EN—2016—Issue 8
WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER
…safeguarding, enlarging and strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system
WTO ACCESSION DEVELOPMENTS – SECRETARIAT REPORT TO MEMBERS
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66th Newsletter
Accessions Strategic Objectives
Domestic reform instrument
Systemic update
Market access expansion
International cooperation for trade
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H.E. Mr. Axel Addy, Minister for Commerce and Industry and former
Chief Negotiator on Liberia's WTO
Accession, joined the IGA meeting to brief Members on the Post-Accession
Strategy of Liberia and the progress of its implementation. Minister Addy
thanked Members and the Secretariat for their contributions in the accession
process of Liberia, which became a
WTO Member on 14 July 2016.
He informed that Liberia had adopted the Strategy on Post -Accession
Implementation of WTO Commitments and started its implementation. Specific
achievements to date included: (i) the ratification of the ECOWAS Common
External Tariff; (ii) the formation of a
Trade Facilitation Committee and an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Post-
A c c e s s i o n t o o v e r s e e t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a c c e s s i o n
commitments; (iii) the implementation of a single window system at the ports;
and (iv) the introduction of a new TRIPS
-consistent intellectual property law.
The institutionalisation of accession commitments and the "consolidation of
post-accession targets" were priorities
for the Government of Liberia. Economic diversification was also an
important component of the WTO Liberia Post-Accession Plan, with the
EIF, ITC and the World Bank providing support for the launch of a
diversification strategy and a tourism
strategy.
The Minister also highlighted Liberia's move towards an e-government
platform, which was an integral element of the Government's anti-
corruption program. Ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and
the TRIPS amendment was expected by
June 2017. Minister Addy took the opportunity to reiterate the critical
importance of technical assistance and capacity building for LDCs, such as
Liberia, to maximise the benefits of WTO membership.
EIGHTH INFORMAL GROUP ON ACCESSIONS
Friday, 30 September 2016
Agenda:
Statement of H.E. Mr. Axel Addy, Minister for
Commerce and Industry of Liberia, on the Post
-Accession of Liberia
Accession Working Party in 2016 Focus: Bosnia
and Herzegovina,
Accession Working Parties State-of-Play:
Belarus, Comoros, and Sudan
Technical Assistance and Outreach: Bhutan,
Iran, and, Course on Trade in Services for WTO
Acceding Governments.
Chaired by the WTO Secretariat (Maika Oshikawa,
Officer in Charge of the Accessions Division).
Post-Accession Implementation Strategy of Liberia
Accession Working Party in 2016 Focus Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Chief
N e g o t i a t o r o f B o s n i a a n d Herzegovina, Mr. Hamdo Tinjak,
informed that the draft amendment
to the Law on Internal Trade had been approved by the Government
in July, and that the Parliamentary procedure for formal adoption was
underway. This would complete the enactment of all legislation contained
in Bosnia and Herzegovina's
Legislative Action Plan. On 7 September, the Council of Ministers
of Bosnia and Herzegovina had accepted the proposal to join the
Internat ional Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants
(UPOV). Howev er , out st anding work
remained on the bilateral market
access negotiations - the ball was on the court of Sarajevo. Substantive
progress would be required in the
coming weeks to complete the technical work on this accession
within 2016.
A Study Tour Delegation from Bosnia
and Herzegovina, funded by the European Union, was visiting
Geneva from 27 to 30 September. The Study Tour Delegat ion
comprised participants from the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, including Assistant Minister Midhat Salic and Assistant
Minister Dragisa Mekic. At the requ es t o f t he de legat ion ,
the Secretariat organized working and information sessions on a range
of subjects , including WTO
accessions, technical assistance and capacity-building, trade remedies,
trade facilitation, agricultural policies,
post-Nairobi agenda and trade in services. The delegation had also
held several working sessions with
other Geneva-based agencies, including the ITC and UNCTAD.
