RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/TPR/S/10
12January 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0177)
Original: English
TRADE POLICY REVIEW
Venezuela
Report bytheSecretariat
Thisreport, prepared forthefirstTrade Policy Review ofVenezuela, hasbeendrawn
upbytheWTO Secretariat onitsownresponsibility. TheSecretariat has,asrequired
bytheAgreement establishing theTrade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3ofthe
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), sought
clarification from theGovernment ofVenezuela onitstrade policies andpractices.
Document WT/TPR/G/ contains thepolicy statement submitted bytheGovernment
ofVenezuela.
Note: Thisreport issubject torestricted circulation andpress embargo untiltheendofthemeeting
oftheTrade Policy Review Body onVenezuela.Venezuela WT/TPR/S/10
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CONTENTS
Page
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS x
I. THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 1
(1) Main Features oftheEconomy 1
(2) Recent Economic Developments 5
(i) Introduction 5
(ii) Supply anddemand 9
(iii) Savings andinvestment 9
(iv) Prices 9
(v) Public finances 11
(vi) Money andfinance 12
(vii) Balance ofpayments 13
(3) Composition andDirection ofTrade inGoods andServices 17
(i) Composition ofoverall trade 17
(ii) Direction ormerchandise trade 19
(4) Outlook 20
II. TRADE POLICY REGIME: FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES 22
(1) Introduction 22
(2) General Framework 22
(3) Structure ofTrade Policy Formulation 23
(i) Legislative andExecutive branches ofGovernment 23
(ii) Advisory bodies 24
(4) Trade Policy Objectives 24
(i) General trade policy objectives 24
(ii) Sectoral trade policy objectives 25
(iii) TheUruguay Round 25
(5) Trade Laws andRegulations 26
(6) Trade Agreements andArrangements 27
(i) Multilateral agreements 27
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Page
(ii) Regional agreements 28
(iii) Bilateral agreements 32
(iv) Other agreements orarrangements 32
III. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND TRADE 34
(1) Investment Policies 34
(2) Legal Framework andProcedures 35
(i) Basic framework andapproval process 35
(ii) Sector-specific approval processes 40
(iii) Investment incentives 44
(3) Investment Patterns andTrends 45
IV. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BYMEASURE 50
(1) Overview 50
(2) Measures Directly Affecting Imports 51
(i) Registration, documentation 51
(ii) Tariffs 51
(iii) Tariff quotas 58
(iv) Variable import levies 59
(v) Tariff surcharges 61
(vi) Other levies andcharges 62
(vii) Customs valuation 64
(viii) Reference andminimum import prices 65
(ix) Import prohibitions 66
(x) Import licensing 67
(xi) Import quotas 67
(xii) Import surveillance 68
(xiii) State trading 68
(xiv) Import cartels 71
(xv) Countertrade 71
(xvi) Standards andother technical requirements 71
(xvii) Government procurement 74
(xviii) Local content requirements 76
(xix) Rules oforigin 76
(xx) Anti-dumping andcountervailing dutyactions 77
(xxi) Safeguard actions 80
(xxii) Balance-of-payments measures 80
(3) Measures Directly Affecting Exports 80
(i) Registration, documentation 80
(ii) Export taxes, charges, levies 81
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Prices
(iii) Minimum prices 81
(iv) Export prohibitions 81
(v) Export licensing 81
(vi) Export quotas 82
(vii) Voluntary restraints, surveillance andsimilar measures 82
(viii) Measures maintained byimporting countries 82
(ix) Export subsidies 83
(x) Duty andtaxconcessions 83
(xi) Export finance 86
(xii) Export insurance andguarantees 86
(xiii) Export promotion, marketing assistance 87
(xiv) Free-trade zones, export-processing zones
(4) Measures Affecting Production andTrade 88
(i) Adjustment assistance 88
(ii) Assistance forresearch anddevelopment (R&D) 89
(iii) Production assistance, taxconcessions 89
(iv) Pricing andmarketing arrangements 90
(v) Regional assistance 91
(vi) Competition policy 91
(vii) Enforcement ofintellectual andindustrial property rights 92
(viii) Other measures 96
V. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BYSECTOR 97
(1) Overview 97
(2) Agriculture 98
(i) Institutional framework andpolicies 99
(ii) Measures affecting trade andproduction 100
(iii) Main agricultural commodities 104
(3) Fishing 113
(4) Minerals (including fuels) 114
(i) Minerals other thanhydrocarbons 115
(ii) Petroleum 117
(5) Manufacturing 129
(i) Policies affecting manufacturing 131
(ii) Main manufacturing industries 134
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Page
(6) Services 142
(i) Financial services 144
(ii) Tourism 153
(iii) Transport 155
(iv) Telecommunications 160
