docs.wto.org · Web viewThe representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had formulated an Industry-Handicraft Development Plan for the period 1996 to 2005 covering the manufacturing

WORLD TRADE

ORGANIZATION

RESTRICTED

WT/ACC/LAO/451 October 2012

(12-5326)

Working Party on theAccession of Lao PDR

REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ONTHE ACCESSION OF LAO PDR TO THE

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION 1DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED 1INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS 1II. ECONOMIC POLICIES 2- Monetary and Fiscal Policy 2- Foreign Exchange and Payments 4- Investment Regime 5- State Ownership, Privatization and State-trading Entities 8- Pricing Policies 10- Competition Policy 11III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES 11- Powers of Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of Government 11- Authority of Sub-Central Governments 13IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS 14- Trading Rights14A. IMPORT REGULATIONS 15- Ordinary customs duties 15- Other duties and charges 16- Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions 16- Fees and charges for services rendered 16- Application of internal taxes to imports 17- Quantitative import restrictions, including prohibitions, quotas and licensing

systems 17- Customs valuation 20- Rules of origin 22- Other customs formalities 23- Pre-shipment inspection 23- Anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard regimes 24B. EXPORT REGULATIONS 24- Customs tariffs, fees and charges for services rendered, application of internal

taxes to exports 24- Export restrictions 25- Export subsidies 26C. INTERNAL POLICIES AFFECTING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS 26- Industrial policy, including subsidies 26- Technical barriers to trade, standards and certification 28- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures 31- Trade-related investment measures 38- Free zones, special economic areas 39- Government procurement 40- Transit41

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- Agricultural policies 41(a) Imports 41(b) Exports 42(c) Internal policies 42- Trade in civil aircraft 43- Textiles regime43V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME 43- GENERAL 43- Industrial property protection 43- Responsible agencies for policy formulation and implementation 44- Participation in international intellectual property agreements 44- Application of national and MFN treatment to foreign nationals 45- Fees and taxes 45- SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS OF PROTECTION, INCLUDING

PROCEDURES FOR THE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 45

- Copyright and related rights 45- Trademarks, including service marks 47- Geographical indications, including appellations of origin 48- Industrial designs 49- Patents50- Plant variety protection 51- Layout designs of integrated circuits 51- Requirements on undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test data

51- MEASURES TO CONTROL ABUSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

RIGHTS 51- ENFORCEMENT 52- Civil judicial procedures and remedies 52- Provisional measures 53- Administrative procedures and remedies 53- Special border measures 53- Criminal procedures 54VI. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES 56VII. TRANSPARENCY 60- Publication of information on trade 60- Notifications 61VIII. TRADE AGREEMENTS 61CONCLUSIONS 62ANNEX 63APPENDIX 98

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I. INTRODUCTION

1. The Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) applied for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in July 1997. At its meeting on 19 February 1998, the General Council established a Working Party to examine the application of the Government of Lao PDR to accede to the World Trade Organization under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO. The terms of reference and the membership of the Working Party are reproduced in document WT/ACC/LAO/2/Rev.12.

2. The Working Party met on 28 October 2004 under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Tim Groser (New Zealand); on 30 November 2006, 15 November 2007, and 4 July 2008 under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Bruce Gosper (Australia); on 14 July 2009, 24 September 2010, and 29 June 2011 under the Chairmanship of Mr. Zhang Xiangchen (China); on 16 March 2012, 12 July 2012, and 28 September 2012 under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Yi Xiaozhun (China).

DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED

3. The Working Party had before it, to serve as a basis for its discussions, a Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime of Lao PDR (WT/ACC/LAO/3), the questions submitted by Members on the foreign trade regime of Lao PDR, together with the replies thereto, and other information provided by the authorities of Lao PDR (WT/ACC/LAO/4, WT/ACC/LAO/5, WT/ACC/LAO/6, WT/ACC/LAO/6/Rev.1, WT/ACC/LAO/6/Rev.2, WT/ACC/LAO/6/Rev.3, and WT/ACC/LAO/6/Rev.4, WT/ACC/LAO/7, WT/ACC/LAO/7/Rev.1 and WT/ACC/LAO/7/Rev.2, WT/ACC/LAO/8, WT/ACC/LAO/9, WT/ACC/LAO/9/Rev.1, WT/ACC/LAO/9/Rev.2, WT/ACC/LAO/9/Rev.3, WT/ACC/LAO/9/Rev.4, WT/ACC/LAO/9/Rev.5, WT/ACC/LAO/9/Rev.6 and WT/ACC/LAO/9/Rev.7, WT/ACC/LAO/11, WT/ACC/LAO/12, WT/ACC/LAO/12/Rev.1, WT/ACC/LAO/12/Rev.2, WT/ACC/LAO/12/Rev.3, WT/ACC/LAO/12/Rev.4 and WT/ACC/LAO/12/Rev.5, WT/ACC/LAO/13, WT/ACC/LAO/13/Rev.1, WT/ACC/LAO/13/Rev.2, WT/ACC/LAO/13/Rev.3, WT/ACC/LAO/13/Rev.4, WT/ACC/LAO/13/Rev.5 and WT/ACC/LAO/13/Rev.6, WT/ACC/LAO/14, WT/ACC/LAO/14/Rev.1, WT/ACC/LAO/14/Rev.2, WT/ACC/LAO/14/Rev.3, WT/ACC/LAO/14/Rev.4, WT/ACC/LAO/14/Rev.5 and WT/ACC/LAO/14/Rev.6, WT/ACC/LAO/15, WT/ACC/LAO/15/Rev.1, WT/ACC/LAO/15/Rev.2, WT/ACC/LAO/15/Rev.3, WT/ACC/LAO/15/Rev.4, WT/ACC/LAO/15/Rev.5 and WT/ACC/LAO/15/Rev.6, WT/ACC/LAO/16, WT/ACC/LAO/17, WT/ACC/LAO/18, WT/ACC/LAO/19, WT/ACC/LAO/20, WT/ACC/LAO/24, WT/ACC/LAO/25 and WT/ACC/LAO/25/Rev.1, WT/ACC/LAO/36, WT/ACC/LAO/41, and WT/ACC/LAO/43), including the legislative texts and other documentation listed in the Annex.

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS

4. The representative of Lao PDR said that his Government had implemented a comprehensive reform programme since the mid-1980s to transform the economy from central planning towards a market-oriented system. Lao PDR had joined the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement in 1975 and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1997, with the aim to establish an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, and was negotiating regional trade agreements with dialogue partners of the ASEAN. Lao PDR was thereby gradually integrating into a regional forum consistent with WTO rules and procedures. However, the institutional base for a market economy remained weak in Lao PDR, principally due to landlockedness and underdeveloped infrastructure. Notwithstanding these challenges, his Government remained committed to economic integration as the foundation for long-term socio-economic development. In this context, WTO Membership would complement pro-poor domestic economic and trade reforms in response to increasing competition in the global economy.

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5. Lao PDR was pursuing an open trade regime consistently and was keen to ensure widespread confidence in it. The trade policy regime was being reformed to enhance transparency and secure an enabling trade environment. Over a period of ten years, his Government had been transforming the legal regime from a framework based on decrees to a system essentially based on laws passed by the National Assembly. However, as a land-locked LDC, Lao PDR was vulnerable and continued to face structural challenges. He therefore called upon Members to be sympathetic to his country's needs and flexible with respect to the terms and conditions whereby Lao PDR would be implementing its accession obligations. His Government would seek to benefit from the special and differential treatment provisions and the flexibilities granted to LDCs, including the transitional periods and technical assistance foreseen in the WTO Agreements, and the General Council's Decision on Guidelines for LDCs Accession (document WT/L/508). Trading rights, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade-related investment measures, industrial subsidies, agricultural export subsidies, transparency and intellectual property rights were areas in which his Government required particular flexibility and assistance.

6. Members welcomed Lao PDR's application to join the WTO and pledged to work constructively to advance and conclude Lao PDR's accession on appropriate terms. While appreciating the domestic reforms already undertaken, some Members noted that further work was needed to achieve compliance with WTO rules and disciplines. Several Members indicated that they would continue to extend technical assistance to facilitate Lao PDR's accession to the WTO. Lao PDR was a beneficiary of the Enhanced Integrated Framework. The country's status as an LDC was recognized, and in keeping with WTO Ministerial Declarations, Decisions and the Guidelines for LDCs Accession, this would be a relevant factor in establishing the terms of accession for Lao PDR.

7. The Working Party reviewed the economic policies and foreign trade regime of Lao PDR and the possible terms of a draft Protocol of Accession to the WTO. The views expressed by Members of the Working Party on the various aspects of Lao PDR's foreign trade regime, and on the terms and conditions of Lao PDR 's accession to the WTO, are summarized below in paragraphs 8 to 247.

II. ECONOMIC POLICIES

- Monetary and Fiscal Policy

8. The representative of Lao PDR said that controlling inflation and maintaining exchange rate stability were the main aims of monetary policy. The central bank - the Bank of Lao PDR (BOL) - was in charge of monetary policy and supervised the banking sector pursuant to Law No. 05/95 "On the Bank of Lao PDR" of 14 October 1995 with amendments of 14 October 1999. Money supply expansion was calibrated to meet inflation and growth targets. Although the Asian financial crisis had pushed annual inflation to 129 per cent in 1999, the economy had stabilized once again, and inflation had returned to the single-digit level of the 1990s. The recent global financial crisis had little direct impact on the economy of Lao PDR. The rate of inflation in 2010 was 5.9 per cent due to price hikes on fuel and food. It rose again to 8.2 per cent in 2011.

9. The BOL regulated the monetary system through indirect monetary policy instruments such as mandatory reserve requirements, the issuance of bonds, overdraft facilities for commercial bank borrowing, and discount facilities for loans secured against treasury bills and BOL bonds; and, when necessary, with direct monetary policy interventions, including credit/deposit ratios, direct sale of foreign exchange to the market, and moral suasion to limit the credit expansion or to smooth transitory fluctuations in the exchange rate. The BOL had so far been successful in implementing its monetary policy framework with a view to maintaining low inflation and a stable exchange rate within a managed float exchange rate system. In 2009, the BOL had reduced the short-term interest rate from 7 to 4 per cent; maintained the mandatory reserve requirement ratio at 5 per cent for deposits in local currency, and at 10 per cent for foreign currency deposits; continued to facilitate

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open-market-operations; and issued BOL bonds to mobilize funds for infrastructure development. The short-term interest rate was readjusted from 4 to 5 per cent in 2010.

10. The banking sector in Lao PDR comprised the BOL, three State-owned commercial banks, two joint venture commercial banks, eight privately-owned banks and 13 branches of foreign banks. Banking activities permitted in Lao PDR were stipulated in Law No. 03/NA "On Commercial Banks" of 26 December 2006, replacing Decree Law No. 02/NA of 22 March 2000. Implementing Decree No. 275/PM to the new law was adopted on 25 September 2009. A financial sector strategy was adopted by Prime Minister's Decree No. 273/PM, dated 22 September 2009 and Decision of the Governor No. 276/BOL, dated 20 April 2010.

11. Since 1988, public finances in Lao PDR had been overhauled with emphasis on improving the tax system and controlling government expenditures for fiscal balance and sustainability. However, with increased outlays for health, education and basic infrastructure in the 1990s, public expenditure had outpaced government revenue. Over the period 1994 to 1998, expenditure had accounted for 21 to 27 per cent of GDP, and revenue between 11 and 13 per cent of GDP. The fiscal deficit in 1998 had amounted to 12.8 per cent of GDP. Helped by tax reforms, revenue had been higher than expected since the fiscal year 2005/06, while expenditures had been in line with established targets. Over the period 2004/05 to 2009/10, the revenue to GDP ratio had ranged from 12.1 to 22.3 per cent, while the expenditure ratio had been in the 19 to 24.6 per cent range. Net domestic financing had continued to decline.

12. Tax Law No. 04/95/NA of 14 October 1995 (with amendments of 1998 and then of 2005) had brought about improvements in the tax system by reducing the profit tax rates, enlarging the income tax base, and enhancing the role of excise taxes. The tax regime had been transformed further with the promulgation of the Tax Law No. 05/NA of 20 December 2011 (superseding the Tax Law No. 04/NA of 19 February 2005). Lao PDR was aiming to broaden its direct and indirect tax bases, improve tax efficiency, increase revenues from domestic taxes, and reduce the dependence on border duties. A breakdown of government revenue from 2004/05 to 2009/10 is presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Government Revenue

Government revenue (KN billion)Fiscal year 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Tax revenue 2,803.1 3,641.1 4,721 5,627.1 6,207.6 7,502.6Profit tax 307.2 458.9 918.6 1,321.6 1,303.0 1,125.0Income tax 214.9 234.2 251.8 333.1 424.7 462.4Land tax 27.6 30.1 46.6.8 78.0 63.9 77.6Business licenses 2.2 6.1 1.5 2.5 3.7 2.5Minimum tax 12.8 22.2 19.3 21.5 29.2 33.2Turnover tax 673.5 887.1 1,045.99 1,228.5 1,401.0 1,868.7Excise tax 522.8 800.3 998.7 1,190.0 1,432.5 1,686.7Tax on foreign trade 472.0 567.6 598.5 696.5 775.0 890.8- Import duties 428.6 514.5 572.6 674.2 726.2 832.0- Export duties 43.4 53.1 25.9 22.3 48.8 58.9Registration fees 17.6 24.7 49.0 13.9 26.7 44.6Other fees 211.2 162.6 261.62 263.4 372.6 702Natural resource taxes

94.8 217.6 273.8 316.5 219.5 450.6

Timber royalties 189.4 172.5 212.3 105.2 78.1 49.3Hydro royalties 57.1 57.2 43.0 56.4 77.7 109.3

Non-tax revenue 584.3 624.9 620.3 812.0 822.8 1,036.0Leasing income 44.2 36.1 29.9 27.2 41.1 38.0Concessions 8.1 7.4 8.7 17.9 30.7 37.6Fines 15.3 23.8 33.1 31.4 25.3 29.8Administrative fees 69.2 89.2 94.9 100.9 76.0 122.5

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Government revenue (KN billion)Fiscal year 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Dividends 177.8 174.8 156.7 293.3 338.4 419.0Interest 47.9 65.0 65.9 105.3 94.7 147.2Over flight charges 221.8 228.6 231.2 235.4 203.4 222.4

Total Revenue 3,387.4 4,266.0 5,341.0 6,439.1 7,030.4 8,538.3

- Foreign Exchange and Payments

13. Some Members noted that the national currency of Lao PDR - the kip (KN) - was not convertible, and that the IMF had conducted an analysis to determine what restrictions remained that prevented Lao PDR from accepting the obligations of Article VIII of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, including the elimination of foreign exchange restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions. Lao PDR was requested to describe its existing foreign exchange regime, indicate how work was proceeding to enable Lao PDR to accept the obligations of IMF Article VIII, and provide a timetable for the elimination of restrictions such as the repatriation, surrender, and tax certificate requirements.

14. The representative of Lao PDR replied that the legal framework on foreign exchange management implemented by the BOL was contained in Edict No. 01/P "On Management of Foreign Exchange and Precious Metals" of 17 March 2008 and its implementing regulations (Instruction No. 1/BOL "On the Implementation of Edict on the Management of Foreign Currency and Precious Metals" of 2 April 2010). Edict No. 01/P (2008) had amended and replaced the previous Edict No. 1/P (2002) to reflect the IMF's recommendation on Article 13 (about the exchange rate being determined by the market) and Article 27 (the need for tax certificates for remitting profits abroad). Following the review and the amendment of certain provisions in Lao PDR's legal framework, the Government of Lao PDR had formally accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the IMF's Articles of Agreement on 28 May 2010. Notification No. 57/BOL had been adopted on 6 March 2008 to facilitate the acquisition of foreign exchange by the public. Purchases not exceeding KN 20 million per person per day required the presentation of an identity card only.

