Ghana Member profile
No notifications submitted by Ghana
Trade policy review
Latest Trade Policy Review (Report by the WTO Secretariat): WT/TPR/S/427/Rev.1
A. Import prohibitions and restrictions and import licensing
3.39.
Import prohibitions are maintained by Ghana on, inter alia, health, security, technical, sanitary or phytosanitary, and environmental grounds. Ghana also controls or restricts trade under treaties and international conventions to which it is a signatory, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Montreal Protocol, and the Basel Convention on Hazardous Waste. These prohibitions are listed in the tariff schedule. Ghana is a member of the Kimberley Process and applies import prohibitions, according to origin, on rough diamonds. Trade and economic sanctions may also result in import prohibitions, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
3.40.
The Imports and Exports (Prohibited Goods) Regulations of 1994 prohibit commercial imports of the following items when used or second-hand: handkerchiefs; underpants; mattresses; and sanitary ware. Importation of used liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, toxic waste, turkey tails, foreign soil, and medical soap containing mercuric iodine is also prohibited.
3.41.
In addition, a list of pharmaceuticals is reserved for local production, and imports are banned accordingly (E.I. 181, 2016) (Section 4.4.2). Use and importation of codeine-based syrup are banned as well (E.I. 167, 2018).
3.42.
In 2004, the authorities notified the WTO that Ghana does not operate any import licensing system; and it confirmed this in 2009.[64] However, there appear to be a number of exceptions whereby imports are in practice subject to quantitative restrictions. For example, a ceiling on cement imports was enforced as at 2017 so as to bolster production and domestic value addition.[65] Ghana also continues to apply import permit requirements for poultry products, as a means of protecting domestic production (Section 4.1.1.1).
B. Export prohibitions and restrictions
3.53.
Some products are subject to special export permits (Table 3.9). Source: GEPA. Viewed at: https://www.gepaghana.org/import/faq/.
3.54.
The following exports are prohibited: narcotics; parrots; bank notes or coins of more than GHS 5,000; round logs (12 species including Rosewood, Section 4.1.3); rattan canes and bamboo, which may be exported only in processed form such as rattan furniture or baskets; obscene or pornographic materials; ferrous scrap metal (Section 4.3); and goods prohibited by any other laws or conventions, such as the CITES.[74]
WTO's environmental database (EDB)
The EDB contains environment-related measures that may qualify as QRs and therefore should be notified under the QR Decision.