreign flag is considered as imported. Order No. A/2009/4009/MPA/SGG/2009 regulating the import of fisheries and aquaculture products.

0 European Commission Decision No. 2007/82/CE of 2 February 2007. Viewed at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32007D0082&qid=1513262512670&from=fr.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.onspaguinee.com.

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Chart 4.11 Mining products: prices and exports, 2010-2016

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Aluminium (US$/tonne)

Gold (US$/troy ounce)

Iron ore (US$/tonne; scale on right-hand axis)

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Gold Bauxite Diamonds

Price of mining products Exports(US$ millions)

Source: National Statistics Institute, Statistical Directory; and online information from the World Bank.

4.3.  In 2009-2010, mining investors had pulled out of Guinea on account of frequent changes in contract terms. Aware that Guinea is operating in a competitive global environment where it needs to attract mining investments, since 2011 the Government has sought to put in place a stable and positive investment climate for enterprises, and one which is equitable for its people, entailing a series of commitments in regard to taxation, finance, regulatory efficiency and promoting investment and exports. The main measures taken were the drafting of a new Mining Code, and the launch of a process of review of existing mining titles and agreements. The objective targeted was for investments in the mining sector to support the Government's public investment programme and offer a source of shared prosperity despite the risk of fluctuations in product prices.

4.4.  The main mining projects in operation are listed in Table 4.2. Most of their products go to China, Singapore and the Russian Federation. The growing demand for bauxite has come from China, following the ban on non-refined bauxite exports imposed by Indonesia in 2014 0, which meant that Chinese consumers were obliged to diversify their sources of supply, whence the emergence in Guinea of several new producers specializing in exports to the Chinese market.

4.5.  The amount of bauxite processed locally into alumina is currently zero since the closure of the Péchiney plant in Fria in 2012. However, unlike the other companies, the Bauxite Company of Guinea (CBG) exports calcined bauxite.0 In April 2017, the Rusal company announced the resumption of alumina production in Fria, with a planned output of 650,000 tonnes per year, i.e. back to the level prior to 2012 when production was shut down. The production site would start being profitable as from 1 million tonnes.

Table 4.17 Mining statistics, 2010-2016(Thousands of tonnes, unless otherwise indicated)Company Mineral Activity 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

CBGBauxite

Production (tonne)

13,670 14,546 16,130 16,609 16,915 16,440 15,850

Export 12,603 12,940 14,506 15,166 15,239 15,328 14,950

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.gard.no/web/updates/content/20738991/gard-alert-indonesia-bulk-mineral-export-ban-update.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.cbg-guinee.com.

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Company Mineral Activity 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

(tonne)CBKBauxite

Production (tonne)

2,945 3,000 3,400 3,740 36,255 3,400 3,500

Export (tonne)

2,913 2,794 3,203 3,197 3,197 3,400 3,250

SMBBauxite

Production (tonne)

0 0 0 0 0 867 6 654

Export (tonne)

0 0 0 0 0 796,110 6,142

SAGGold

Production (ounce)

254,000 292,694 290,171 315,531 341,590 300,254 272,917

Export (once)

254,000 2,694 290,171 315,531 341,590 300,254 272,659

SMDGold

Production (ounce)

n.a. 192,073 174,438 163,844 203,402 214,853 194,984

Export (once)

n.a. 195,693 171,874 162,666 195,744 223,326 194,984

TASSILIMADiamonds

Production (carat)

n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 941.4 4,324.8 6,524.7

Export (carat)

n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 941.4 4 324.8 6 524.7

GUITERDiamonds

Production (carat)

n.a. 2,507 7,441 8,539 2,411 6,035 3,931

Export (carat)

n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

n.a. Not available.Source: Guinean authorities.

4.6.  In this regard, the Government set forth a new mining policy in its Policy Letter of 2017. Among other things, the policy advocates promoting local content, by virtue of which 30% of the cost of each project should go to Guinean nationals. A survey of local enterprises that might be able to supply mining companies was conducted. A subcontracting exchange was set up to facilitate cooperation among stakeholders. Furthermore, differentiated extraction and export duties are applied according to the degree of local processing (see below).

4.7.  The suspension of the Simandou mining project in 2017 is partly explained by the high volatility of prices on world markets, and in particular the sharp fall in the price of iron ore since 2011 (Chart 4.6). This ambitious project, entailing US$20 billion worth of investment, was to enable the extraction and export of a higher-quality iron ore, and create 50,000 jobs. The Simandou mountain chain was divided into four blocks. Blocks 1 and 2 were recently held by the BSGR company with which the Guinean State was involved in litigation in 2017 before the ICSID Arbitration Tribunal (Section 2.4).0 According to the authorities, the company Rio Tinto, to which blocks 3 and 4 were to be assigned, signified in July 2016 its decision to scale down its presence in Guinea, and in October 2016 announced that it had signed an agreement to sell its stake in the project to the Chinese State-owned firm Chinalco.0

4.8.  The score of 38% obtained by Guinea in the Resource Governance Index ranked it 63 rd out of 89 countries evaluated, and 20th out of 30 in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016.0 This poor performance is largely explained by inadequate management of mining revenues. The results are based above all on the bauxite sector, in view of its magnitude in the economy.

4.2.1.2  Mining regime

4.1.  The major mining reform undertaken since the previous TPR is the adoption in 2011 and amendment in September 2013 of a new Mining Code, replacing the Law of 1995. Guinea was

0 La Tribune de Genève, 24 May 2017. Viewed at: https://www.tdg.ch/economie/argentfinances/Corruption-en-Guinee-Beny-Steinmetz-livre-sa-verite/story/12320075.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.banquemondiale.org/fr/country/guinea/overview.0 Online information viewed at: http://resourcegovernanceindex.org/country-profiles/GIN/mining.

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declared compliant with the standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in July 2014.0 Its first EITI report, covering 2013, was published in December 2015, and the most recent in 2017, covering the year 2015.0 The new provisions also provide for the disclosure of information on licence holders on the EITI website. One of the implementing decrees addresses the financial arrangements for the Mining Code.

4.2.  The new Code, like its predecessor, stipulates the obligation of non-discrimination vis-à-vis foreigners (Article 96). Nevertheless, the provisions of the new Mining Code of 2013 are not automatically applicable to agreements that were signed prior to its entry into force and contain a stabilization clause.

4.3.  One of the aims of the new Code is to increase the amount of income the State derives from the country's mining resources. The main duties paid by mining companies are summarized in Table 4.3. Tax avoidance, in particular the manipulation of transfer prices practised by some mining companies, is difficult to quantify but, according to several sources, represents a major problem in Guinea.0

Table 4.18 Main mining duties and taxes collected, 2013 and 2016

Type ReferenceAmount collected(US$ million)2013 2016

Corporation tax or tax on industrial and commercial profits (BIC) (30%)

General Tax Code (CGI), Articles 219-29;Mining Code, Article 143

102.5 n.a.

Tax on additional profits (50%) CGI, Article 143.2Extraction tax (percentage on unit of volume multiplied by world price). Its rate varies between 2% and 10% of the f.o.b. value or final sale value, depending on whether the substance is exported or sold locally, in natural state or processed: the highest rates apply to unprocessed substances such as bauxite (10%); the export tax on alumina is 5%.

Mining Code, Articles 139 and 161-2

83.5 n.a.

Tax on the export of mineral substances other than precious substances (from 0.075% for bauxite to 2% for ores, and 3% for radioactive substances)

Mining Code, Articles 161-2

n.a. n.a.

Tax on the export of small-scale and industrial production (gold and diamonds). The rate of the export tax varies from 2% on gold exported by the Central Bank to 3% on gold exported by private persons, and from 3% on diamond exports to 5% on some stones (Article 163)

Mining Code, Article 164 36.1 n.a.

Fiscal import and export duty (DFI+DFE) Mining Code, Articles 178-80

19.8 n.a.

Deductions on employees' remuneration and salaries (RTS); payroll tax (VF): 6% of total payroll payable to the national budget; and apprenticeship tax (TA): payable by employers, at 3% of salaries, etc., recorded as company overheads)

CGI, Articles 201, 205-6 19.1 n.a.

Withholding tax on non-salary income paid to service providers established outside Guinea

n.a. 16.6 n.a.

Social security contributions (CNSS) n.a. 5.5 n.a.VAT CGI 3.6 n.a.Import registration fee (0.5%) Agreements 0.1 n.a.Fixed fee for issuance of a permit Mining Code, Article 159 <0.1 n.a.Land royalty (proportional to the surface area covered by the permit)

<0.1 n.a.

Tax on income from securities (IRVM, 10%) Mining Code, Article 186 <0.1 n.a.Deed registration fees <0.1 n.a.Lump-sum payroll tax <0.1 n.a.Apprenticeship tax <0.1 n.a.Contribution to local development <0.1 n.a.

0 Law No. L/2013/053/CNT of 8 April 2013 amending certain provisions of Law No. L/2011/006/CNT of 9 September 2011 containing the Mining Code of the Republic of Guinea. Viewed at: http://www.itie-guinee.org/code-minier-2013.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.itie-guinee.org.0 Natural Resource Governance Institute (2016), Transfer Pricing in the Mining Sector in Guinea. Case

Study, March 2016, A. Readhead. Viewed at: https://resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/documents/nrgi_guinea_transfer-pricing-study.pdf.

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n.a. Not available.Source: Guinean authorities.

4.4.  Small-scale operators sell their precious metals and stones to collection agents who sell them on to purchasers. Artisanal gold, diamonds and gems and precious metals can only be exported through purchasers organized within Accredited Trading Agencies, the opening of which is authorized by order of the Minister on the recommendation of the National Bureau of Expertise for Diamonds, Gold and Precious Metals (BNE, Article 60 of the Mining Code). The value of the stones is determined by the BNE on the basis of the quality of the stones and their carat weight, and is used as the basis for the export tax. The mining companies sell their diamonds at auctions, in which external clients and the BCRG take part. Artisanal diamonds and gold are exported by the BCRG.

4.5.  Mineral substances mined in Guinea by holders of a mining permit and that are exported in their natural state without prior processing into semi-finished or finished products are subject to a specific export tax (Table 4.4). However, the rate of this export tax is halved if the stones are exported after having been cut in Guinea (Article 163). Holders of a mining permit who mine substances in Guinea for the sole purpose of exporting them in their natural state, without reselling them on the domestic market, may request the application of a simplified declaration regime allowing them to declare the mineral extraction tax and the export tax in a single declaration.

Table 4.19 Mining export taxesSubstance Extraction tax (%) Export tax (%)Bauxite 0.075 0.075Iron 3 3.5Gold n.a. 5Artisanal gold n.a. 0a

Diamonds n.a. 5Artisanal diamonds n.a. 3n.a. Not available.a Gold free of export tax under a waiver since February 2016 (0%).Source: Ministry responsible for mines.

