WTO Accessions
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. The benefits of membership include better access to 152 markets (soon to be 153 once Cape Verde ratify their terms for accession) and full recourse to WTO’s Dispute Settlement Procedures (DSP) when disagreements occur. Accession negotiations to join the WTO are not easy. Applicant countries are required to make commitments to open their markets and to adopt legislation that is compatible with the various WTO agreements.
Key issues for WTO accession can be divided into three areas:
- Improved market access offers for other WTO Members;
- Legislative reform;
- Implementation of new WTO-compatible measures.
Technical assistance is available to WTO accession candidate countries to assist with legislative reform and with compiling and drafting the necessary documentation to present to the Working Party to deal with the acceding country's application. The United Nations Conference On Trade And Development (UNCTAD) funds and organizes the technical assistance programmes. The European Commission is also a significant provider of technical assistance.
There is no set timetable for achieving WTO accession; the onus is on the acceding country to demonstrate that it has made sufficient progress to be able to implement the various WTO agreements. It is possible for developing countries to negotiate transitional periods for implementation of some of the agreements, if they can demonstrate just cause for doing so. And the accession process allows developing countries to negotiate for less onerous conditions for entry into the WTO.
There are 28 countries involved in the WTO accession process (although negotiations with the Bahamas and Vanuatu are currently in suspension). The accession countries are: Afghanistan (the process has barely started), Algeria, Andorra, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iran (the process has barely started), Iraq (the process has barely started), Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanese Republic, Libya (the process has barely started), Montenegro, Russia, Samoa, Sao Tome & Principe, Serbia, the Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Union of the Comoros, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Yemen. Liberia and Syria await a WTO General Council’s decision to start negotiations following their request for membership.
Further information can be found on the WTO website
The Process
A Working Party is set up to oversee the acceding country's application. The acceding country must submit a ‘Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime’ to the Working Group, which describes the trade regime of the acceding country at the date of application for accession. This document forms the basis for discussions between the acceding country and the Working Group on principles and policies to bring the various aspects of its trade regime to WTO-conformity.
When sufficient progress has been made, parallel bilateral talks begin between the acceding country and the interested individual WTO members. These talks cover tariff rates, specific market access commitments, and other policies on goods and services.
Upon accession, the new member's commitments apply to all WTO members, even though they are negotiated bilaterally. These talks can be highly complex. The outcomes of these bilateral negotiations mean that the most favourable market access commitments made by an accession candidate country across all sectors and across each of the agreed outcomes of bilateral negotiations are brought together. The ensuing consolidated schedule of market access commitments then forms the basis of market access commitments to all WTO members.
Once the bilateral negotiations are complete, or near complete, and the Working Party concludes that good progress has been made by the acceding country in adopting WTO-compatible policies and legislation, the terms of accession are finalised in the form of a ‘protocol of accession’. This, along with the Working Party's report and the acceding country's list of commitments are presented to either the WTO General Council or at a WTO Ministerial Conference. Technically, support from a two-thirds majority of the WTO membership is required to leave the applicant free to sign the protocol and accede to the Organisation but in practice this is done on a consensus. In most cases, the Country's own parliament or equivalent will need to ratify the agreement before membership is complete.
Contact:
Andy Weller
Tel: 0207 215 2321
Fax: 020 7215 2234
Email: andy.weller@berr.gsi.gov.uk