Mauritania Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in mauritania, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Barriers
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Customs, Regulations and Standards

All imported goods, except those exempted by law, are subject to import duties. Import duties are generally calculated according to the goods’ original invoice price (Cost – Insurance – Freight CIF value). When the buyer does not present the original invoice, the Customs Service evaluates the local market value of the product and applies the appropriate rate. Imported goods must be declared at Customs after arriving, and the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) inspects the nature, price, composition, and quantity, and compares them with those reported in the original invoice.

Mauritania’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the EU/Africa Caribbean Pacific (EU/ACP) Lomé Pact underpins its trade liberalization policies. However, customs procedures are very complicated and can discourage importers who are not familiar with the Mauritanian system. The government is taking measures to better facilitate administrative procedures and clearance of products through customs, including digitization and the streamlining – to some extent – of administrative complexities and time required to process requests. Persons over the age of 18 travelling to Mauritania may import the following goods duty-free: 200 cigarettes/25 cigars/450 g of tobacco, 50 ml of perfume and 250 ml eau de toilette. Alcohol is prohibited, and firearms require an import and gun license prior to arrival.

Customs contact information:
Customs Office
B.P. 198
Nouakchott, Mauritanie
Tel: (222) 525-1404 or 525-6302
Fax: (222) 525-5615 or 525-6304
Website: http://douanes.mr/
Colonel Dah Ould Hamady Ould Mamy, General Manager
 

Trade Barriers

Mauritania is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Post is not aware of trade barriers imposed by the government on goods coming from the United States.  

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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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