WT/TPR/S/46 Trade Policies Review
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II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES
(1) INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
1. Burkina Faso has been independent since 5 August 1960 and pursuant to the Constitution of
2 June 1991, amended on 14 February 1997, it is a multi-party democracy.1  The President is the Head
of State;  he is elected by universal suffrage for a renewable term of seven years.  As the holder of
executive power, the President decides on the broad outlines of State policy and appoints thePrime Minister.  Upon on the latter's proposal, he al so appoints the other members of the Government.
2. Parliament comprises two houses:  the Nationa l Assembly and the House of Representatives.
The National Assembly exercises legislative power:  it adopts legislation, including the budget, and
oversees government action.  The Deputies are elected by direct universal suffrage for a renewable
term of five years.  The House of Representatives plays an advisory role.  The Representatives areappointed by Presidential Decree for a renewable term of three years.
3. The Economic and Social Council (CES) is an advisory body that expresses an opinion on
draft legislation, orders and decrees transmitted to it.  The President of the Republic may consult the
Council on any economic or social issue.  On its own initiative, the CES may draw the President's
attention to reforms which it believes would promote Burkina's economic and social development.The members of the CES are appointed for a renewable term of three years on the basis of their
competence, experience or activities.
4. In May 1994, the Office of Ombudsman ( Médiateur du Faso ) was established.
2  The
ombudsman is appointed by decree to receive claims concerning the functioning of State departments,
local authorities, government establishments or any other organization providing a public service.  He
may take part in any conciliation procedure between government authorities and social or professional
groups.  The post of ombudsman is financed from the national budget, and he is empowered to makeproposals and recommendations but not to take decisions.
5. The Supreme Court is the highest court.  It is composed of four sections:  the constitutional
section, judicial section, administrative section, and accounts section.  The decisions of the Supreme
Court are final.  The Appeals Court hears appeals against decisions by Labour Courts relating to
social matters and by the lower or higher level courts relating to civil, commercial and minoroffences.  Departmental Courts deal with non-contentious proceedings concerning the status of
persons, civil or commercial disputes involving amounts not exceeding CFAF 100,000, disputes
relating to straying animals, destruction of  fields and crops and breaking of fences.
3
(2) FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES
6. The Government drafts and implements policies;  Ministers draw up policies within their
fields of competence and submit the relevant legislative proposals.  Although it is rare, legislative
proposals may also be initiated by the National Assembly or by the private sector requesting a
minister to draft a text.  The Legislation and Docu mentation Department of the Ministry of Justice is
in principle responsible for assisting other departments to draw up legislative proposals, which, once
adopted by the Council of Ministers, become draft laws.  These are transmitted by the SecretaryGeneral of the Government to the National Assembly, which seeks the advisory opinion of the House
of Representatives.  The draft laws are then considered by the competent parliamentary commissions,
                                                     
1Formerly known as Upper Volta, it became Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984.
2Law No. 22/94/ADP of 17 May 1994, enacted by Decree No. 94-219/PRES of 17 May 1994.
3In practice, most disputes are settled amicably.Burkina Faso WT/TPR/S/46
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which report to the Assembly at a plenary session.  After debate in the Assembly, the draft becomes a
law and is signed by the President of the Assembly  and the Secretary of the session (a Deputy).  Laws
become applicable once the Head of State has enacted them by decree.  Draft laws rejected by the
Assembly are sent back to the Government for amendment if required.
7. In order to carry out its programmes, the Government may ask the National Assembly to pass
a law authorizing the Government to issue an order for a limited period imposing measures that areusually the subject of legislation.  Orders are then issued by the Council of Ministers after the
Supreme Court has expressed its opinion.  They enter into force as soon as they are published, but
become null and void if the draft law ratifying th em is not submitted to the Assembly within the
time-limit fixed in the enabling legislation.
