MPs of the Trade and Production Committee examined the bill which aims at spurring economic growth on March 22, 2016 in Yaounde.

The Ngom Jua Committee Room at the 2nd Floor of the Ngoa-Ekelle Glass House was the venue where members of the Trade and Production Committee of the National Assembly met on Tuesday March 22, 2016 to examine the Bill governing external trade in Cameroon submitted by government. The Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, defended the bill which seeks to spur economic growth in the country, in the presence of the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Territorial Administration, Jules Doret Ndongo who represented the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies.

The explanatory statement states that the purpose of the bill is to regulate external trade activities in Cameroon in a bid to spur economic growth by adopting the principle of freedom to import or export, protect domestic production by combating unfair import trade practices as well as contribute to export promotion. The bill if adopted will protect domestic industries by fighting against dumping and subsidies and mass imports that can cause serious injury to domestic industries.

The bill also makes provision for legal security for external trade transactions through the establishment of an electronic platform known as the “e-Single Window for External Trade Transactions (abbreviated in French as “E-Guce”). The bill, divided into seventy-two sections under nine chapters also sets up a national consultation forum for stakeholders in the sector, through the National Council on External Trade, which would be charged with advising the government on national external trade policy and anti-dumping measures.