(v) Electricity 163
(vi) Other services 164
Annex V.1 Resource rents anddownstream processing 165
VI. TRADE DISPUTES AND CONSULTATIONS 167
(1) Dispute Settlement under GATT 1947 167
(i) Complaints against Venezuela 167
(ii) Complaints byVenezuela 167
(iii) Third party interests 169
(2) Dispute Settlement under GATT 1994 171
(3) Dispute outside GATT/WTO 171
REFERENCES 172
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CHARTS
Page
I. THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
I.1 Real percapital income, 1980-94 2
I.2 Sectoral distribution ofGDP, 1980 and1993 3
I.3 Trade ingoods andnon-factor services 5
I.4 Selected economic indicators, 1980-93 10
I.5 REER index andmerchandise trade (1987 prices), 1979-94 14
I.6 (a)Composition ofimports ofgoods andservices 18
(b)Composition ofexports ofgoods andservices 18
I.7 Merchandise imports, bymain origins 1980 and1993 19
I.8 Merchandise exports, bymain destination 1980 and1993 20
II. TRADE POLICY REGIME: FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES
II.1 Foreign trade withtheregion 29
III. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND TRADE 34
III.1 Cumulative FDIbysource, 1975-end 1994 46
III.2 Annual netFDIinflows bysource, 1989-94 47
III.3 FDIbysector, 1975-end 1994 48
III.4 Annual netFDIinflows bysector, 1989-94 48
III.5 Foreign investment inhydrocarbons, petrochemicals, coaland
other mining, 1987-April 1995 49
IV. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BYMEASURES
IV.1 Average tariff levels andfiscal revenue from imports, 1985-94 54
IV.2 Distribution ofm.f.n. advalorem tariff rates, 1995 (December) 55
IV.3 Imports bytariff treatment, 1988-93 57
IV.4 Structure offiscal revenue from indirect taxes, 1989-94 63
IV.5 Imports bysector oforigin, 1988-93 70
IV.6 Developments inthefiscal credit régime, 1989-93 85
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Page
V. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BYSECTOR 97
V.1 Evolution ofagricultural production andtrade 98
V.2 Total support (IASA) tomain agricultural products 103
V.3 Value ofmain livestock products, 1992 105
V.4 Support (IASA) tocorn, milk, rice, sorghum andsugar 107
V.5 Value ofmain crops byproduct, 1994 108
V.6 Venezuela 'soilproduction, consumption andexports, 1973-92 121
V.7 Production ofcrude petroleum byAOIgravity, 1970-93 124
V.8 Unitvalue ofpetroleum exports, 1970-93 125
V.9 Tariff escalation inmanufacturing, Venezuela 1995 132
V.10 Production, consumption andtrade ofsteel products 139
V.11 Value added inservices, 1993 143
V.12 Tourist arrivals inVenezuela, 1984-93 154
V.13 Telecommunications sector, 1991 and1994 160
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TABLES
Page
I. THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
I.1 Basic economic andsocial indicators 1
I.2 Economic Performance 6
I.3 Balance ofPayments 7
I.4 External debt 16
IV. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BYMEASURE
IV.1 Method forthecalculation ofthevariable import levy, 1995 60
IV.2 Structure ofcharges onimports ofselected products, 1995 64
IV.3 Andean Price Band: floor andceiling prices, 1April 1995-31 March 1996 66
IV.4 Government procurement procedures byvalue, 1995 75
IV.5 Anti-dumping andcountervailing cases, 1992-95 79
V. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BYSECTOR
V.1 Protection through variable levies asofAugust 1993 100
V.2 Livestock: volume andvalue ofproduction 104
V.3 Crops: volume andvalue ofproduction, 1988-94 109
V.4 Mining Activity (excluding hydrocarbons) 115
V.5 Hydrocarbons production statistics, 1993 123
V.6 PDVSA 'sbusiness plan, 1995-2003 127
V.7 Basic economic indicators formanufacturing, 1992 130
V.8 Relative importance ofmanufacturing industries, 1992 131
V.9 PVDSA 'srefined production operations, 1993 135
V.10 Energy intensities inAndean Pactcountries, 1992 136
V.11 Selected indicators ofindustrial production 137
V.12 Structure oftheFinancial System (except insurance), December 1993 145
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APPENDIX TABLES
Page
AI.1 Imports toVenezuela, bybroad product category, 1980-94 177
AI.2 Exports from Venezuela, bybroad product category, 1980-94 178
AI.3 Venezuelan merchandise imports from main regions andprincipal countries
oforigin, 1980-94 179
AI.4 Venezuelan merchandise exports tomain regions and
principal destinations, 1980-94 180
AII.1 Terms ofparticipation toregional agreements asof1995 181
AV.1 Trade measures applied inVenezuela byISIC category 184
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formulation andimplementation, including
sectoral coordination. Italso provides
representation inmultilateral forasuchasthe
WTO andregional orbilateral negotiations.