4.6.  The mining sector was also the biggest importer in 2016, with imports growing by 102% in that year, to US$4.4 billion, of which US$2.2 billion was for equipment. The Mining Code grants mining companies several fiscal and customs advantages, without prejudice to the other benefits that may be contained in mining agreements, the General Tax Code (CGI) or the Customs Code. During prospecting and subsequent construction, mining companies enjoy, throughout the whole of both phases, full exemption from customs duties, taxes and fees on professional equipment, materials and replacement parts needed to keep materials operating; and temporary admission regimes for materials used in the research phase (Articles 153-7 of the Mining Code).

4.7.  Holders of a mining agreement associated with an operating permit, as well as their subcontractors, enjoy, throughout the installation, expansion and renovation phase, exemption from customs duties, taxes and fees on imported supplies, spare parts and lubricants. Instead of these duties and taxes, the firms pay a single "registration fee" (TE) of 5% of the f.o.b. value of the imports made (Section 3.1.4 and Table A3.2). According to the authorities, these tax exemptions are indispensable for attracting investors.

4.8.  Imports of goods which are on the approved Mining List are exempt from VAT (Article 166 of the Mining Code). Mining companies are also exempt, for three years from the date of first commercial production, from the annual minimum tax (IMF); the business tax; the contribution to the National Office for Vocational and Further Training (ONFPP) or the apprenticeship tax (TA); and the single property tax (CFU) (Table 2.2).

4.9.  The major change introduced by the new Mining Code is the creation of an interministerial commission responsible for reviewing mining lists. Aware that many companies are making substantial savings on their corporation tax by declaring large financial expenses based on high levels of debt towards their shareholders (for example their parent companies), the Government has sought to limit this phenomenon (Article 97 of the CGI).

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4.10.  The new Mining Code (Article 161) provides that mining taxes (extraction tax on substances in Table 4.4) are calculated on the basis of international price indices, in order to avoid the risk of companies manipulating selling prices with the aim of paying less tax. The article in question specifies the price indices to be used to calculate taxes for base metals such as bauxite and iron ore, and for industrial or semi-industrial production of precious metals.

4.11.  The new Code also introduces changes in regard to the transport of mining products. For exports, the State reserves the right to transport 50% of mining production by sea. The State may exercise this right either directly, or through any entity acting on its behalf. However, transporters are no longer approved for an indefinite period, but by order for a specified period and in exchange for a ceiling level per type. The transport company has to be incorporated under Guinean law and have Guinean partners (section 4.4.1.2).

4.12.  Foreign currency generated by exports of mining products must be repatriated to Guinea within a prescribed period (e.g. 30 days for diamonds).

4.13.  Further to an institutional audit carried out in 2013-2016, the Ministry of Mines and Geology implemented a series of reforms in 2016 under which, inter alia, the cadastral register for mining (Mining Register) was modernized. Since September 2016, an Internet portal offers investors the facility to consult the Mining Register online.0 Since July 2016, mining company applications for authorizations have been processed through a single window. Responsibility for maintaining the Mining Register lies with the Mining Promotion and Development Centre (CPDM).0 The Interministerial Monitoring Committee for Integrated Mining Projects (CISPMI) acts as the single window for other authorizations under the mining permit for integrated projects. The Mining Code provides for permits to be granted by public auctions, which took place in 2014 and 2017.

4.14.  The National Assembly is responsible for passing laws on the mining sector, ratifying mining agreements and monitoring the management of natural resources. To this end, the Assembly has set up the National Mining Commission, which is responsible for giving its opinion on the granting or withdrawal of mining titles and permits, and ensuring compliance with the Mining Code and its implementing texts. Nevertheless, the Assembly has never yet raised any questions concerning the collection of mining revenues when drawing up the annual budget, and has rarely challenged operating agreements for mining or hydrocarbons.

4.15.  The new Code affords the State an ownership interest of up to a maximum of 15% in mining projects (Article 150). The primary mission of the Guinean Mineral Assets Company (SOGUIPAMI)0, which is wholly owned by the State, is to monitor and supervise mining operations through State shareholdings. The Chamber of Mines of Guinea, set up in January 1997, is the umbrella organization of the principal mining companies.0

4.16.  Guinea belongs to the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA). Since 2002-2003, it has taken part in the Kimberley Process, in particular through the National Confederation of Diamond and Gold Miners of Guinea (CONADOG). Under this process, Guinea set up a scheme to certify rough diamonds in 2001. CONADOG is a private association independent from the Ministry responsible for mines, which works to protect the interests of its members and participates in conflict management in small-scale mining areas.0 It is involved in the marketing process from the pithead to the buying agencies, which are the sole entities authorized to export diamonds.

4.17.  The marketing and export of artisanal gold from small-scale mining are jointly regulated by the Ministry responsible for mines and the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) (Article 61 of the Mining Code). The Bank notably determines the value of the ingot used as a basis for calculating the 5% tax. The only persons authorized to possess or transport diamonds are holders of small-scale mining titles; approved collectors of diamonds; approved diamond purchasing and export agents; the specialized officials of the BNE, who value the stones and precious metals; the BCRG; and foreign importers in possession of a valid import certificate.0

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.guinee.cadastreminier.org/ http://guinee.cadastreminier.org/ fr.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.cpdm-mines.org/fr/promotion.0 Online information viewed at: http://soguipami-gn.com.0 Online information viewed at: http://www.chambredesminesgn.com.0 Order No. 974/MATD/SACCO/2006 of 23 February 2006 approving CONADOG.0 The Diamond Buying and Export Agency (CARAT) is a public administrative and technical institution

tasked with valuing and certifying diamonds, gold and other gemstones intended for export. The CARAT allows diamond transactions between approved and registered operators, in accordance with the Kimberley Process

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4.18.  Guinea benefits from the Mineral Governance Support Project (PAGSEM)0 financed by the World Bank; and the Economic Planning and Mining Governance Support Project (PAPEGM) financed by the African Development Bank.0

4.2.1.3  Environmental and social considerations

4.1.  Mining operations have an adverse impact on the protection of natural resources. The gold, bauxite and diamond industry has dangerously affected plant cover and water and soil resources, through various types of pollution and disruption. Small-scale gold mining continues to inflict enormous damage on forest cover, the soil and the subsoil, even to the extent of causing water resources to dry up. In view of the harm and risks, and if the current trend is not reversed, Guinea could seriously compromise the balance of its water systems to the detriment of its own population, present or future.0

4.2.  The measures taken to counter the impact of mining operations on the environment are listed in the Mining Code (Articles 22, 26, 30, 142, 143, 144, etc.) and the Environment Code and, more specifically, are set out in detail in the Code's environmental directives, namely: an environmental impact notice; an environmental impact study published in hard copy; and a resettlement and compensation plan. These documents are validated by the Technical Committee for Environmental Analysis. Follow-up of the environmental management plans is ensured by the Ministry of the Environment.

4.3.  A "Responsible Mineral Development Initiative" (RMDI) was launched by the Government in June 2016 to improve relations between mining companies and local resident communities. A provision of the Code specifies that 15% of mining taxes shall be shared with the local population, but this does not appear to have been actually put into practice. Two decrees, on the creation of a local development fund and a national development fund, respectively, were awaiting signature in October 2017.

4.2.2  Energy and water

4.2.2.1  Hydrocarbons

4.1.  All petroleum products consumed in Guinea are imported. They are refined products, chiefly imported from the Netherlands. These imports fell from US$462 million in 2011 (24% of total imports, Chart 1.1) to US$317 million in 2015 (15% of the total), primarily on account of the drop in world prices. The Guinean Petroleum Company (SGP) has a monopoly of all import, storage and bulk delivery of all petroleum products. The SGP is a semi-public company jointly owned by the State and the major private companies. General management is exercised by Total or Shell in turn for periods of three years. It has not yet been notified to the WTO as a State-trading enterprise.

4.2.  The State has also kept its holding in the Semi-Public Fuel Handling Company of Guinea (Société mixte de carburants et d'avitaillement de Guinée (SOMCAG)), which is responsible for supplying fuel to aircraft. Its capital is 49% owned by the Guinean State and 51% by Total.

4.3.  The Petroleum Code of 1986, revised in 2014, lays down the conditions governing extraction of hydrocarbons and stipulates the management of petroleum products and their derivatives.0 The establishment of a plan to ensure reliable supply of petroleum products, matching the storage capacity and stock turnover rate, constituted one of the objectives of the Government's action plan in 2011. To achieve those objectives, a new National Petroleum Office (ONAP) was set up in 2015 under the direct supervision of the Office of the President of the Republic.0 The National Directorate of Petroleum Products and Derivatives (DNPPD) was transferred from the Ministry of Trade to the ONAP. The Ministry of Trade nonetheless continues to sit on the joint committee responsible for determining the price of petroleum products, together with the oil companies, representatives of

certification scheme. The BNE, for its part, is governed by Law No. 093/CTRN/1992 on artisanal diamond operations and marketing in Guinea. The information on export statistics was viewed at: http://www.kimberleyprocess.stats.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.pagsem.org.0 Online information viewed at: http://www.ucepguinee.com/PAPEGM.0 National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES) 2016-2020.0 Law No. L/2014/034/AN of 23 December 2014 containing the Petroleum Code of the Republic of

Guinea.0 Decree No. D/2015/165/PRG/SGG on the establishment, statutes, mission, duties and organization of

the National Petroleum Office.

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the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and of the BCRG. The profit margins for transport, distribution and retail are set for each of the products. The selling price is the same throughout Guinea. The committee examines, inter alia, levels of taxation and fiscal exemptions. It is also responsible for managing imports. It organizes calls for bids for the supply of petroleum products and monitors stocks.

4.4.  Domestic transportation and distribution of petroleum products remain in the hands of international and Guinean oil companies that belong to the SGP. In 15 years, the total number of petrol stations rose from 200 to 220, most of them served by Total and located in Conakry.

4.5.  In December 2017, the price of fuel (gas oil) at the pump was GNF 8,000/litre (around €0.80). The total taxes levied on petrol represented 33% of its selling price in 2011, as against 60% in 1998. The largest consumers of hydrocarbons are the mining companies, which enjoy tax exemption on petroleum products imported for their own consumption. According to the Customs, these exemptions lead to large losses in revenue for the Treasury and entail a risk of fraud.

4.6.  Customs duty ranges from 5% (HS 2709) to 20% (HS 2710) on semi-finished and finished products. The State also levies the DDI (Section 3.1.1) on imports of petroleum products, at a rate of 0.5% of the f.o.b. import value.

4.2.2.2  Electricity

4.1.  More than 80% of Guinea's population is still not connected to the national electricity grid or indeed any other source of electricity. The electricity access ratio in rural areas is one of the lowest in the subregion (under 3%).0 And yet, back in 1998 the Government had already launched a policy for the development of access to electricity in rural areas, in a "Sectoral Policy Letter for the promotion of decentralized rural electrification", which was confirmed in 2012 in the "Policy Letter on development of the energy sector".