8. Ministers sign international agreements and treat ies within their fields of competence on the
basis of the full powers given to them by the Government.  Any international treaties and agreements
signed must be ratified.  Peace and trade agreements, agreements with financial implications for the
State, amending legislative provisions, or relating to the status of persons, can only be ratified or
endorsed by a law.  Any citizen has a period of 20 days in which to challenge the constitutionality of
such a draft law.  When this period has expired, the President of the Republic issues a decree enactingthe law, which is then transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The latter draws up the
necessary instruments and informs the depositary of the ratification;  the ratification instrument is
signed by the President of the Republic.  The WTO Agreement was ratified by this procedure.
Treaties and agreements that have been duly ratified or approved take precedence over the law as
soon as they are published, subject to their application by the other contracting parties.
9. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Crafts
4 is responsible for drafting, monitoring and
implementing the Government's industrial and trade policy. It is responsible for the BusinessPromotion Centre, a single window of the Ministry that deals with non-customs trade formalities,
administrative formalities related to the establ ishment of enterprises and approval under the
Investment Code;  once fully installed, the Centre should help to simplify the administrative
formalities applicable to foreign trade.  The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (by setting the
rate of taxes and duties), the Ministry of Transport and Tourism (by managing international tradefreight) and the Ministry of Regional Integration, (by promoting intra-community trade), among
others, also participate in elaborating and implementing trade and investment policies.  When drafting
or amending trade policy, the Government does not receive the advice of academic or other research
bodies.
10. The objective of the National Foreign Trade Office (ONAC) is to promote trade, especially
Burkina Faso's exports.  Its activities mainly concern the collection and dissemination of foreign and
international trade data, the training of economic agents, conducting market surveys, seeking new
markets and organizing trade missions abroad, and arranging and participating in local and
international trade events.
11. Burkina's Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts (CCIA-B) is an independent
professional organization that cooperates with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Crafts.  It has a
threefold task:  advisory, representational and admi nistrative.  Its advisory and representational role
consists of providing the authorities with advice and information on all problems relating to the
business world and representing the private sector vis-à-vis  the authorities, organizations and
structures dealing with economic policy.  Its administ rative role is to supply services of use to the
community in various fields (infrastructural management, trade promotion, inter alia ).
                                                     
4Primarily the Directorate-General of Industrial Development (DGDI) and the Directorate-General of
Trade (DGC).WT/TPR/S/46 Trade Policies Review
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12. The Importers-Exporters Association (SCIMPEX) is a professional association set up to
defend the general interests of commercial enterprises and the individual interests of its members.  It
participates in the boards of bodies such as the ONAC and the CCIA-B.  It gathers information and
has a trade databank which it makes available to its members.  The Burkina Council of Shippers
(CBC) defends the interests of importers and exporters related to the transport of goods by sea, land,
rail and air.
(3) POLICY OBJECTIVES
13. The central objective of Burkina's trade and investment policies is sustainable economic
growth based on exports.  In order to achieve this objective, Burkina relies principally on its
comparative advantages.  A study of the potential by sector and by market has been carried out;  eight
sectors have been identified:  cotton, cereals, fruit and vegetables, oilseeds, animal resources, metalmanufactures, quarrying and building materials, and polymers and plastics.  These sectors will be
promoted by making the best use of local technology and raw materials and should help to lessen the
economy's dependence on traditional products.
14. The trade reforms under way are aimed at achieving a better allocation of resources, as well
as sustainable economic development. The simplification of tariffs should be speeded up by theintroduction of the Common External Tariff.  Once this has been completed, and together with more
straightforward trade procedures (including the esta blishment of a single window for formalities) the
result should be lower production costs.  Accelerated reform is seen as the best way of preparing the
economy for regional integration by establishing the environment essential for the competition that
should result from the implementation of the WAEMU arrangements.  Promoting exports will also
require better quality controls, diversification of means of transport - as transport costs are very high -
and the setting up of special insurance structures for exports.  Together with exploratory missions andthe training currently being given to exporters, including commercial English courses, these measures
should help to ensure the diversification of markets.  Combined with the plan to rationalize imports by
seeking less costly supply sources, with the assistance of the ONAC, export promotion should also
help to improve the structural deficit of Burkina Fa so's trade balance.  Liberalization of the remaining
distribution chains and of those producer prices still subject to controls could allow the full positiveimpact of reform to be felt at all levels of society.
