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

Overview

Non-tariff barriers are any restrictions or regulations other than customs duties (such as product standards, import quotas or other measures) which complicate or hinder the import of foreign goods. In Mali, the Malian Agency for Standardization and Quality Promotion (AMANORM) is the government agency responsible for overseeing product standards for trade. AMANORM sets Malian standards based on international practices and is party to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the ECOWAS Standards Harmonization Model, the ECOWAS quality policy, the WAEMU quality policy, the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries, Codex alimentarius, and the International Plant Protection Convention. The National Food Safety Agency (ANSSA) provides marketing approval for food products. The Ministry of Mines oversees certification of precious metals. Imported goods in these sectors must meet the respective agency standards.  

Standards and Technical Regulations

AMANORM developed 477 standards for various trade products, of which only a handful are mandatory, including the newest standard on food oil to be enriched with vitamin A. The transition government has an annual standards work plan. It created 12 committees in charge of determining standards. Each committee is composed of the government’s representatives, consumer associations representatives, experts, and NGOs. AMANORM launched the National Mark of Conformity to Standards to promote the observance of standards, to allow companies to foster good quality, and to reduce technical barriers to trade.

Testing, Inspection and Certification

  • Mali’s testing, inspection and certification bureaus apply standards to domestic & imported products.
  • AMANORM generally provides certifications that goods meet Mali’s published standards.
  • ANSSA, the National Food Safety Agency, oversees the testing of food products before they enter the market.
  • The National Directorate for Commerce and Competition (DNCC) tests, inspects, and certifies precious metals and diamonds.
  • The BIVAC (Bureau of Inspection Valuation Assessment Control) regulatory agency inspects trade goods.

Publication of Technical Regulations

Technical regulations are made public by AMANORM.

Contact Information
Agence Malienne de Normalisation et de Promotion de la Qualité (AMANORM)
Hamdallaye ACI 2000,
Rue: 219, Porte: 87. BP.E 2999
Bamako
Tel: +223 2021 0645 or +223 7635 9802
Email: amanorm@amanorm.gouv.ml

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 World Trade Organization (WTO) Members 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.

Limitations

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.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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