4.2.  This new policy helped to double Guinea's electricity output, up to 1,034 MWh in 2016, following the entry into service of the Kaleta dam (240 MW) built by the China International Water and Electricity Corporation (CWE). The total installed power has reached 673 MW.0 According to the authorities, Guinea's potential is 6,000 MW, of which 10% was exploited as at December 2017. In particular, construction of the Souapiti dam (450 MW), which will furnish Kaleta with a large quantity of water, might enable Guinea to export energy to other countries of the subregion.0

4.3.  Guinea's electricity network was not yet connected with any other country in 2017. However, several electricity interconnection projects are under way, notably the Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea interconnection project (CLSG); the Gambia River Basin Development Organization (OMVG) energy project, whose members are The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal; the Guinea-Mali electricity interconnection project; and the Linsan-Fomi interconnection line project. This should serve to connect Guinea with all its neighbouring countries by 2020-2021. In 2016, hydroelectric power represented 88% of production, and conventional thermal plants 12%. Renewable energies are not as yet used.

4.4.  The incumbent State operator Guinea Electricity (Electricité de Guinée (EDG)), set up in 2001 and wholly State-owned, supplies 25% of national electricity production. The remainder is supplied primarily by the Kaleta hydroelectric power station and three thermal power stations: AON (100 MW thermal plant, private Mauritanian capital), Guinéenne d'Energie (50 MW), and AISI (44 MW); all these are independent producers selling the energy produced to the Guinean State.

4.5.  The Kaleta plant was built for the Guinean Government by CWE which operates it on behalf of the State. The State decided after its construction to turn it into a joint-stock company, so as to release the necessary funds to meet its share of the financing for construction of the Souapiti dam. This process had not yet been completed by end 2017, nor indeed had the price been set for power delivered to the State from Kaleta.

0 See International Finance Corporation (2016), Public-Private Partnership Stories - Guinea: Électricité de Guinée. Viewed at: https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/5110ac804bf90737871cdf7cbf6249b9/Guinea+Power_PPP+Stories_Final_9+March+2016.pdf?MOD=AJPERES.

0 Data from the Energy Information System, Ministry of Energy. Viewed at: http://www.sieguinee-dne.org/index.php/informations.html.

0 Guinée7.com. Viewed at: http://guinee7.com/2016/03/31/la-verite-sur-le-barrage-hydroelectrique-de-kaleta-on-y-etait-reportage/#xRiG5sWbRGV0YLud.99.

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4.6.  In addition, three autonomous producers generate electricity for their own consumption: the Bauxite Company of Guinea (CBG) at Kamar and Sangaredi; Rusal at Fria (not currently operating); and the Goldfield Company of Guinea (SAG) at Siguiri. The latter company supplies power to the town of Siguiri, and its production (with a capacity of 3.2 MW) is billed to the Guinean State.

4.7.  Electrical energy comes under the responsibility of the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. Law No. L/93/039/CTRN on the generation, transport and distribution of electricity continues to constitute the primary legislation for the sector. It provides that access to the electricity market in Guinea (generation, distribution, trading) shall remain structured as a State monopoly assigned to EDG.

4.8.  Electricity prices in Guinea are set by a joint order of the Minister of the Economy and Finance and the Minister of Energy, depending on use (domestic or professional) and power. They were increased by 25% on 1 October 2016, in order to approach the level required to ensure cost recovery, but the increase had not yet been enforced in December 2017.0 A system of prepay meters was being introduced in December 2017. The average selling price of low-voltage power was GNF 770 per kWh in 2017 (US$0.085). In comparison, the price to industry of medium and high-voltage electricity in the same year stood at GNF 1,243/kWh (around US$0.14).

4.9.  Law No. L/2013/061/CNT of September 2013 on rural electrification paved the way for the inception of the Guinean Rural Electrification Agency (AGER), confirmed the option of recourse to private operators by also liberalizing the transport and distribution of electricity in rural areas, and set forth the main strands of the regulatory framework for rural electrification. An implementing decree for the AGER was issued in May 2017.0

4.2.2.3  Water

4.1.  The latest major investment in expanding the capacity of water facilities in Guinea dates back to 1994. The main legislative text also dates from that era.0 In 2001, the State took back management of the water sector following non-renewal of the contract with the private water supplier upon expiry, and entrusted the Guinean Water Company (SEG) with managing the urban water resources subsector.0 This public limited company with a State holding has a monopoly, and is responsible for investment and for maintaining and operating water production, transport, storage and distribution plant and facilities in urban areas. Water prices throughout Guinea are set in a joint order by the Minister of the Economy and Finance and the Minister responsible for water resources.

4.2.  As previously indicated, average rainfall of over 1,300 mm annually makes Guinea one of the most important reservoirs of water in West Africa. Water is naturally available through an extensive network of 1,200 rivers and watercourses listed by the National Division of Water Resources in the Ministry responsible for energy and the environment. Nevertheless, only 26 of the 33 towns currently have running water. Total daily production for the country as a whole is some 175,000 m 3

(63.75 million m3 per year), of which 87% for the city of Conakry and 13% for the other towns.0

4.3.  There are frequent water shortages because demand far outstrips production capacity. For example, in Kindia, a town with 150,000 inhabitants, access to drinking water and sanitation falls far short of the Millennium Development Goals target0, on account of the degraded state of the drinking water infrastructure, virtually non-existent sanitation infrastructure and inadequate coverage of the population at a time when it is experiencing strong demographic growth (+50% in 10 years). These deficiencies give rise to an alarming health situation involving water-related diseases such as typhoid fever, chronic diarrhoea and recurring cholera, which directly threaten the town's development and capacity to attract.

4.4.  The water subsector at the village level is administered by the Water Distribution Company (SNAPE), which is responsible for providing water distribution points in Guinea's interior and for

0 See, inter alia, the Etude tarifaire pour le secteur de l'électricité de Guinée. Viewed at: http://invest.gov.gn/document/rapport-d-etude-tarifaire-de-l-edg.

0 Decree No. D/2017/099/PRG/SGG, on the establishment, organization, powers and operation of the Guinean Rural Electrification Agency.

0 Law No. L/94/005/CTRN containing the Water Code.0 Decree No. D/2001/096/PRG/SGG, on reorganization of the urban water resources subsector. This

company has a website. Viewed at: http://segguinee.com.0 SEG Activity Report 2016.0 Online information viewed at: http://www.un.org/fr/millenniumgoals.

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sanitation in rural areas. In May 2011, the Government presented 12 development projects for the water sector, for which financing was still being sought in 2017 from private investors and development partners.

4.3  Manufacturing sector

4.1.  The prospect of a regular and abundant energy supply opens up the possibility of developing the manufacturing sector, provided that new infrastructures, and in particular tracks, roads and industrial zones, are developed or refurbished, on top of ongoing efforts to enhance the business climate (Section 2.4). Moreover, the tangible progress made since 2014 in terms of electricity supply (Section 4.2.2.2) was not yet exerting the expected knock-on effect on industrial production by 2017, probably because most enterprises were still not connected to the mains electricity grid. In addition, fiscal pressure on enterprises in the formal sector remains very high, although it could ease with the new Investment Code, especially for SMEs (Section 2.4).

4.2.  A stated ambition of the National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES) is to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP from 8.3% in 2015 to at least 9.5% in 2020, although it does not identify priority subsectors (e.g. processing of mining products, fisheries products, agricultural products, etc.). Yet the authorities have been looking at the issue of industrial development for decades. In 1990 and 1991, Guinea adopted a Blueprint for Industrialization drawn up with the assistance of UNDP and UNIDO. It would appear that the latest document containing a national industrialization strategy was a Blueprint for Industrialization prepared by UNIDO in 2009. Among recent developments, the new Mining Code contains a strategy for processing of local mining products (Section 4.2.1.2).

4.3.  Manufacturing is still confined to a hundred or so formal enterprises, producing mainly flour, beer, fruit juice (Section 3.3.5), mineral water, edible oils, cement, cotton, soap and chemical products. Most of these enterprises enjoy a monopoly or virtual monopoly on the domestic market but face strong competition from imported like products. Few enterprises export, as reflected by the small number of products approved under the ECOWAS free-trade regime (Section 3.1.2).

4.4  Services

4.4.1  Transport services

4.4.1.1  General

4.1.  Imports of transport services mainly concern spending on maritime and air freight, of the order of US$300 million annually. Exports play a marginal role. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for designing, drawing up and implementing the government policy on land, air, maritime and river transport, and meteorology. It does not appear to have an active website. The following State-owned companies and institutions come under its responsibility:

Autonomous Port of Conakry (PAC); Guinean Shipping Company (SNG); Maritime Navigation Agency (ANAM); Air Navigation Agency (ANA); Guinean Shippers' Agency (OGC); National Railway Company of Guinea (SNCFG); Conakry Airport Management and Operation Company (SOGEAC); Semi-Public Fuel Handling Company of Guinea (SOMCAG); and Guinea Urban Passenger Transport Company (SOTRAGUI).

4.2.  As far as developments since the last TPR are concerned, the semi-public Guinea-Norway Maritime Transport Company (GUINOMAR), which had the exclusive right to transport half of the bauxite of the Bauxite Company of Guinea (CBG), was liquidated in 2012. The Guinean Shipping Company (SNG) does not have any vessels, but nevertheless receives US$0.10/tonne of goods loaded or unloaded in the PAC as a shipping royalty under the UNCTAD liner conference system, which came to the equivalent of €1.8 million in 2010 paid by the foreign shipping lines serving the PAC. The revenue yielded by this royalty is transferred in part to the Merchant Marine Directorate (DMM).

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4.3.  As the Mining Code provides that half of the bauxite mined in Guinea is to be transported by Guinean companies, in 2011 the SNG set up with a foreign partner a joint venture called Nako Shipping SNG, which handles transportation of the share of Guinea's bauxite guaranteed by the Mining Code and the CBG agreement (Section 4.2.1).

4.4.1.2  Maritime transport

4.1.  New regulatory texts governing maritime transport have been adopted since 2011 (Table 4.5). No new agreement has been ratified since 2010, pending revision of the Merchant Marine Code of 1995; a new Code along with new implementing texts was expected for April 2018.

Table 4.20 Recapitatulation of texts governing merchant shipping

Reference Text Date of signing

Decree No. 2015/PRG/SGG of 7 October 2015

Decree abrogating Decree No. D/2011/305/PRG/SGGDecree introducing the International Cargo Tracking Note for ISPS Code

n.a.