15. In parallel with the continued privatization programme, the reforms could create a climate
that will encourage the development of private initiatives and attract investment.  The State's
withdrawal from production as a result of the pr ivatization of State enterprises should see public
investment being redirected towards the social sector and infrastructure, thereby helping to improvecompetitiveness.  Benefits are provided in the In vestment Code and the Mining Code in the form of
tax and duty exemptions aimed inter alia  at lowering production costs, regional development and the
utilization of local raw materials.
(4) 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
16. Since 1991, Burkina Faso has been implementing many institutional and regulatory reforms
with the aim of providing a more favourable bus iness environment for the development of economic
and financial activities.  Final implementation of the provisions in the Treaty on the Organization for
Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) should lead to standardization of the rules on
company law and the legal status of traders, debt collection, sureties and enforcement procedures, the
business rehabilitation and judicial winding-up regime, arbitration law, labour law, accounting lawBurkina Faso WT/TPR/S/46
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and sales and transport law.5 The implementation of the various texts within the WAEMU framework
should also strengthen Burkina's trade and investment legislation.
(i) Trade legislation
17. Burkina Faso's foreign trade is governed by three main laws.  These are:  Law
No. 03-92-ADP of 3 December 1992, containi ng the customs code and defining inter alia the
framework within which the majority of import and export duties are fixed and imposed;Order No. 91-0069/PRES of 27 November 1991 (and it s implementing texts), containing Burkina's
general import and export regime and defining the criteria for the import and export of goods - these
texts concern products that are still subject to Special Import or Export Authorizations;  and
Decree No. 97-466/PRES/PM/MEF/MCIA of 30 Oct ober 1997 (and its implementing texts), laying
down the administrative, customs and banking proce dures for imports into Burkina Faso - the Import
Verification Programme and the Prior Import Declarations are governed by these texts.
18. Order No. 81-0026/PRES/C MRPN of 26 August 1981 and its implementing texts regulate the
profession of trader.  Law No. 15/94/ADP  of 5 May 1994 concerns competition and
Law No. 53/93/ADP defines strategic companies and enterprises (of which there are 15).
Decree 94-014 of 5 January 1994 establishes a national conformity certificate for products to beconsumed in Burkina Faso and a number of ministerial decrees define the criteria for products such as
sugar, edible oils, electric batteries, tyre cement, inner tubes, insecticides in aerosol form, milk, rice,
wheat flour, and tinned foodstuffs (Chapter III(2)(vii)).
(ii) Investment Code and Mining Code
19. The new Investment Code has been in force since 1995.
6 Its purpose is to promote
"productive investment to assist Burkina Faso's  economic and social development".  The Code
guarantees domestic and foreign enterprises the same rights and obligations, and gives foreign naturalor legal persons the freedom to transfer capital, income, and wages.  It lays down an ordinary regime
and six special regimes as set out in Table II.1.  Pursuant to the provisions of the amended Code, all
industrial investment must have prior authorization from the Minister for Industry.  Enterprises
wishing to take advantage of a special regime in the Investment Code must inter alia keep their
accounts books in Burkina Faso, give first preference for jobs to Burkina citizens, utilize services bydomestic enterprises as a priority, and protect the environment.  They must submit an application for
approval to the Ministry of Industry.  The application is considered by the National Investment
Commission, which has 20 working days to report.  The Minister for Industry then has 15 working
days after receiving the conclusions of the Commission in which to take a decision.  The Code also
contains two specific provisions:  on the one hand, enterprises which use at least 50 per cent of localraw materials are permanently exempt from paying a business licence and receive a reduction of
50 per cent of import duties on production machinery and spare parts;  in addition, in the case of new
investment made at least 50 kilometres distant from urban centres
7 the benefits of the special regimes
are extended for a further two years.  Raw materials recognized as such and for the use of industrial
plants can be imported under Category I of the customs tariff at 11 per cent instead of 37 per cent.
                                                     
5Law No. 39-94/ADP of 16 November 1994 and Decrees No. 94-459/PRES of 22 December 1994 and
No. 94-473/PRES of 28 December 1994 ratifying the Treaty on the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa.
