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PRESS/TPRB/209
17 January 2003
(03-0246)
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: MALDIVES
Continued structural reforms could improve economy’s efficiency
A report on the trade policies and practices of Maldives, released January 17 by the WTO
Secretariat, says that continued structural reforms, including trade and investment liberalization,
and the pursuit of privatization could strengthen competition, thereby improving the economy’sefficiency.
Maldives, a net food-importing least developed country (LDC) , faces major challenges such as
lack of diversification of its economy, which makes it vulnerable to external factors affecting
tourism and traditional fishing, escalating fiscal deficits and possible graduation from LDC status.
The WTO report, along with the policy statement of the Government of Maldives, will serve as a
basis for the first Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Maldives by the Trade Policy Review Body of the
WTO on 15 and 17 January 2003.
The following documents are available in MS Word format on the WTO website. They can be
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp209e.htm
• Secretariat report
> Contents and summary observations> Economic environment
> Trade policy regime: framework and objectives
> Trade policies and practices by measure> Trade policies by sector
> Appendix tables
• Government report
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks
• Minutes of the meeting (available approximately six weeks after the meeting).
Note
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member
countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant
developments that may have an impact on the gl obal trading system are also monitored. For eachPRESS/TPRB/209
Page 2 of 2
review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documentsare then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are publishe d shortly afterwards.
Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly
Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States
Next reviews:
El Salvador : 3, 5 February 2003
Canada : 12, 14 March 2003
Burundi : 2, 4 April 2003
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tpr_e.htm#reviewsor follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews
END