Trade Policy Review
Madagascar
Minutes of the Meeting
Chairperson: H.E. Dr Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid (Nigeria)
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTORY
REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON.. 2
2 OPENING STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE
OF Madagascar. 4
3 STATEMENT BY THE DISCUSSANT. 9
4 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS. 11
5 REPLIES BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF
madagascar AND ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. 37
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON.. 43
7 remarks by madagascar trade minister. 44
Note: Advance written questions
and additional questions by WTO Members, and the replies provided by Madagascar
are reproduced in document _WT/TPR/M/466/Add.1
and will be available online at http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp_rep_e.htm.
1.1. The fourth Trade Policy Review of Madagascar was held on 12 and 14
February 2025. The Chairperson, H.E. Dr Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid
(Nigeria), welcomed the delegation of Madagascar, headed by H.E. Ms Priscilla
ANDRIANARIVO, Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Head of
Delegation; the rest of the delegation who joined virtually from the capital;
and the discussant, H.E. Ms Clara DELGADO JESUS (Cabo Verde).
1.2. The Chairperson was pleased that, in addition to physical presence,
the meeting also benefited from the Interprefy online connection, allowing for
a wider participation of the Membership.
1.3. The Chairperson recalled the purpose of TPRs and the main elements
of procedures for the meeting. The Report by Madagascar is contained in
document _WT/TPR/G/466,
and that of the WTO Secretariat in document _WT/TPR/S/466.
1.4. Questions by the following delegations were submitted in writing
before the deadline: Singapore, China, United Kingdom, Japan,
European Union. The following delegations submitted written questions
after the deadline: Dominican Republic, United States, India,
Iceland, and Türkiye.
HIGHLIGHT OF KEY ISSUES
1.5. Please allow me now to turn to substance – by recalling some
elements of Madagascar's previous Review on 2015 and developments since then,
as well as by identifying some key issues arising from the advance written
questions submitted by Members for this TPR.
1.6. During the previous Review, Members praised Madagascar for the
resilience of its economy. They commended Madagascar on its plans to further
liberalize services. Members welcomed Madagascar's efforts to facilitate trade
through the implementation of customs modernization, including the introduction
of the Electronic Single Window TradeNet; and paperless customs clearance
procedures.
1.7. Several Members encouraged Madagascar to restructure its customs
services, ratify the TFA, and notify its TFA commitment categories. Concerns
were expressed by some Members about over-fishing in Madagascar's continental
waters, including by unregulated foreign fleets.
1.8. Let me now focus on developments since Madagascar's last Review.
During the review period, real GDP growth averaged 2.7% per year, despite an
important economic contraction in 2020. This contraction was largely due to the
pandemic which significantly impacted most economic activities, notably
tourism.
1.9. The simple average applied MFN tariff rate is 12.2% in 2023 which
remains the same as last Review. 50 tariff lines are subject to applied tariffs
that exceed bound tariffs.
1.10. During the review period, Madagascar ratified the Agreement on Trade
Facilitation in 2016, the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement in 2017
but has not yet ratified the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. In November
2024, Madagascar ratified the AfCTA. It submitted numerous notifications to the
WTO during the review period, but a total of 35 notifications are pending.
1.11. Madagascar enacted or amended trade related laws since 2015
including: the Special Economic Zone Act (2017), the Industrial Property Act
(2017), the Copyright Act (1994); the Electricity Code (2017); the Public
Procurement Code (2016); the Mining Code (2023); the Public Private Partnership
Act (2015); the Public Finance Management Act (2024); the Fishery Act (2015);
the Organic Farming Act (2019); the Microfinance Act (2017) and the Investment
Act (2023).
1.12. As highlighted in the advanced written questions, several trade and
related measures were of great interest to Members, in particular the new
Investment Code, the applied tariff lines that appear to exceed bound rates,
the "sensitive list of products". Other areas of Members' interest
included customs procedures as well as the transition to a green energy policy.
1.13. For this Review, Madagascar has received 197 advance written
questions from 10 delegations, out of which 95 questions from
5 delegations were sent within the established deadline. Prior to this
meeting, Madagascar already provided written replies to all members that
submitted questions.
1.14. This meeting will be a good opportunity for Members to discuss in
greater detail issues of interest to them and of systemic importance to the
multilateral trading system. I look forward to a fruitful exchange.