15. Instruction No. 1/BOL of 2 April 2010, which had superseded Instruction No. 2/BOL (2003) and the Additional Instruction No. 1/BOL (2004), provided for that foreign exchange earnings might repatriated within 120 days, and that resident exporters, except those who had been given specific permission (i.e. income used to repay external loans approved by the BOL, payment for letters of credit approved by the BOL, or conditions stipulated in a contract between a foreign investor and the Government of Lao PDR), were required to remit their proceeds through any commercial bank located in Lao PDR within a stipulated time limit. He further added that Regulation No. 1/BOL (2000) had been replaced by Notification No. 499/BOL of 7 July 2009, whereby foreign exchange surrender by wood exporters was abolished.

16. The representative of Lao PDR said that foreign exchange transactions were handled by commercial banks, foreign exchange bureaus or other business entities authorized by the BOL. Residents could keep all their foreign exchange proceeds in foreign exchange accounts; no retention ratio was specified. Residents in need of local currency for domestic payments could sell foreign currency to the commercial banks or authorized foreign exchange bureaus. Pursuant to Notification No. 53/BOL, foreign exchange bureaus only required a copy of an identity card to buy or sell foreign exchange to the general public. In accordance with Notification No. 57/BOL, foreign exchange could be purchased for (i) payment of imported goods; (ii) payment of fees for import or export related services, including transportation, insurance and warehouse charges; (iii) settlement of foreign debt approved by the relevant authorities; (iv) transfer or repatriation of profit, interest and capital from foreign investments made pursuant to Lao PDR's investment legislation; (v) investment in capital assets abroad with government approval; (vi) the expenses of Lao PDR's embassies, representatives or

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other residents authorized by the Government to operate abroad; (vii) overseas travel (official business, commercial purposes, medical treatment, studies, tourism or visits) within limits established by the BOL; (viii) expenses of students and academics duly authorized by the Ministry of Education, and within limits established by the BOL; and (ix) emigrating residents, within limits set by the BOL, to cover travel expenses and, as authorized, to export their capital. No quotas or prior approval requirements existed for the purchase of foreign exchange through banks by residents or non-residents. Asked about "additional administrative requirements" applicable to foreign currency transactions above US$10,000, he said that these requirements referred to withdrawals of cash from personal bank accounts in excess of the equivalent of US$10,000 per day. In such cases, the bank was obliged to conduct due diligence or a "know-your-customer" procedure.

17. In the absence of full convertibility, the Bank of Lao PDR used exchange rates from international and domestic (official and parallel) markets to calculate a weighted average exchange rate between the Lao kip and the US dollar at the end of each trading day. This rate became the reference rate for the following day, and served as the basis for the BOL (Operations Department) and the commercial banks to determine the buying and selling rates vis-à-vis their customers, e.g. the Government, international organizations, and the general public. In 2012, the average exchange rates, buying and selling, had amounted to KN 7,975.83 and 8,011.67 per US$1, respectively.

18. As for Lao PDR's balance of payments situation, he said that Lao PDR's merchandise trade balance was usually in deficit, but the overall balance had been in surplus since 2002. Gross foreign reserves had been at levels providing 5.4 months of import cover in 2009 and 4.3 months in 2010. The external debt to GDP ratio had declined from 71.3 per cent in 2002 to 48.5 per cent in 2008 and further reduced to 43.7 in 2010. The debt-service ratio had fallen over the same period from 8.6 per cent in 2002 to 4.6 per cent in 2008 and rose slightly to 4.7 in 2010. He informed Members that the overall balance of payment for 2010 recorded a surplus of US$97.4 million compared with the US$3.72 million deficit in 2009.

- Investment Regime

19. The representative of Lao PDR said that Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" of 8 July 2009 regulated investments and investors' rights and obligations in Lao PDR. This Law had unified and replaced Law No. 10/NA "On the Promotion of Domestic Investment" (that previously governed domestic investments) and Law No. 11/NA "On the Promotion of Foreign Investment" of 22 October 2004 (that previously governed foreign investments). The implementing regulation of Law No. 02/NA, Decree No. 119/PM "On Implementation of Investment Promotion Law" (see document WT/ACC/LAO/24/Add.1), was adopted on 20 April 2011, which had replaced the previous implementing regulations, Decrees Nos. 300/PM and 301/PM of 12 October 2005.

20. In accordance with Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion", investment could be wholly domestic or foreign owned; a joint venture between domestic and foreign investors; or a joint-business investment contract. The Law further distinguished between investment in general businesses; in concession businesses; and in border or special economic zones. The list of concession businesses had been elaborated in Decree No. 119/PM "On Implementation of Investment Promotion Law". Article 4 of Law No. 02/NA provided that the Government should promote and facilitate investments, both domestic and foreign, in all sectors, businesses and areas across Lao PDR. Exceptions were with regard to threats to national security/stability (including economic stability); the environment; public health; and national culture, as reflected in Decree No. 68/PM "On Controlled Business" (Negative List) of 28 April 2008 (Table 2). In response to a specific question, the representative of Lao PDR clarified that, as defined under Article 2 of the 2005 Enterprise Law, the purpose of the Negative List was to enumerate all businesses which required approval from the supervising authorities, prior to enterprise registration. Businesses on the List were not the prohibited

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businesses or the businesses reserved for Lao citizens. Therefore, the Negative List would not prevent Lao PDR from fulfilling its future market access commitments under the WTO. He added that the Negative List was not expected to be amended in the near future.

21. Investment licenses were granted in all cases if applicable requirements under the 2009 Investment Promotion Law had been fulfilled. General business investments required an application to a one-stop-service at the Department of Investment Promotion for General Businesses under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce or the Provincial Industry and Commerce Department. Concession business investments required an investment application to a one-stop-service at the Ministry of Planning and Investment or the Provincial Planning and Investment Department. Investors in border or special economic zones were required to submit an application to an one-stop-service within the zone. The time-frame for granting licenses was identical for domestic and foreign investments. Data on foreign investment projects approved since 2004 is presented in Table 3.

Table 3 - Approved Foreign Investment Projects (2004 to 2010)

Years 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Number of projects 161 143 171 191 152 208 207 353Value (million US$) 533.1 1,245.3 2,699.7 1,136.9 1,215.5 4,312.9 1,402.2 2,734.

4

22. Investment projects were subject to a registration fee established in accordance with Edict No. 03/PO "On Fees and Service Charges" of 19 November 2008 (Table 4). In addition to the registration fee, the Ministry of Planning and Investment collected a fee per investment application (KN 50,000 per form), for the issue of investment licenses (KN 70,000 per form), and a service fee for the evaluation of investment proposals (KN 500,000 per report). Previously, the Ministry of Finance also charged an additional fee for registration as a taxpayer equal to 0.1 per cent of the value of the investment. Pursuant to Prime Minister Instruction No. 04/PM "On Streamlining Investment Project Approval Procedure and Investment Promotion" of 3 March 2005, this fee had been abolished.

Table 4 - Registration Fees for Foreign and Domestic Enterprises

No. Enterprise's registered capital Registration fee

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

Less than KN 1,000,000 From KN 1,000,001 to KN 10,000,000From KN 10,000,001to KN 20,000,000From KN 20,000,001to KN 50,000,000From KN 50,000,001to KN 100,000,000From KN 100,000,001to KN 400,000,000From KN 400,000,001to KN 1,000,000,000From KN 1,000,000,001 to KN 10,000,000,000From KN 10,000,000,001 to KN 20,000,000,000Above KN 20,000,000,001

NilKN 20,000 KN 50,000 KN 100,000 KN 300,000 KN 500,000 KN 1,000,000 KN 2,000,000 KN 3,000,000 KN 5,000,000

23. Asked whether foreign enterprises registered in Lao PDR were allowed to establish their own business chambers or join the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI), the representative of Lao PDR said that any lawfully registered enterprise, domestic or foreign-owned, could apply for membership to the LNCCI. According to the Regulation "On the Establishment and Activities of the Representative Organizations of Foreign Business Entities in Lao PDR" of 21 June 2005, any foreign business entity intending to establish its own representative organizations could apply for authorization from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the

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consideration and recommendation by the LNCCI. Many such organizations had been established in Lao PDR, representing businesses from China, the European Union, Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei. He further noted that Decree No. 115/PM "On Associations" adopted on 29 April 2009 provided for the right to establish associations. Pursuant to the Decree, the creation of any association required an authorization from the relevant authority.

24. As for investment incentives, the representative of Lao PDR said that, being an LDC, Lao PDR did not have the resources to provide any financial support or credit. Investment incentives were provided in the form of revenue foregone. According to Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion", investors could, upon written request, receive the incentives available under the new investment regime. The Law stipulated incentives in the form of profit tax, import and export duty exemptions. The promoted sectors were agriculture, industry, handcrafts and services based on Government priorities for poverty reduction, employment, etc., according to Annex 1 of the Decree No. 119/PM. The Government had also designated zones, namely Zone 1 with insufficient socio-economic infrastructure to facilitate investments, e.g. mountainous remote regions; Zone 2 with socio-economic infrastructure to partially facilitate investments; and Zone 3 with infrastructure favourable for investments. To encourage investments in promoted sectors or regions, profit tax exemptions were granted for four to ten years in Zone 1; two to six years in Zone 2; and one to four years in Zone 3. Special incentives in the form of rental or land concessions (from three to 15 years) were extended to investments in hospitals, kindergartens, schools, vocational schools, colleges, universities, research centres and public utilities. Investments in these activities were also eligible for an additional five year profit tax exemption. Import duty exemptions were granted for the importation of raw materials, vehicles and equipment used as production inputs (Article 52 of Law No. 02/NA). Pursuant to Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion", none of the investment incentives were contingent upon local content or export performance requirements.

25. Previously, Laws Nos. 10/NA and 11/NA, as well as their Implementing Decrees Nos. 300/PM and 301/PM, had provided similar incentives. However, to qualify for these investment incentives, companies had been required to fulfil a minimum of three among six stipulated conditions, namely (i) hiring at least 90 per cent of the labour force locally; (ii) using model technology; (iii) preserving the environment in accordance with the Law "On Environmental Protection"; (iv) a promoted activity complementing other domestic production; (v) using more than 50 per cent of local raw materials; and (vi) exporting 80 per cent or more of the total output. Under the local content requirement, import duty remission or exemption was only granted for products or materials not available domestically. Some Members had urged Lao PDR to eliminate WTO incompatible investment measures upon accession, in particular the export performance and local content requirements; provisions requiring foreign-invested companies to hire at least 90 per cent of the work force locally (Article 12.5); and obliging foreign-invested companies to train, upgrade professional skills, and transfer technology to the local employees (Article 13). The representative of Lao PDR said that, as a result of the review process of Laws Nos. 10/NA and 11/NA and their implementing regulations, these requirements were no longer included in Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" of 8 July 2009 and the Implementing Decree No. 119/PM. He reaffirmed that Annex 1 to Decree No. 119/PM and Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" did not provide for any measures contingent upon export performance and local content requirements. Instead, the Annex provided a list of promoted activities under the new investment regime, which included the export of certain products, such as beef cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and frogs. He stated that the Law did not provide any specific incentive to export activities, which could be considered as export subsidies in the meaning of the WTO Agreements. He also noted that Decree No. 443/PM provided for an exhaustive list of promoted investments available in special economic zones, including the "production for export", which, in his view, were in compliance with the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) (see Section "Industrial policy, including subsidies").

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26. In response to a question concerning the investor's obligation to provide compensation for impacts caused by their business operation, the representative of Lao PDR clarified that this obligation, as provided for in Article 69.5 of Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion", was a general obligation deriving from Article 83 of the Contract and Tort Law No. 01/NA of 8 December 2008. According to this Article, a domestic or foreign investor should be liable for damages caused by his act. The affected party had to file a complaint. Compensation provided for under Article 69.5 of Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" was non-automatic and subject to a court proceeding, in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of Lao PDR.

27. A Member requested Lao PDR to clarify to what extent the Lao PDR Registration Authority was authorized to suspend or revoke the investment, on the basis of environment or socio-economic conditions (Article 74 of Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion"). In reply, the representative of Lao PDR said that the authority would only suspend an investment, if the investment operation had violated applicable laws and regulations of Lao PDR. This would include environmental obligations, as provided for under Article 70 of Law No. 02/NA. In accordance with Article 40 of Decree No. 112/PM "On Environment Impact Assessment" of 16 February 2010, the Authority could determine severe negative impacts of an investment on the basis of the following factors: (i) degree of severity of the environmental and social impacts; (ii) severity of pollution caused by the violation; (iii) existence of preventive measures for foreseeable environmental and social impact; (iv) record of violations committed by the project developer; and (v) record of violations committed by the investment project. The enterprise would be dissolved in accordance with the Enterprise Law if no solution could be found within the time-frame of suspension, which was determined by the Authority.

28. In response to further questions with regard to the conditions and measures for the suspension of an investment project in case it violated the Investment Promotion Law, the representative of Lao PDR stated that the measures were further clarified in Article 68 of Decree No. 119/PM "On Implementation of Investment Promotion Law". According to the Decree, the first violation would be subject to a warning while the second violation might be subject to a suspension or a withdrawal of licence upon recommendation of relevant authorities (the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) for concessions businesses and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) for general businesses). If a suspension was determined, the investor would be given the opportunity to continue operating the investment, provided that the violation as a cause of suspension had been rectified. For example, in case an enterprise failed to pay taxes, the Ministry of Finance might request the MPI or MoIC to suspend the operation of that enterprise until it complied with its tax obligation. As administrative actions, these measures might be appealed to the court in accordance with the 2005 Petition Handling Law.

- State Ownership, Privatization and State-trading Entities

29. The representative of Lao PDR said that the limited period of central planning in Lao PDR had mitigated the transition to a market economy. The role of the State had been scaled down with the number of State-owned enterprises dropping from 800 in 1990 to 37 enterprises in 2002 (Table 5). Although precise estimates were not available, the 37 State-owned enterprises were considered to employ less than 15,000 people and accounted for approximately 4 per cent of Lao PDR's GDP in 2002.

30. Most State-owned enterprises had been privatized in the 1990s, and the economic significance of the State-owned sector was now, in his opinion, similar to that in many market economies. Privatization had occurred in services sectors such as telecommunications, transportation, insurance, real estate and tourism. The preferred method of privatization was a joint venture model in which the State retained 51 per cent ownership initially, and then reduced its share at subsequent stages.

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31. Asked whether retaining majority State ownership might restrain the privatized enterprises in their efforts to improve efficiency, and whether foreign investors would be able to take control as the State was reducing its share, the representative of Lao PDR said that the 37 enterprises would remain majority State-owned until his Government would consider it feasible to reduce its share. Foreign ownership of such stakes could be expected, and the granting of control over some of the privatized enterprises would be considered. He added that these remaining 37 State-owned enterprises were considered important for national security, defence, and economic and social development. He noted, however, that Lao PDR was implementing a programme, supported by the World Bank, to restructure State-owned enterprises in order to increase their efficiency. The restructuring process did not necessarily include privatization, but could lead to it. The restructuring programme had been initiated for certain enterprises, i.e. Electricité du Laos (EDL); Lao Airlines; Lao National Tourism; Banque pour Le Commerce Extérieur Lao (BCEL); Enterprise of Telecommunication Lao (ETL); and in the supply of water (decentralization of the Vientiane Municipality Authority). No fixed timetable had been set for the restructuring of these enterprises.

32. The representative of Lao PDR said that the study for the establishment of a securities market in Lao PDR was completed in mid-2010. The Lao Securities Exchange (LSX) was established on 10 October 2010 and had been operational since January 2011. Enterprises which were profitable, considered well managed, and in need of capital to expand operations would be prime candidates to be listed in the securities market. As a result of the restructuring programme, 25 per cent of the shares of EDL and 30 per cent of the shares of BCEL had been sold to the public through initial public offering (IPO). The newly reconstituted EDL-Gen (with 75 per cent shareholding by EDL) and BCEL had been listed in the LSX since January 2011. ETL was planning an IPO of 30 per cent of its shares.