Joint Order No. A595/MEEF/METPT/2013 of 5 April 2013 amending Order No. 750/MEE/METPT/2013

Order on the management of revenues from application of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN)/cargo monitoring slip (BSC) for ISPS Code

24/03/2014

Order No. 2485/MTD/SGG/2013 Order laying down the conditions for serving ports in the Republic of Guinea

17/06/2013

Joint Order No. 750/MEEF/METPT/2013

Order on the management of revenues from application of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN)/cargo monitoring slip (BSC) for ISPS Code

05/04/2013

Decree No. 2013/016/PRG/SGG Decree on the establishment and composition of the National Commission for the boarding of unlawful fishing vessels

15/01/2013

Decree No. D/2011/305/PRG/SGG Decree introducing the International Cargo Tracking Note for ISPS Code

19/12/2011

Order No. 3172/MT/CAB/2011 Order on prevention of marine pollution by vessels 22/06/2011Order No. 021/MT/CAB/2011 Order on appointment of members of the Joint Office for the

placing of seamen24/01/2011

Order No. 6870/MT/CAB/2010 Order laying down the conditions for exercising the profession of seaman and the qualification standards required on board vessels flying the Guinean flag

08/12/2010

Order No. 6869/MT/CAB/2010 Order on the establishment, organization and operation of the Joint Office of seamen

08/12/2010

Order No. 5131/MT/CAB/2010 Order approving the tariffs for provision of ship consignment services at the Autonomous Port of Conakry (PAC)

11/11/2010

Order No. 4753/MT/CAB/2010 Order establishing a commission for the payment of indemnities associated with the seizure and release of vessels

29/10/2010

Order No. 4550/MT/CAB/2010 Order setting the conditions for delimitation of the public maritime domain

19/10/2010

Decree No. 174/PRG/CNDD/SGG/2010

Decree establishing the Guinean Shippers Agency (OGC) 10/06/2010

Order No. 2178/MT/CAB/2010 Order regulating the issuance of navigation permits 10/06/2010Order No. 2177/MT/CAB/2010 Order regulating navigation safety of small sailing and motor

boats of less than 24 metres in length08/06/2010

n.a. Not available.Source: National Merchant Marine Directorate.

4.2.  Since the liquidation of GUINOMAR in 2012, the Guinean maritime transport services market appears to be open to competition, including foreign competition. Nevertheless, cabotage by foreigners requires prior authorization from the Ministry of Transport. The Government is issuing provisional authorizations. Some mining companies apparently transport their products themselves, for tans-shipment at sea on to large vessels. According to the authorities, one of the aims of the updated Code would be to regulate access to offshore platforms in order to secure a share of this market for local transport enterprises, especially with a view to possible oil operations. A new text regulates mining transport on the Nunez River and in the maritime area adjacent to its estuary, and makes this activity subject to authorization.

4.3.  In 2017, some 20 foreign shipping lines served the PAC, the main container companies being Maersk Line, Delmas, MSC, SAFMARNE, CMA-CGM and Grimaldi. Maersk Guinea claimed to have 74% of the import market and 80% of the export market in 2011. The Government still plans to establish a Guinean national naval fleet.

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4.4.  In December 2013, the Guinean press announced a sudden hike in prices for the transport of used cars between Europe and Guinea, resulting from a new additional tax levied on commercial freight at the PAC.0 Several charges are being levied:

Since 2011, the importer has been required to pay a fee of US$65-100 per TEU container to finance the scanner installed in the PAC in order to implement the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), which came into effect on 1 July 2004. All containers and sealed packages are scanned on import. The funds go to merchant shipping.

Since 1 August 2010, cargoes have to be covered by a cargo monitoring slip (BSC), which is compulsory when leaving any loading port.0 The charge has reportedly been increased in relation to its 2011 level of €100/TEU container; €25 per vehicle not exceeding 5 tonnes; and €50 for heavier vehicles. There is an additional administrative fee of US$65 per bill of lading and a "bank tax" of US$20. The proceeds are shared between merchant shipping, the Treasury and the Guinean National Shippers' Council.

The shipowner fees described above.

The terminal handling charge (THC) paid to shipping companies to sustain their profitability following the reductions in freight duties on certain lines. The THC (and its rate set in the approved schedule of service tariffs) is covered in the order setting the approved consignment service tariffs.

4.4.1.3  Port services

4.1.  Guinea has two main ports: the Autonomous Port of Conakry (PAC) and the Kamsar deep-water ore terminal (13m draught). The port at Kamsar is mainly used for exporting the bauxite mined by the Bauxite Company of Guinea (CBG), which manages the port. New ports were under construction in 2017.

4.2.  The container terminal is managed by the Bolloré Group, which offers its logistics services there.0 In March 2011, the Bolloré Group is reported to have allocated €500 million over 25 years to bring the PAC up to an "international and respectable level".0 Overall, the volume of container traffic has not significantly increased, and stood at 160,000 TEU in 2016 (Chart 4.7). The PAC's weaknesses are a shallow draught, congestion, low productivity and inefficient handling, so its upgrading is a matter of priority.

4.3.  Goods traffic at the port of Conakry is shown in Table 4.6.

4.4.  Consignees operating in Guinea are associated within the Guinean Association of Shipping Agents (AGUICOM). Further to the adoption of the new Mining Code (Section 4.2.1), orders laying down the conditions for transporting Guinean minerals are henceforth adopted for three years, and include a ceiling level per type. The authorities hope that this measure will lead to a reduction in freight costs.

4.5.  The port police regulations specify all the costs associated with use of the PAC. The PAC enjoys exclusive rights for towing, pilot and berthing services and for ensuring security of ships and cargoes. Port charges were revised in 2010 in order to lower costs for operators, and have apparently not changed since. Pilot services cost €0.018/m3 of the ship's volume; and towing is invoiced at €0.052/m3. Security costs €480 per day. The vessel fee (RSN) ranges from €0.08/m3 to €0.21/m3, with special provisions for fishing vessels and reductions for ships loading exports or returning with empty containers. To this must be added a fee for goods unloaded or loaded in the

0 According to L'Express Guinée, viewed at: http://www.lexpressguinee.com/fichiers/blog16-999.php?type=rub2&langue=fr&code=calb3697.

0 Decree No. D/174/PRG/CNDD/SGG/2010 of 29 July 2010, establishing the OGC; Order No. 2010/4549/MT/SGG of 30 July 2010 on organization and operation of the OGC; and Order No. 2010/4035/MT/SGG of 1 September 2010 amending Order No. 2010/3096/MT/SGG introducing the BSC for general goods.

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2016/09/16/vincent-bollore-et-le-port-maudit-de-conakry_4998780_3212.html#25ryqikDQ71hX7Qk.99.

0 The relevant legal references are seemingly Decrees Nos. 071 and 074 of 8 March 2011, terminating the GETMA concession.

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PAC, expressed in Guinean francs per container, or per tonne for bulk goods.0 There are also charges for renting quayside warehouses (€6.5/m2 per year), open storage yards (€10/m2 per year) and for using public equipment in the port.

Chart 4.12 Volume of container traffic in West Africa, 2016

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

Nigeria Ghana Côted'Ivoire

Senegal Benin Togo Guinea SierraLeone

Mauritania Gambia

(Thousands of TEU)

Note: Includes estimates for countries for which no current-year data were available.Source: UNCTAD Secretariat.

Table 4.21 Overall goods traffic at the port of Conakry, 2010, 2015, 2016(Thousands of tonnes)Description 2010 2015 2016Imports, of which: 3,201 4,293 5,061Food products 781 1,262 1,933Gas oil, petrol and others 880 964Cement 442 1,171 1,227Exports, of which: 3,876 3,797 3,659Bauxite 2,842 3,597 3,399Alumina 604 0 0Plant products 215 84 76Pro memoria:Number of vessels (thousands of containersa) 700 (165) 1,112 (112) 1,117 (176)a TEU = twenty-foot equivalent units.Source: Autonomous Port of Conakry.

4.6.  All ancillary port activities (transit, consignment, handling and transport) have been provided by the private sector since 1987. Consignment and handling companies (both on board and on land) must however be approved by the Ministry. The major handling firms are Maersk, GETMA Guinea and SDV. There are no restrictions on the presence of foreign handling firms, except that for handling sacks (rice, flour, other foodstuffs) the companies must undertake to employ Guinean dockers recruited from the port labour office.0

4.7.  Professionals working in the shipping sector (consignees, handlers, etc.) belong to the Guinean Association of Maritime and Port Companies (AGEMAP). The maximum charges for services are determined by the operators, formed into economic interest groups (including the Consignees Organization and the Organization of Cargo Handlers), and then approved by the Ministry of Transport. A document approved by the National Merchant Marine Directorate sets the rates for consignment services. According to this document, in 2011 a delivery note for a passenger vehicle cost €13.8/unit.0 On top of this, there is a "customs shift" charge of €3.8, "damage fees" of €4.3/vehicle (and €6.1 for a TEU container), and the "bank guarantee letter" invoiced at €36.5. An administrative fee of €16.8 is charged for each bill of lading, and any amendment to a manifest costs €27; bills of lading for imports are invoiced at 3% of the value of

0 Using an exchange rate of GNF 10,000 per euro.0 Order No. 10629/MT/SGG of 26 November 2004, extended in 2006.0 Using an exchange rate of GNF 10,000 per euro.

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the goods imported, with a minimum of €29 (on export: €16.9 per bill of lading). In addition, where applicable, there are additional "SGS 2 TEU pre-inspection" charges of €152 per container. A "refrigeration connection" costs €38/day. Finally, the security fee is €11/container. It was not possible to ascertain whether these rates had changed.

4.4.1.4  Road transport

4.1.  Guinea's ability to develop its trade in goods and, in particular, to attract traffic from Mali and other landlocked countries, will depend to a large extent on the efforts made to upgrade and maintain its various road corridors; and especially on simplification of the customs regulations governing road transit (Section 3.1.3). The road network currently covers 35,000 km, of which some 15% are paved. The generally poor state of the roads means that they are hardly suited for transit purposes. There are frequent supply problems in Guinea's interior. According to the authorities, the current priorities are, inter alia, organizing and developing road corridors to promote inter-State transport; and computerizing the management of the country's vehicle fleet and the system for issuing transport documents (driving licences, vehicle registration documents, transport authorizations, etc.).

4.2.  A large proportion of road transport is provided by the informal sector, without any regulation. Goods transport with neighbouring countries is regulated by the Inter-State Road Transport (ISRT) Convention. Since 2010, vehicle roadworthiness tests are mandatory in order to allow Guinean carriers to operate abroad. However, exclusive rights to conduct these roadworthiness checks were granted to a single company (SIVITA), which failed to execute the service and is no longer in existence. At end 2017, mandatory vehicle roadworthiness checks were liberalized by a new decree.

4.3.  Guinea participates in the Improved Road Transport Governance Initiative on International Roads (IRTG), under the auspices of ECOWAS. The purpose of the IRTG is to lessen the number of random checks and the bribery which are the cause of long delays for lorries travelling through West Africa. According to the authorities, considerable progress has been made in eradicating the informal checkpoints set up on Guinea's roads, and roadblocks are forbidden throughout Guinea.

