Some products such as soap, cooking oils, and flour are heavily taxed to protect domestic production.

There are few barriers in the petroleum sector.  Labor laws mandate that 80 percent of a firm’s workforce must be local hires.  While this law has not always been enforced, there is heavy pressure by the labor unions to enforce it in the oil sector and labor disputes are frequent.  Gabon’s labor code is heavily skewed in favor of workers and termination can be an arduous and costly endeavor.  Labor disputes can effectively stall operations for even large firms for indefinite periods.