33. Noting a preliminary statement that Lao PDR did not have State-trading enterprises within the meaning of Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and the working definition of the Understanding on that Article, some Members requested Lao PDR to elaborate on the functioning of State-owned enterprises engaging in imports or exports of goods and State "controls" on certain imports and exports. The same Members also reminded Lao PDR that the obligations of Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on that Article applied equally to all enterprises owned or controlled by the State, as well as to enterprises to which the State granted special or exclusive privileges. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that 16 State-owned enterprises were currently involved in importation or exportation of goods (Table 5).

34. A Member requested Lao PDR to explain whether these 16 enterprises (Table 5) operated solely in accordance with commercial considerations in their purchases or sales involving either imports or exports. The same Member also asked Lao PDR to clarify if these enterprises acted in line with the non-discriminatory principles enshrined in the GATT 1994. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that none of the listed enterprises had monopoly or special rights or privileges to influence the level of imports. These enterprises were established and operated as private enterprises engaged in foreign trade, and his Government did not interfere in their decision-making process. He noted that there was no enterprise - private or State-owned - which imported or exported goods on behalf of the Government or engaged in stock building. He also explained that State "control" in the context of international trade in goods referred to licensing and regulation, and did not imply the designation of specific firms to conduct trade, the setting of prices or profits, or State decision-making regarding purchases or sales.

35. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that from the date of accession, Lao PDR would ensure that all State-owned, State-controlled, and other enterprises with special or exclusive privileges would make purchases or sales either involving imports or exports, which were not intended for immediate or ultimate consumption in governmental use, and not otherwise for resale or use in the productions of goods for sale, solely in accordance with commercial considerations, including price,

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quality, availability, marketability, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale, and would afford the enterprises of other WTO Members adequate opportunity in accordance with customary business practice to compete for participation in such purchases or sales. In addition, Lao PDR would not influence, directly or indirectly, commercial decisions on the part of State-owned, State-controlled, and other enterprises with special or exclusive privileges, including on the quantity, value or country of origin of any goods purchased or sold, except in a manner consistent with the WTO Agreement. Lao PDR would not prevent any enterprise under its jurisdiction from acting in accordance with the principles of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of Article XVII of the GATT 1994. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that upon accession, Lao PDR also would notify WTO Members of the products which are imported into or exported from its territory by all State-owned, State-controlled, and other enterprises with special or exclusive privileges in accordance with Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on that Article. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Pricing Policies

36. The representative of Lao PDR said that prices for most goods and services were set by market forces. Prime Minister's Decree No. 207/PM "On the Administration of Prices of Goods" of 11 October 2001 authorized the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to monitor prices or institute price controls. Prime Minister's Decree No. 207/PM had subsequently been replaced by Prime Minister's Decree No. 474/PMO "On Prices of Goods and Services" of 18 November 2010 (document WT/ACC/LAO/20/Add.1). Decree No. 474/PMO provided the principles of price administration: (i) prices should be determined by market force; (ii) the Government should respect the right of price determination and price competition of business operators in accordance with the laws and regulations; and, (iii) the Government might apply measures to administer prices only in case of necessity, and should adhere to non-discrimination and transparency principles.

37. Based on the Prime Minister's Decree No. 207/PM, the Ministry had issued Instruction No. 0334/MOC/ITD "On the Implementation of Price Administration" of 22 March 2002, making some 30 products/product groups subject to price controls or surveillance (Tables 6(a) and 6(b)). Lao PDR had also adopted a list of essential utilities (services) subject to price administration (Table 6(c)).

38. On price controls, in order to support farmers' incomes, a minimum (floor) price for glutinous rice was determined and recommended annually by the Government of Lao PDR to serve as an optional reference for the sale and purchase of glutinous rice between farmers and mill houses. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that such minimum price was not compulsory and did not affect imported rice. The minimum price had been below the international market price in almost all years. In his view, the price control on rice had no impact on the import and export regime of Lao PDR. Lao PDR re-examined this measure to ensure its consistency with the provisions of the WTO Agreements. Considering the socio-economic importance of rice, the Government would like to maintain the possibility of using this measure. He added that Lao PDR had no policy prohibiting the importation of rice and noted that his Government included rice in the automatic licensing regime instead of the non-automatic licensing regime.

39. Maximum prices applied to fuel and gas – all of which was imported – and to domestically-produced and imported construction steel and cement. The maximum price was guided by the consumer price index and calculated by the suppliers, who made allowances for all costs and a profit margin. The proposed prices were considered by the Internal Trade Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The Department also monitored the adherence to the approved maximum price.


40. On price surveillance, the representative of Lao PDR said that the measure was principally a monitoring device for goods where price hikes could have severe repercussions on households. It did not imply any government intervention in the market. The measure essentially implied inspection by officials from the Internal Trade Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce or the Provincial Offices of Industry and Commerce. The inspectors controlled that traders displayed the prices of their products appropriately, and conducted spot checks to ensure adherence to the pricing regulations. Traders were required to cooperate fully with the inspecting officials.

41. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, Lao PDR would apply price controls in a WTO-consistent fashion, including Article III:4 of the GATT 1994, Article 4 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, and Article VIII of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). He further stated that in the application of price controls from the date of accession, Lao PDR would take account of the interests of exporting WTO Members as provided for in Article III:9 of the GATT 1994. Lao PDR would also publish the list of goods and services subject to price control and any changes to this list in its Official Gazette. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Competition Policy

42. The representative of Lao PDR said that Decree No. 15/PMO "On Trade Competition" of 4 February 2004 provided the legal basis for the promotion of fair competition in Lao PDR. The Decree provided for rules, measures and enforcement mechanisms to regulate monopolization and all forms of unfair competition in trade, aiming at promoting fair trade, protecting the rights and legal interests of consumers, and encouraging business activities to function efficiently in Lao PDR. The Decree foresaw the establishment of a Trade Competition Committee within the Internal Trade Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and his authorities were in the process of establishing this enforcement agency.

III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES

- Powers of Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of Government

43. The representative of Lao PDR said that extensive powers were vested in the National Assembly, granted through the Constitution of the Lao PDR - its first, promulgated on 15 August 1991, and subsequently amended on 6 May 2003. The 115-member Assembly had exclusive authority to decide on matters of war and peace; to enact or amend the Constitution and laws; to elect or remove the President, the Vice-President (on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee), the President of the People's Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutor-General; to appoint or remove members of the Government on the recommendation of the President; to create or dissolve ministries; to introduce or abolish taxes; to ratify or reject Lao PDR's accession to international treaties; to grant amnesties; and to exercise any other rights or duties prescribed by law. The National Assembly supervised and oversaw the activities of the executive and judicial branches pursuant to Chapter V of the 2003 Constitution.

44. The Executive comprised the President, the Prime Minister and his/her Government and local authorities (the Governors of Provinces, the Chiefs of Districts and the Heads of Villages). The President was the Head of State and the Chief of the Armed Forces. The National Assembly elected the President by two thirds majority for five year terms in office. Presidential powers, with the approval of the National Assembly, included appointing the Prime Minister for five-year terms; and issuing decrees. The Government of Lao PDR consisted of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers and Chairmen of ministry-equivalent authorities. The Prime Minister supervised the work of the ministries and other government organizations. The Government was responsible for implementing the Constitution, laws and resolutions adopted by the National Assembly and


presidential edicts and decrees; preparing socio-economic development plans and annual State budgets for submission to the National Assembly; the functioning of all branches of central and local administration; suspending or revoking decisions and instructions of ministries, other government organizations or local administration if contrary to existing laws; and signing and implementing treaties with foreign States.

45. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce was responsible for international and bilateral trade policy and his Government's interests in the WTO. Other line ministries or agencies involved in trade or tariff policy matters were the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Finance (including the Customs Department), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (agricultural policy, sanitary and phytosanitary measures), the Ministry of Health (health safety relating to food and drugs), the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (TBT), the Ministry of Energy and Mining (TBT), the Ministry of Public Security (TBT), the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (copyright), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (environmental protection) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (TBT and protection of intellectual property rights).

46. Pursuant to amended Law No. 09/NA "On the People's Court" of 26 November 2009, 39 Regional Courts had been established to replace the District Courts; the Courts of Appeal had been named as the High Courts; and the Juvenile Courts would be established at provincial level and in Vientiane Capital. The new Judiciary in Lao PDR consisted of Regional Courts; Juvenile Courts; Provincial and Vientiane Capital Court (Court of First Instance); High Courts; and the People's Supreme Court. Regional Courts, the lowest tier of the court system, dealt with cases relating to family relations; and civil or criminal cases involving claims of less than KN 300,000,000 or prison terms of less than two years. Appeals of the decisions of Regional Courts and other civil and criminal cases were addressed to the Provincial Courts or Vientiane Capital Court. Appeals of decisions of the Provincial Courts or Vientiane Capital Court could be brought to the High Courts. The Supreme Court was the last resort.

47. Law No. 05/NA "On the People's Courts of Lao PDR" of 21 October 2003 had established civil and commercial chambers attached to the provincial courts, appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Lao PDR. In accordance with Article 48 of the Law No. 02/NA "On Civil Procedures" of 15 May 2004, commercial chambers had the jurisdiction to adjudicate on business or commercial matters, including cases relating to business or commercial contracts and documents (promissory notes, bills of exchange, cheques, etc.); commercial loan Agreements; the bankruptcy and liquidation of enterprises; cases involving business or commercial relationships concerning the importation or exportation of goods, including trade support services; and violations of copyright and trademarks. The commercial chambers did not have the authority to rule on trade-related administrative decisions of the Government.

48. On the right to appeal administrative decisions to the courts or an independent tribunal in line with Article X of the GATT 1994 and WTO requirements, the representative of Lao PDR said that natural or legal persons had the right to lodge complaints in the civil chambers of the courts to protect their interests or claims resulting from governmental action (Article 47 of Law No. 02/NA "On Civil Procedures" of 15 May 2004). Few administrative rulings on trade issues had been requested to be redressed in the court system since the entry into force of the Law. Complaints against administrative rulings could be lodged by importers or exporters through administrative or judicial procedures. Thus, customs decisions could be appealed to the higher customs authorities and, if not satisfactorily settled, a petition could be filed in court. The establishment of a specialized Commercial Court or an administrative tribunal was not being contemplated at this stage.

49. The representative of Lao PDR said that Decree No. 106/PM "On the Resolution of Economic Disputes" of 15 July 1994 provided a mechanism for dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration procedures. The Decree had been upgraded to a Law No. 02/NA "On Resolution of


Economic Disputes" of 19 May 2005, which was further revised as Law No. 06/NA "On Resolution of Economic Disputes" of 17 December 2010. An Office of Economic Disputes Resolution had been established in the Ministry of Justice. Arbitration sub-centres (branches) had been created in the Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Savannakhet provinces. Economic disputes (apart from appeals or complaints against the decisions of government bodies) could be brought to the Office of Economic Disputes Resolution within three years of the dispute. Decisions or awards by the Office of Economic Dispute Resolution could be appealed in the commercial chambers attached to the courts.

50. The representative of Lao PDR said that the hierarchy of legislation comprised - in descending order - (i) the Constitution of the Lao PDR; (ii) Laws adopted by the National Assembly; (iii) Edicts promulgated by the President on the recommendation of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; (iv) Presidential Decrees; (v) Prime Minister's Decrees; and (vi) Government resolutions, and instructions or decisions of the Prime Minister or ministries for implementing laws or decrees. Although the legislation hierarchy did not include treaties and international agreements ratified by Lao PDR (amending or promulgating new domestic laws), he noted that such treaties and international agreements prevailed over the Constitution and laws adopted by the National Assembly. Edict No. 01/PO "On Conclusion, Accession and Implementation of Treaties" of 7 October 2009 regulated the negotiation, ratification and implementation procedures of international treaties. Pursuant to Article 31, paragraph 4 of this Edict, international treaties prevailed over national laws in case of conflict.

51. Asked to describe the process that would be used to ratify Lao PDR's WTO accession package, the representative of Lao PDR said that in line with the domestic ratification process, the WTO accession package would be submitted to the National Assembly for ratification. When Lao PDR's accession terms were ratified by the National Assembly, the President of Lao PDR would promulgate such ratification. Following the promulgation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs would notify the ratification to the WTO Secretariat.

52. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that the current constitution, laws and regulations provide the necessary institutional base for the prompt administrative and judicial review of the administrative actions. The representative of Lao PDR further confirmed that, from the date of accession, Lao PDR's laws and regulations would provide individuals or enterprises affected by any administrative action subject to WTO provisions, the right to appeal such action, without penalty, to the courts or other independent tribunal in conformity with WTO obligations, including those set -out in Article X of the GATT 1994, Article 23 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, Article 11 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, Article 62 of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Article VI of GATS. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Authority of Sub-Central Governments

53. The representative of Lao PDR said that his country was divided into 16 provinces and Vientiane Capital. The provincial administration, comprising representatives of central government ministries, administered policies on behalf of - and as determined by - the Government of Lao PDR. The Office of the Public Prosecutor was responsible for monitoring the full and uniform adherence of the laws and regulations by all ministries, ministry-equivalent bodies, government organisations, local administrations, enterprises, and citizens. The provinces and Vientiane Capital had no authority to set tax rates, grant subsidies or regulate trade independently of the central authorities. The sub-central authorities reported regularly to the central government to ensure that the Government's policies were properly implemented. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce could dispatch envoys to examine the implementation of trade-related policies by the local authorities.


54. A Member asked how the central authorities might address complaints by importers or exporters of sub-central entities violating WTO provisions.

55. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, Lao PDR would apply WTO provisions, including Lao PDR's Protocol of Accession, uniformly throughout the entire customs territory, including its special economic zones, and other areas where special regimes for tariffs, taxes and regulations were established. Article 4 of the Law No. 07/NA "On the Handling of Petition" of 9 November 2005 provided the legal redress to companies facing an apparent breach of WTO obligations by sub-central authorities. He further confirmed that when informed of a situation where WTO provisions were allegedly not being applied or were applied in a non-uniform manner, central authorities would investigate such claims and, if the charges were found to be valid, act to enforce WTO provisions without requiring affected parties to petition through the courts. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS

- Trading Rights

56. The representative of Lao PDR said under Decree No. 205/PM "On the Management of Export and Import" of 11 October 2001, any person wishing to engage in importation or exportation for commercial purposes must be registered as an enterprise in Lao PDR. A Member recalled that the right to import and export, as required under the GATT 1994, was distinct from the business of importing and exporting. The right to import and export allowed a foreign exporter located outside Lao PDR to enter its products into the customs territory of Lao PDR, clear customs formalities, and access the same channels of distribution as domestic firms, with no requirements or conditions imposed on such importation unless these were also imposed on the domestic like product. This Member understood that a Lao product could be sold directly to a customer in Lao PDR whereas an imported product had to be first imported by a Lao company or by a foreign firm with domestic presence. Lao PDR appeared to deny foreign firms located outside the country the right to import as it did not provide for the registration of such enterprises in Lao PDR. Lao PDR was asked to explain how foreign firms or individuals would be able to exercise trading rights and be the importer or exporter of record without establishment in Lao PDR. Lao PDR was further asked to amend its rules to provide for trading rights consistent with WTO requirements, specifically Articles III and XI of the GATT 1994. Lao PDR was also asked to confirm that any registration fees for importers and exporters would, by the date of accession, conform with WTO requirements and approximate the cost of services rendered. This Member suggested that Lao PDR develop an action plan specifying dates by which Lao PDR intended to replace or amend existing legislation concerning trading rights to ensure conformity with WTO obligations.

57. In response, the representative of Lao PDR stated that Decree No. 205/PM had been replaced by Decree No. 114/GoL "On the Import and Export of Goods" of 6 April 2011, which allowed any persons, whether or not residing in Lao PDR, to engage in import activities. Under Decree No. 114/GoL, the right to import goods would not grant importers the right to distribute goods in Lao PDR. Unlike the right to distribute, the right to import did not require enterprise registration in Lao PDR.