4.4.  As far as cross-border transport of goods is concerned, Guinea has not yet introduced the necessary mechanisms for operation of the ISRT scheme envisaged in the relevant convention signed by the member countries of ECOWAS. Efforts are reportedly under way to bring the ISRT into effect.

4.5.  Road transport services, as well as maintenance and repair of road transport equipment, are among the specific commitments made by Guinea under the GATS, without any special conditions on commercial presence as far as carriers of passengers are concerned, although prior approval by the Minister of Transport is required for those carrying freight.0

4.4.1.5  Rail transport

4.1.  The railway network comprises one 662-km public metric-gauge line between Conakry and Kankan, apparently being rebuilt in 2017; and three private lines belonging to mining companies. The National Railway Authority of Guinea (ONCFG) is responsible for public assets (buildings, locomotives, track). The three private lines are:

the line operated by the Kindia Bauxite Company (CBK), which links the port of Conakry to the mining site at Débélé, and is 110 km long (1.4 m standard gauge);

the 140-km (metric gauge) Friguia line not currently in operation, which should be brought back into service and connect the ACG alumina plant to Conakry after its restoration in 2018; and

the line operated by the Bauxite Company of Guinea (CBG), 135 km long, standard gauge, linking the mine at Sangaredi to the port of Kamsar.

0 WTO document GATS/SC/102 of 30 August 1995.

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4.4.1.6  Air transport

4.1.  Air transport activities are governed by Law No. L/2013/063/CNT of 5 November 2013 containing the Civil Aviation Code of the Republic of Guinea, replacing a law from 1995.0 In 2017, the National Civil Aviation Directorate became the Civil Aviation Agency (AGAC).0 The Air Navigation Agency (ANA) retains responsibility for air navigation safety. The Roberts Flight Information Region (FIR) manages Guinea's airspace, against payment by the air transport companies of US$0.007/km travelled in the airspace. Guinea is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

4.2.  Guinea has one international airport at Conakry and 14 airfields in the interior, four of which belong to mining companies, while the other 10 are not in use. Current installed capacity stands at 800,000 passengers, and Conakry Airport carries an average of 300,000 passengers a year, including arrivals, departures and transit (Chart 4.8).

Chart 4.13 International departures, 2011-2017

137.8147.5 142.1

90.5

13.8

172.9

153.7

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

(Thousands)

Source: Information provided by the authorities.

4.3.  The airport is managed by the Conakry Airport Management and Operation Company (SOGEAC), which is the sole provider of all ground handling services. SOGEAC's capital is held by the State (51%), and the remainder by Aéroports de Paris (ADP) and the Chamber of Commerce of Bordeaux (France).

4.4.  An aircraft may only be registered in Guinea if it is at least 51% owned by one or more natural persons of Guinean nationality, or legal persons incorporated under Guinean law. Transport companies under Guinean law must have Guinean partners. There are a few Guinean air transport companies, all of them private. Derogations allowing a foreign enterprise to provide air transport services may be granted on an exceptional basis by the AGAC, under the terms laid down in the regulations. Applicants must submit a written application to the Ministry responsible for civil aviation, attaching the company's articles of incorporation and structure, and have a minimum capital of GNF 50 million (around €5,000). Professional flight crews in civil aviation must be of Guinean nationality, except where temporary derogations are granted (Article IX).

4.5.  Under Article VII of the new Code, business practices having the purpose or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in civil aviation are prohibited and liable to the sanctions foreseen in the prevailing rules governing competition in Guinea. These include practices that serve to limit market access or the free exercise of competition between enterprises; or

0 Law No. L/95/024/CTRN of 2 June 1995.0 Decree No. D/2017/048/PRG/SGG of 25 February 2017 on the establishment, duties, organization and

operation of the Guinean Civil Aviation Authority (AGAC), Official Journal No. 3, March 2013. Viewed at: http://agac-guinee.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DECRET-PORTANT-CREATION-ET-ATTRIBUTIONS-ORGANISATION-ET-FONCTIO.pdf.

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impede the determination of prices by free operation of the market, artificially pushing them up or down.

4.6.  Guinea states that it applies the provisions of the 1988 Yamoussoukro Declaration, which liberalized airspace in the States Parties on a reciprocal basis. Foreign commercial presence and traffic rights granted to foreign companies flying to Guinea are also governed by bilateral agreements. Guinea has signed such agreements with some 40 countries. Since 2011, agreements have been concluded with Belgium (2015), Turkey (2016) and Rwanda (2016). Older agreements generally cover third and fourth air freedom rights, and do not give fifth freedom rights. Several new airlines have begun to serve Conakry Airport since 2011. Companies operating there as at end 2017 included Air France, ASKY, Brussels Airlines, Aigle Azur, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Transair, Tunisair and Turkish Airlines.

4.4.2  Telecommunications and postal services

4.4.2.1  Overview

4.1.  The subsector comprises four mobile telephone companies (GSM) totalling 11.1 million subscribers at end June 2017, compared with 4.3 million at end 2010. They are MTN, Orange Guinea, Cellcom and Intercel+. Three of them also provide 3G data services. In 2017, the market also included four Internet service providers (ISPs). The slight fall in relation to 2015 (Table 4.7) is explained by the deletion of unidentified customers from the operators' databases.0 The incumbent operator SOTELGUI, the sole company licensed for fixed telephony, went into receivership in 2012, and ceased operating its network in 2014. In 2017, Guinea Telecom took over the assets of the then dissolved SOTELGUI, with State participation.0 On the basis of available data, the number of Internet users rose from 30,000 at end 2010 to 2.4 million at end 2015, and the percentage of the population with Internet access has quadrupled since 2013.

Table 4.22 Telecommunication indicators, 2011-20162011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Exports of services (US$ million) 32.65 49.15 63.62 66,63 78.24 n.a.Imports of services (US$ million) 10.55 9.85 10.69 10,12 9.19 9.02Percentage of individuals using the Internet 0.6 1.3 8.2 20,2 22.4 32.2Number of mobile telephone subscribers (thousands) 5,364 5,587 7,536 9,750 10,765 10,712Mobile-cellular telephone subscribers per 100 inhabitants 49.4 49.9 65.3 85.5 99.1 97Number of Internet subscribers (thousands) 68 143 945 2,147 2,438 3,597Fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 0.16 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00n.a. Not available.Source: WTO Secretariat, on the basis of data provided by the Post and Telecommunication Regulatory

Authority (ARPT).

4.2.  In August 2012, the Guinean broadband company Guinéenne de large bande (GUILAB) was created to manage capacity allocated to Guinea on the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable.0 Work on the project to equip the country with optical fibre was launched in 2014, for an anticipated 4,000 km of cable; together with a legislative framework to manage optical fibre. The national optical fibre backbone, with 3,700 km of cable as at December 2017, is managed by the (entirely State-owned) (SOGEB), set up in 2014 to manage the last kilometre. Capacity (international bandwidth) for access to the global Internet has thus improved significantly.

4.3.  Since 2015, Internet access in Guinea is either by satellite or through the GUILAB connection to the submarine cable. GUILAB is a public-private partnership in which the State has a 52% stake, the rest being shared among private operators. It only supplies capacity to large operators, not to the public. It represents the common interests of its shareholders in dealings with the ACE Consortium. It provides infrastructures to telecommunication operators and ISPs that require a broadband connection. The total capacity of the ACE cable is 40 Gbit/s. Through GUILAB, the State is committed to respecting the principle of open access for all licensed telecom operators. The

0 Post and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ARPT), 2016 Annual Report. Viewed at: http://www.arpt.gov.gn/sites/default/files/Documentation/rapport_annuel_arpt_2016.pdf.

0 Decree No. D/2014/199/PRG/SGG establishing the National Backbone Management Company (SOGEB).0 Decree No. D/2012/101/PRG/SGG of 28 August 2012.

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shareholders undertake to give any interested third party equitable right of access to capacity on the cable through lease or usage rights.

4.4.2.2  Regulation

4.1.  In August 2015, Law No. 2015/018/AN was adopted and promulgated, on telecommunications and information technologies, which transposes the ECOWAS supplementary acts into national law.0 The following regulatory implementing decrees have been issued:

Decree No. 328 of 14 November 2016 on the organization and operation of the National Council for the Digital Agenda;

Decree No. 329 of 14 November 2016 on the operation of the National Council on ICTs for All;

Decree No. 264 of 29 August 2016 on the establishment, operation, organization and functions of the Research and Training Fund (FRF);

Decree No. 265 of 29 August 2016 on the establishment and operation of the National Agency on Electronic Governance and State Information Technology (ANGEIE);

Decree No. 266 of 29 August 2016 on the establishment and operation of the National Information Systems Security Agency (ANSSI);

Decree No. 268 of 16 October 2017 on rules governing technical and administrative management of the national Internet domain (.gn); and

Joint Order No. 4769 of 6 October 2015 on rates for duties, operating fees and type-approval fees for certain telecommunication/ICT and postal equipment and facilities.

4.2.  Moreover, two further laws were passed in 2016, on electronic transactions and on cybersecurity and personal data privacy protection.0 In December 2014, the arrangements governing the implementation of universal access and digital solidarity were defined.0 Law No. L/2015/002/AN instituting a telephone consumption tax (TCT) (see below) was promulgated in March 2015.

4.3.  The Post and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ARPT) has been the regulator since 2008, and maintains a regularly updated website where the principal legislative and regulatory texts can be viewed.0 The ARPT comes under the Ministry responsible for telecommunications, posts and the digital economy, which is the ministry currently in charge of the subsector. 0 It enjoys full financial autonomy, but its executives are appointed by the President of the Republic. The new law sets up a five-member National Regulatory Council, under the ARPT.

4.4.  The new legal framework continues to provide for several distinct regimes: a regime for licences, required to operate a public network, for instance; an authorization regime (for example, for networks not open to the public); a type-approval regime for equipment and installations; a declaration regime for the supply of value-added services; and a free regime (for example, for internal networks). The new law obliges all operators to take out a global licence (data and GSM).

4.5.  The following require a licence issued by the Ministry responsible for telecommunications: establishment and/or operation of the public telecommunication service network, or an independent network using public domains and radio systems; and Internet service providers. Licences are granted by the responsible Ministry, after applications have been examined by the

0 Law No. 2015/018/AN on telecommunications and information technologies was adopted in 2015. Viewed at: http://www.arpt.gov.gn/reglementation/lois-et-ordonnances.

0 Laws Nos. L/2016/035/AN and L/2016/037/AN. Viewed at: http://www.arpt.gov.gn/sites/default/files/Documentation/loi_l-2016-035-an_relative_aux_transactions_electroniques.pdf; and http://www.arpt.gov.gn/sites/default/files/Documentation/loi_l2016037an_relative_a_la_cybersecurite_et_protection_des_do.pdf.