Three uniform Acts on company law and the law relating to groups of economic interest, general trade law andthe arrangements for securities were adopted on 17 April 1997 by the Council of Ministers of the OHADA.
6Law No. 62/95 ADP of 14 December 1995.
7Mainly Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Banfora and Koudougou.WT/TPR/S/46 Trade Policies Review
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20. Like the Investment Code, the Mining Code in force since the end of 1997 gives domestic and
foreign enterprises the same rights and obligations  and allows foreign natural or legal persons to
transfer capital, income and wages.  At the research stage, the following customs benefits are
available:  temporary admission for prospection equipment;  total exemption from import duties for
the materials and spare parts, fuel and lubricants needed for prospection equipment.  The following
tax benefits are granted:  total exemption from VAT on geological survey work and on the purchaseof equipment and materials needed for prospection;  total exemption from the IMFPIC, payment of
the business licence and the TPA.  During the setting up and production stage, the following customs
benefits are available:  total exemption from customs duties and taxes on the raw materials,
equipment, fuel, lubricants and machinery needed to operate the mine for a period of three years.  The
tax benefits are:  a reduced rate of 35 per cent for the IBIC and 12.5 per cent for the IRVM;exemption from the IMFPIC, payment of the business licence, TPA and TBM for seven years for
holders of an exploitation licence and for 13 years for mining concessions;  exemption company
registration fees for five years;  and lastly, exemption from VAT on the products exported.
21. A Community Investment Code should normally be introduced in the WAEMU in 1998.
Theoretically, this should lead to the abolition of exemptions from duties and taxes on imports ofcapital goods, which are subject to low rates under the Common External Tariff (Section 5(ii)(c)).Burkina Faso WT/TPR/S/46
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Table II.1
Investment code – preferential regimesa
Production, maintenance and processing Supply of services Export
enterprises
A B C D E
Investment in CFAFmillion (I)
Number of jobs
created (E)0 < I < 20
3 <E≤ 720 ≤ I < 500
E ≥ 7I ≥ 500
E ≥ 5010 ≤ I < 500
E ≥ 7I ≥ 500
E ≥ 30
Investment stage
- exemption import
duties/export taxestotal total total total total total
- exemption domestic
taxestotal total total total total total
Exploitation stage
- exemption IBIC 5 years 5 years +
3 years at
50%6 years +
3 years at
50 %5 years 6 years 50%, 75% if at
least 80% oflocal raw
materials are
used.
- exemption IMFPIC 5 years 5 years +
3 years at 50%6 years +
3 years at
50 %5 years 3 years total without any
time-limit.
- exemption businesslicence2 years +
3 years at 50%5 years +
3 years at 50%6 years +
3 years at
50 %5 years 6 years total without any
time-limit
- exemption IRVM 5 years +
3 years at 50%6 years +
3 years at
50 %5 years 6 years total without any
time-limit
- exemption TPA andTBM5 years +
3 years at 50%6 years +
3 years at 50%5 years 6 years total without any
time-limit
.. No special provision on the amount of investment.
aIBIC, tax on industrial and commercial profits;  IRVM, tax on income from securities;  TPA, employers'
apprenticeship tax;  TBM, tax on assets in mortmain;  IMFPIC, minimum flat rate tax on the industrial andcommercial professions.  Exemptions from import duties/export taxes do not include tax for services supplied.
Source: Burkina authorities.
(5) TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS AND ARRANGEMENTS
(i) Multilateral agreements
22. In May 1963, Burkina Faso inherited the status of a contracting party pursuant to
Article XXVI.5(c), after having appl ied the GATT de facto since its independence in 1960.  It was not
an observer or Signatory to any agreement under the Tokyo Round.  On 3 June 1995, it became a
Member of WTO after having ratified the Uruguay Round Agreements.8 Burkina has not signed any
plurilateral agreement under the Uruguay Round.
23. Burkina Faso gives at least most-favoured-nation treatment (MFN) to all its trading partners.
It has made a number of commitments under the Uruguay Round (Chapters III(2)(iii)(c) and IV(5)).