58. He further explained that any importer could: (i) import the goods that were subject to import licensing (Tables 11 and 12) after obtaining an import licence from the competent authorities; (ii) import the goods that were subject to the sanitary and phytosanitary measures or technical regulations after passing the controls or obtaining the certifications from the competent authorities of Lao PDR or from any other international certification authority of the exporting country or a third country recognized by the Government of Lao PDR (see Sections on "Technical Barriers to Trade" and "Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures"); and (iii) import goods that were not covered by the above categories (i) and (ii) by proceeding directly with the customs clearance at the relevant customs checkpoint. He said that


there were currently no registration requirements for prospective importers of record. Lao PDR did not foresee the necessity to establish registration requirements for importers of record.

59. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, unless otherwise specified below, from the date of accession to the WTO, the application of all laws, regulations and other measures relating to trading rights concerning the importation or exportation of goods, would be in conformity with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement, including Articles I, III, VIII, and XI of the GATT 1994. From the date of accession, Lao PDR's laws and regulations relating to all fees, charges or taxes levied in connection with such trade would conform fully with its WTO obligations, including Articles VIII:1(a), XI:1, and III:2 and 4 of the GATT 1994. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, within two years from the date of WTO accession and in accordance with the action plan set-out in Table 7(b) for the goods listed in Table 7(a), and from the date of accession for all other goods, Lao PDR would grant any natural or legal person of a WTO Member, regardless of physical presence or investment in Lao PDR, the right to be the importer of record. He also confirmed that in conformity with the WTO Agreement, Lao PDR would grant trading rights in a non-discriminatory and non-discretionary manner. He confirmed that for the goods listed in Table 7(a), Lao PDR would do so two years from the date of WTO accession and in accordance with the action plan set-out in Table 7(b), and from the date of accession for all other goods. The granting of trading rights would be without prejudice to WTO-consistent requirements and conditions that may be imposed by Lao PDR on both imported and domestic like products without discrimination. Any requirements for commercial registration or application for trading rights would be for customs and fiscal purposes only, and would not require investment in Lao PDR. The representative of Lao PDR noted that compliance with its trading rights obligations would not grant importers the right to distribute goods in Lao PDR. He confirmed that importers would be free to select a distributor or distributors of their choice. He also expressed his understanding that the granting of trading rights would not affect the rights of the Government of Lao PDR to adopt regulations consistent with the WTO Agreement, including those relating to import licensing, technical barriers to trade or sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

A. IMPORT REGULATIONS

- Ordinary customs duties

60. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had applied the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) since 1 October 2003. The nomenclature was currently based on the 2007 version of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS). All MFN customs duties were ad valorem, applied on the c.i.f. value of the imported goods, with a median tariff rate of 5 per cent, a trade-weighted average tariff of 14.7 per cent, and a simple average tariff of 9.5 per cent. Lao PDR maintained six tariff bands with duty rates of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 per cent. Low tariffs (5 to 10 per cent) were set on imported raw materials and agricultural inputs. The highest rate applied to "luxury goods" (document WT/ACC/LAO/5, Annex IV), or to protect local agricultural, handicraft and manufacturing activities.

61. The Customs Department in the Ministry of Finance was responsible for customs administration, and the Ministries of Finance, Industry and Commerce, and Agriculture and Forestry were the government bodies involved in setting tariff levels. Any change in the tariff rates required approval by the National Assembly, following up on a proposal from the Prime Minister's Office.

62. Lao PDR's commitments on bound tariffs are contained in the Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods (document WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.1) annexed to Lao PDR's Protocol of Accession to the WTO.


- Other duties and charges

63. The representative of Lao PDR said that, other than ordinary customs duties, Lao PDR did not levy any "other duties and charges" in the meaning of Article II:1(b) of the GATT 1994. He confirmed that Lao PDR would not introduce new "other duties and charges". He further confirmed that Lao PDR would bind "other duties and charges" as defined in Article II:1(b) of the GATT 1994 at zero in its Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions

64. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR did not apply tariff rate quotas on any product.

65. The representative of Lao PDR noted that, in accordance with Chapter 2 of the Customs Law No. 02/NA of December 2011, tariff exemptions applied to a range of imported goods, namely: (i) personal belongings of passengers; (ii) certain household items when moving residence; (iii) gifts carried by delegations from overseas official visits; (iv) goods imported as aids or loans from foreign governments; (v) essential items used for education, health, scientific study, samples and religious purposes; and (vi) special items used for national defence and public security. He added that the 1 per cent tariff reduction as an investment incentive provided pursuant to the Law "On the Promotion of Foreign Investment" and the Law "On the Promotion of Domestic Investment" had been discontinued. Under the new investment regime, the import of raw materials, vehicles and equipment used for production were exempt from duty (Article 52 of Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion"). Exemptions were not subject to discretion, and the Minister of Finance did not have the authority to grant duty exemptions.

66. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that any tariff rate quota introduced after the date of accession would be applied and administered in conformity with WTO rules, including MFN and national treatment provisions. The Working Party took note of this commitment.

- Fees and charges for services rendered

67. The representative of Lao PDR said that pursuant to Edict No. 03/PO "On Fees and Services Charges" of 19 November 2008, the Customs Service charged some customs processing fees on importation and exportation, ranging from KN 250 to KN 100,000. The Ministry of Health collected a fee for the inspection of imported medicines (KN 20,000 per invoice); the biennial registration of imported foodstuff subject to controls (KN 50,000 per product); and a fee for issuing import permits for food products which had been converted from an ad valorem (0.05 per cent) to a specific rate (KN 20,000 per invoice). The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) collected a quality inspection fee on imported fuels, steel bars, and cement, which had been reviewed, and converted from an ad valorem to a specific rate (KN 600,000 per invoice) in accordance with Regulation No. 1226/PMO-NAST of 17 July 2009. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce and relevant competent licensing authorities charged fees (KN 10,000 or KN 40,000 per set) for issuing import or export licenses. Warehouse authorities collected non-ad valorem warehouse fees, which would be based on the type of goods and the period of storage. All these fees and charges set-out in Edict No. 03/PO "On Fees and Services Charges" were enumerated in Table 8. He added that the Edict was being revised and would be adopted by September 2012.


68. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, all fees and charges for services rendered, applied on or in connection with importation or exportation, would conform with the provisions of the WTO Agreement, in particular Articles VIII and X of the GATT 1994. The Working Party took note of this commitment.

- Application of internal taxes to imports

69. The representative of Lao PDR said that the Tax Law No. 04/NA of 2005 was amended to become the Tax Law No. 05/NA of 20 December 2011. According to Articles 18 to 20 of the 2011 Tax Law, excise taxes ranging from 5 to 90 per cent were levied on inflammable fuel; gas for vehicles; alcohol, beer and alcoholic beverages; soft drinks; fruit juices; tobacco, cigarettes, and cigars; crystal objects or jewelleries; carpets; furniture; perfumes and cosmetics; playing cards and gambling equipment; rockets and fireworks; motorcycles, motor vehicles and parts; speedboats, yachts, motorized sports boats; satellite television receivers, cameras, telephones, audio and visual players and recorders, and musical instruments; air conditioners, washing machines and vacuum cleaners; billiard and snooker tables, bowling equipment, and football game tables; and gaming stations/machines. Excised taxes were also collected on certain services. The goods and services subject to excise tax are listed in Table 9. The excise tax rates no longer distinguished between imported and domestically-produced goods. Previously, and as noted by some Members, the excise duty regime based on Notification No. 1061/MOF of 13 June 2003 had imposed substantially higher duties on imports than on domestic production. Purchases by embassies and international organizations, or for externally-funded projects; kerosene; alcohol for medicinal purposes (Accon 90); activities by the disabled; and exported excisable goods were not subject to excise tax.

70. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR previously applied a turnover tax pursuant to Tax Law No. 04/NA of 19 February 2005. Two tax rates, 5 or 10 per cent, had been levied. The two tax rates had later been unified to a single rate of 10 per cent in accordance with Edict No. 001/OP "On Amendment of Rates of Business Turnover Tax, Profit Tax and Salary Income Tax" of 1 March 2011.

71. He added that Lao PDR began to replace the turnover tax with a value added tax (VAT) following the adoption of the Value Added Tax Law No. 04/NA of 26 December 2006 and its implementing Decree No. 270/PMO of 18 September 2009. VAT was levied at a single rate of 10 per cent; exports were zero-rated. Since 1 January 2010, VAT was initially being applied to businesses with annual turnover exceeding KN 400 million. Some 4,500 to 5,000 entities were qualified in the initial phase of the introduction of VAT. Enterprises not required to comply immediately with the new VAT system would continue to pay turnover tax pursuant to the 2005 Tax Law. However, any small business wishing to register for VAT would be able to do so. While appreciating the efforts made by Lao PDR to convert the turnover tax to a VAT, a Member had noted that this dual tax system posed a risk of being discriminatory, and had requested Lao PDR to provide information on its plans for a unified taxation system. In December 2011, Lao PDR adopted the 2011 Tax Law No. 05/NA to fully replace the 2005 Tax Law. The turnover tax had thus been eliminated.

72. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, all laws, regulations and other measures relating to internal taxes and charges levied on imports would be in full conformity with its WTO obligations, including Articles I and III of the GATT 1994. The Working Party took note of this commitment.

- Quantitative import restrictions, including prohibitions, quotas and licensing systems

73. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR prohibited the importation of certain types of goods considered to pose a serious threat to the national security, public order, health or the


environment. The list of prohibited goods presented in document WT/ACC/LAO/5 (Annex II) had been revised and simplified. The most recent listing provided in Notification No. 0973/MOIC.DIMEX "On Prohibited Goods on Import or Export" of 25 May 2011. Six product groups were subject to import prohibition (Table 10). In response to specific questions on the prohibition of used products, he stated that used products had been removed from the prohibited import list. They were no longer subject to either import prohibition or import licensing. Asked about "exceptional cases" whereby prohibited goods could be imported subject to the approval of the Prime Minister's Office, he said that this referred to, for example, weapons and ammunition imported by the Ministry of National Defence for military purposes. To import prohibited products in these exceptional cases, the importer first submitted a request to the relevant authority (e.g. the Ministry of Public Health), and with the endorsement of the relevant authority obtained approval from the Prime Minister's Office.

74. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had been streamlining its import procedures with a view to bringing them into compliance with the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. He confirmed that the trade balancing policy and the indicative import plans had been abolished in 2007 (Order No. 0453/MOIC.DIMEX of 26 March 2007). Currently, Decree No. 180/PMO "On Import Licensing Procedures" of 7 July 2009 and Decree No. 114/GoL "On Export and Import of Goods" of 6 April 2011 constituted the legislative basis for the licensing regime. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in consultations with other relevant ministries, was responsible for issuing Notifications to specify the goods subject to approval or non-automatic or automatic import licensing. Notification No. 0076/MOIC.DIMEX "On the List of Goods subject to Automatic and Non-automatic Import-Export Licensing" of 13 January 2012, provided updated lists of products subject to non-automatic import licensing procedures (Table 11) and automatic import licensing procedures (Table 12). He confirmed that the products listed in Table 11 were the only goods that required a non-automatic import licence and that the products listed in Table 12 were the only goods that required an automatic import licence for importation into Lao PDR.

75. Decree No. 180/PMO set-out the import licensing procedures. The licensing procedures were implemented uniformly by the Department of Import and Export, Ministry of Industry and Commerce; other relevant Ministries (the Import Licensing Authorities) specified in Tables 11 and 12; or the Provincial and Vientiane Capital Industry and Commerce Offices. The time-frame for processing applications for automatic and non-automatic import licenses was ten and 30 working days, respectively. Applications were forwarded to the relevant Import Licensing Authorities. The approval procedures and the agencies involved differed depending on the nature of the imported product. Fees charged for obtaining an import licence were listed in Table 8. If an application for a licence was refused, importers were given the reason in writing. In cases where importers were still not satisfied with the solutions provided, the importers had the right to appeal, as provided for in Article 5.9 of Decree No. 180/PMO.

76. Pursuant to Article 4, 6 and 11 of Decree No. 114/GoL "On Export and Import of Goods" of 6 April 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was responsible for issuing and revising the list of goods subject to import and export licensing, in coordination and consultation with the relevant Ministries that actually issue the licenses. Consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders, including Ministries and business sectors would be conducted before the list was finalized. The participants of these consultations would include representatives from various provincial offices and local businessmen. He added that, as provided for in Decree No. 180/PM and Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information", the private sector was consulted through their representatives together with the ministries. There was a specific time-frame to receive comments (within at least 60 days before adoption) and a specific time-frame to publish these lists (at least 180 days prior to publication). The list of goods subject to imports and exports licensing would be published on the MOIC website and available in the offices of the Import Licensing Authorities.


77. Members requested Lao PDR to modify this mechanism to fulfil the requirement of Article 2.2(b) of the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. In response, the representative of Lao PDR stated that the requirements of Article 2.2(b) of the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures were addressed in Article 6 of Decree No. 180/PM "On Import Licensing Procedures". According to Article 6.4 of Decree No. 180/PM, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce had to consult with other relevant ministries to determine the list of goods subject to automatic import licensing. The consultation could be held either annually or extraordinarily, upon request of the relevant ministry, to review whether the list needed to be adjusted, based on the circumstances which gave rise to the introduction of such an import licensing measure. He added that the consideration of such necessity needed to comply with international obligations of Lao PDR as required under Article 4 of Decree No. 114/GoL "On Import and Export of Goods" of 6 April 2011. Goods which were not prohibited or subject to the sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical regulations, the automatic or non-automatic import licensing (as listed in Tables 11 and 12) proceeded directly to customs clearance without the requirement for any import or export licence.

78. The representative of Lao PDR noted that a response to the Questionnaire on Import Licensing Procedures was submitted to the Working Party in document WT/ACC/LAO/25. The Questionnaire provided further details on the criteria and procedures to obtain an import licence.

79. In response to the questions about the lists of product subject to import licensing, the representative of Lao PDR replied that the previous lists of products subject to import and export licensing (No. 0826/MOIC.DIMEX) had been adjusted and replaced by the lists contained in Notification No. 0076/MOIC.DIMEX. A number of products, such as rice, timber processing machines, refrigerators and ice maker, previously subject to non-automatic licensing, have been moved to the list of automatic licensing or have been removed from the list of products subject to import licensing. The import of such goods did not require any discretion from the relevant authority. As suggested by Members, HS codes had been added to the lists of products subject to import or export licensing. He confirmed that the adjusted Notification had removed "first-come, first-served basis" as a rule for issuing the import licenses. The list of products subject to automatic import licensing was also adjusted. Regarding the justification for automatic import licensing on certain products, he stated that automatic licensing were only for statistical and import monitoring purposes. He confirmed that Lao PDR had no intention to establish a quota or a trade balancing measure. He further noted that tax and tariff revenue on certain products was the main source of revenue for the Government. Therefore monitoring remained an important method to collect import statistics of the products subject to the licensing regime and to ensure that importation of these products were in line with the issued licenses. He added that, to date, there was no centralized real-time statistical data collection system in Lao PDR. Instead, the 19 international customs check-points and 91 local check-points forwarded summary reports to the central Government intermittently. The information collected helped relevant ministries to establish the indicative import statistics of goods under their responsibilities, which would be considered by the Government in developing its socio-economic development plan. He noted, however, that Lao PDR was in the process of introducing the ASYCUDA system for real-time data collection at the check points. So far, only three check points (Vientiane, Savannakhet and Champasack) had installed this system.

