UK Statement on Mozambique’s WTO Trade Policy Review in 2024

Chairman, let me warmly welcome the delegation from Mozambique led by Mr. Silvino Augusto José Moreno, Minister of Industry and Trade. Let me also express my gratitude to colleagues from the WTO Secretariat for their relevant reports, to the Chairman, as always, and to our Discussant, Mr. Li Chenggang, for his insightful comments.

Economic analysis

1. I would like to express my gratitude to the delegation and the secretariat for all the hard work they have put into the Trade Policy Review. The secretariat and government reports offer invaluable insight into Mozambique’s trade policy and the broader economy.

2. Mozambique has struggled with various shocks since the last TPR in 2017: climate, COVID-19, ongoing conflict. To boost growth and reduce poverty, Mozambique is moving forward with several key economic reforms, including an IMF program initiated in 2022. We were also pleased to read that the government is taking steps to address the recent public sector wage overruns cited in reports.

3. I am pleased to report that our development assistance has supported Mozambique’s crisis and humanitarian response, the provision of basic services, and economic reforms aimed at strengthening domestic revenue mobilization, debt transparency, and state-owned enterprises. These economic reforms were key to the decisions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to renew program support in 2022 and 2023.

4. The UK is deeply grateful for the insights Mozambique has provided us with by engaging in this important transparency exercise, including its responses to our advanced written questions.

5. They allow us to better understand Mozambique’s trade policies, which in turn allows us to understand how we can work together to further improve our trading relationship, which has grown rapidly over the past two years. In 2023, UK exports to Mozambique increased by more than 100%, while the value of our imports from Mozambique increased by 175%.

Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the member states of the Southern African Customs Union (SACUM)

1. The close cooperation between our two countries and regional partners has enabled this rapid growth. We are grateful to Mozambique for working constructively on the implementation of the SACU-Mozambique-UK Economic Partnership Agreement, which entered into force in 2021 and underpins our trade relations with Mozambique, as well as with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

2. The UK is fully committed to the EPA, primarily as a means of increasing trade and investment to promote sustainable growth and poverty reduction in southern Africa. We look forward to hosting the first Joint EPA Council and working with our partners in Mozambique and SACU to continue implementing and seeking to deepen the Agreement and increase the benefits for businesses and consumers in the UK and southern Africa.

3. Last month we celebrated the first anniversary of the UK’s Developing Country Trading Scheme. The DCTS has been in operation for a year now, providing improved market access for 65 developing countries, home to 3.3 billion people, including Mozambique. Free and open trade is a key tool in helping Least Developed Countries (LDCs) drive economic growth and support sustainable development, and the DCTS helps Mozambique export to the UK and play a more active role in rapidly expanding global supply chains.

World Trade Organization

1. The President, given the benefits that trade can bring to LDCs, welcomed the fact that the reports referred to Mozambique’s commitment to a rules-based, predictable and transparent trading system; and that Minister Moreno referred this morning to Mozambique’s aim to create a stable and sustainable environment for trade. Mozambique’s commitment is underpinned by the significant role that global trade plays in the Mozambican economy, with total bilateral trade flows ranging from 92.8% to 137.7% of GDP between 2017 and 2023.

2. Mozambique’s constructive work within the WTO itself is also commendable. In particular, the UK welcomes the role Mozambique plays in trade facilitation; Mozambique is a focal point in these important discussions. We look forward to continuing to work with Mozambique in the Trade Facilitation Committee, ensuring that the WTO continues to deliver for least developed and developing countries. We are also pleased that Mozambique has increased its participation in the WTO through the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and the Plastic Pollution Dialogue.

3. The UK would also be keen to learn more about Mozambique’s efforts to promote inclusive economic development in the future. As co-chair of the WTO Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender, I would be keen to learn more about Mozambique’s initiatives, in the spirit of sharing best practice and learning across the group.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

1. Chairman, we would like to take this opportunity to commend Mozambique for joining another multilateral body: the African Continental Free Trade Area. The UK is a strong supporter of the AfCFTA, which has the potential to be a game changer for intra-regional trade across the continent and therefore inclusive economic growth and development.

2. The UK is proud to be the first country outside Africa to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the AfCFTA Secretariat. Through our development assistance, we are working closely with the AfCFTA Secretariat and Member States to bring the agreement into force.

3. Finally, Chairman, let me thank Mozambique for its full cooperation in this important exercise in transparency. I would like to thank the delegation in particular for its hard work in responding to the UK’s questions, hard work which I hope did not distract them from celebrating the Dia da Independência last week.