0 Decree No. D/2014/252/PRG/SGG of 12 December 2014.0 Online information from the ARPT, viewed at: http://www.arptguinee.org.0 The Ministry does not appear to have a website. Its duties are laid down in a decree of 2008 viewed on

the government portal. Viewed at: http://www.guinee.gov.gn/ liredecret.php?id=30.

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ARPT, and are published in an order. Licences must be accompanied by terms and conditions stipulating the licence holder's rights and obligations, applied in a strictly identical manner to all operators holding a licence within the same category.

4.6.  The establishment and operation of an independent network using the public domain but not using radio systems require authorization from the ARPT, as do the construction and operation of wireless networks and the provision of services not open to the public.

4.7.  The following require approval: wireless installations; certain terminal equipment to be connected to the public telecommunication network; and telecommunication equipment installations for internal networks. The approval is issued by the ARPT, in accordance with the procedures it has laid down. The operators concerned are responsible for repairs to the network. A National Information Systems Security Agency (ANSSI) was set up in 2016.

4.8.  The new law provides that the content of universal service is to be defined by the Ministry following a proposal by the ARPT, but this had not yet been done by the beginning of December 2017. A universal service and digital solidarity (FSU-SN) policy and strategy has not yet been finalized. Nevertheless, the ARPT has continued to collect universal service contributions from operators. Decree No. D/2014/252/PRG/SGG of 12 December 2014 lays down the arrangements for implementing universal access to electronic communications in Guinea.

4.9.  Telecommunication service prices are proposed by the operators and require approval by the ARPT. Any proposal by a company to modify the tariff (price) must be substantiated. In May 2010, three mobile telecommunication companies decided to increase and harmonize their tariffs, following which a complaint was filed against them for abuse of dominant position. There have been no further cases of this nature since.

4.10.  The law contains an interconnection obligation and an instruction to the effect that interconnection service tariffs shall be cost-oriented. Operators must publish their interconnection price schedules, following approval by the ARPT. The latter may intervene if needed to settle conflicts and disputes and/or, where appropriate, to revise interconnection agreements, taking into account the interests of users.

4.11.  A series of charges are levied in the sector, some of them new:

Value added tax, introduced in 1995 at the rate of 18%, was increased to 20% in 2016 and then brought back down to 18% in 2017;

A telephone network access tax (TARTEL) was introduced in January 2015, payable by operators in the amount of 3% of their turnover;

The telephone consumption tax (TCT), applicable since June 20150, of GNF 1 per second of fixed and mobile telephone calls, whether domestic or international, interconnection and roaming (see aforementioned Order No. 2875 of 9 June 2015, on the TCT);

The interconnection charge, payable to the Regulatory Authority, was revised0; and

The TCT was extended to apply to SMS (GNF 10, equivalent to US$0.0013) and to Internet contracts (5% of the contract price) by the Finance Law of 2016. According to the authorities, this prompted a sharp fall in SMS traffic in 2016;

The tax on incoming international traffic also remains in place, at US$0.28, payable by the foreign operator to the local operator.0

4.12.  Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone signed a memorandum of understanding in Abidjan on 28 November 2016 for the implementation of free roaming between their respective countries. This has been implemented between Guinea, Senegal,

0 Law No. L/2015/002/AN of 20 March 2015, Joint Order No. 2875 of 9 June 2015 and MPTNTI Order No. 5887 of 3 November 2015.

0 Order No. 2162 of 30 June 2017 on the interconnection charge for telecommunication operators in the Republic of Guinea.

0 Order No. 1135 of 28 May 2010 setting the international tariff for calls to the Republic of Guinea and the shares to be paid to the ARPT and to local public telecommunication network operators.

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Mali, Togo and Burkina Faso since 31 March 2017. The first 300 minutes of calls are billed at the tariff prevailing in the user's place of residence (or subscription) when he/she is roaming in one of the other countries, for a period of 30 calendar days. For SMS, too, the roaming subscriber pays the tariff applicable in his/her place of residence.

4.13.  According to the authorities, "mobile money" is widely used, especially for money transfers in Guinea. Beyond the aforementioned law on electronic transactions and the law on cybersecurity and data protection, there is as yet no specific regulation on mobile money. However, since 2017 there is a new law for the BCRG which henceforth incorporates provisions on e-money businesses.

4.14.  Guinea did not undertake any specific commitments in regard to telecommunication services under the GATS and did not take part in the WTO negotiations on basic telecommunication services, which concluded in 1997. It did not make any market access offer in the Doha Round of negotiations.

4.4.2.3  Postal services

4.1.  Guinea's postal sector comprises, on the one hand, the Guinean Post Office (OPG), a State-owned industrial and commercial entity under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, with autonomous administrative and financial management; and, on the other hand, numerous Guinean and foreign private operators (such as DHL, TNT, Bolloré Logistique, UPS, Moka Express, Nimba Plus, SF-Transit, etc.). A new law on postal services came into effect in 2016, replacing the Law of 2005.0 The new law opened up Guinea's postal market to greater competition, except for activities reserved for the operator in charge of the universal postal service, namely: ordinary (non-express) national and international mail weighing less than 1 kg; domestic express mail items of 1 kg or less stamped at five times the basic weight rate; direct mail; and services relating to registered and insured mail. As universal service provider, the OPG is the sole entity responsible for issuing stamps; postal securities; postal cheques; and the savings fund (suspended since 1979, but restored under the new law).

4.2.  The new law provides for two legal regimes for the development or operation of postal activities or services, namely: concession agreement – applicable to any operator responsible for the universal postal service; and licence – applicable to any other operator.

4.3.  The new law establishes a universal postal service fund, financed by a levy of up to 2% of the turnover of postal operators incorporated in the Republic of Guinea (except the operator designated as being responsible for the universal postal service), collected by the ARPT.

4.4.3  Financial services

4.4.3.1  Overview

4.1.  The indicators compiled by the IMF (Table 4.8) suggest an increase in banking penetration in the national economy, attributable in particular to the strong progression of mobile money transfer services since 2012.

Table 4.23 Financial services, 2011-20162011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Commercial bank servicesBranches per 100,000 adults 1.4 1.6 1.6 2.2 2.3 n.a.Automated teller machines (ATMs) per 1,000 km2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 n.a.Depositors per 1,000 adults 48.9 56.3 58.5 65.3 70.5 n.a.Mobile money accounts: active per 1,000 adults 0.0 0.0 1.0 5.0 5.7 n.a.Outstanding deposits with banks (% of GDP) 13.9 12.3 19.8 21.5 23.8 n.a.Loan accounts per 1,000 adults 10.8 13.1 16.9 14.1 13.7 n.a.Insurance coverage n.a.Policy holders with insurance companies 71,211 88,230 98,687 83,346 84,668 n.a.of which life insurance 18,093 29,027 41,543 31,575 31,402 n.a.of which non-life insurance 53,118 59,203 57,144 51,771 53,266 n.a.n.a. Not available.Source: IMF Financial Access Survey (FAS).

0 Law No. L/2016/036/AN on the postal service. Viewed at: http://www.arpt.gov.gn/reglementation/lois-et-ordonnances.

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4.4.3.2  Banking system

4.1.  According to the activity report of the Directorate of Bank Supervision, deposits within the banking system reached GNF 12,280 billion (around US$1.4 billion) in 2016, as compared with GNF 9,600 billion in 2009. In 2017, the banking system comprised 16 approved banks in operation. These banks associate Guinean and foreign private partners alongside French and African banking groups. Three banks together accounted for 57% of loans at end 2016, namely:

ECOBANK; General Banking Company of Guinea (Société générale de banques en Guinée); and International Bank for Trade and Industry of Guinea (BICIGUI).

4.2.  Four new banks have been approved since 2011, while three have closed down. In addition, the African Bank for Agricultural and Mining Development (BADAM), in which the State held a 30% stake in 2011, went into provisional receivership in 2011 as a result of poor management and breaches of banking regulations. The other banks in which the State has a holding are the International Bank for Trade and Industry of Guinea (BICIGUI), the Sahel-Sahara Bank for Investment and Trade (BSIC) and the Morocco-Guinean People's Bank (BPMG).

4.3.  In 2013, a new Banking Law replaced the 2005 version, with the aim of improving the governance of banking establishments and customer protection.0 The statutes of the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) were also amended. Hitherto, an ordinance of 2009 had placed the BCRG under the direct authority of the President of the Republic; and the BCRG had been under the obligation to finance a share of public spending.0 The new provisions capped the BCRG's advances to the Government at 5% of the annual average of ordinary public revenues over the three previous financial years. Guinea's adoption of the Basel II solvency standard was still in progress in December 2017.

4.4.  Prior authorization from the BCRG's Approvals Committee is still required in order to create a loan institution or to modify its legal status or make any modification leading to a change that exceeds 10% of its capital. Transfer of over 20% of a bank's assets also requires prior authorization from the Committee.

4.5.  Both Guinean nationals and foreigners may open a bank in Guinea. If the applicant is controlled by a foreign bank, approval requires endorsement by the supervisory authority in the country of origin, provided that this authority exercises supervision on a consolidated basis at the global level. The Approvals Committee takes its decision within six months of the date of receipt of the documents constituting the application for approval. Unless a waiver is obtained, only Guinean nationals may be directors, administrators or managers of a loan institution, unless the foreign person benefits from provisions allowing reciprocity under an agreement signed between his or her country of origin and Guinea. Quite a few derogations are apparently granted.0 The law also imposes an obligation of residence for Chairs of governing bodies. The Banking Law (Article 51) requires banks to be incorporated as closed-end limited liability companies with fixed capital or as open-end cooperative or mutual companies with variable capital. Under the Banking Law, any loan institution must, within the month following approval, join the Professional Association of Loan Institutions of Guinea.0

4.6.  In 2014, the regulatory minimum capital requirement for banks was increased from GNF 50 billion to GNF 100 billion (around €10 million), with a grace period of two years (until  2016) to achieve compliance. At end 2016, two banks had not yet met this regulatory minimum capital requirement.

4.7.  The tax on financial activities (TAF) applies to banking and financial services which are exempt from VAT. The rate is 5% for loans with a term exceeding one year and 13% for other operations. The BCRG does not keep statistics on the evolution of bank interest rates.

4.8.  In addition to its central bank functions, the BCRG engages in gold-purchasing operations and provides assistance to diamond agencies and exporters of precious stones.

0 Law No. L/2005/010/AN adopting and enacting the Law regulating loan establishments in Guinea. Viewed at: http://bcrg-guinee.org/supervision1.aspx.

0 The Ordinance which provided that the Central Bank may discount, purchase or accept government bonds and securities and portfolio investment issued or guaranteed by the State is no longer in force.

