Sierra Leone
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Trade Policy Review: Sierra Leone 2017
“Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat a report by the government and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - "key trade facts" - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports main export destinations origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Sierra Leone.
Introduction
The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT contracting parties in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.
Report by Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone continues to make progress since 2005. It successfully conducted two successive peaceful parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007 and 2012. The security remains stable and coordinated by the Office of National Security (ONS) working with the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and the International Security Advisory Team (ISAT). Currently Sierra Leone is contributing to peace in the continent and has troops deployed in Somalia and Darfur as part of the UN international peace keeping mission.
Concluding remarks by the Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body
This second Trade Policy Review of Sierra Leone has provided us with a good opportunity to better understand the country’s current trade and investment policies as well as the challenges it faces. I would like to thank Deputy Minister Mansaray and the rest of the delegation from Sierra Leone including Ambassador Yvette Stevens for their constructive engagement throughout this exercise. I would also like to thank our discussant Ambassador Sabine Böhlke-Möller from Namibia for her insightful remarks and all those Members who had participated in this review.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Sierra Leone is a least developed country (LDC) with a relatively young population: 42.4% of its 7.1 million inhabitants are aged less than 15 years. The country is in a fragile post-conflict and post-ebola virus disease (EVD) situation. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy; its contribution to the GDP declined sharply in 2012 because of a boom in the mining sector before bouncing back as minerals exports collapsed. Sierra Leone is rich in minerals such as gold diamond bauxite rutile and iron ore. The manufacturing sector is marginal and is limited to first-stage processing of local raw materials and to light industries. Like the other sectors of the economy it is plagued by weak infrastructure high production costs unreliable supply of energy at high prices and limited access to financing.