H.E. Minister Axel Addy, Minister for Commerce and Industry of Liberia — Statement at the Informal Group on Accessions Meeting —
Geneva, 30 September 2016
Accession of Belarus— Meeting with Ambassador Vladimir Serpikov, Chief Negotiator—
Geneva, 29 September 2016
Accession Working Parties State-of-Play
Belarus: Minsk submitted a set of
negotiating inputs on 23 August. These included: the updates of the
2012 Factual Summary of the Points
Raised; and, the revised LAP. In addition to the technical work, the
updates by the Secretariat would ensure that the revised text was
coherent with the Working Party
Reports of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, in relation to the
competences falling under the
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The circulation of this document
would pave the way for a meeting of the Working Party.
On 29 September, the Accessions
Division met with H.E. Mr. Vladimir Serpikov, the recently appointed
Chief Negotiator on the Accession of
Belarus. Mr. Serpikov confirmed Minsk 's commitment to the
resumption of its accession process before the end of the year.
Study Tour Delegation from Bosnia and Herzegovina —Geneva, 27 to 30 September 2016
Accession Working Parties State-of-play (cont’d)
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WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER
Accession of the Union of Comoros—Meeting with Ambassador Sultan Chouzour —
26 September 2016
Sudan: Following the announcement by H.E. Dr. Hassan Kamal, Minister of
International Cooperation, on
Sudan's readiness to resume its accession process at the General
Council meeting in July, Khartoum adopted a Roadmap which outlined
steps for the conclusion of the accession of Sudan by the 11th
Ministerial Conference in 2017. Since
the adoption of the Roadmap by the High Committee on WTO Accession,
chaired by the Vice President, the Sudanese technical team, led by
Chief Negotiator Dr. Hassan Ahmed Taha, has been preparing the
negotiating platform with updated documentation for the resumption.
At the request of the Government of Sudan, the Secretariat team is visiting
Khartoum, from 27 September to
6 October 2016, to assist the
Sudanese team in this work. Following the Secretariat's visit, the
Government of Sudan plans to
submit the updated documentation (Memorandum on the Foreign Trade
Regime and the Legislative Action Plan) for circulation to Working Party
Members in October. Comoros: The Union of Comoros submitted a comprehensive set of
documentation for the Working
Party. These included: (i) replies to Members ' quest ions on the
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime; (ii) the Legislative Action
Plan; (iii) initial market access offers on goods and services; (iv) TBT, SPS
and TRIPS checklists; and (v)
questionnaires on customs valuation, import l i cens ing , S TEs and
agricultural domestic support.
Following the technical review by the Secretariat, the documentation
would be shortly circulated to
Working Party Members, first in French, the original submission. The
English version of the documents would follow after translation by the
Secretariat. The first meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of
Comoros is envisaged for November
2016.
The Secretariat met with H.E. Mr. Sultan Chouzour, Permanent
Representative of the Comoros in Ge ne v a o n 2 6 S e pt e m be r .
Ambassador Chouzour expressed the commitment by the Government of
Comoros to conclude its accession by
the 11th
Ministerial Conference in 2017.
Technical Assistance and Outreach Activities
Bhutan:
The Secretary of the Working Party took part in a WTO Secretariat
mission to Thimpu from 13 to 16
September. In the context of the inauguration of the WTO Reference
Centre at the Department of Trade in the Ministry of Economic Affairs,
WTO accession was also discussed.
Iran:
The Accessions Division met with a
50-member delegation of Iran's C ham be r o f C omme r ce on
22 September . Fol lowing a presentation by the Secretariat, the
representatives of the private sector engaged in active discussion on
Iran's accession to the WTO, including the process, and its
opportunities and challenges.
Course on Trade in Services for WTO
Acceding Governments
The Secretariat will organize a
Training Course on Trade in Services
for Acceding Governments at WTO headquarters from 28 November to
2 December. The main objective of this training, jointly organised by the
Accessions Division and the Trade in Services and Investment Division, is
to: provide in-depth training on
accession-relevant aspects of Trade in Services, with a focus on scheduling,
classification, and implementation issues in the main services sectors;
and provide a platform for the exchange of views with services
negotiators from recently acceded Members. Acceding Governments
are kindly invited to submit, by
10 October, nominations of officials who are directly involved in the
technical aspects of the WTO accession negotiations, particularly in
relation to Trade in Services.
