WT/TPR/S/362 • Niger - 361 - ANNEX 6 – NIGER WT/TPR/S/362 • Niger - 362 - CONTENTS 1 ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................... 365 1.1 Main features ........................................................................................................... 365 1.2 Recent economic developments .................................................................................. 367 1.3 Trade performance ................................................................................................... 369 1.4 Foreign direct investment .......................................................................................... 371 2 TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES......................................................................... 373 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................. 373 2.2 Trade policy formulation and objectives ....................................................................... 374 2.3 Trade agreements and arrangements .......................................................................... 374 2.4 Investment regime ................................................................................................... 375 3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE ...................................................... 378 3.1 Measures directly affecting imports ............................................................................. 378 3.1.1 Procedures ............................................................................................................ 378 3.1.1.1 Transparency and computerization of procedures .................................................... 378 3.1.1.2 Inspection of goods by private companies .............................................................. 379 3.1.1.3 Cargo tracking note ............................................................................................. 380 3.1.2 Levies at the border ............................................................................................... 380 3.1.2.1 Customs duty and other levies .............................................................................. 381 3.1.2.2 Internal taxes ..................................................................................................... 381 3.1.2.3 Duty and tax exemptions and concessions ............................................................. 382 3.1.3 Import prohibitions and licensing ............................................................................. 382 3.1.4 Anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard measures ................................................. 383 3.2 Measures directly affecting exports ............................................................................. 383 3.2.1 Customs procedures and export taxes ...................................................................... 383 3.2.2 Export prohibitions, quantitative restrictions and licensing .......................................... 384 3.3 Measures affecting production and trade ..................................................................... 384 3.3.1 Incentives ............................................................................................................. 384 3.3.2 Standards, technical regulations and accreditation procedures..................................... 384 3.3.3 Sanitary and phytosanitary measures ....................................................................... 385 3.3.4 Competition policy and price controls ....................................................................... 386 3.3.5 State trading, State-owned enterprises and privatization ............................................ 386 3.3.6 Government procurement ....................................................................................... 387 3.3.7 Protection of intellectual property rights ................................................................... 387 4 TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR ................................................................................... 389 4.1 Agriculture, livestock and related activities .................................................................. 389 4.1.1 Overview .............................................................................................................. 389 4.1.2 General agricultural policy ...................................................................................... 389 4.2 Energy, mining products and water ............................................................................. 391 4.2.1 Overview .............................................................................................................. 391 WT/TPR/S/362 • Niger - 363 - 4.2.2 Hydrocarbons ........................................................................................................ 392 4.2.2.1 Crude oil and gas production ................................................................................ 392 4.2.2.2 Petroleum and gas products ................................................................................. 393 4.2.3 Uranium and other principal mining products ............................................................ 394 4.2.4 Electricity ............................................................................................................. 396 4.2.5 Water ................................................................................................................... 397 4.3 Manufacturing and craft sector ................................................................................... 398 4.4 Services .................................................................................................................. 399 4.4.1 Telecommunications and postal services ................................................................... 399 4.4.2 Transport .............................................................................................................. 400 4.4.2.1 Road transport ................................................................................................... 400 4.4.2.2 Rail transport ..................................................................................................... 402 4.4.2.3 Air transport ....................................................................................................... 402 4.4.3 Tourism ................................................................................................................ 402 4.4.4 Financial services ................................................................................................... 403 5 APPENDIX TABLES .................................................................................................. 404 CHARTS Chart 1.1 Official development assistance (ODA) 2009-2015 ................................................. 367 Chart 1.2 World uranium and oil prices, 2009-2016 .............................................................. 368 Chart 1.3 Structure of merchandise trade, 2009 and 2016 .................................................... 370 Chart 1.4 Direction of merchandise trade, 2009 and 2016 ..................................................... 372 Chart 3.1 Amount of exemptions granted at the border, 2013-2015 ....................................... 382 Chart 4.1 Niger petroleum products market, 2017 ............................................................... 394 Chart 4.2 Trend in uranium exports, 2009-2016 .................................................................. 395 TABLES Table 1.1 Macroeconomic indicators, 2009, 2010 and 2013-2016 ........................................... 365 Table 1.2 Balance of payments, 2010-2016 ......................................................................... 369 Table 2.1 Niger's trade-related laws and regulations, 2009-2017 ........................................... 373 Table 3.1 Revenue collected at the border, 2005, 2010 and 2013-2015 .................................. 380 Table 3.2 Sanitary and phytosanitary laws and regulations .................................................... 386 Table 4.1 Telecommunication services indicators, 2009-2015 ................................................ 400 Table 4.2 Selection of the road transport legislation in force in Niger, 2017 ............................. 401 WT/TPR/S/362 • Niger - 364 - BOXES Box 4.1 Petroleum legislation in Niger ................................................................................ 393 APPENDIX TABLES Table A1. 1 Structure of exports, 2009-2016 ....................................................................... 404 Table A1. 2 Destination of exports, 2009-2016 .................................................................... 406 Table A1. 3 Structure of imports, 2009-2016 ....................................................................... 407 Table A1. 4 Origin of imports, 2009-2016 ........................................................................... 409 WT/TPR/S/362 • Niger - 365 - 1 ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 1.1 Main features 1.1. Niger is a huge West African country, three-quarters desert and with no direct access to the sea. Over the last thirty years it has experienced population growth of nearly 4% per year, one of the fastest rates in the world, surging from 7 million inhabitants in 1985 to almost 19 million. At this rate, its population could reach 41 million by 2035. This situation reflects the fact that the country is in a phase of demographic transition characterized