0 Activities Report of the Directorate of Bank Supervision, 2015.0 This association does not appear to have a website.

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4.9.  In November 2012, the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), of which Guinea is a member, published a mutual evaluation report.0 The new Banking Law prohibits the granting of approval to shell banks on Guinean national territory and prohibits Guinean financial institutions from entering into business relations with a shell bank (Article 31.5).

4.4.3.3  Microfinance

4.1.  The number of microfinance institutions climbed from 10 to 22 between 2009 and 2016, with an aggregate deposit and loan balance of GNF 281 and GNF 415 billion, respectively, in 2016 (around US$31 and 46 million), a sharp increase over 2010 (GNF 40 and GNF 65 billion), and close to 531,000 clients. The Guinean Rural Credit Bank, set up in 1988 with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD) alone accounts for 55% of deposits in 2016.

4.2.  In July 2017, the National Assembly adopted a new Law on inclusive financial institutions in the Republic of Guinea, modernizing the legislation of 20050 on microfinance institutions and incorporating postal finance services.0 The new law notably provides for reintroducing postal finance services and electronic money transfers (mobile money). A microfinance institution must, within three months after its approval or authorization, join the Professional Association of Microfinance Institutions of Guinea (APIMG). In addition, the National Microfinance Agency (ANAMIF) handles the promotion of microfinance.

4.4.3.4  Insurance services

4.1.   Guinea's insurance market experienced strong nominal growth in 2016, yet still remains very limited, at around €3 of annual insurance spending per capita, or 0.42% of GDP - which is well below the African average (2.8%).0 Life and non-life insurance represent, respectively, 23% and 77% of total market turnover (which is GNF 316 billion, or around €300 million). There were 16 insurance companies operating in 2016, with a high degree of concentration: the three main companies account for 71% of total turnover. There were also 62 intermediaries on the market in 2016, of which 39 were brokers and 23 general agents, grouped within the Professional Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers. There is no established reinsurance company in Guinea.

4.2.  The 1995 Code was amended in 2016.0 This reform introduced new provisions, in particular in relation to bancassurance, micro-insurance, combating money laundering and combating the funding of terrorism. The revision provides for risk-based supervision. The BCRG is responsible for the prudential supervision of insurance companies. Insurance brokers or agents must be of Guinean nationality, or citizens of a State that grants reciprocity in insurance services (Article 342).

4.3.  Local enterprises, including importers established on the national territory, are, in principle, required to take out their insurance policies (damage, civil liability) with local companies (Article 6 of the Code) and in Guinean francs (Article 7). The Code sets the maximum rate for assignment of premiums at 50% (Article 381), except for the maritime, air and rail transport branches. According to the BCRG, local insurance companies assigned 23% of premiums invoiced in 2016 to foreign reinsurers. In practice, the BCRG often signs off on derogations allowing the totality of the insurance to be abroad, especially in the case of large risks. The Code does not permit Guinean insurance companies to underwrite risks abroad.

4.4.  Not more than 55% of the capital of an insurance company under Guinean law may be in foreign hands (Article 231). Its board of directors must also meet Guinean nationality conditions (Articles 388-9). All companies are free to operate in all areas, provided that their products are approved by the BCRG. However, since the 2016 reform, life and non-life insurance may no longer be provided by the same company. Since September 2010, the minimum capital has been set at GNF 10 billion (€1 million) if the insurance company is incorporated as a public limited company, and GNF 3 billion (€300,000) if it is a mutual company.0

0 Online information viewed at: http://www.giaba.org/media/f/506_fre-rem.0 Law No. l/2005/020/AN on microfinance organizes the profession by laying down the conditions

governing the exercise of microfinance activities, organization, and the granting and withdrawal of approval.0 Online information viewed at: http://guinee7.com/2017/07/09/la-guinee-se-dote-dune-loi-sur-les-

institutions-financieres-inclusives/#vkJOT9kv28ozQVhW.99.0 Federation of African National Insurance Companies (FANAF) (2016).0 Law No. L/94/018/CTRN of 1 June 1994 containing the Insurance Code was replaced by Law

No. L/2016/034/AN containing the Insurance Code of the Republic of Guinea.

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4.5.  Motor vehicle civil liability insurance is compulsory; as is transport insurance for imports, even though the certificate is not demanded in practice. Nonetheless, a sum of 5% is added to the customs value of imports in order to take into account the cost of insuring the imported goods.0

4.6.  The minimum civil liability insurance premiums for vehicles are set by the Professional Association of Insurers of Guinea, and are subject to the prior opinion of the BCRG. As a result, premiums may vary from one company to another. Prices are set freely by the companies.

4.4.4  Tourism and crafts

4.4.4.1  Tourism

4.1.  Although Guinea boasts exceptional natural assets, in 2015 only 35,000 non-residents visited. The political crisis of 2009-2010, followed by the Ebola epidemic, go a long way to explaining the slump in the number of visitors to Guinea since 2011 (Table 4.9). In 2015, Guinea had 410 hotels, offering a capacity of around 1,750 rooms.

Table 4.24 Guinea inbound tourism indicators, 2011-2015(Thousands)Base data and indicators Units 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015Total overnight visitors1 ('000) 131 96 56 33 35- For personal reasons (holidays, etc.) ('000) 76 58 28 17 17- For business and professional reasons ('000) 55 38 29 16 18Arrivals by air ('000) 131 96 56 33 35AccommodationTotal nights2,3 ('000) 5,581 3,306 8 523 4,318 2,681Hotel nights2 ('000) 1,302 1,145 1,829 333 1,840Number of hotels for visitors Units 376 376 378 380 410Inbound tourists/population Units 0.01 0.01 0.005 0.003 0.003Notes: (1) Arrivals by air at Conakry Airport; (2) Non-residents in hotels, all categories. The data stem from

the length of stay in hotels declared by visitors on the embarkation/disembarkation (E/D) cards on their arrival at the airport (undeclared stay durations are not included); (3) Including private accommodation.

Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Compendium of tourism statistics 2011-2015, 2017 edition.

4.2.  The Ministry of Hotel Services, Tourism and Crafts is responsible for regulating and developing the sector. According to the Ministry, Guinea's entire tourism policy was under review in 2017. Hotel and restaurant services and tourist guide services were the subject of specific commitments by Guinea under the GATS.0 The Schedule specifies that only foreign hotel managers and senior technical experts are allowed, but does not lay down any other conditions for commercial presence. The tax on hotel services is GNF 10,000 per hotel night. Guinea has been a member of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) since 1985. Together with nine other countries in the region, it takes part in the project to develop sustainable tourism in cross-border parks and protected areas in West Africa.0

4.4.4.2  Crafts

4.1.  Promotion of crafts, under the responsibility of the Ministry responsible for tourism, was enshrined in the Crafts Code of 1998 and in the Crafts Development Policy Letter in 2003. These documents are reportedly under review. The National Crafts Promotion Board, set up in 2011, is tasked with carrying out activities to promote crafts, but lacks financial resources to fulfil its mandate. It is responsible, inter alia, for working to promote craft products on the international market, and for issuing certificates of origin for products; but no certificates have been issued. Guinea is a member of the Coordination Committee for the Development and Promotion of African Handicrafts (CODEPA).

0 Decision No. D/014/CAM/REA on raising the minimum registered capital for public limited mutual insurance companies and initial funds for mutual insurance companies of 21 September 2010.

0 Online information from Guinea Customs, viewed at: http://douanesguinee.gov.gn/tarifs/.0 WTO document GATS/SC/102 of 30 August 1995.0 Online information viewed at: http://africa.unwto.org.

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4.4.5  Professional and business services

4.1.  Trade in professional and business services is largely based on the movement of natural persons - mode 4 in the modes of supply of services envisaged by the GATS. 0 In terms of Guinea's openness to foreign workers, Guinea's Labour Code treats citizens of ECOWAS member States in the same way as Guinean workers.0 By contrast, an employer planning to hire a foreign worker who is not an ECOWAS national must obtain prior authorization from the Ministry responsible for employment. The authorities have indicated that the hiring of foreign workers is governed by a special regulation; and that the duration of a work contract concluded with a foreign worker may not exceed four years, including any renewals.

4.2.  The number of accountants in 2017 was 62, 41 being natural persons and 21 legal persons. They are governed by Ordinance No. 42/PRG/SG of 25 February 1985, on the Order of Chartered Accountants and Approved Accountants, under the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. Order No. A/95/3094 is the implementing text for this Ordinance that regulates the profession of chartered accountant and approved accountant. No one may exercise the profession of chartered accountant without being already registered or holding an attestation of registration in the register of the Order of Chartered Accountants and Approved Accountants, pursuant to Article 4 of that Order. Only chartered accountants duly registered in the register of the Order may exercise the profession of auditor. The Order of Chartered Accountants and Approved Accountants fulfils the function of self-regulation of the sector.

4.3.  Services supplied by lawyers are governed by Law No. 2004/014/AN of 26 May 2004 on organization of the profession of lawyer in Guinea, and are overseen by the Ministry of Justice. In 2017, 213 lawyers were registered with the Bar Association, chaired by a President of the Bar elected from among the lawyers who have been on the Bar register for ten years, for a two-year term renewable only once. The Order acts as the body for self-regulation of the profession. Services provided by notaries are governed by Law No. L/93/003/CTRN of 18 February 1993 laying down the statutes of the profession of notary. There are 18 notaries in Guinea. Notaries are overseen by the Ministry of Justice and the Chamber of Notaries.

0 The four modes are: cross-border supply (mode 1), consumption abroad (mode 2), commercial presence (mode 3), and presence of natural persons (mode 4).