80. In response to a Member's questions on automatic licensing, the representative of Lao PDR said that, in case a minor error or inadvertency was identified in the application documentation, the application would be issued without further steps from the applicant. However, if the error or inadvertency was significant, then the applicant would be requested to make relevant corrections. The application for an automatic import licence could only be refused on the basis of an omission or mistake that was obviously related to a fraudulent intent or gross negligence. He noted that although it was theoretically possible to immediately issue an automatic import licence, the licence was normally issued within 10 working days, due to administrative constraints. He added that there was still a paper-based licensing system in place and licensing authorities had to verify the provided


information in the licence application. He confirmed that the existing legislation (Decree No. 180/PM) set the term of validity of an import licence at one year with a possibility to extend for three months from the date of issuance of such extension. Asked to explain how cars; gas; and petroleum products were subject to an automatic import licensing system if each good was also subject to "specific regulations" containing "specific requirements", the representative of Lao PDR said that the requirements to apply for automatic import licenses for cars, gas and petroleum imports were established in: Decision No. 75/MOIC.DIMEX "On the Procedures for Car Import and Distribution in the Lao PDR" of 13 January 2012; Decision No. 238/MOIC.DIMEX "On Procedure for Import and Distribution of Gas in the Lao PDR" of 2 February 2012; and Decision No. 237/MOIC.DIMEX "On Procedure for Import and Distribution of Petroleum in the Lao PDR" of 2 February 2012. He confirmed that the three Decisions followed the same automatic import licensing procedures, containing no "specific requirements". The only difference was that a different Authority was responsible for the implementation of each decision.

81. In response to a Member's questions on non-automatic licensing, the representative of Lao PDR stated that the purpose of non-automatic import licensing was to safeguard the public safety and national security, in line with the WTO general exceptions and security exceptions (Articles XX and XXI of the GATT 1994). In explaining the "standard criteria" to be met to acquire a non-automatic licence, he said that the standard criteria, depending on the types of goods, were provided in each specific regulation issued by the relevant Ministry. All these regulations were already shared with the Working Party, including regulations regarding gold bars; wood cutting machines; publications; industrial explosives; and guns for sportive activities. The standard criteria applied for non-automatic licensing were more restrictive than those applied for automatic licensing. The term of extension for non-automatic import licensing are the same as that for automatic licensing.

82. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that from the date of accession, Lao PDR would eliminate and not introduce, re-introduce or apply quantitative restrictions on imports, or other non-tariff measures such as licensing, quotas, prohibitions, bans and other restrictions having equivalent effect that could not be justified under the provisions of the WTO Agreement. If balance-of-payment measures were necessary, Lao PDR would impose them in a manner consistent with the relevant WTO provisions, including Article XII and Article XVIII of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994. He further confirmed that any authority permitting the Government of Lao PDR to suspend imports or apply licensing requirements that could suspend, ban, or otherwise restrict the quantity of trade would be applied from the date of accession in conformity with the WTO Agreement. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Customs valuation

83. Based on the initial information provided by Lao PDR (document WT/ACC/LAO/3, Annex 4), some Members noted that Lao PDR had acknowledged that its legislation had not been in conformity with the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 (Customs Valuation Agreement). These Members stressed that Lao PDR should focus on establishing a valuation system that implemented the hierarchy of valuation methods laid down in the Customs Valuation Agreement with transaction value being the preferred method of appraisement; banned the use of valuation methods prohibited according to Article 7 of the Agreement, including minimum customs value or arbitrary or fictitious values; ensured adequate protection of confidential business information; met the transparency and due process requirements of the Agreement, including the means for importers to obtain written information on the determination of value and the right of appeal; and allowed importers to withdraw their merchandise against surety or deposit when the final determination of customs value was being delayed. Lao PDR should also incorporate the Interpretative Notes to the Agreement in its legislation, as Article 14 of the Customs Valuation Agreement stipulated that these notes were an integral part of the Agreement.


84. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR said that Customs Law No. 05/NA had been adopted on 20 May 2005, replacing the 1994 Customs Law, to bring Lao PDR's customs regime into conformity with WTO requirements. Prime Minister's Decree No. 362/PM implementing the Customs Law adopted on 19 October 2007 had been supplemented by Ministerial Instruction No. 0491/MOF "On the Implementation of Customs Law and Decree" of 12 March 2009, Ministerial Instruction No. 1398/MOF "On Customs Valuation" of 16 June 2010 and Instruction No. 2401/CD "On Customs Valuation for Imported Goods" of 29 September 2010. He stated that Article 13 of the 2005 Customs Law and Article 4 of the Decree No. 362/PM established the hierarchy of the valuation methodologies in line with the Customs Valuation Agreement. The right of appeal was provided for in Article 29 of the Law and Article 9 of the Decree No. 362/PM. In 2011, Lao PDR had commenced a review of the Customs Law and relevant implementing regulations with a view to incorporating all provisions of the Customs Valuation Agreement, including the Interpretative Notes. The Customs Law No. 4/NA of 20 December 2011 had been promulgated to replace the Customs Law 2005. Article 13 of the Customs Law 2011 reconfirmed that Lao PDR's customs valuation regime would fully comply with the Customs Valuation Agreement. Ministerial Instruction No. 1537/MOF was adopted on 4 June 2012 to replace Instruction No. 1398/MOF, and Instruction No. 11589/CD was adopted on 24 July 2012 to supersede Instruction No. 2401/CD. He provided an Action Plan in document WT/ACC/LAO/12 and its Revisions, outlining the steps undertaken and the objectives, timelines and technical assistance and training needs foreseen to ensure the full implementation of the Customs Valuation Agreement. According to the latest revision of the Action Plan, Lao PDR would bring its legal framework on Customs Valuation into compliance with the Customs Valuation Agreement by December 2012. Full implementation of the Agreement would be achieved upon accession.

85. The representative of Lao PDR said that full implementation of the Customs Valuation Agreement was a significant challenge to Lao PDR in terms of technical, organizational and institutional aspects. Among the difficulties Lao PDR was facing, he highlighted the lack of proper accounting and record keeping practices among importers, the low rate of voluntary compliance with existing rules, and the limited capacity of the customs administration to enforce valuation provisions. He noted that Lao PDR needed technical assistance on international best practices and provision of physical infrastructure in the establishment of the customs value database, training to equip Lao Customs with analytical skills in assessing the value of goods.

86. The representative of Lao PDR said that the Customs Department at the Ministry of Finance had previously applied minimum values to a large number of products to provide consistency of treatment and to deter fraud. To mitigate the impact to customs revenue, the introduction of the transaction value method and the elimination of the minimum values had been undertaken gradually. Transaction value (and the other valuation methods) had first been applied, at the end of 2010, to imports by large multinational and Lao companies with "good" compliance records, international organizations, and goods imported for Government projects and under Free Trade Agreements (Notification No. 1940/CD of 21 July 2010). Although there was no accurate statistics, the transaction value had been applied to the imports from ASEAN and other countries with which Lao PDR had concluded FTAs, which account for the majority of Lao PDR's trade. From the date of accession, the valuation provisions of the Customs Valuation Agreement would be applied to all imports.

87. A Member expressed concern about Lao PDR's reliance on price databases, recalling that the World Customs Organization had issued guidelines restricting the use of such databases. The databases were not to be used to determine the customs value for imported goods, to establish substitute values, or as a mechanism to establish minimum values. Lao PDR should focus on establishing a risk management system that would allow it to use the transaction value to the greatest extent possible, rather than devoting scarce resources to a transitory system. Lao PDR was also asked to confirm that any value database developed would to be used exclusively as a risk assessment tool.


88. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR noted that Lao PDR was requesting a transitional period to implement the Customs Valuation Agreement. The use of reference price lists or minimum values was being phased out. The number of products subject to reference prices had been substantially reduced from 2,000 tariff lines (HS 8 digits) in 2009 to 800 tariff lines in 2010. In 2011, the reference prices for most general goods and luxury goods (liquor, beer and wine) were eliminated. In 2012, the reference price was only applied to the following six vehicles and fuel products: sedan; pick-up; minibus with 16 seats and less; jeep; gasoline; and diesel. The reference price for vehicles would be eliminated by 31 December 2012 (Regulation No. 2326/LCD of 9 August 2011); and for fuel upon WTO accession. A risk management system might need to be introduced once the new system was in place to address fraud and under-invoicing by importers. He confirmed that the value reference database, which was being developed, would be used exclusively as a risk assessment tool.

89. Having reviewed Lao PDR's legislation on customs valuation, Members noted that certain provisions of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement had not been adequately incorporated into relevant laws and regulations, notably, Article 1.2(a), Article 1.2(c), Article 2.1(a), Article 2.3 Article 3.3, Article 6, Article 7, Articles 10 to 13, Articles 15.2(c), (d), (e) and Article 15.5, Article 16, the principles set-out in the General Introductory Commentary and the Interpretative Notes. In response, the representative of Lao PDR noted that some of these Articles had already been reflected in Instruction No. 2401/CD "On Customs Valuation for Imported Goods" of 29 September 2010. He further said that some of these Articles had also been incorporated in Ministerial Instruction No. 1537/MOF, which was adopted on 4 June 2012. He added that Lao PDR adopted Instruction No. 11589/CD "On Additional Explanations on the Customs Valuation of Imported Goods" of 24 July 2012, which amended Instruction No. 2401/CD to ensure full compliance with the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, and to incorporate all Articles questioned by Members, including the Interpretative Notes. A Member noted that although Ministerial Instruction No. 1537/MOF appeared to include Article 13 of the CVA, referring to the right of appeal, the Instruction did not provide for the right of appeal "without penalty", for the right of appeal to a judicial authority, or for the notice of the decision on appeal. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR incorporated the principle of the right of appeal without penalty in Instruction No. 11589/CD.

90. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, Lao PDR would fully apply the WTO provisions concerning customs valuation, including the WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 and Annex I (Interpretative Notes). Lao PDR would ensure that any customs valuation method to be applied would be in accordance with these WTO rules. In this regard, he confirmed that reference prices and fixed valuation schedule applied to imports in lieu of the transaction value to determine customs valuation will be eliminated by accession and would not be reintroduced and that all methods of valuation used and the hierarchy would be in strict conformity with those provided for in the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Rules of origin

91. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR did not require certification of origin for non-preferential imports. A certificate of origin was required for preferential access to the Lao PDR market under free trade agreements, including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement. The customs officials in the Ministry of Finance and at the borders were responsible for administering the requirement. The Department of Import and Export at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and provincial industry and commerce offices certified Lao exports under the main preferential schemes, including to the markets covered by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and ASEAN-India Free Trade Area, while the Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued the certificates for non-preferential exports and preferential exports under the other six preferential schemes (four reciprocal schemes under ASEAN FTAs: ASEAN-ANZ, ASEAN-China, ASEAN-Japan,


ASEAN-Korea, and two unilateral schemes with China and Korea). The fees for issuing the certificate of origin ranged from KN 40,000 to KN 100,000.

92. Asked to clarify whether Customs Law No. 05/NA implied that Lao PDR would not accept a declaration of origin unless the good was shipped directly to Lao PDR from the declared country of origin, the representative of Lao PDR said that Article 11 of the Customs Law No. 05/NA had been amended in the Customs Law No. 04/NA adopted on 20 December 2011. He further confirmed that Lao PDR accepted declarations of origin of goods, regardless of whether they were shipped from their country of origin. As defined in Article 2 of Decree No. 228/PM "On the Origin of Imported and Exported Goods" of 22 April 2010, the origin of goods was the place where goods were produced or undergone production process. The administration and the role of bodies responsible for administering the origin of goods were elaborated in Articles 16 and 19 of Decree No. 228/PMO. In response to a specific question, he said that the term "simple assembly of parts" referred to the manufacturing or processing operations that were deemed basic and not taken into consideration when determining the origin of goods. Importers had the right to appeal decisions on the origin of goods.

93. Responding to queries on how Lao PDR applied, or would implement, the requirements of Article 2(h) and paragraph 3(d) of Annex II of the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin regarding prior and binding assessments of origin, the representative of Lao PDR said that Decree No. 228/PMO incorporated the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin, including Article 2(h) and paragraph 3(d) of Annex II.

94. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that certificates of origin would be required for preferential purposes only, and would not be necessary for MFN treatment. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, Lao PDR's preferential and non-preferential rules of origin would comply fully with the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin, including the requirements of Article 2(h) and Annex II, paragraph 3(d) of the Agreement, which require provision of an assessment of the origin of the import upon the request of an exporter, importer or any person with a justifiable cause. An assessment shall be issued as soon as possible, but no later than 150 days after the request for such an assessment, provided that all necessary elements have been submitted. Any such assessment would remain valid for three years. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Other customs formalities

95. A Member noted that Lao PDR had listed "consular fees overseas" in its Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime and asked whether this meant that Lao PDR required authentication of import documentation by consular officials or other institutions in the country of export and, if so, what fees were applied to such authentications. The representative of Lao PDR replied that this measure was abolished on 1 May 2002.

96. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that Lao PDR did not require consular certification or notarization of documents by consular officials in the country of export to be provided to customs officials at the time of importation into Lao PDR, and would not require consular certification or notarization in the future. The Working Party took note of this commitment.

- Pre-shipment inspection

97. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR did not require mandatory pre-shipment inspection. He confirmed, however, that due to valuation problems in border trade, plans had been put forward to create a joint venture inspection company (Société Mixte d'Inspection Lao) to combat under-valuations and reinforce the collection of taxes. The company was planned to be established


within three years of signature of the contract of intention. This had not been achieved, and all plans for pre-shipment inspection had subsequently been discontinued.

98. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that if pre-shipment inspection requirements were introduced, they would be temporary and in conformity with the requirements of the WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection and other WTO Agreements. He further confirmed that Lao PDR would ensure that such enterprises operating on its behalf complied with the provisions of WTO Agreements including the Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Import Licensing Procedures, the Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, Rules of Origin, the Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-dumping), Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, Safeguards, and Agriculture. To this end, the establishment of charges and fees would be consistent with Article VIII of the GATT 1994 and Lao PDR would ensure that the due process and transparency requirements of the WTO Agreement, in particular Article X of the GATT 1994, would be applied. He also confirmed that decisions by such firms could be appealed by importers in the same way as administrative decisions taken by the Government of Lao PDR. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard regimes

99. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had no legislation authorizing the application of anti-dumping, countervailing, or safeguard measures at present, but would not exclude the possibility that such legislation could be implemented in the future. In fact, the representative of Lao PDR noted that his Government was in the process of drafting legislation but required a transition period of up to five years after its accession to the WTO to enact and notify safeguard legislation to the WTO that was in conformity with the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards. During this period, Lao PDR would be able to impose safeguard measures to address serious injury or the threat of such injury with respect to a specific list of 63 tariff lines (HS 8-digit) in Table 13, which were being imported into its territory in increased quantities, absolute or relative to domestic production. Lao PDR explained that, during the transition period and despite the lack of previously established procedures as required by Article 3.1 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, Lao PDR would generally only take action in conformity with the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, in particular with respect to the need to conduct an investigation which allowed for all interested parties to present their views and evidence, and notification to the WTO upon initiating an investigatory process, prior to imposing a measure. He also confirmed that his Government would not apply any anti-dumping or countervailing measures until it had notified and implemented appropriate laws in conformity with the provisions of the WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994, and on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and that the application of any such measures would only be in conformity with the relevant WTO provisions. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

B. EXPORT REGULATIONS

- Customs tariffs, fees and charges for services rendered, application of internal taxes to exports

100. The representative of Lao PDR said that pursuant to Edict No. 002/OP "On Export Duties" of 27 April 2012, all products currently subject to export duties are enumerated in Table 14. He added that the export duties on sawn wood and logs had been abolished and a stumpage fee was collected on all logs, whether for domestic consumption or for export. Export duties were collected for revenue purposes contributing, on average, about KN 43 billion per year to the exchequer (equivalent to 1 per cent of total Government revenues). Lao PDR had no plans, at present, to phase out the remaining duties. Exports were exempt from the application of internal taxes. The requirements and


procedures for business entities wishing to engage in exportation were the same as those applicable to importation.

