Our tariffs must be structured, transparent — Baidoe-Ansah

Story: Boahene Asamoah

THE Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative (PSI), Mr Joe Baidoe-Ansah, has said there is the need for a well structured and a transparent approach to tariff reviews to ensure compliance with international best practices.
“This will offer the private sector refuge against unfair competition as is the case in other countries that use tariffs to protect local industry against unfair competition,” the minister said.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on the establishment of a tariff advisory board in Accra on Thursday, Mr Baidoe-Ansah stated that the lack of structured processes for seeking tariff review had led to many economic operators and the private sector to exert pressure on the government to back their demands for an adhoc tariff review.
“This is not the best”, the minister stated, adding that the ministry was seeking through consultative meeting to solicit inputs from stakeholders to bring into operation a Tariff Advisory Board (TAB).
The Minister explained that the establishment of the board was consistent with other policy initiatives and actions that were already underway, including the development of a competition law among others.
“Our goal under this thematic area or component is to provide a level playing field for all our economic operators through effective and systematic application of a transparent tariff regime.
The Minister said the establishment of the board constituted one of the ministries major series of programmes under the imports/exports component under the Trade Sector Support Programme (TSSP).
“Tariffs are at the core of our trade policy matters. Tariffs can be an effective tool not only for revenue but can also serve as a vital instrument for enhancing the competitiveness of domestic industries and for promoting the welfare of consumers”, Mr Baidoe-Ansah stated.
The minister underscored the objectives of the country’s trade policy and the TSSP which was meant to improve the legal and regulatory framework for business and consumers and thereby increase the country’s competitiveness in both the domestic and international markets.
Recently, the Board Chairman of Aluworks Limited, manufacturers and exporters of semi-finished aluminium products, Mr William E. Inkumsah hinted that the company had presented a petition to the government for import tariffs to be slapped on imported aluminium products coming into the country.
He said the proposal was to ensure the survival of the aluminium industry on cheap imports from especially China, which had flooded the Ghanaian market in particular and the West African markets in general.
Mr Inkumsah said the government was studying the proposal and was hopeful that it would consider the request to place tariffs on imported aluminium coils into the country.
Some industry players have also called on the government to impose taxes on cheap imported wax prints and textile which had almost brought the textile industry on its knees.
Again, during the 2004 budget statement, the government imposed tariffs on poultry imports into the country, only for the government to withdraw the tariffs.