As a developing country (in fact a least-developed country), Burkina should benefit from the
strengthening of rules and disciplines in the multilateral trading system in sectors such as agriculture
and livestock farming, which are particularly important to it.  The trade liberalization reforms carried
                                                     
8Law No. 13/95/ADP of 5 May 1995 and Decree No. 95-382 of 27 September 1995.WT/TPR/S/46 Trade Policies Review
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out by Burkina Faso and the diversification of exports (especially geographical diversification) under
way should help it to alleviate any erosion of its preferential margins.  As a producer of raw materials,
Burkina does not encounter too many difficulties of access to foreign markets as its products are
usually subject to zero or very low MFN duties in importing countries.
24. Burkina's main concern is to increase and diversify production so as to be in a better position
to exploit the opportunities available, as well as those which should stem from the continued
liberalization at the multilateral level.  A trade-related integrated assistance programme for the least-
developed countries (including Burkina) was launched by the WTO and other organizations at the
high-level meeting held in Geneva in October 1997.  Among this programme's objectives are the
growth and diversification of production in the least-developed countries.  Burkina hopes that theprogramme will go beyond its purely technical assistance objectives.
9
25. Table II.2 shows the notifications made by Burkina in connection with implementation of the
Uruguay Round.  According to the monistic system in force in Burkina, the WTO Agreements may be
directly cited before the courts because, as international Agreements, they take precedence overdomestic legislation.  Nevertheless, according to the authorities, discussions are taking place in the
regional institutions to which Burkina belongs, in particular the West African Economic and
Monetary Union and the African Intellectual Property Organization, in order to bring legislation into
line with the WTO provisions.
Table II.2
Notifications by Burkina Faso pursuant to the WTO Provisions, October 1997
Agreement Notification
Anti-dumping(Articles 18.5 and 16.4)No laws or regulations
(WTO document G/ADP/N/22/Add.1/Rev.1, October 1997);
no anti-dumping measures.
Agriculture(Articles 10, 16.2 and 18)No export subsidies, assistance or food aid programmes (WTO
documents G/AG/N/BFA/1 and 2, 19 September 1997).
Import licensing procedures
(Articles 1.4 (a), 8.2 (b) and 7.3)No import licences but there are regulatory texts concerning
similar administrative formalities (WTO documents
G/LIC/N/1/BFA/1, 10 February 1997, and G/LIC/N/3/BFA/1,11 February 1997).
Preshipment inspection(Article 5)Laws and regulations on preshipment inspection (WTO
document G/PSI/N/1/Add.5, 3 February 1997).
Subsidies and countervailing measures
(Article 25)No measures under the Agreement (WTO documents
G/SCM/N/3, 16 and 25/BFA, 29 September 1997).
Textiles and clothing
(Article 6.1)Retention of the right to apply the transitional safeguard
mechanism envisaged (WTO document G/TMB/N/198,
8 November 1996).
Implementation of Article VII of GATT 1994(Article 20.1)Deferred application  (WTO document
WT/LET/19, 15 June 1995).
Rules of Origin
(Article 5.1 and Annex II.4)Rules of Origin (R.O) set out in the Customs Code for
products that are harvested, taken from the soil or wholly
manufactured in a country;  Rules of Origin for other products
to be determined by Decree of the Minister for Finance;  Rulesof  Origin provided under the WAEMU Treaty UEMOA
(Document G/RO/N19, 15 September 1997).
Source : WTO Secretariat
26. Burkina Faso is a member of the United Nations Organization and its agencies, as well as of
several other multilateral organizations including the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank.
                                                     
9Statement by the Ambassador of Burkina Faso at the WTO Ministerial Conference, 18-20 May 1998.Burkina Faso WT/TPR/S/46
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(ii) Regional agreements
27. Economic and political integration with the other peoples of Africa with a view to building a
federal structure appears in the Preamble to Burkina's Constitution.  The establishment of the Ministry
of Regional Integration is one expression of this desire.  Burkina's level of development and land-
locked situation justify this position, but its author ities are aware of the limits, notably the similarity
of goods supplied by countries in the same region and the (more important) danger of trade disputeswhich cannot always easily be resolved at the regional level.