101. Asked to commit not to introduce export duties on products not included in the previous Table 14 of document WT/ACC/SPEC/LAO/5, the representative of Lao PDR reiterated the importance of export duties to government revenue and the need to maintain this measure for development purposes. Lao PDR applied export duties to a limited number of products, as mentioned in the aforementioned Table 14. He took note of Members' suggestion of applying alternative measures that could foster the production of those domestic products subject to export duties. However, he stated that Lao PDR had limited possibilities to foster value-added production and/or revenue sources. He added that Lao PDR would comply with GATT 1994 and WTO provisions with regard to export duties.

- Export restrictions

102. The representative of Lao PDR said that most goods exported from Lao PDR were not subject to any licensing arrangements or restrictions. For goods subject to export prohibition or licensing, Decree No. 114/GoL "On Export and Import of Goods" of 6 April 2011 provided the legal basis for the controls, and the specific goods subject to export prohibition and licensing were described in Notifications of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The most recent list of goods subject to export prohibition was contained in Notification No. 0973/MOIC.DIMEX "On Prohibited Goods on Import or Export" of 25 May 2011 (Table 15). Goods subject to non-automatic and automatic export licensing were listed in Notification No. 0076/MOIC.DIMEX "On the List of Goods subject to Automatic and Non-automatic Import-Export Licensing" of 13 January 2012 (Tables 16 and 17). The export restrictions were applied to protect national security; public order; human, animal or plant life and health; articles of artistic, historic and archaeological value; or to conserve exhaustible natural resources and were, in his view, in conformity with Articles XX and XXI of the GATT 1994. According to Decree No. 114/GoL "On Import and Export of Goods" of 6 April 2011, the licensing procedures set-out in Decree No. 180/PM "On Import Licensing Procedures" of 7 July 2009 were also applicable to export licensing.

103. Some Members requested further details on the banning of log exports (and other forestry products) and the export licensing arrangements for mining and forestry products, in particular the policy objectives being served by these licenses, whether the goal was to limit exportation for the conservation of these resources or to pursue some other purpose, and what WTO justifications Lao PDR would forward for preserving these licenses. Lao PDR was requested to provide information on comparable restrictions applicable domestically to conserve forests.

104. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that mines and forests were exhaustible natural resources requiring conservation. The exploitation of natural forest was in principle forbidden. A ban on the exploitation of logs and other forestry products from natural forests had been in place. Therefore, he considered that the export restrictions on logs and other forestry products from natural forests could be justified under Article XX(g) of the GATT 1994. He added that the previous export prohibition on logs and other forestry products had been terminated and replaced by export licensing regime (see Notification No. 0076/MOIC.DIMEX).

105. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, Lao PDR would apply its laws and regulations governing export measures, including prohibitions, export licensing requirements and other export control requirements, in conformity with WTO provisions. The Working Party took note of these commitments.


- Export subsidies

106. The representative of Lao PDR said that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was responsible for export promotion activities. The Ministry, in collaboration with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as business associations and groups, promoted Lao products at home and abroad.

107. Some Members noted that Lao PDR was reserving its rights to special and differential treatment as an LDC under Article 27 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM), and that Lao PDR appeared to have included incentives contingent on export performance within the meaning of Article 3.1(a) of the ASCM in its Law No. 10/NA "On the Promotion of Domestic Investment" (Articles 9 and 11); Law No. 11/NA "On the Promotion of Foreign Investment" (Articles 16 and 18); and implementing Decree Nos. 300/PM and 301/PM (Article 15 and Annex 2). As Article 25 of the ASCM obliged WTO Members to notify all subsidies, including prohibited subsidies contingent upon export or the use of domestic over imported goods, Lao PDR was requested to submit such a document to the Working Party for review.

108. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR submitted a draft notification for the period 2008 to 2010 in document WT/ACC/LAO/19. Information was provided on subsidies, prohibited or otherwise. The notification included particulars of the incentives contingent upon export performance requirements in the domestic and foreign investment legislation (Law Nos. 10/NA and 11/NA, Decree Nos. 300/PM and 301/PM); and in the border trade zones and special economic zone (Decree Nos. 25/PM, 162/PM and 177/PM - see Section on "Free zones"). As an LDC, he reiterated that Lao PDR reserved its right to avail of the flexibilities in the ASCM on the use of export performance requirements. The existing export performance (and local content) requirements in the investment regime, however, had been eliminated and replaced by incentives provided pursuant to Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" of 8 July 2009 (see Sections "Investment regime" and "Industrial policy, including subsidies").

C. INTERNAL POLICIES AFFECTING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS

- Industrial policy, including subsidies

109. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had formulated an Industry-Handicraft Development Plan for the period 1996 to 2005 covering the manufacturing industry, cottage and handicraft industries, power generation, mining, agro-processing industries, textiles and the production of construction materials. Encouragement of key industries and exports were priorities in the Seventh Five-Year Development Plan for the period 2011 to 2015. The share of the manufacturing sector as a percentage of the GDP had increased from 14.4 per cent in 1990 to 25.9 per cent in 2010. The manufacturing industry, in particular food processing, was the primary source of employment, and about 92 per cent of the industrial workforce was employed in factories with less than ten employees. The principal challenges for Lao PDR's continued industrial development were import competition in the case of handicrafts, inadequate infrastructure to attract new industries, a shortage of technical and entrepreneurial skills, and the lack of electricity outside the main population centres. Lao PDR was looking for domestic and foreign capital to improve the production technology and working methods, and to improve the infrastructure in rural areas with the available labour force. Prime Minister Decree No. 443/PM "On Specific and Special Economic Zone in Lao PDR" was adopted on 26 October 2010. The Decree further elaborated the provisions of Article 59 of Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" and stipulated principles, regulations, establishment, operation and other policies regarding specific and special economic zones in Lao PDR.


110. In response to specific questions concerning the mining sector and power generation, the representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR sought to develop a favourable legal system for mineral prospecting and exploration and to promote foreign investment in mining. The Mining Law had been revised in 2008 to create a more enabling environment for investment in this area. Key amendments included streamlining the licensing procedures and delineating the responsibilities of the central and local authorities regulating the mining sector. Lao PDR did not have a specific national energy plan, but had devised a strategy to develop the electricity sector, including a target to extend the electricity grid to 90 per cent of the households by 2020. For the time being, much of the electricity was being exported. Electricity production had doubled in 1998 when a new hydro power station had come on stream. In 2007, Lao PDR had generated electricity totalling 3,374 million kWh, of which net exports had amounted to 2,230 million kWh. Lao PDR had a considerable untapped hydropower potential. The Law on Electricity, which was revised and adopted by the National Assembly in December 2011, stated that the sector sought to increase foreign investment in production, distribution, exportation, importation and the development of this sector. He added that Lao PDR currently had no specific plan for foreign investment in the energy sector.

111. Some Members noted that certain provisions of Lao PDR's laws appeared to provide incentives contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods within the meaning of Article 3.1(b) of the ASCM, namely Law No. 10/NA "On the Promotion of Domestic Investment" (Articles 9 and 11); Law No. 11/NA "On the Promotion of Foreign Investment" (Article 18); Decree No. 300/PM "Regarding the Implementation of the Law on the Promotion of Domestic Investment"; Decree No. 301/PM "Regarding the Implementation of the Law on the Promotion of Foreign Investment" (Article 34 and Annex 2); and the legislation on the special economic and border trade zones (Decree Nos. 25/PM, 162/PM and 177/PM - see section on "Free zones"). Lao PDR was invited to use the format of document G/SCM/6/Rev.1 to prepare a subsidy notification. Lao PDR was requested to (i) identify clearly the subsidies contingent on the use of domestic over imported goods in the manufacturing process for which it would seek a transition period; (ii) provide an action plan to the Working Party with a date certain for the elimination of such subsidies; and (iii) commit to comply with the obligation under Article 25 of the ASCM, as a WTO Member, to notify all subsidies, including prohibited subsidies contingent upon export or the use of domestic over imported goods. Some Members stressed that LDCs were exempted from the prohibition of export subsidies, but not from the prohibition of local content subsides, and Lao PDR should therefore, in their opinion, commit to eliminate all local content requirements by the date of accession.

112. In response, the representative of Lao PDR presented a draft subsidy notification for the period 2008 to 2010 in document WT/ACC/LAO/19. The notification identified the tax and duty exemptions provided by Lao PDR in its investment, special and border trade zones legislation. In terms of form of subsidy, the notification distinguished between measures falling within and outside the scope of Article 3.1 (a) and (b) of the ASCM. He added that Lao PDR was taking steps to eliminate provisions requiring the use of domestic over imported goods. His Government had set up a Committee under the Prime Minister's Office to propose alternative measures to promote Lao PDR's industrial policy. In light of these efforts, the new Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" of 8 July 2009 had eliminated incentives based on local content requirements in Lao's investment legislation. The new Decree No. 443/PM "On Specific and Special Economic Zone" of 26 October 2010 provided for an exhaustive list of incentives available in those zones, which, in his view, were in compliance with the ASCM. Decree No. 162/PM "On Border Trade Zone at Boten, Louangnamtha Province" had been terminated. He added that all local content requirements in the remaining zones Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone (Decree No. 177/PM) and Dansavanh Village Border Trade Zone (Decree No. 25/PM) had been eliminated through Decree No. 154/PM "On Cancellation of Local Content Requirements set-out in Previous Legislation" of 5 March 2012, and that no residual benefits in the form of prohibited local content subsidies continued under the cited legislation. In response to a specific question on Article 99 of the new Investment Promotion Law No. 02/NA, he said that upon entry into forces of the new law, investors covered by the previous


Investment Law could choose between receiving benefits granted by the new or old incentive programmes. However, even when the old incentive programme was chosen, companies were no longer required to comply with the local content requirement. He added that as the local content requirement had actually never been enforced, the government did not have further information on the total number of companies that benefitted from the old programmes. He confirmed that no local content requirements were currently imposed and that no other provisions in Lao PDR's law authorized the granting of subsidies contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods, and that no residual benefits in the form of prohibited local content subsidies would continue. He further confirmed that Lao PDR would not re-introduce such provisions under any other instrument following accession. In response to a specific question, he reconfirmed that Lao PDR did not grandfather any continuing benefits contingent upon local content requirements, which had been eliminated by Decree No. 154/PM, without providing any replacement measures.

113. A Member also noted that Lao PDR's legislation provided for subsidies contingent upon exportation, namely Law No. 10/NA "On the Promotion of Domestic Investment"; Law No. 11/NA "On the Promotion of Foreign Investment"; Decree No. 300/PM "Regarding the Implementation of the Law on the Promotion of Domestic Investment"; Decree No. 301/PM "Regarding the Implementation of the Law on the Promotion of Foreign Investment"; and Decree No. 177/PM "On the Management Regulations and Incentive Policies Regarding the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone". "Production for export" was also listed as one type of promoted investment in Article 23 of Decree No. 443/PM "On Specific and Special Economic Zone in Lao PDR". In this Member's view, Lao PDR was not in compliance with the ASCM with respect to export subsidies given that Lao PDR continued to grant export subsidies. In response, the representative of Lao PDR reiterated that its subsidy programmes would be administered in full conformity with the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, but that as an LDC, it sought to avail itself to the rights and flexibilities as provided for LDCs in Article 27.2 of the ASCM to use export performance requirements.

114. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that as of the date of accession to the WTO, Lao PDR would administer all of its subsidy programmes in full conformity with the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, including Article 27.2 thereof, and consistent with the commitments stated in paragraphs 112 and 113. He also confirmed that, upon accession, Lao PDR would provide a subsidy notification, in accordance with Article 25 of the Agreement, to the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Technical barriers to trade, standards and certification

115. The representative of Lao PDR said that the new Standardization Law No. 13/NA of 26 December 2007, which replaced the Decree of the Prime Minister No. 85/PM "On Management of Standards and Quality of Products and Goods" of 2 November 1995, constituted the basic legal framework for Lao PDR's present system of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment. Amongst the relevant regulations in this area he pointed to the Regulation No. 08/MOH of 4 January 2005 (e.g. food additives such as acetic acid and caffeine being subject to surveillance); Regulation No. 586/MOH "On the Control on Production, Export-Imported Safe Food" of 12 May 2006; Regulation No. 518/MOH "On the Basic Principles in the Application of Sanitary and Technical Measures for the Food Safety Management" of 18 March 2009; Regulation No. 1226/PMO-NAST "On Quality Inspection of Goods" of 17 July 2009; Regulation No. 519 "On Labelling of Pre-packaged Food" of 18 March 2009; Regulation No. 336/NSC NAST "On Organization and Activities of Central Technical Committee" of 22 October 2010; Decision No. 235/PMO-NAST "On the Organization and Activities of the National Standards Council" of 3 February 2010; Law No. 07/NA "On Metrology" of 20 December 2010; and Decree No.234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law on Standardization" of 6 June 2012.


116. He provided a checklist of illustrative TBT issues in document WT/ACC/LAO/6 and its Revisions, and an action plan for the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) in document WT/ACC/LAO/14 and its Revisions (Table 18). According to the timelines set-out in the Action Plan, Lao PDR had completed the re-assessment of the institutional, legal and regulatory framework in June 2011. Suggestions had been made on how to ensure the compliance of the technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures with regional and international obligations. The implementation of the Law "On Standardization" and the preparatory work for the TBT Enquiry Points had been identified as the key actions. Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law on Standardization" and Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" had been adopted on 6 June 2012 and 19 August 2010 respectively. The notification unit and Enquiry points would be operational upon accession. The re-assessment had also identified shortcomings of existing institutional set-up and capacity constraints. These deficiencies were the main reason for Lao PDR to request the transition period and technical assistance. With technical assistance having been provided and additional assistance being sought, Lao PDR would ensure that its legal framework on technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment was in compliance with the TBT Agreement by 31 December 2012. The representative of Lao PDR envisaged full implementation of the TBT Agreement by 31 December 2014, in accordance with the Action Plan set-out in Table 18.

117. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had become a signatory to the ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) in 1998, and had joined the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in January 2007. Lao PDR had become a signatory to the IEC-APRC Affiliate Country Programme in 2002 and was a member of the Asia Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF). The development of standards and technical regulations followed the ACCSQ principles as stipulated in his Government's National Master Plan No. 1352/PM.DS of 11 August 2000 for the "Development of Standards and Conformity Assessment in Lao PDR". Standards and technical regulations were developed in consultation with the principal governmental stakeholders and the private sector, and - for standards - work was also being pursued through the ACCSQ based on ISO/IEC guidelines. As a signatory, his Government abided by the decision of the ACCSQ that IEC standards be adopted as national standards and notified to the IEC-APRC-ACP.

118. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) - formerly the National Authority for Science and Technology - was the central management agency for work on TBT-related matters. For matters dealing with food and drugs, the Food and Drug Administration Committee under the Ministry of Public Health was the responsible agency. Under the auspices of MoST, the National Standards Council - comprising of representatives from the Government and private sector - examined proposed new standards and technical regulations elaborated in specific technical committees (Decision No. 235/PMO-NAST "On the Organization and Activities of the National Standards Council" of 3 February 2010). The Central Technical Committee was also established to provide technical support to the Standard Council on adopting new technical regulations and standards. Once finalized, the National Standards Council would forward the proposal to the MoST for approval. Approved technical regulations, standards, or conformity assessment procedures were published in the official gazette (Government Journal) and other media.

