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TRADE POLICY REVIEW: BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

25 and 27 February 2008

Concluding remarks by the Chairperson

The second Trade Policy Review of Brunei Darussalam has been thorough and informative and has allowed Members to come to a better understanding of Brunei's trade and trade-related policies and of the challenges it faces as it seeks to diversify its economy. I thank Mr. Dato Lim Jock Hoi and his delegation, as well as the discussant, Ambassador Marie-Claire Swärd Capra of Sweden, and Members of the TPRB for contributing to our fruitful exchange of views. The reports by Brunei and the Secretariat, as well as the detailed responses of the delegation of Brunei Darussalam to the many questions posed, have provided a valuable resource for reflection and for transparency within the WTO.

Brunei is a small, relatively open economy whose prosperity is based on its abundant petroleum and natural gas resources. However, the prospect of an eventual depletion of these resources has prompted the Government to continue pursuing an active industrial policy to encourage economic diversification particularly to develop downstream oil and gas activities, financial and business services, hospitality, and tourism and logistics. Members expressed support for Brunei's efforts to implement its economic diversification agenda. Noting that progress has been relatively slow, Members asked whether the authorities are considering significant policy changes to accelerate diversification. Questions were also raised about other policies relating to employment, pricing and fiscal management.

Members welcomed Brunei's commitment to an open, rules-based and non-discriminatory trading system with relatively low applied MFN tariffs and no import quotas. They also welcomed Brunei's assurance that regional arrangements would be complementary to the multilateral trading system. Regarding the DDA, Members encouraged Brunei to continue its liberalization efforts to reduce the gap between applied and bound tariffs on industrial products. Some Members noted that more work needs to be done on liberalizing the services sector and urged Brunei to make a comprehensive offer — including on financial and telecom services — in the Doha Round. In the agri food sector, some Members sought assurances from Brunei that its Halal certification programme and import requirements will not become overly burdensome or more trade-restrictive than necessary.

Several aspects of the trade and investment regime are characterized by a lack of transparency including the availability of information about foreign investment policies, the procurement and state trading activities of state enterprises, the timeliness of WTO notifications and the coverage of financial and economic statistics. In response, the Brunei delegation outlined steps being taken to improve the transparency of government policies and regulations, especially those pertaining to the strengthening of institutional capacity and meeting the challenge of human resource restraints. It is clear that such steps could go a long way to promoting a greater awareness of Brunei's policies and enhancing its attractiveness as a trade and investment partner. Members also pointed out that addressing transparency in the government procurement process — including making procurement guidelines available and accessible to all potential suppliers in timely fashion — could improve Brunei's image as a destination for foreign investment. Given the importance of government entities in Brunei's economy, Members welcomed the news that Brunei is exploring membership in the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.

With respect to intellectual property rights, Brunei has strengthened its legal framework for IPR protection and is considering accession to the WIPO Treaties on Copyright and Performances and Phonograms. However, Members expressed concern about IPR enforcement, which needs to be more effective to discourage commercial activities that infringe intellectual property such as optical disk piracy. Some Members noted that Brunei has to date no legislation on competition although it appears that it is exploring the possibility of introducing such legislation in line with APEC principles. Brunei also noted that competition policies are used on a sectoral basis in telecommunications, financial services and the oil and gas industry.

In conclusion, I feel that we should congratulate Brunei Darussalam on maintaining a relatively open trade and investment regime. I think that we are all aware of certain difficulties Brunei faces in policy transparency and implementation, but I also note that the delegation made Brunei's commitment to continued trade and economic reform and to the WTO very clear. Generally, I think we appreciate that technical assistance in some areas might ease Brunei's implementation problems. I think that we also agree that a further liberalization of the trade regime, including additional GATS commitments, could assist Brunei both in its efforts to diversify its economy and in its further integration into the multilateral system, to the benefit of the WTO Membership in general. We look forward to receiving any remaining outstanding responses as soon as possible. I would once again like to thank the Brunei Darussalam delegation for their efforts, the discussant for her insightful comments, and Members for contributing to what has been an enlightening two days of discussions.