Working Party on State Trading Enterprises - State Trading - Questions posed by the United States regarding the notification of Eswatini

STATE TRADING

QUESTIONS POSED BY THE UNITED STATES
REGARDING the notification of eswatini[1]

The following communication, dated and received on 19 July 2024, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the United States.

 

 

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The United States thanks Eswatini for its notification and poses the following questions:

Questions

In its notification, Eswatini states that it has not maintained any state trading enterprises during the period covered by the notification requirement. However, as part of Eswatini's Trade Policy Review in 2023, the Secretariat's Report notes that "some state-owned enterprises or parastatals such as the National Agricultural Marketing Board, the National Maize Corporation, and the Eswatini Dairy Board have the statutory power to regulate imports and exports of certain agricultural products. The authorities indicate that they are considering a notification of these institutions as state trading enterprises."[2] Based on these statements, our questions are as follows:

1._    Please explain in detail why Eswatini decided not to notify these entities as state trading enterprises; and

2._    If this was in error, please identify when an updated notification will be made.

 

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[1] _G/STR/N/20/SWZ.

[2] _WT/TPR/S/447 (dated 20 September 2023, at 139).