119. He said that Lao PDR would further meet the transparency obligations of the TBT Agreement in the development of standards and technical regulations with the adoption and implementation of Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" of 19 August 2010. The Decree allowed for public review and a reasonable time-frame for comments in the preparation of draft TBT (and SPS) laws and regulations. The Enquiry Points and the Notification Unit would be fully operational from the date of accession. According to Decree No. 363/PM, the single TBT Enquiry Point would be located in the Department of Standardization and Metrology of the Ministry of Science and Technology; and the Notification Unit, responsible for the submission of


WTO notifications, would be established in the Foreign Trade Policy Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

120. The representative of Lao PDR noted that Ministerial Decision No. 1199/NAST-PMO "On the Organization and Operation of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Enquiry Point (EP)" of 22 June 2011 and Decision No. 0471/MIOC "On the Notification Unit of SPS and TBT" of 9 March 2011, had been adopted as the implementing regulations of Decree No. 363/PM. These regulations would strengthen coordination among notification unit, enquiry point and relevant authorities. Supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), USAID, and Trade Development Facility (TDF), capacity building programmes and a public awareness campaign had been conducted to ensure the effective operation of the Notification Unit and Enquiry Points. Technical assistance included developing regulations and operational manuals, training of staff, developing websites, and providing necessary equipment. He stressed that further technical assistance was needed to ensure that Lao PDR could fully implement the transparency provisions of the TBT Agreement. The contact details of the TBT Notification Unit and Enquiry Point were:

Address of TBT Enquiry Point:

Standards Division, Department of Standardization and Metrology, Ministry of Science and TechnologyP.O. Box 2279, Vientiane, Lao PDR

Tel: +856 21 732 093Fax: +856 21 732 093Email: [email protected]

Address of SPS and TBT Notification Unit:

Multilateral Trade Policy DivisionForeign Trade Policy Department Ministry of Industry and CommerceP.O. Box 4107, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR

Tel: +856 21 450 065Fax: +856 21 450 066Email: [email protected]: www.laoftpd.com

121. Lao PDR was asked to elaborate on the policy-making process in the TBT area and how it would ensure participation of foreign stakeholders. The representative of Lao PDR stated that foreign stakeholders participated in the consultative mechanism through the Standard Council and the Central Technical Committee. In addition, Article 3.4 of Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" provided that, before adopting a TBT measure, all interested parties, both domestic and foreign, would be allowed to submit comments on the draft measures, for a period of at least 60 days. The Decree also stipulated that all adopted technical regulations and standards, and other TBT measures should be published 180 days before their enforcements, except in urgent circumstances.

122. In response to specific questions, he said that Lao PDR recognized the results of conformity assessment conducted by the relevant bodies in exporting countries if similar to Lao technical regulations and standards, including for construction materials, textiles and chemicals (Regulation No. 1226/PMO-NAST "On Quality Inspection of Goods"). The quality attestation should be accompanied by a certificate from a testing laboratory accredited by the national standardization

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]?subject=TBT%20Enquiry


body in the exporting country. The procedure for imported steel bars, cement, and petrol was stipulated in Regulation No. 1036/STEA-PMO, and for food and drugs in Regulation No. 586/MOH. Asked how Lao PDR established and applied the principle of equivalence, he said that the principle was still in the process of being incorporated in national regulations - for example, in Regulation No. 518/MOH of 18 March 2009 with respect to food products. Technical assistance was requested to build capacity and fully establish the basis to assess equivalence. In practice, goods meeting international standards, such as those established by the ISO and the IEC, were cleared for import. He added that Lao PDR implemented mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) on conformity assessment through recognising test reports issued by testing laboratories accredited by National Accreditation Bodies of ASEAN members that were signatories to the MRAs of International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation. Lao PDR joined ASEAN MRA for Electrical and Electronic Equipment in 2002 and was working toward harmonization of regulatory regime in electrical and electronic sector by 2010. The MoST was in the process of adopting the IEC International Standards and to establish the Lao National Accreditation Bureau (LNAB), in accordance with Chapter II (Principles for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of National and Local Standards), Article 14 (Lao PDR National Accreditation Bureau) and Article 15 (Rights and Duties of the National Accreditation Bureau) of Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law on Standardization" of 6 June 2012. He stated that Lao PDR's long-term goal was to participate in MRAs of International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF). Even though Lao PDR had not participated in these MRAs, it recognized accreditation by those international systems of conformity assessment and accepted conformity assessment of exporting countries that were participants in these arrangements.

123. Some Members requested more information about the Standardization Law No. 13/NA, including its structure and scope, and the distinction between voluntary and mandatory requirements. A Member asked how Lao PDR would ensure that domestic regulations adopted before the passage of the Standardization Law would conform to the obligations of the TBT Agreement.

124. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR said that the Standardization Law built upon key provisions of the TBT Agreement incorporated in Decree No. 85/PM, as well as other requirements of the Agreement. The Law sets-out the framework for standards (Articles 19 and 21), technical regulations (Articles 28 and 29), and conformity assessment procedures (Part V), and would be accompanied by more detailed legislation as per the action plan. The Standardization Law covered the key principles, including non-discrimination (Articles 6 and 44), avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade (Article 6), transparency (Articles 21, 22, 27 to 30 and 47), harmonization with international standards (Articles 7, 19 and 44); and the concepts of equivalence and mutual recognition. According to Article 20 of the Law, all standards were voluntary unless specifically indicated in the relevant regulations. With the adoption of Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law on Standardization" of 6 June 2012, all other regulations on standards and related matters in conflict with the Law or its implementing Decree would be replaced or annulled.

125. The representative of Lao PDR stated that Lao PDR would progressively implement the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade in accordance with the action plan set-out in Table 18. Full implementation would start from 1 January 2015 without recourse to any further transitional period. The Working Party took note of this commitment.

- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures

126. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR was a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The SPS regulations and standards of Lao PDR were based on the relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations.


127. Lao PDR was also participating in a regional harmonization framework of ASEAN regarding SPS measures. As ASEAN Members were adopting the standards and recommendations of the IPPC, OIE and Codex Alimentarius on an individual basis, a framework for the harmonization of phytosanitary procedures had been developed, applicable to all ASEAN members. The scheme was initially covering ten agricultural products. Work on a phytosanitary certification management system had been completed. The member countries had so far focused on exchange of legal normative documents, sharing the results of scientific studies, and developing a pest list for some major crops for the performance of risk assessment. In his view, the harmonization framework was consistent with the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).

128. The main laws and regulations in the SPS area were: the Food Law No. 04/NA of 15 May 2004; the Livestock Production and Veterinary Law No. 03/NA of 25 July 2008; the Plant Protection Law No. 06/NA of 9 December 2008; Law No. 03/NA "On Fisheries" of 9 July 2009; Law No. 01/98NA "On Agriculture" of 10 October 1998; National Policy on Food Safety No. 028/PM of 3 February 2009; Decree No. 228/GoL "On Animal Disease Control and Prevention" of 31 May 2012; Decree No. 229/GoL "On Implementing Plant Protection Law" of 31 May 2012; Decree No. 230/GoL "On the Control of the Movement of Animal, Animal Product and Related Item" of 4 June 2012; Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" of 19 August 2010; Ministerial Regulations No. 0719/MAF "On the Management and Use of Planting Material and Seeds in Lao PDR" of 3 December 1997; Technical Norms No. 0313/MAF "On Livestock Management in Lao PDR" of 21 January 2000; Regulation No. 586/MOH "On the Control on Production, Exported-Imported Safe Food" of 12 May 2006; Regulation No. 518/MOH "On the Basic Principles in the Application of Sanitary and Technical Measures for the Food Safety Management" of 18 March 2009; Ministerial Decision No. 2860/MAF "On Control of Pesticides in Lao PDR" of 11 June 2010; Ministerial Decision No. 0870/MAF "On Animal Slaughtering and Animal Product" of 18 March 2011; Ministerial Decision No. 605/MOH "On Adopting Codex Alimentarius Standards as Priorities" of 27 April 2011; Regulation No. 0039/MAF "On Principles in the Application of SPS Measures in Plant and Animal Administration" of 11 January 2012; and Decision No. 297/MOH "On Food Inspection" of 24 February 2012.

129. At the central level, the key governmental agencies involved in the elaboration of SPS measures were the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry - the Department of Agriculture for plant health and the Department of Livestock and Fisheries for animal health; and for food safety the Ministry of Public Health - the Departments of Food and Drug and of Hygiene and Disease Prevention. The two Departments of the Ministry of Public Health worked on food safety issues under the supervision of the Food and Drug Advisory Committee. The Committee was made up of representatives of the Ministries of Industry and Commerce, Agriculture and Forestry, and Public Health, and was chaired by a representative of the Department of Food and Drug. The implementation of food safety and animal and plant health policies was carried out by provincial and local authorities in the 16 provinces and in Vientiane Capital, e.g. the provincial Health Offices and the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices.

130. He added that in order to comply with the SPS Agreement, Lao PDR would need to improve its risk assessment procedures, upgrade the existing legislation, and improve and develop its SPS-related processes and infrastructure. According to Lao PDR's checklist of illustrative SPS issues (document WT/ACC/LAO/6 and its Revisions), the principles of the Agreement regarding science-based regulations, measures based on necessity, equivalence, and non-discrimination would be fully incorporated in domestic regulations, including for measures affecting animal or plant health. He provided an action plan for the implementation of the SPS Agreement in document WT/ACC/LAO/13 and its Revisions (Table 19). As per the Action Plan, Lao PDR had amended and promulgated new decrees or regulations on food inspection; movement control of animal and animal product; animal disease control; general regulation on plant and animal administration; plant inspection and certification; plant protection and quarantine; and basic principles on the identification


of pest and disease free areas. The transparency provisions of the Agreement would also be addressed, and steps were being taken to operationalize the SPS Enquiry Point and Notification Unit by the date of accession. The representative of Lao PDR stated that Lao PDR would ensure its legal framework on food safety, animal and plant health to be in compliance with the SPS Agreement by 31 December 2012. Full implementation of the SPS Agreement would be achieved by 31 December 2014, in accordance with the Action Plan set out in Table 19.

131. Having examined the information and the previous versions of the SPS Action Plan submitted by Lao PDR, some Members requested more detailed information concerning how Lao PDR intended to develop its legal framework to incorporate the basic principles of the SPS Agreement and apply measures in conformity with the Agreement with respect to food safety, and animal and plant health. Lao PDR was invited to be more precise regarding the timelines envisaged to draft, finalize and implement outstanding legislation, and to also elaborate further on its technical assistance needs to finalize its legislation, and enhance the institutional capacity and laboratory build-up. Members also sought clarifications on specific SPS measures and policies, in particular, stakeholder participation and communication in drafting risk assessments.

132. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR noted that, in the area of food safety, all the basic principles of the SPS Agreement such as necessity, non-discrimination, transparency, science-based regulations, risk assessment, harmonization, and equivalence had been incorporated in national laws and regulations, specifically in the 2004 Food Law No. 04/NA of 15 May 2004; the National Policy on Food Safety No. 028/PMO of 3 February 2009; Regulation No. 518/MOH "On the Basic Principles in the Application of Sanitary and Technical Measures for the Food Safety Management" of 18 March 2009; and Decision No. 297/MOH "On Food Inspection" of 24 February 2012. Ministerial Decision No. 605/MOH "On Adopting Codex Alimentarius Standards as Priorities" of 27 April 2011 provided the basis for the adoption of new food standards based on the standards of the Codex Alimentarius. On animal and plant health, the requirements contained in the SPS Agreement were incorporated in Decision No. 0039/MAF "On Principles in the Application of SPS Measures in Plant and Animal Administration" of 11 January 2012; Decree No. 228/GoL "On Animal Disease Control and Prevention" of 31 May 2012; Decree No. 229/GoL "On Implementing of the Law on Plant Protection" of 31 May 2012; and Decree No. 230/GoL "On the Control of the Movement of Animal, Animal Product and Related Item" of 4 June 2012. He believed that the laws, decrees and regulations provided for in the SPS Action Plan (Table 19) would provide a comprehensive legal basis for Lao PDR to comply with all the requirements of the SPS Agreement and relevant international standards.

133. On food safety, he further explained that the National Policy on Food Safety No. 028/PMO reiterated that the standards of Lao PDR should adhere to standards, guidelines and recommendations developed by the relevant international organizations, including Codex Alimentarius, IPPC and the OIE, and comply with the SPS and TBT Agreements. In addition, key components of the Policy included the implementation of food safety through laws, regulations and standards; use of risk analysis (with stakeholder participation limited to risk communication and risk assessment - where data was accessible - for an objective science-based evaluation of risk); adoption of an Integrated Food Chain Approach; the promotion of greater international co-operation in the area of food safety, and strengthening human and institutional capacities. Specific regulations had been adopted for the production, import and export of safe food, for labelling of pre-packaged food, for food additives and for bottled drinking water. The Manual on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) had been developed by the Department of Food and Drug. Decision No. 297/MOH "On Food Inspection" had been adopted on 24 February 2012 (formerly referred to as Regulation "On Food Control System").

134. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR accepted all Codex standards both for imported and domestically-produced goods. However, due to limited resources and capacity


constraints, Lao PDR has gradually implemented Codex standards with view of full implementation of such standards by the end of the transition period (1 January 2015). Accordingly, Lao PDR had started implementing some Codex standards, which were the priorities for consumer protection and domestic production management. Lao PDR was also raising awareness for local producers, so as to ensure their production and processing related activities can meet with the requirements of the Codex standards, guideline, and recommendations when they are fully implemented in the Lao PDR.

135. In response to specific questions, he added that the "reasonable risk assessment framework" in Regulation No. 518/MOH referred to the conventional risk assessment steps of hazard identification and characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization in food safety management. Lao PDR was currently seeking technical assistance in developing the risk assessment methodology. Lao PDR would ensure enough participation of stakeholders in the risk analysis process through a rapid alert system within ASEAN, the INFOSAN network of the WHO, and the future operation of the SPS and TBT Notification Unit and the SPS Enquiry Point. In the absence of national standards, Codex Alimentarius standards were applicable with respect to food residues and contaminants, and substances such as sweeteners, colorants, preservatives, etc. On the recognition of foreign standards, he said that Lao PDR accepted the standards and certification of countries that, like Lao PDR, had adopted Codex Alimentarius standards. The SPS certification of those countries would be accepted by Lao PDR. He added that Lao PDR's general policy followed international standards and guidelines (Food Law, Article 13) and applied Codex Alimentarius as the minimum required standards. If a country imposed a standard, which resulted in a higher level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection than provided for by Codex standards, Lao PDR would accept such standards. In case a country adopted different standards than Codex standards, scientific justification was required. He added that to evaluate and assess whether a trading partner's standard was compliant with Codex standards, Lao PDR followed the SPS Committee Decision on Equivalence (document G/SPS/19/Rev.2) in addition to the provisions of Article 4 of the SPS Agreement, and Guidelines on the Judgement of the Equivalences of Sanitary Measures Associated with the Food Inspection and Certification Systems (CAC/GL 53-2003). Applications of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) or HACCP-like system were also factors to be considered in the assessment process.

136. In response to specific questions on food inspections, the representative of Lao PDR said that for imported food products, the documents were required: Certificate of Analysis (COA), Health Certificate (HC), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), issued by the competent authority of the exporting country or by a private party accredited or endorsed by the competent authority were required. Testing samples were also required. HACCP, GMP and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certificates would be issued by the competent food safety authority of the country of origin. The certification could take the form of a letter, certificate or any other document attesting that the GMP, GHP and HACCP requirements had been adhered to. He added that, in Lao PDR, HACCP certificates were issued by the Ministry of Health. The requirement for characteristics attestations, and in addition, health certificates, would be applied in compliance with relevant Codex standards, guidelines and recommendations and also in compliance with the SPS Agreement. The requirements would be science-based, transparent and non-discriminatory. For domestically-produced products, national standards based on Codex standards, guidelines and recommendations had to be respected. Domestic producers were required to prove compliance every 180 days through testing analysis. Due to limited human and financial resource, food inspections were normally conducted in cases of safety alerts or requests by consumers or other sources. He stated that Decision No. 297/MOH "On Food Inspection" defined the procedures for food inspection for import goods and domestic production, based on Codex standards, guidelines and recommendations, and taking account of the non-discrimination principle between domestic and foreign suppliers and the requirements of Article 8 and Annex C of the SPS Agreement. He said that this Decision required the same risk assessment-based inspection procedures for both imported and domestically-produced products. A risk assessment system, with all food products categorized


according to their risk levels, had been introduced. Under this Decision, the frequency of inspection had been defined by three food risk categories: A - high risk foods; B - medium risk foods; and C - low-risk foods. The high risk foods would be subject to more frequent inspections. The consignments accompanied by certificates of health issued by competent authorities of exporting countries and test reports from accredited laboratories in exporting countries would be subject to a lower frequency of inspections. The Codex General Guidelines on sampling had also been incorporated into this Decision.

