Trade Policy 2018-2022

This policy is prepare by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment. The policy identifies that the country’s balance of trade has been deteriorating since 2011, and a significant deterioration was recorded between 2010 to 2016. The country prepared a National Development Plan (NDP) which seeks to revitalize and transform the Gambian economy for the wellbeing of all Gambians. The policy is essentially linked to the NDP strategic goal of creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and create decent jobs as well as to the Industrial Policy 2018, which emphasizes the need for: Industrial development to be based on export-oriented sectors that are competitive on the international market; labour-intensive industries to be given prominence as a way to exploit the comparative advantage of The Gambia’s labour and to maximize employment creation; the private sector to be fully supported to lead the industrialization process through the creation of an enabling environment and the establishment of an effective public-private dialogue; and the public sector to be given a strong role to play, not merely as a facilitator but also as a leader, in providing direct support, co-ordination and through market access negotiations with other countries. The specific objectives of the policy include; To stimulate the public and private sectors to invest and develop competitive and sustainable supply and productive capacities including through technology upgrading, agro-processing, efficient manufacturing and skills development with particular attention to women and youths, to accelerate exports and economic development; To facilitate the fuller participation of exporters, especially MSMEs in regional and international trade in order to take advantage of trade opportunities as a means to reduce poverty and improve economic well-being; To create an enabling environment for investment, including foreign direct investment, in order to produce increasingly competitive goods and services for the domestic and export markets, including value addition and diversification as well as product quality development to meet international standards; To facilitate and stimulate the establishment of coherent and well-coordinated trade and trade-related capacity-building, including human resources development and addressing industry-specific supply-side constraints and export promotion activities. The overall goal of the Trade Policy is to make The Gambia a competitive and export-oriented economy led by private sector growth for employment creation and poverty reduction through trade. The policy centralizes the government in creating the enabling business environment that supports private sector development for wealth creation and trade development. The policy seeks to work on the following; Provide the necessary framework for more sectoral policy coherence to support private sector participation in key sectors for enhanced trade; Create a transparent mechanism for trade; Build up capacity for participation in international trade negotiation; Provide trade-related infrastructure to support trade development; Promote export diversification; Promote competition and protect consumer welfare; Strengthen the country’s cooperation with her neighbours; and Stimulate greater trade capacity development for domestic and export markets. The projected outcomes include; diversified and increased domestic and export trade; diversified export markets; Increased competitiveness in the domestic market; Increased participation of MSMEs in both domestic and export trade; reduced trade deficit; and increased productivity and productive capacity of the private sector. the policy identifies certain areas as priority areas for trade development, areas like agriculture, fisheries, tourism, energy, ICT and manufacturing. It also addresses issues of quality standards assurance and consumer protection. The policy is coordinated by the Ministry and implemented through an implementation action plan.