PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/212
4 April 2003

TRADE POLICY REVIEW: BURUNDI

Reforms have contributed to first signs of economic recovery

The WTO report, along with the policy statement of the Government of Burundi, will serve as a basis for the first Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Burundi by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 2 and 4 April 2003.

A report on the trade policies and practices of Burundi, released April 4 by the WTO Secretariat, says that the reforms undertaken since 2000 have in all likelihood contributed to the first signs of economic recovery, following a long period of economic decline caused by internal strife.

While acknowledging that a return to peace is a fundamental condition for Burundi's development, the report also highlights tariff reform and the reduction of state intervention in the economy as crucial to achieving sustained growth and the reduction of poverty.

The following documents are available in MS Word format.

  

Note  back to top

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop.

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

 

Schedule of forthcoming reviews  back to top

Southern African Customs Union (SACU): 23, 25 April 2003
New Zealand: 12, 14 May 2003
Morocco: 16, 18 June 2003