0 Labour Code. Viewed at: http://images.mofcom.gov.cn/gn/201702/20170211004408568.pdf.

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5  APPENDIX TABLES

Table A1. 1 Structure of exports, 2011-2015(US$ million and %)

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015World (US$ million) 1,731.6 2,174.1 1,780.5 1,946.7 1,573.7

(percentage share)Total primary products 41.3 24.6 29.4 36.2 43.4Agriculture 3.9 14.9 2.9 4.7 6.5 Food 2.4 1.2 1.6 3.0 4.5 0577 - Edible nuts, fresh or dried 0.7 0.2 0.6 1.6 1.5 0721 - Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.3 1.2 0711 - Coffee, not roasted 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.5 0341 - Fish, fresh or chilled 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0342 - Fish, frozen 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0712 - Coffee, roasted 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 Agricultural raw materials 1.5 13.7 1.3 1.7 2.0 2312 - Natural rubber (other than latex) 1.2 13.5 1.2 1.4 1.7 2631 - Cotton (other than linters), not carded or combed 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 2484 - Wood of non-coniferous species 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.1Mining 37.3 9.7 26.6 31.4 36.9 Ores and other minerals 36.4 4.5 25.9 30.9 36.7 2851 - Aluminium ores and concentrates 26.5 2.0 24.3 30.2 36.6 Non-ferrous metals 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Fuels 1.0 5.3 0.7 0.5 0.2Manufactures 12.8 10.6 17.5 13.7 16.3Iron and steel 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0Chemicals 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2Other semi-manufactures 2.1 1.9 0.6 1.5 0.2Machinery and transport equipment 5.4 3.4 4.5 1.6 7.4 Power-generating machinery 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.5 7165 - Generating sets 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 Other non-electrical machinery 1.3 2.5 2.2 0.8 0.6 Agricultural machinery and tractors 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 Office machines and telecommunications equipment 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Other electrical machinery 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 Automotive products 1.2 0.6 0.9 0.2 0.7 7822 - Special-purpose motor vehicles 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.2 7812 - Motor vehicles for the transport of persons, n.e.s. 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 7821 - Motor vehicles for the transport of goods 1.1 0.3 0.5 0.0 0.2 Other transport equipment 0.2 0.2 1.3 0.4 5.5 7935 - Light vessels, fire-floats, etc. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.1Textiles 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0Articles of apparel 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0Other consumer goods 4.9 5.1 12.2 10.5 8.5 8928 - Printed matter, n.e.s. 4.2 4.3 11.3 9.6 7.6 8931 - Articles for the conveyance or packing of goods,

of plastics 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 8933 - Floor coverings, wall or ceiling coverings 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3Other 46.0 64.8 53.0 50.1 40.3 9710 - Gold, non-monetary 45.9 64.7 52.9 50.0 40.1

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data from the UNSD Comtrade database (SITC Rev.3); and United Nations, ITC TradeMap.

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Table A1. 2 Destination of exports, 2011-2015(US$ million and %)

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015World (US$ million) 1,731.6 2,174.1 1,780.5 1,946.7 1,573.7

(percentage share)America 7.6 1.3 6.2 8.2 8.2 United States 4.5 1.1 4.2 5.6 5.4 Other America 3.1 0.2 2.1 2.6 2.8 Canada 3.1 0.0 1.9 2.6 2.8Europe 69.3 78.8 71.0 29.2 32.1 EU-28 47.6 51.8 45.0 23.7 30.2 Spain 6.4 0.2 6.0 7.0 8.6 Germany 3.6 0.2 2.9 4.8 7.3 Ireland 4.9 5.5 4.0 4.7 6.3 France 28.6 24.8 29.6 4.8 5.7 Belgium 2.8 16.6 1.5 1.5 0.9 Netherlands 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.5 Italy 0.4 3.9 0.1 0.2 0.4 EFTA 21.6 26.9 25.7 5.5 1.7 Switzerland 21.6 26.9 25.7 5.5 1.7 Other Europe 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.1Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

11.3 3.9 2.7 2.1 3.1

Ukraine 2.3 2.0 2.7 2.1 3.1Africa 5.6 8.2 5.3 23.8 26.7 Ghana 0.0 0.1 0.1 21.8 22.0 Mali 3.0 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.5 Swaziland 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3 Senegal 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.6 Sierra Leone 0.4 5.1 0.9 0.3 0.3Middle East 4.5 6.7 8.8 21.1 10.4 United Arab Emirates 3.3 5.8 8.3 20.0 9.9 Iran 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.6 0.4Asia 1.7 1.2 5.9 15.5 19.5 China 0.4 0.3 2.4 1.4 1.8 Japan 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Other Asia 1.4 0.9 3.5 14.1 17.7 India 0.8 0.3 2.4 12.9 16.4 Viet Nam 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.5 Malaysia 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.4Other 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data from the UNSD Comtrade database (SITC Rev.3); and United Nations, ITC TradeMap.

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Table A1. 3 Structure of imports, 2011-2015(US$ million and %)

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015World (US$ million) 1,911.8 2,068.5 2,401.0 2,509.2 2,138.6

(percentage share)Total primary products 45.4 36.8 52.9 57.9 40.6 Agriculture 21.0 20.3 22.0 25.8 25.0 Food 20.4 19.4 21.6 25.3 23.4 0423 - Rice, semi-milled 8.2 6.9 6.6 7.0 8.5 0612 - Other beet or cane sugar 1.4 1.0 1.5 2.3 2.2 0422 - Rice, husked but not further prepared 1.2 2.1 3.3 4.4 2.2 4222 - Palm oil and its fractions 0.9 0.8 1.4 1.4 1.9 1222 - Cigarettes containing tobacco 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 0461 - Flour of wheat or of meslin 2.5 3.3 3.1 3.1 1.0 Agricultural raw materials 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.4 1.6 2690 - Worn clothing and other worn textile articles; rags 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 1.6 Mining 24.5 16.5 30.8 32.1 15.5 Ores and other minerals 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 Non-ferrous metals 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Fuels 24.3 16.3 30.5 31.6 15.1Manufactures 54.3 62.6 46.8 41.7 58.9 Iron and steel 1.8 2.3 2.6 2.4 3.0 Chemicals 8.5 9.4 8.9 8.4 10.8 5429 - Medicaments, n.e.s. 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.1 4.9 Other semi-manufactures 8.9 9.5 8.5 6.6 7.8 6612 - Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement,

supersulphate cement and similar hydraulic cements

2.3 2.9 2.3 1.1 1.3

6624 - Bricks, tiles, pipes and similar products 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.9 6911 - Structures and parts of structures 0.6 0.9 1.2 0.8 0.9 Machinery and transport equipment 29.3 35.1 20.6 18.7 30.1 Power-generating machinery 1.3 2.6 2.0 1.2 1.9 7165 - Generating sets 0.8 1.5 1.4 0.7 1.2 Other non-electrical machinery 15.1 17.6 7.3 5.1 9.5 7239 - Parts 4.7 6.7 2.3 1.8 1.5 7232 - Mechanical shovels, excavators and shovel-loaders 2.2 2.7 0.2 0.3 1.2 7443 - Ships' derricks; cranes (including cable cranes) 0.8 0.2 0.0 0.0 1.0 7231 - Bulldozers, angledozers, etc. 0.7 0.6 0.1 0.0 1.0 Agricultural machinery and tractors 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.3 Office machines and telecommunications equipment 2.6 2.5 2.8 3.2 1.1 Other electrical machinery 2.1 3.3 3.3 4.6 3.4 Automotive products 6.1 7.0 2.6 2.9 6.4 7812 - Motor vehicles for the transport of persons, n.e.s. 2.6 3.0 1.4 1.7 3.1 7821 - Motor vehicles for the transport of goods 1.4 1.7 0.3 0.4 1.4 Other transport equipment 2.1 2.1 2.5 1.8 7.9 7935 - Light vessels, fire-floats, etc. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 3.9 Textiles 0.9 1.0 2.2 1.0 1.3 Articles of apparel 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.7 Other consumer goods 4.5 4.8 3.7 4.1 5.2Other 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.6

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data from the UNSD Comtrade database (SITC Rev.3); and United Nations, ITC TradeMap.

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Table A1. 4 Origin of imports, 2011-2015(US$ million and %)

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015World (US$ million) 1,911.8 2,068.5 2,401.0 2,509.2 2,138.6

(percentage share)America 7.6 5.8 5.2 4.3 4.9 United States 4.5 3.7 3.0 1.8 2.7 Other America 3.2 2.1 2.2 2.5 2.2 Brazil 2.0 1.0 1.2 1.8 1.7Europe 48.6 42.7 51.5 47.8 40.5 EU-28 47.2 40.8 49.1 46.0 38.1 Netherlands 17.9 14.7 30.5 30.7 13.4 Belgium 7.4 6.5 3.5 3.6 8.1 France 7.2 8.0 6.5 5.4 6.7 Germany 0.7 1.3 1.6 1.2 1.7 Spain 0.7 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.6 Italy 1.6 2.0 1.0 1.1 1.4 Portugal 2.0 1.6 0.2 0.2 1.1 Slovenia 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9 EFTA 0.2 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.7 Other Europe 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.5 1.7 Turkey 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.4 1.7Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.7

Africa 11.4 12.6 7.7 7.2 10.0 Ghana 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.2 2.7 Senegal 1.2 0.9 0.6 0.6 1.8 Morocco 2.1 3.4 3.6 3.0 1.4 South Africa 2.0 3.0 1.3 0.9 1.0Middle East 3.8 3.4 3.3 4.8 10.3 United Arab Emirates 2.6 2.2 2.0 3.0 6.5 Lebanese Republic 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.8 2.3 Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.1Asia 28.1 34.9 31.9 35.4 33.6 China 8.8 12.7 11.6 14.0 14.9 Japan 0.6 1.5 1.8 1.7 0.7 Other Asia 18.8 20.7 18.5 19.7 17.9 India 2.9 6.3 7.1 10.1 10.9 Singapore 1.8 0.9 1.2 0.7 2.5 Malaysia 1.5 2.3 1.1 1.2 1.3Other 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data from the UNSD Comtrade database (SITC Rev.3); and United Nations, ITC TradeMap.

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Table A3. 1 Products to which Guinea applies customs duty rates different from the ECOWAS CET

HS

chap

ter

Products

Number of tariff lines (at the 10 digit level)

Total

of which: products to

which Guinea applies customs

duty rates different from

the ECOWAS CETTotal 6,128 171List A: (The CET rate is higher than the duties in List A) 2,014 9002 Meat and edible meat offal 66 404 Dairy produce 46 607 Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers 78 115 Animal or vegetable fats and oils 59 417 Sugars and sugar confectionery 20 119 Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk 25 120 Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants 79 128 Inorganic chemicals 175 131 Fertilizers 24 834 Soap, organic surface-active agents, washing preparations 30 538 Miscellaneous chemical products 117 848 Paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard 127 563 Other made up textile articles 54 272 Iron and steel 178 373 Articles of iron or steel 159 374 Copper and articles thereof 52 176 Aluminium and articles thereof 47 282 Tools, implements 73 1384 Machinery and mechanical appliances 551 2096 Miscellaneous manufactured articles 54 1

List B: Import adjustment tax (TAI) rate 1,257 3004 Dairy produce 46 109 Coffee, tea, maté and spices 72 227 Mineral fuels 61 1268 Articles of stone, plaster, cement 52 170 Glass and glassware 77 176 Aluminium and articles thereof 47 278 Lead and articles thereof 10 181 Other base metals 49 184 Machinery and mechanical appliances 551 485 Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof 292 5

List C: Supplementary protection tax (TCP) rate 932 5111 Products of the milling industry; malt; starches; inulin; wheat gluten 38 120 Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants 79 2022 Beverages, spirits and vinegar 33 232 Tanning or dyeing extracts 58 639 Plastics and articles thereof 145 444 Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal 107 773 Articles of iron or steel 159 376 Aluminium and articles thereof 47 287 Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock 219 194 Furniture 47 5

Source: Information provided by the authorities.

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