Burkina faso Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in burkina faso, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Standards
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Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade

Overview

Burkina Faso has a more top-down, government-driven standards system, with the Transition Authorities regulating most standards and making many mandatory, especially for products related to health and safety. The national standards body is the Burkina Faso Standards Agency (ABNORM). ABNORM prepares an annual work plan, but it is not always widely distributed or easily accessible to international parties. Parties without a manufacturing presence can participate in standards development through regional bodies like WAEMU.

Standards and Technical Regulations

The country generally adopts standards developed by regional and international bodies. While it may accept standards from U.S.-based organizations, it tends to favor standards of its regional partners and those of the European Union, given its historical and economic ties to France. The adoption of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards is also common.

Testing, Inspection and Certification

All products entering the market must be inspected upon arrival. Products such as food, pharmaceuticals, and electrical goods must undergo mandatory testing and certification before being sold. This process can be a significant non-tariff barrier, as it can be costly and time-consuming.

Publication of Technical Regulations

New or revised regulations are published in the official gazette, the Journal Officiel du Faso. Proposed technical regulations are typically published for comment, but the comment period can be short and is often not well-publicized to international stakeholders. U.S. entities can comment by submitting their feedback through the U.S. WTO TBT Enquiry Point. The country does not maintain a formal annual regulatory agenda. Visit JOBF for further information.

Contact Information

For standards information, contact the Commercial Section at the U.S. Embassy in Ouagadougou.

Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995, to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and is a versatile tool that can be used to:

  • Follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest,

  • Receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are distributed,

  • Find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees.

Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates an Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://www.nist.gov/notifyus/commenting for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

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