From now onwards, illegal importers of textile and other items would face difficult times as a taskforce comprising various stakeholders has been set up to deal with smuggled products that flood the Ghanaian market.
The first target of the task force is warehouses where it would make sure that all smuggled and pirated items, especially textiles are burnt and destroyed.
To this end, the taskforce would be holding a meeting on April 27 2010 with importers and traders to inform them about the issue.
Expected to be in attendance is the Trade and Industry Minister, Hannah Tetteh.
Already, the ministry has announced plans to aggressively deal with foreign investors involved in illegal retail trading.
In collaboration with the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), it set aside this month to extensively deal with the foreign investors who are flouting the trade laws of the country.
The taskforce, which has two sub-committees with delegated authority, comprises members from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Ghana Police Service, Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and the Textiles Manufacturers Association.
Others are the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCCI) and the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees Union.
The Taskforce is expected to gather intelligence and act proactively to avert the flooding of smuggled goods in the open market.
It would also use the media to sensitize the public about the harmful effects of the activities of smugglers.
The concerns of local manufacturers and trade union over the years have been the non-compliance of most textile traders with import regulations, which includes pre registration of designs of the textiles by the GSB, payment of appropriate duties and taxes as well as pre designation of entry points of the imported products.
At an earlier meeting held on March 31, 2010 under the chairmanship of the Trade Minister, it was agreed that in line with the provisions of Article 51-60 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on trade related aspects of the intellectual property rights, all pirated goods should not be allowed to enter the Ghana.
The setting up of the taskforce has become vital since the remaining three textile firms operating in the country could face imminent closure if the issue of cheap and fake textile products, which are mainly from China, is not addressed.
In addition, local manufacturers such as Unilever and Nestle, among others have complained bitterly about the cheap and counterfeit products that flood the Ghanaian market.
