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China, Gambia duty-free trade one-sided

Jul 26, 2017, 10:56 AM | Article By: Osman Kargbo

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China has clarified the duty-free trade agreement signed by the governments in Banjul and Beijing, saying Chinese products entering The Gambia “will not be duty-free”, although Gambian products to China will be duty-free.

In his maiden State Opening address on Monday at the National Assembly, President Adama Barrow stated: “I am proud to announce that my Minister of Trade has since signed a letter of agreement with China for duty-free trade between our two nations. This will remove the need for costly trans-shipment of Gambian exports to China through a third country. It will also make our goods more competitive, and boost our export potential to the world’s largest market.”

Speaking yesterday to The Point, the Information Attaché at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to The Gambia, WAN Peng, who was very elated and happy about the agreement between both nations, said products from China to The Gambia will not be duty-free, as his country wants to remain a true friend of The Gambia, and would therefore do everything they could to help The Gambia’s economy grow.

“We would like to state that we will be paying duty and tax for Chinese products entering The Gambia, while products from The Gambia to China will be duty-free,” Wan told this paper.