TheMinistry ofFinance isresponsible fortariff
policy. Foreign exchange andmonetary
policies areformulated bytheCentral Bank of
Venezuela. Policies affecting services arethe
responsibility ofseveral public sector
institutions, with the ICE coordinating
international negotiations. Under legislation
awaiting approval, ICEandtheMinistry of
Development aretobereplaced byaMinistry
ofIndustry andCommerce.
13. Venezuela became aformal participant
intheUruguay Round fouryears after the
launching ofthenegotiations. Itratified the
Marrakesh Agreement on29December 1994to
become afounder member oftheWTO. Forthe
timebeing, Venezuela doesnotplantosignany
Plurilateral Agreement. The authorities
considered theresults oftheUruguay Round
particularly beneficial inareas suchastextiles
andclothing, anti-dumping, countervailing
measures and professional and financial
services, while issues concerning environmental
andworkers 'rights protection arebeing
approached cautiously.
14. Since thelate1980s, thestrengthening
and expansion ofregional and bilateral
agreements have been important elements in
Venezuela 'stradepolicy. Atpresent, Venezuela
participates infreetrade areacommitments in
theAndeanGroup,whereitappliestheCommon
External Tariff (CET), andtheGroup ofThree
(with Colombia and Mexico). Bilateral
arrangements exist with individual Central
American Common Market (CACM) members,
LAIA partners, MERCOSUR countries and
Cuba, while Venezuela provides unilateral
preferential treatment tocertain imports from
CACMandCaribbeanCommon
Market (CARICOM) countries. Venezuela is
alsoinvolved inlonger termprojects suchasthe
negotiations foraFree Trade Area fortheAmericas andtheLatin American Integration
Association (LAIA).
(4) Trade Policy Features andTrends
(i) Evolution oftrade policies and
instruments
15. Venezuela 'strade policies changed
direction in1989, when animport-substitution
policy began tobereplaced byamore open
régime, whose objective wastoreduce anti-
export bias andintegrate theVenezuelan
economy more closely intoworld markets.
Underthispolicy,tariffs,importrestrictionsand
export incentives haveallbeenreduced.
16. Onaccession totheGATT, Venezuela
bound itstariff atageneral ceiling level of
50percent. These commitments were
strengthened intheUruguay Round byagreeing
toreduce theoverall bound rateto35percent
by2004.
17. Since 1992, Venezuela 'sapplied tariff
schedule hasbeen based ontheCommon
External Tariff oftheAndean Group, with
advalorem rates of5,10,15and20percent
(with certain exceptions). Tariff escalation is
intended topromote industrial development,
encouraging thefurther processing ofregional
rawmaterials inAndean countries. Anew
tariff, introduced inJuly1995, reduced tariff
peaks affecting certain automotive items from
40to35percent. Mostratesareadvalorem,
butspecific andcompound duties arelevied on
certain items.
