What is the EBA?

The “Everything but Arms”(EBA) scheme is a permanent arrangement covering Least Developed Countries (LDC’s) as classified by the United Nations. This arrangement enables duty-free and quota-free access for all products (7200 products in total) originating in LDC’s except for arms and ammunition. Different from the Standard GSP and GSP+, LDC’s are not excluded from the scheme if they benefit from other preferential arrangements.

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At a glance: EBA beneficiaries' preferential imports to the EU

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4,74 M

Population

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Presidential Republic

Government

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6.40%

GDP Growth

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4.00%

Inflation

money

$ 9,78 B

GDP

Facts about Mauritania's economy

Mineral Products

Mauritania is an important producer of mineral products. About 40% of Mauritania’s exports are accounted for by iron ore, which makes the country one of the world’s leading exporters of the commodity. Mauritania also possesses copper, gold, silver and crude oil reserves and explorations are still ongoing.

Export Products

Mauritania's important export products are ores (iron and copper) and gold but also molluscs,frozen fish, and fish products (oil, flour, pellets etc.).

Trade Partners

Mauritania's top trading partners are the EU and China, and to a lesser extent UAE and Russia. With 40% most of Mauritania's exports go to the Chinese market, followed by the EU, Switzerland and Canada. Most import products originate from the EU, UAE and Turkey.

Economic Structure

Mauritania's economy benefits from the country's resource wealth, mineral deposits, and richness of fishing ground off the coast in particular. The exploitation of iron ore and copper is a cornerstone of the external sector. The majority of the population is active in the agricultural sector, mainly livestock raising as only about 0.5% of the land is arable.

Usage of EBA Preferences

About 48% of total EU imports from Mauritania make use of EBA preferences. The preference utilisation rate, which represents the ratio of preferential imports to GSP eligible imports, is very high and currently stands at 98%.

Trade with the EU

Total trade with the EU amounted to € 1,411 million in 2021. The EU is Mauritania's top trading partner and accounts for a share of 28.1%. It ranks first as a source of imports and second as an export destination.

Mauritania and the EU (2022)

Imports from Mauritania by product section

Imports from Mauritania over time (in € m)

MAURITANIA AND THE EU’s GSP

Economic Impact

56%

More than half of Mauritania's exports to the EU market are eligible for preferences granted under the EU's EBA.

95.30%

With a preference utilisation rate of 95%, Mauritania makes considerable use of EBA preferences.

Preference utilisation and export diversification

Mauritania's imports to the EU

Preference Utilisation vs. total eligible imports

Mauritania belongs to the GSP beneficiaries that take the most advantage of the scheme across all three arrangements. The country’s preference utilisation rate has stood above 95%. Eligible imports showed an upward trend in recent years but decreased in 2020 and accounted for about 49% of total imports. In 2022, it stood at 56%. The biggest product group of the three major export sectors, fish and crustaceans, benefits from free market access granted by the EBA arrangement. The other two major export products, iron ores and fish flour, already benefit from zero third country duties. Mauritania has signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union in September 2018.

The largest product sections under EBA

Exports of fish and crustaceans are the only product group that take considerable advantage of the preferences granted under the EBA. Other sections that take advantage to a smaller extent are fats and oils, mineral and agricultural products and plastic articles.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

As a beneficiary of the EBA, Mauritania is not obligated to ratify any conventions to be able to benefit from preferential access to the European market. Nonetheless, Mauritania upholds a very high level of ratification and has ratified 14 out of 15 fundamental conventions on the protection of human rights and labour standards. Furthermore, Mauritania has ratified 8 conventions on environmental protection and 4 good governance conventions.

Core international conventions on human rights and labour standards

Not Ratified

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)

Additional Conventions

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)
Stockholm Convention on persistent Organic Pollutants (2001)
Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998)
United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961)
United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)
United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988)
United Nations Convention against Corruption (2004)

EU-Mauritania Bilateral Development Assistance

DG INTPA

Access all info about EU-Mauritania relations on the International Partnerships website: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/countries/mauritania_en

Opportunities in Mauritania

Good prospects in the energy sector, including the exploration and production of oil and gas but also hydrocarbon refinery
Further potential in the fisheries sector. The government's strategy foresees an increase in domestic processing in the upcoming years

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