Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry has tabled in parliament a proposed ban or restrictions on imports of certain goods, including rice, sugar, poultry, fruit juices and animal intestines (tripe). The proposed legislation empowers the trade minister to issue licences to potential importers of goods. Critics of the policy say it will give too much power to the minister and create room for corruption. The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo spoke to development economist Adu Owusu Sarkodie about the policy.

What are import restrictions?

These refer to the various schemes, mechanisms and regulations that a government can impose to restrict or limit the importation of goods and services. They come in different forms.

Tariffs: These are taxes imposed on imported goods and services. They can be specific taxes (a fixed amount per unit) or ad valorem (a percentage of the value) or both.

Quotas: This means a direct restriction on the quantity of a particular good that can be imported at a specified period of time. It is enforced by issuing licences to individuals or firms.

Embargos and sanctions: This involves a ban on the importation of a particular good. Importing a banned good is illegal.

Quality standards and technical barriers: A country can set stringent requirements that imported goods must meet.

Local content requirements: In terms of this regulation a specified fraction of a final good must be produced domestically, either in physical units or in value terms.