Tonga Member profile
Status of notification in the reporting periods
2010-2012
2012-2014
2014-2016
2016-2018
2018-2020
2020-2022
2022-2024
2024-2026
Notification information
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Tonga
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06/08/2021
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2020-2022
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Tonga
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22/01/2021
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2018-2020, 2020-2022
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Types of restrictions
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 HS chapters notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 WTO justifications notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 Non-WTO commitments notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
QR details
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Trade policy review
Latest Trade Policy Review (Report by the WTO Secretariat): WT/TPR/S/409/Rev.1
A. Import prohibitions and restrictions and import licensing
3.27.
Tonga did not submit any notifications to the Committee on Import Licensing during the review period; its only notification dates back to 2011 (Section 2.3.1.3). The authorities affirm that licensing requirements are mainly used for national security, public safety, health, and environmental reasons. Non-automatic licensing requirements continue to apply on a number of imports, including firearms, explosives, noxious gases, ozone‑depleting substances, narcotics, medicines, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and cigarettes, and endangered species. The legal instruments governing restricted imports are not consolidated, and the granting of licences is administered by several line ministries and government agencies. According to the authorities, Tonga does not maintain any licensing requirements for quantitative restrictions purposes.
3.28.
Prohibited imports include counterfeit currency, pornographic or subversive materials, goods infringing on IPRs, and hazardous waste. An import ban on lamb and mutton breast meat was implemented on 1 July 2020 (Section 4.1.1.4).[72]
B. Export prohibitions and restrictions
3.35.
No new export restrictions or bans have been introduced since 2014. In addition to the general business licence for engaging in cross-border trade, special licensing requirements remain in place for certain exports, such as fisheries and agricultural products. As with imports, the legal instruments governing export restrictions are not consolidated, and the granting of licences is administered by several line ministries and government agencies. Prohibited exports include articles of Tongan culture, raw coral, and endangered species.
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.