18. Tariffconcessionshavebeen
rationalized; concessional entry islimited to
imports covered bypreferential agreements or
entering freezones, temporary admission,
admission for improvement and stock
replacement. Reduced orzerotariffs apply to
inputs, rawmaterials andcapital goods not
producedoravailableintheAndeansub-region.
Reducedratesalsoapplytocompletely-knocked-
down (CKD) motor vehicle kitsforassembly,
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subject tocompliance byassemblers withlocal
content requirements. Effective protection for
theassemblyindustryisthussubstantiallyhigher
thanisevident fromnominal rates.
19. In1995, Venezuela adopted theAndean
Price Band system toreplace asimilar national
scheme inplace since1991. TheAndean system
applies toimports ofcertain agricultural items
(including meat, dairy products, sugar, and
various cereals, fatsandprocessed foods)
originating outside theregion. Itsstated
objective istostabilize thedomestic price of
those products inamanner consistent withthe
implementation oftheCommon External Tariff
byallAndean Group countries. Thesystem
operates byadding anadvalorem levytothe
CETratewhenever areference pricefallsunder
afloor, orsubtracting from suchrateifthe
reference price exceeds aceiling; floor and
ceiling prices arelinked bothtothemoving
average andthespread ofprices prevailing in
world markets during theprevious fiveyears.
Asunder thissystem applied rates could
increase, inprinciple, beyond bound levels,
questions ariseabout thepredictability ofsuch
aformofborder protection which exhibits many
oftheproperties associated withvariable levies.
20. InMay1995 customs clearance fees
were abolished. Since April 1992, tariff
surcharges have been applied toimports of
15ten-digit NANDINA agricultural products,
including certain types ofcheese, maize and
mineral waters. According totheauthorities,
these surcharges were tobeeliminated by
January 1996.
21. Since September 1994, aVAT-type
wholesaleand(luxury)consumptiontaxhasbeen
applied atrates ranging from 12.5 to
32.5percentonallgoods, except some basic
foods; onservices; andonroyalties fromthe
exploitation ofalltypes ofintellectual property
rights. Additional internal taxes onalcoholic
beverages exclusively affect imported items;
details ofapplied rateswerenotavailable totheSecretariat atthetimeofcompletion ofits
report.
22. Import prohibitions arelimited toused
oroldmodel roadvehicles, usedclothing, used
tyresandgambling games. Restrictive import
licensing seems generally tohave been
eliminated, while import permit requirements
are maintained onseveral items for
environmental, health andsecurity reasons.
Exclusive import rights aremaintained forafew
items requiring prior import authorization. In
recent years efforts have been made to
modernize legislation and institutional
arrangements instandards; inJune1993, new
compulsory regulations were introduced
affecting, interalia, automotive parts,
chemicals, foodstuffs, health products andtoys.
23. Absence ofcomprehensive dataonthe
extentofstate-ownedenterprisesdoesnotpermit
afullappraisal ofthedegree ofstate
involvement inproduction and trade.
Government procurement legislation permits,
butdoesnotrequire, preferential treatment for
domestic suppliers; nodataonprocurement
operations other than thatoftheState oil
company, PDVSA, wasavailable from the
authorities.
24. Aspromised onitsaccession tothe
GATT, Venezuela hasintroduced aninjury test,
applicable onareciprocal basis, initsanti-
dumping and countervailing legislation.
Between 1992 and1995 anti-dumping duties
have been imposed onthree occasions on
manufactured goods while countervailing duties
havebeenusedagainst cheese imports.
25. Export licensing applies toafewitems
including fertilizers, certain metals and
radioactive substances. Asurcharge, tobe
phased outin1996, affects petroleum exports.
Thescope ofexport assistance foragricultural
products, atarateof10percent ofthe
f.o.b. value, hasbeen reduced over recent
years. IntheUruguay Round, Venezuela
committed itselftocutting budgetary outlays for
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export subsidies by24percentandeligible
quantities by15percent. Manufactured goods
benefit fromadutydrawback system onimports
ofinputs [andcapital goods]. Export finance
indomestic currency isprovided onpreferential
terms, while foreign currency loans forthis
purpose aremade oncommercial terms.
26. Thefreezonerégime, inexistence for
over twenty years, istheonly regional
development instrument; itsincidence onthe
domestic economy remains limited.