Inauguration of WTO Reference Center, Thimpu, Bhutan — 13-16 September 2016
Book launch by DG Roberto Azevêdo: “African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO: Domestic Reforms,
Structural Transformation and Global Economic Integration”— 2016 Public Forum
28 September 2016 https://www.wto.org/english/ news_e/news16_e/
publ_28sep16_e.htm
Meeting with Iran’s Chamber of Commerce — 22 September 2016
Accession of Sudan—Technical Assistance Mission — Karthoum, 27 September 2016
The A-Team —28 September 2016
Helen and Heather—Friends of Accessions Division 28 September 2016
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WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER
List of WTO Accessions Working Party Chairpersons
No. Government Date Working Party
established WP Chairperson
1. Algeria 17 June 1987 Pending
2. Andorra 22 October 1997 Pending
3. Azerbaijan 16 July 1997 H.E. Dr. Walter Werner (Germany)
4. The Bahamas 18 July 2001 H.E. Mr Wayne McCook (Jamaica)
5. Belarus 27 October 1993 H.E. Mr Haluk Ilicak (Turkey)
6. Bhutan* 6 October 1999 H.E. Mr Thomas Hajnoczi (Austria)
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 July 1999 H.E. Dr. Rajmund Kiss (Hungary)
8. Comoros, Union of the* 9 October 2007 H.E. Mr Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia (Peru)
9. Equatorial Guinea* 5 February 2008 Pending
10. Ethiopia* 10 February 2002 H.E. Dr. Steffen Smidt (Denmark)
11. Iran 26 May 2005 Pending
12. Iraq 13 December 2004 H.E. Mr Omar Hilale (Morocco)
13. Lebanese Republic 14 April 1999 Mr Jean-Paul Thuillier (France)
14. Libya 27 July 2004 Mr Victor Echevarría Ugarte (Spain)
15. Sao Tomé and Principe* 26 May 2005 Pending
16. Serbia 15 February 2005 H.E. Mrs Marie-Claire Swärd Capra (Sweden)
17. Sudan* 25 October 1994 Mr Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan)
18. Syrian Arab Republic 4 May 2010 Pending
19. Uzbekistan 21 December 1994 H.E. Mr Seokyoung Choi (Korea)
* Least-developed country (LDC)
WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER
Accession Working Parties Evolving Calendar of Accession Meetings (ECAM)
Accession Working Party Chairpersons Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)
WTO Director-General's Annual Reports on Accessions
WTO Accessions Internship - "China Programme"
Handbook on Accessions to the WTO Accession processes of Article XII Members, click here
Accession-Related Technical Assistance Activities WTO Accessions Newsletters
Accession Portal on the WTO Website (En, Fr, Es)
Contact the WTO Accessions Division Secretariat: [email protected]
Accessions Toolbox
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Evolving Calendar of Accessions Meeting (ECAM)
DATE WORKING
PARTY MEETING STATUS ROOM
Friday, 30 September 2016 IGA 8
th 2016 Informal Group on Accessions
(9:00-10:00)
Convening Fax dated
23/09/2016 refers and revised
agenda dated 28/09/2016 refers
D
[Week of 24 October 2016] IGA 9
th 2016 Informal Group on Accessions
(9:00-10:00) Convening Notice pending TBC
[Second half of November
2016] Comoros
1st Meeting of the Working Party on the
Accession of the Union of Comoros Convening Notice pending TBC
[Week of 28 November
2016] IGA
10th
2016 Informal Group on Accessions
(9:00-10:00) Convening Notice pending TBC
[November] Bosnia and
Herzegovina
13th
Meeting of the Working Party on
the Accession of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (AM)
Convening Notice pending TBC
[December] Belarus Informal/Formal Working Party Meeting Convening Notice pending TBC
[December] Sudan 3
rd Meeting of the Working Party on the
Accession of Sudan Convening Notice pending TBC
[TBC] Lebanon 18
th Meeting of the Working Party on
the Accession of the Lebanese Republic Convening Notice pending TBC
Date Event
28 September 2016 Book launch “African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO: Domestic Reforms, Structural Transformation and
Global Economic Integration”— 2016 Public Forum
28 November—2 December 2016 Geneva-based training on services for selected acceding governments
First Quarter 2017 5th
China Round Table
Other Accessions Events