28. Burkina Faso is a founding member of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the
African Economic Community (A EC), the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), the West African Econom ic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)
10, the Standing Inter-State
Committee on the Control of Drought in the Sahel (CILSS)11 and the Organization for the
Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) (Section (4)(1)).
(a) Organization of African Unity (OAU) and African Economic Community (AEC)
29. The Charter setting up the OAU was signed on 25 May 1963.12  Like other members of the
OAU, in June 1991 in Abuja (Nigeria) Burkina Faso signed the AEC Treaty outlined in the 1980
Lagos Plan of Action.  This Treaty provides for the establishment of a Pan-African economic andmonetary union (with a Parliament) after a period of 34 years.  The AEC's bodies and headquarters
are the same as those of the OAU.  The Community is taking some time in actually starting up its
activities.
(b)  Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
30. The ECOWAS Treaty was signed on 28 May 1975.  The trade liberalization scheme under
ECOWAS comprises two main elemen ts:  the elimination of all non-tariff barriers, namely, licences,
quotas, bans and other administrative obstacles for all products originating in the ECOWAS;  and agradual and total reduction of tariff obstacles.  The 1993 amendment to the Treaty provides, inter alia
for the free movement of services, capital and persons within the Community at the end of the five-
year period that will follow the establishment of the customs union planned for the year 2000.
13  Local
specialities and handicrafts included in the list of goods compiled by the Community should already
be exempt from import duties if they are accompanied by a certificate of origin issued by the CCIA-Band countersigned by the Customs Directorate.
31. Finished industrial products originating in the Community are subject to tariff reductions
determined based on various criteria such as the level of industrial development and whether the
member country is an island or land-locked.  A finished product is deemed to have originated in the
ECOWAS if at least 60 per cent of the raw materials used in its manufacture are from the Communityor if the value added is equal to at least 35 per cent of the cost price net of tax (ex-factory). Products
                                                     
10The WAEMU was formerly the West African Monetary Union (WAMU).  Its member countries are
Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.  The member countries ofECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Si erra Leone and Togo.  All the member countries of the
WAEMU are also members of ECOWAS.
11The other members of CILSS are Cape Verde, Chad, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger and Senegal.
12Almost all African countries are members of the OAU.
13WTO (1998) and WTO document WT/WGTI/W/22 of 26 January 1998.WT/TPR/S/46 Trade Policies Review
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must be approved according to the plan adopted by the Council of Ministers of the ECOWAS.  The
timetable for the gradual reduction of import duties is not being respected.14
(c) West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)
32. The WAEMU Treaty was signed on 11 January 1994 by the member countries of the
WAMU.  Guinea-Bissau acceded to the Treaty on 1 January 1997.  The objective is to establish an
economic union through the convergence of macroeconomic and sectoral policies and theharmonization of fiscal legislation.  Monetary integration, with the establishment of a common central
bank (the Central Bank of West African States) and currency (the African Financial Community
franc) has already been achieved, as the WAMU had already focused on this aspect (Annex I.1).  One
of the principles of the Union is the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital.  The
headquarters of the WAEMU Commission is in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and the central bank islocated in Dakar (Senegal).
33. As a forerunner to the creation of a customs union, a preferential trade agreement
15 was
concluded among member countries in December 1995.  It provides for the gradual introduction of a
preferential Community tariff, sets out the customs regime and procedures applicable to the
movement of goods within the Union, and defines the regime and allocation of the CommunitySolidarity Levy.
16  In November 1997, the structure of the Common External Tariff (CET) and the
various stages of the establishment of the customs union (from July 1998 to January 2000) were
defined (Table II.3).  The classification of products according to the CET structure (with four rates
ranging from 1 per cent to 21 per cent, including a statistical fee of 1 per cent) should come into force
by 1 July 1998 at the latest, and the harmonization of members' national taxation systems is envisaged
for some time in 1998.