27. Venezuela hasmetitsWTO notification
requirements intheareas ofTRIMs, SPS
(national enquiry points), rulesoforigin, anti-
dumping,subsidiesandcountervailingmeasures,
safeguards and textiles and clothing.
Notifications have yettobemade onimport
restrictions, import prohibitions, licensing
requirements andState trading, aswellason
thefiscalcreditandexportfinanceprogrammes.
Alsonotyetnotified istheAndean Price Band
system introduced in1995.
28. Assistance todomestic production is
providedthroughthesupplyofrefinedpetroleum
products atbelow world prices andthrough
various other subsidies. For example,
agriculture benefits fromcertain taxincentives,
input subsidies onirrigation, electricity, and
fixedproducer prices oncertain items. While
themonitoring andfixing ofmaximum retail
prices ofcertain food and services may
disadvantage certain local firms, imported
tobacco andcigarettes cannot besoldataprice
lowerthanthatofdomesticbrands.Competition
policy introduced in1992 hasallowed forthe
examination ofpractices suchascartelization,
mergers, boycotts andabuse ofdominant
position andcould leadinthelong runto
stronger competition inthedomestic market.
29. Undertheminimumaccessopportunities
oftheWTO Agreement onAgriculture, the
quantity ofmostagricultural imports subject to
tariff quota commitments istoincrease
progressively byaround 67percentby2004;however, there willbenoincreases fora
number ofitems including milk, grains and
sugar. Themechanism fortheadministration
oftariffquotas wastoenter intoforce in1996.
Venezuela maintains Special Safeguards
Provisions on76agricultural items. Under its
obligations relating tothe Aggregate
Measurement ofSupport (AMS), Venezuela is
expected toreduce support todomestic
producers through price fixing andinput
subsidies, by13.3percent.
30. Protectionofintellectualpropertyrights
isbased ondomestic legislation introduced in
1993 and complementary Andean Group
measures of1994. Thenewlegislation covers
abroad range ofworks butproblems allegedly
exist withitsenforcement. Venezuela isa
signatory toalmost allmajor international
conventionsonintellectualproperty,trademarks,
copyrights andpatent protection, andisa
member oftheWorld Intellectual Property
Organization. Theauthorities consider thatthe
implementation oftheAgreement onTRIPS
should require nosignificant changes, except
forsome border measures where modifications
areunder way.
(iii) Sectoral policies
31. Under thereforms initiated in1989,
serious efforts were made toreduce theanti-
exportbiasofearlierpolicies,includingthrough
privatization andderegulation oftheeconomy.
However, such abiaspersists through the
continued application ofsectoral policies
favouring "activity leader" groups. The
misallocation ofdomestic resources implied by
such measures maynotbeoffset bypositive
externalitiesgeneratedbythesectorsconcerned.
32. Mining andpetroleum, which receive
little import protection, aremost likely
negatively affected bythepresent régime. While
assistance toagriculture appears moderate
compared withsome major world agricultural
producers, protection anddomestic supports
have fostered ahigh-cost agricultural sector
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isolated frominternational markets. Thesector
wasgreatlyaffectedbytheinitialimplementation
oftheliberalization programme; morerecently,
newsupports have been introduced, mainly
through themeasures described earlier (the
Andean Price Band system, preferential credit,
etc.). Currently under study areadraftlawon
agricultural development andfoodsecurity as
wellasatrade defence system andproduction
incentives tocounteract perceived distortions in
world agricultural markets.
33. Thecurrent thrust ofindustrial policies
isthepromotion ofselected industrial groups
anddomestic value added, mainly through tariff
escalation. Some sub-sectors, such as
petroleum refineries, iron and steel and
aluminium, aremajor exporters. Apart from
these, themanufacturing sector (particularly,
foodprocessing andthevehicle industry) has
been inward-oriented andnotparticularly
competitive inworld markets beyond theAndean
region .Lowefficiency hasbeencompensated
inpartbyState subsidies through inexpensive
inputs, especially under-priced fuelsandother
refined petroleum products. Assistance has
more recently been provided through
government-supported debtrescheduling and
recapitalizations.
