US, Russia and European Union pressure Angola to review decree imposing restrictions
Some of the ‘giants’ members of the WTO are putting pressure on Angola because of a decree passed in 2019; but the country wants to impose import restrictions on 54 products, despite an internal document by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that warns of the dangers, including rising prices, bankruptcy of companies and shortages of products.
The VALOR newspaper knows that, internally, the Minister of Commerce and Industry received alerts from specialists in the house, with reports that explain the “non-conformities” of the measure and suggest the ways that the country should follow to protect national production without breaking the rules of WTO, of which Angola is part of this 1996.
Despite the criticisms and warnings, however, the Government recently approved the total import restriction using resources from the national treasury of some products, whose capacity already responds to the need for consumption in the national market. Restrictions are applied to some products such as pasta, pasta, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, beans, peanuts, tomatoes and bottled water. In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry guarantees that the measure is “properly aligned with the WTO instructions”. And that its objective is “to encourage and support national production, without prejudice to the import of the missing differential or of products and equipment whose local production does not satisfy domestic demand”.
Implementing restrictive measures without the approval of the remaining members can lead to retaliation. The notification to the WTO must contain: a) branch of production, existing or nascent, for which protection is necessary b) nature of the envisaged restrictive measure – increase in customs duties, in addition to consolidated duties, quantitative restrictions on imports or introduction of a license regime c) reasons why import restrictions are not feasible d) explain the particular difficulties encountered in the development of the production sector due to import. (Source: Angonotícias)
