72581 v1 World Trade Indicators 2009/10 Equatorial Guinea Trade Brief Trade Policy respectively. Equatorial Guinea’s national currency, the CFA franc, appreciated by 7.7 percent in real, In recent years, Equatorial Guinea has taken gradual trade-weighted terms in 2008, reducing the steps towards trade liberalization reforms, particularly competitiveness of the country’s exports. in accordance with the standards of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). As negotiations between the Central Africa group, to The country adopted the group’s Common External which the country belongs, and the EU towards a full Tariff (CET) in 1993. Despite the efforts to open up Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) could not be its economy, given that the CEMAC CET rates are completed prior to the December 2007 deadline, the generally higher than average rates in the Sub-Saharan preferences under the Cotonou Agreement elapsed. Africa (SSA) region, the country’s average MFN Equatorial Guinea, however, maintains a similar level applied tariff in 2007 was 17.9 percent compared to of preferences to the EU market under the averages of 12.2 percent and 9 percent for its SSA and “Everything But Arms� (EBA) initiative for least upper-middle-income comparators. Based on the developed countries. Together with the other MFN applied tariff, it ranks 165th out of 181 countries members of the Central Africa group, the country was (where 1st is least restrictive). The government is in negotiations with the EU to sign a comprehensive focused on reviving agriculture, which was a major EPA, but recently indicated that it did not want to growth engine for the economy prior to the discovery continue to negotiate and preferred an observer status. of oil in the mid-1990s, but which now accounts for Equatorial Guinea also applied for membership to the less than 2 percent of GDP. Agricultural imports WTO in February 2007 but is yet to submit a currently face more restrictive tariff barriers (21.9 memorandum on its foreign trade regime. percent) than non-agricultural imports (17.3 percent). In line with the CEMAC CET, the country’s maximum MFN applied tariff (excluding alcohol and Behind the Border Constraints tobacco) is 30 percent. Equatorial Guinea remained in the bottom 10 percent of friendly business environments according to the Ease of Doing Business index, achieving a rank of External Environment 170th out of 183 countries in 2009. Regarding the The country enjoys favorable access to international extent of trade facilitation in the country, Equatorial markets, facing a weighted average tariff (including Guinea ranks 138th in the Trading Across Borders preferences) of only 0.2 percent from the rest of the subcategory. The country has relatively lower costs world, a pattern typical for an oil�exporting country. In and fewer required documents for exporting and comparison, its SSA and upper-middle-income importing compared to the SSA averages. The time comparators face tariffs of 3.5 percent and 3.1 percent, required for exporting procedures is also lower than the SSA average but the time required for importing procedures is higher. Trade Outcomes Unless otherwise indicated, all data are as of August 2009 and are drawn from the World Trade Indicators 2009/10 Real trade growth slowed from 8 percent in 2007 to an Database. The database, Country Trade Briefs and estimated 5.1 percent in 2008 and is expected to turn Trade-at-a-Glance Tables, are available at negative in 2009, with trade falling by 2 percent. http://www.worldbank.org/wti. Imports are estimated to have contracted by 3.6 percent in 2008 after growing by 10.5 percent in 2007, If using information from this brief, please provide the but are expected to recover slightly in 2009 with a following source citation: World Bank. 2010. “Equatorial growth rate of 2.1 percent. There was strong Guinea Trade Brief.� World Trade Indicators 2009/10: performance in the country’s main export sector, oil, Country Trade Briefs. Washington, DC: World Bank. as production at the Okume and Ceiba oil fields went Available at http://www.worldbank.org/wti. World Trade Indicators 2009/10 Equatorial Guinea Trade Brief up by 63.7 percent1 in 2008. This drove an export References growth rate of 9.9 percent, up from 6.7 percent in 2007. Exports are however expected to decline by 4 African Economic Outlook. 2009. Equatorial Guinea. percent in 2009. African Economic Outlook. May 27, 2009. . estimated 26.6 percent from 12.4 percent in 2007. Doing Business. 2008. “Country Profile for Equatorial Imports grew by an estimated 11.6 percent in 2008, up Guinea.� . import growth, with exports increasing by an Europa. 2009. “Africa, Caribbean, Pacific—Regional estimated 34.2 percent in 2008 compared to 15.5 Negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements.� percent in 2007. With high oil prices, goods exports Europa. June 2009. . percent in 2008, more than double the rate of 15.5 European Commision. 2009. “Update: Economic percent in 2007, but services exports did not perform Partnership Agreements.� European Commission. as well, growing by an estimated 8.5 percent in 2008 June 17, 2009. . exports are, however, expected to plummet by 46.9 World Trade Organization (WTO). “Accessions— percent in 2009, given the expected fall in oil prices, Equatorial Guinea.� WTO. . with a projected growth rate of 8 percent. Notes 1. African Economic Outlook 2009.