34. Liberalization hasgone relatively far
intheservices sector, withfurther advances
expected. Inthepast, high costs and
inefficiencies resulted from theshielding of
services from foreign competition; many
services, particularly banking, weresubject to
powerful distortionary forces. Competition in
thefinancial sector washampered bysevere
restrictions ontheentry offoreign banks and
major weaknesses inthesupervisory and
regulatory framework. Amajor banking crisis
erupted in1994, when theauthorities were
compelled tonationalize orclose asignificant
percentage ofthebanks inoperation. Thecrisis
spilled overtotheinsurance industry, withthe
Government again having toacquire alarge
number ofcompanies. Steps taken since 1994
haveresulted inaseries ofconsolidations andtheintroduction ofneworrevised lawswhich
areexpected tochange significantly the
operation andstructure ofthefinancial sector.
35. Inefficient labour practices inportsalso
represented aserious handicap tonon-mineral
exporters; toaddress these problems the
authorities initiated arestructuring process in
1991which hasseenportservices privatized or
transferred tostate governments. Reforms
undertaken toincrease competition inshipping
appear tohaveresulted inasignificant fallin
thenumber ofshipyards andvessels under
Venezuelan flag.
36. State involvement intheoperation of
telecommunicationsservicesisnowlimited.The
largely privatized national telephone company
hasamonopoly ofbasic services; however,
competitionisfreeinallnon-basicservices,with
private operators having expanded rapidly since
theopening ofthesector in1991. The
introduction ofanewtelecommunications law
andgreater reliance onmarket mechanisms are
seenasimportantstepsforfurtherimprovements
inthesector.
(iii) Newinitiatives
37. In1995, legislation was under
preparation tointroduce anew customs
valuation scheme, adjust thefree zones
legislation totheWTOAgreement onSubsidies,
create aBankofForeign Trade, andamend the
regulations onconsumer protection and
industrial property rights; theintroduction of
regulationsonimportcartelpracticeswasunder
study.
(5) Trade Policies andTrading Partners
38. Venezuela wasrecently included inthe
group ofAndean Group countries which will
receive extended benefits under theEuropean
Union'sGSPschemeuntil1998.Theauthorities
consider thismeasure asanimportant incentive
fornon-traditional exports totheEUmarket.
Atariffquota affects banana exports totheEU.
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Venezuelan exports ofcertain manufactured
items have been subject toanti-dumping or
countervailing duties intheEUandtheUnited
States, while asimilar casehasrecently been
under examination inMexico.
39. Venezuela, together with other
contracting parties, hasbeenacomplainant in
twoGATT dispute settlement cases concerning
EUandmember Stateimport measures affecting
bananas. Acasehasbeeninitiated under WTO
dispute settlement procedures onstandards
applied bytheUnited States onimports of
conventional orreformulated gasoline.
(6) Conclusion
40. While Venezuela 'smostpressing need
istoovercome itsmacro-economic problems,
italsoneeds tocarry forward thereform ofits
trade andrelated polices. Thisisacondition
forachieving greater adaptability inthe
domestic economy torespond tothechallenges
andopportunitiespresentedbythe
implementation oftheresults oftheUruguay
Round. Thus, there isaneed toextend the
process ofliberalization initiated in1989 and
toensure that theapplication offoreign
exchange controls doesnotadversely affect the
interests ofVenezuela 'strading partners.41. Whileintegrationwithinthe
AndeanGroup,inparticular,andotherregional
agreements may present opportunities for
economies ofscale inanenlarged regional
market, itisimportant thatsuch agreement
retain anopen, liberal character aspartofthe
multilateral system. Theescalating structure
oftheAndean Group 'scommon external tariff
andotherarrangementswithinthegroupsuggest
thatcertain sectors willretain significantly
higher levels ofprotection andthatothers,
including export industries, willcontinue tobe
implicitly taxed bythetrade régime.
42. Further liberalization, andasustained
attack onanti-export bias,would imply moving
away from thecurrent policy ofpromoting
selected industrial groups andeliminating inter-
sectoral distortions toamore neutral trade
régime. Such anapproach would alsobe
assisted byeliminating distortions provided
through inexpensive inputs, especially under-
priced fuels and other refined petroleum
products.Greaterrelianceonmarketpricesand
reductions intheState'srôleintheeconomy,
accompanied bychanges totheinvestment
régime, would goalongwaytogenerating a
more resilient economy andsolidexport base.
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