collaborate with the World Bank on a study of trucking liberalization. West Africa’s trucking industry is high priced, inefficient, dominated by informal operators, and saddled with regulations that worsen inefficiencies and encourage behavior that raises prices even more. TCBoost developed a preliminary model to quantify the impact of potential reforms on the trucking industry for a range of stakeholders in eight West African countries with substantial transit traffic. To populate the model with additional data, the team conducted field research in Niger and Benin. The final report described the impact of full and partial liberalization on truckers, shippers, governments, producers, and consumers and concluded that the total net economic benefits of reform could be as high as $500 million. This is the first part of more extensive work on the topic being undertaken by the World Bank in West Africa and elsewhere on the continent.
GHANA INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION ASSISTANCE The purpose of Ghana’s Tariff Advisory Board (TAB) is to strengthen institutional arrangements for tariffs and trade contingency measures and make the country’s import-export regime transparent and predictable. This entails analyzing tariffs; advising the Ministry of Trade and Industry on the same; receiving, investigating, and recommending action on petitions; and providing training on trade contingency
Ghana TAB on study tour in Pretoria, South Africa.
measures. The TAB’s mandate is limited and an independent and broadly empowered Ghana International Trade Commission is needed to address all issues facing the Ministry of Trade and Industry. On behalf of USAID/Ghana, TCBoost assessed TAB’s progress in transitioning to an international trade commission, reviewing the draft law and regulations, determining human resource needs, and developing a plan for the transition. Some of this had already been done by an earlier USAID-funded bilateral project. TCBoost was familiar with the previous assistance to TAB and staffed the new work efficiently by recruiting the key consultant from that project, as well as an expert from the USITC. TCBoost financed a three-day retreat forTAB members during which the experts examined inconsistencies in the tariff regime, reviewed draft legislation establishing roles and responsibilities for the commission, and provided training on antidumping measures, countervailing duties, and safeguards. Later, TCBoost critiqued videotaped proceedings of the first petition hearing brought before the TAB and made recommendations for improvement, trained TAB on injury factors and ratios, and arranged for TAB members to visit the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) in South Africa. More than a dozen ITAC members, including the chief commissioner and the deputy chief commissioner, participated in discussions on trade remedies, tariff reviews, and import-export controls.
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