34. A degressive protection tax is envisaged in order to give certain "particularly sensitive"
products temporary additional protection so that the necessary adjustments can be made;  its
parameters (products covered, rates and duration) will be determined by the Council of Ministers.
The same applies to the temporary import tax to be used  to offset possible erratic fluctuations in world
prices.  Technical barriers to trade will be harmonized and new rules of origin, allowing for regional
cumulation, introduced;  at the moment, a product is deemed to originate in a country of the Union if
at least 60 per cent of the raw materials used in its manufacture come from the said country or if the
value added is equivalent to at least 40 per cent of the cost price excluding tax (ex-factory).  A
regional financial market is to be set up and a community investment code should be published before
the end of 1998;  the Code will not allow exemptions.  A community policy on competition is also to
be developed.
                                                     
14 The 16 countries belonging to the ECOWAS are divided into three groups:  (1) Burkina Faso, Cape
Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, for which the yearly reduction should be 10 percent, i.e. elimination of customs duties within ten years;  (2) Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo, forwhich the reduction should be 12.5 per cent, i.e., elimination of customs duties within eight years;  (3) Côte
d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, for which the yearly reduction should be 16.6 per cent, i.e., elimination of
customs duties within six years.
15 There have been two additional acts to this ag reement:  the first in April 1996 and the second in
January 1997.
16 Revenue from this levy should help to offset any negative effects of integration.Burkina Faso WT/TPR/S/46
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Table II.3
Establishment of the WAEMU Common External Tariff
Import category From 01/07 to 31/12 1998 1999 As from 01/01/2000
Non-WAEMU (MFN duties)
    Category 0 00
    Category 1 maximum 5 % 5 %
    Category 2 maximum 10 % 10 %
    Category 3 maximum 30 % maximum 25 % 20 %
    Community Solidarity Levy (PCS) 0.5 % 0.5 % 0.5 %
    ECOWAS levy (0.5 %) (0.5 %) (0. 5%)
    Statistical fee (RS) free free 1 %
    Degressive protection tax (TDP)
    Temporary import tax (TCI)Products, rates and duration to be determined by the Council of Ministers
following a proposal by the Commission before the end of June 1998.
Within the WAEMU (level of abatement of MFN
duties)
    Local specialities 100 100 100
    Approved products originating in the WAEMU 60 % 80 % 100 %
    Products originating in the WAEMU, not approved - 5 points - 5 points 100 %
    Other products 0 0 0
Source:  WAEMU Commission.
(iii) Other trade agreements or arrangements
35. Burkina Faso has signed the Fourth Lomé Convention between the European Union (EU) and
71 developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP countries).  The
Convention was signed in 1990 for a period of ten years and revised in 1995.  According to the
Convention, a product originates in an ACP country if it is wholly obtained or sufficiently processed
there.  Non-originating materials are deemed to have been sufficiently processed or worked if the
product obtained is classified under a different code than the code under which the non-originating
materials used in its manufacture are classified.  Subject to a safeguard clause, exports of products
originating in Burkina Faso, with the exception of those covered by the Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP), are exempt from import duties on European markets.  For agricultural products covered by the
CAP, the EU grants treatment that is at least as favourable as the treatment granted to third countries
under the MFN regime.
36. Burkina Faso receives European Union aid through the European Development Fund (EDF)
and the Stabilization System for Export Earnings (STABEX).17  In Burkina Faso's case, STABEX
compensates for loss of export earnings for cotton, ground nuts, shea nuts, sesame seed, hides and
skins and string beans.  From 1992 to 1995, the total amount of such transfers was around
ECU 17 million, or CFAF 11 billion in 1998.
37. Other developed countries (other than those belonging to the EU) give Burkina Faso
commercial preferences under the Generalized Syst em of Preferences.  The preferences granted by
                                                     
17STABEX compensates the loss of export earnings for 50 agricultural products exported to the EU
(Articles 186 et seq.  of the Convention).WT/TPR/S/46 Trade Policies Review
Page 24
developed countries, including EU members, are non-reciprocal.  Lastly, Burkina Faso has signed the
Agreement on the Global System of Trade Pref erences (GSTP) concluded among developing
countries.
38. Burkina Faso has signed bilateral trade cooperation agreements with the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (9 September 1998), Cuba (10 February 1987, now revised) and India
(4 November 1995).  The Agreement signed with Tunisia on 7 January 1993 provides for a reductionof 50 per cent in customs duties and fiscal duties for products originating in these two countries and
25 per cent for other goods.  This agreement has not yet been ratified however.
(iv) Trade disputes and consultations
39. As of May 1998, Burkina Faso had not been directly involved either as a complainant or as a
defendant in any dispute settlement procedure within the GATT, the WTO or under any other tradeagreement it had signed.
40. Both the ECOWAS and the WAEMU Treaties provide for a court of justice and dispute
settlement bodies.  Within ECOWAS, disputes may be  settled amicably subject to approval by the
Conference of Heads of State.  If this is not possible, the dispute may be brought before the Executive
Secretariat of the ECOWAS by any of the parties, by any member State or by the Conference.  Thedispute is then submitted to the Trade, Customs, Immigration, Monetary and Payments Commission,
which makes a recommendation to the Council of Ministers.  If no agreement can be reached, the
dispute is brought before the Community Court by one  of the parties, whose decisions are final.  The
court of justice provided under the ECOWAS Treaty is still not operating.
41. Within the WAEMU, the Commission and any member State may lodge an appeal when it
considers that a State has failed to respect its obligations under the Treaty. Legal control of the
WAEMU's bodies in respect of regulations, directives or decisions allows an appeal
18 to be made by
the WAEMU Council of Ministers, the Commission, a me mber State or an individual (natural or legal
person).19  The possible sanction is the total or partial annulment of the act.  The Court may also rule
on disputes between the WAEMU and its agents and disputes involving the extra-contractual liability
of the Union for acts by its bodies or agents. By means of arbitration appeals, the Court may consider
disputes among member States concerning the Treaty, provided that the States have concluded anundertaking to this effect.  The Council of Mini sters, the Commission or a member State may also
seek the opinion of the Court on the consistency between an international agreement or an agreement
being negotiated and the provisions of the WAEMU Treaty. The Court may be requested by these
institutions and by the Conference of Heads of State and Government to give an opinion on any
problem encountered in applying or interpreting acts relating to community law.
20
42. The common Court of Justice and Arbitration of the OHADA may hear appeals by any person
having an interest in court proceedings concerning the merits of a case in a member State;  it may also
be consulted by any member State, by the Council of Ministers or by a national court in a member
State.  It rules on decisions by national courts.21  The Court's rulings are fixed and enforceable.  The
                                                     
18An appeal must be lodged within two months following publication of the act, its notification to the
interested party or the date on which the latter was informed of it.  Nevertheless, after expiry of the two-monthperiod, any party may question the lawfulness of an act before the Council or Commission as a means of
defence.
19The individual concerned must show that the alleged act was prejudicial to him.
20Articles 38 and 39 of the Treaty and Additional Protocol No. 1 concerning the supervisory bodies of
the WAEMU (Articles 1 to 22) of 10 January 1994.
21Until now, the national courts have been responsible for applying company and contract law.Burkina Faso WT/TPR/S/46
Page 25
Court may also be called upon to settle a dispute following an arbitration procedure.  It does not settle
disputes itself;  it appoints or confirms the appointment of the arbitrators (a maximum of three) and
examines the draft awards. Awards are final and enforceable.
43. Disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Lomé Convention may be
submitted to the Council of Ministers set up under the Convention.  If the Council cannot reach a
solution, it can initiate an arbitration procedure at the request of one or the other party.
(v) Investment agreements or arrangements
44. Burkina Faso ratified the Convention Establishing the Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency in 1996.  The Lomé Convention between the ACP States and the European Union contains
principles for protecting European investments in  the ACP countries (Articles 260, 261 and 262 of the
Convention).  Burkina Faso has also signed an inve stment agreement with Germany.  Negotiations are
taking place with the Netherlands, China, Malaysia, Canada and Belgium with a view to signing
similar agreements.