137. A Member noted that the proposed certification requirements could be burdensome for its exporters. The Member encouraged Lao PDR to consider introducing a food safety system targeting inspection resources based on risk assessment. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that his Government would take appropriate action in accordance with the Decision "On the Implementation of Article 4 of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures" and the Codex Guidelines for the Design, Operation, Assessment and Accreditation of Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems, to ensure that the certification requirements were based on assessed risks for health, fraud or deception. In addition, alternatives to certification would be considered wherever possible, in particular where the inspection system and requirements of an exporting country were assessed as being equivalent to those of Lao PDR. Bilateral or multilateral agreements, such as mutual recognition agreements or pre-certification agreements, would provide for dispensing with certification and/or the issuance of certificates which were previously required in certain cases.

138. In response to further comments on certification requirements, the representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, if Lao PDR concluded with a positive evaluation of the food safety controls systems of the exporting country, it would include the relevant food products into its low-risk food category, and the corresponding frequency of inspection would be applied as set-out in Articles 5 and 6 of Decision No. 297/MOH. Imports of foods that were certified under GMP/GHP (Good Hygiene Practices) and HACCP would also be allowed to be imported into Lao PDR without the requirement for additional health certificates, taking into account the concerns of exporting countries, whose competent authorities did not have the authority to issue health certificates. He further confirmed that agricultural and food products of exporting countries would still be allowed to be imported into Lao PDR as long as Lao PDR could carry out evaluations of these countries' systems, provided that they complied with relevant legislation.

139. He noted that Lao PDR continued to experience incidences of imported food and beverages having expired shelf life. Regulation No. 519/MOH "On Labelling of Pre-packaged Food" defined the expiry or use-by date as the period after which the product, under any stated storage conditions, would not have the attributes expected by the consumer. Some Member noted that the use of the term "nearly expired food" was inconsistent with Codex standards. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR followed labelling requirements as provided for by Codex standards in Regulation No. 519/MoH. He noted that the "nearly expired food" concept was only used to prevent importation of discounted food, which expired by the time of consumption and might cause health problems. He added that Lao PDR was in the process of reviewing the definition and would adapt its regulation accordingly. In response to a specific question, he confirmed that the labelling requirements were not applicable to bulk fresh fruits and vegetables as indicated by Codex Standard 1-1985.

140. A Member of the Working Party expressed concerns regarding the mandatory labelling requirement for genetically-engineered (GE) foods or food ingredients, as described in Article 5(1)(b)(ii) of the Regulation "On Labelling of Pre-packaged Food". The Member pointed out that such measure could be considered misleading and requested Lao PDR to provide more information on the scientific rationale on which the labelling requirement was to be based; the process of implementation; and, analytical methods and sampling procedures to be used. The Member noted that


ASEAN Common Principles and Requirements for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Food provided ASEAN member states the right to determine and develop independently a national GE labelling approach, which could be voluntary, mandatory, or a combination of the two. Therefore, the Member suggested that Lao PDR reconsidered this mandatory labelling requirement and instead introduced voluntary labelling or other means to provide meaningful information to consumers and to achieve the Government's objectives. In response, the representative of Lao PDR stated that the ASEAN Common Principles and Requirements for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Food were, in fact, not mandatory. However, Article 38 of the Food Law provided for the consumer's right to know about food products. Article 5.1(iii) of Regulation "On the Labelling of Pre-packaged Food" ensured such a right by requiring the provision of all information (including GE type), which consumers had the right to know when making a decision to purchase food products.

141. In the area of animal health, the representative of Lao PDR stated that Law No. 03/NA "On Livestock Production and Veterinary Matters" of 25 July 2008 (Articles 45, 46 and 47) and the 2009 Fisheries Law provided general provisions on animal quarantine. The Ministerial Decision No. 0870/MAF "On Animal Slaughtering and Animal Product" was adopted on 18 March 2011. In addition, Decree No. 230/GoL "On the Control of the Movement of Animal, Animal Product and Related Item" of 4 June 2012 (formerly referred to as amendment of Decree "On Livestock and Livestock Products Movement Control") and Decree No. 228/GoL "On Animal Disease Control and Prevention" of 31 May 2012 (formerly referred to as amendment of Decree "On Animal Epidemic Diseases") had been adopted to incorporate the key SPS principles, including the transparency requirements, which would require all proposed regulations to be notified and published before their adoption and enforcement. The Regulation "On Criteria for Livestock Production and Veterinary Business" had been incorporated in Decrees No. 228/GoL and No. 230/GoL. The test results can be obtained at the National Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at National Animal Health Center (NAHC). On regionalization determination, Lao PDR strictly followed OIE standards, guidelines and recommendations. Decree No. 228/GoL, had incorporated the principle of regionalization, including the establishment of framework for disease-free and pest-free or low pest or low disease areas. In response to a specific question, he replied that Lao PDR had not yet acquired any experience with the principle of regionalization. In his view, the implementation of this principle would assist Lao PDR in ensuring compliance with the provisions of Article 5.6 of the SPS Agreement. He added that, to this end, also the implementation of the principle of equivalence was vital. He added that the Decision "On Principles in the Application of SPS Measures in Plant and Animal Administration" of 11 January 2012 ensured that any trade restrictions would comply with the SPS Agreement in particular, Articles 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 6.

142. The representative of Lao PDR noted that due to financial and human resources constraints, Lao PDR did not have any quarantine facilities at the border checkpoints in place. At the checkpoints, importers were required to provide relevant documents and were subject to a physical inspection. Lao PDR, therefore, relied on exporting countries to undertake quarantine inspections.

143. In response to questions on specific SPS measures, the representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR currently did not have a specific policy on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in place. The disease control policies were generally developed on a case-by-case basis. In case of an outbreak of BSE, Lao PDR would follow the OIE recommendations and guidelines when taking BSE quarantine measures and/or imposing trade restrictions, in accordance with Article 4.1 of the new adopted Decree No. 230/GoL "On the Control of the Movement of Animal, Animal Product and Related Item" of 4 June 2012. Regarding the policy on pathogen reduction treatments (PRTs), he said that Lao PDR allowed the use of PRT on poultry to reduce contamination by salmonella. At present, there were no specific restrictions on the use of pathogen reduction treatments. However, Lao PDR would generally follow OIE recommended practices on salmonella control. Lao PDR did not have an official tolerance policy for salmonella.


144. As for plant health, Law No. 06/NA "On Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine" had been adopted in December 2008. Its implementing regulation, Decree No. 229/GoL "On Implementation of the Law on Plant Protection" was adopted on 31 May 2012, which also incorporated the guideline on plant inspection and certification (formerly planned as Regulation "On Plant Inspection and Certification"); and the principle of the establishment of framework for disease-free and pest-free or low pest or low disease areas. Ministerial Decision No. 2860/MAF "On Control of Pesticides in Lao PDR" (formerly referred to as Regulation "On Pesticide Management") was adopted on 11 June 2010. He provided a list of quarantine pests (2005) in document WT/ACC/LAO/11, Annex 2. As a member of IPPC, Lao PDR followed IPPC guidelines in the implementation of SPS measures. Plant inspection was conducted to analyse the quality of plants and the existence of any chemical residues, pests and diseases in order to ensure safety for plant health and consumption. Lao PDR did not require plant inspection for imported plants. However, an importer was obliged to provide plant health certificates issued by a competent body of the exporting country. In response to a question regarding Decision No. 2860/MAF, the representative of Lao PDR said that the Regulation covered: (i) registration of pesticide; (ii) management of production, import, export, distribution, transportation, storage and transit of pesticide; (iii) use and disposal of pesticide; (iv) packaging, labelling and advertising of pesticide; and (v) management and inspection of pesticide. He added that Lao PDR followed Codex standards in setting and testing the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs).

145. In response to specific questions, he said that Ministerial Decision No. 2860/MAF "On Control of Pesticides in Lao PDR" of 11 June 2010 (formerly referred to as Regulation No. 0886/MAF "On Pesticide Management") required an import permit from the Department of Agriculture (or the Agriculture and Forestry Office in the provinces and Vientiane Capital) for each shipment with a view to monitoring the actual importation of pesticides. A prior registration of pesticide with the Department or Offices was also required except for botanical pesticides not packed for sale; pesticide imported for the purpose of research, trial or exhibition with a condition of getting provisional registration from agriculture authorities. The registration was valid for two years.

146. He added that Lao PDR elaborated detailed technical assistance requirements for bringing its entire regime into compliance with the SPS Agreement under the Enhanced Integrated Framework. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology had received technical assistance from the Trade Development Facility, under a multi-donor trust fund. The key components of the project were (i) strengthening the SPS institutional, legal and regulatory framework; (ii) determining risk-based policies and control measures for SPS; and (iii) strengthening the role of the private sector in the SPS regime.

147. Asked how the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement would be applied in Lao PDR, he said that, pursuant to Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" of 19 August 2010, Lao PDR was establishing its SPS Enquiry Point at the Department of Planning in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and its SPS (and TBT) Notification Unit at the Foreign Trade Policy Department in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. He noted that Ministerial Decision No. 1502/MAF "On the Organization and Operation of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Enquiry Point" of 23 June 2011 and Decision No. 0471/MOIC "On SPS and TBT Notification Unit" of 9 March 2011 had been adopted to further strengthen the coordination and information exchange among SPS and TBT Notification Unit and Enquiry Points. The regulatory and institutional framework was in preparation, and Lao PDR was receiving technical assistance to train staff. The SPS Enquiry Point and the Notification Centre would be operational by the date of accession to the WTO. The contact details of the TBT Notification Unit and Enquiry Point were:


SPS and TBT Notification Unit:

Multilateral Trade Policy DivisionForeign Trade Policy Department Ministry of Industry and CommerceP.O. Box 4107, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR

Tel: +856 21 450 065Fax: +856 21 450 066Email: [email protected]: www.laoftpd.com

SPS Enquiry Point:

Department of PlanningDivision of Agriculture and ForestryMinistry of Agriculture and ForestryP.O. Box 811 Vientiane, Lao PDR

Tel: +856 21 415 363Fax: +856 21 412 343

148. Decree No. 363/PM (Article 3.4) also provided that before adopting SPS measures, all interested parties, both domestic and foreign, would be given a period of at least 60 days for comments on the draft SPS measures. The Decree also required that all adopted SPS measures be published 180 days before their enforcements, except in urgent circumstances. In response to a specific question, the representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR would publish all SPS-related laws and regulations, including SPS related import conditions, on the Lao Trade Portal (www.laotradeportal.gov.la). In fact, Lao PDR had already started publishing SPS measures on the website. This website was developed by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce with the support from the Trade Development Facility (TDF), with the aim to provide comprehensive information to facilitate international trade. All relevant requirements and procedures for importation would be present for each product (by HS code), including SPS/TBT measures.

149. The representative of Lao PDR stated that Lao PDR would progressively implement the WTO Agreement on the Application of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in accordance with the Action Plan set-out in Table 19. The representative of Lao PDR affirmed that Lao PDR's legal framework on food safety, animal and plant health would be in compliance with the SPS Agreement by 31 December 2012. Full implementation would start from 1 January 2015 without recourse to any further transitional period. The Working Party took note of this commitment.

- Trade-related investment measures

150. Some Members noted that Law No. 10/NA "On the Promotion of Domestic Investment", Law No. 11/NA "On the Promotion of Foreign Investment" and its implementing regulations (Decree Nos. 300/PM and 301/PM) encouraged export-oriented production and import substitution and would, with these objectives in mind, appear to include measures falling within the scope of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs Agreement). In particular, Decree Nos. 300/PM and 301/PM included provisions for import duty and tax concessions and eligibility criteria for investment incentives (Annex 2, footnote) that could be construed as local content or export performance requirements. Lao PDR was reminded that in order to utilize the transitional arrangements under the TRIMs Agreement, Lao PDR would be required to identify the precise



measures for which it would be seeking transitions. Lao PDR should also indicate how long within the allowable period it believed it would be necessary to maintain the measures, and commit to the elimination of all measures inconsistent with the TRIMs Agreement within a date certain, e.g. seven years from the date of accession to the WTO. In case Lao PDR would like to avail itself of the transitional period allowed for in the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference Declaration, Lao PDR was requested to confirm that the phase-out period for existing measures would last for seven years from the date of accession and have effect for those existing measures notified to the Council for Trade in Goods.

151. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR took note of the request for TRIMs measures to be notified. Bearing in mind the flexibilities granted to LDCs through the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference Declaration (paragraphs 35 to 38 and Annex F), he said that Lao PDR would like to avail itself of the available transitions and phase out its incompatible TRIMs measures as foreseen for LDC Members. A Committee had been set up under the Prime Minister's Office to propose alternative measures to promote Lao PDR's industrial policy. He added that Lao PDR had revamped its investment legislation with Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" of 8 July 2009 replacing Law Nos. 10/NA and 11/NA and annulling Decree Nos. 300/PM and 301/PM. Law No. 02/NA did not include provisions on import duty and tax concessions and eligibility criteria for investment incentives that could be construed as local content or export performance requirements.

152. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR would not maintain any measures inconsistent with the TRIMs Agreement and would apply the TRIMs Agreement from the date of accession without recourse to any transitional period. The Working Party took note of this commitment.

- Free zones, special economic areas

153. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had established two border trade zones (Boten and Dansavanh Village) and one special economic zone (Savan-Seno) pursuant to Decree No. 25/PM "On Dansavanh Village Border Trade Zone" of 25 March 2002; Decree No. 162/PM "On Border Trade Zone at Boten, Louangnamtha Province" of 8 October 2002; and Decree No. 148/PM "On Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone" of 29 September 2003. Decree Nos. 25/PM and 162/PM set-out the requirements for investing in the trade zones (Articles 5 to 7, Decree Nos. 25/PM and 162/PM) as well as the incentives accorded to the projects (Articles 14 to 24, Decree Nos. 25/PM and 162/PM). Natural or legal persons, regardless of nationality, could invest in these zones and engage in manufacturing, services or trading activities. Subsequently, Decree No. 443/PM "On Specific and Special Economic Zone" was adopted on 26 October 2010, which provided for the general guidelines for special economic zones and the list of incentives available in those zones.

154. In addition to the incentives available under the investment regime and in accordance with Decree Nos. 25/PM and 162/PM, investors in the border trade zones could avail themselves of import and export duty exemptions on goods exported from the zones (as well as duty-free imports for exhibitions and trade fairs); reductions or exemptions on profit tax with a tax holiday of four years followed by payment of half the applicable rate over a grace period of four years (losses could be carried forward and the tax was rebated if profits were reinvested in the zones); income (dividend) tax exemption during the profit tax exemption period; and exemption from turnover tax (except for goods that were imported for a trade fair or exhibition and subsequently sold in the border trade zone). Investors could also avail themselves of an exemption from the land lease fees for a period of five to seven years.

155. As for the special economic zone, the preferential duty and tax treatment was determined in Decree No. 177/PM "On Management Regulation and Incentive Policies regarding the Savan-Seno


Economic Zone" of 13 November 2003 (as provided for in Article 6.4 of Decree No. 148/PM). Pursuant to Decree No. 177/PM, investments in the special economic zone were exempt from turnover, excise and land tax. Construction material, machinery, raw materials, semi-finished products, vehicles and spare parts used as inputs for production were exempt from customs duty. In addition, reductions or exemptions from profit tax were granted for periods ranging between two to 10 years as outlined in document WT/ACC/LAO/19 (pages 10 to 12).

156. In response to specific questions, the representative of Lao PDR confirmed that goods produced in the border trade zones and in the special economic zone would be subject to import duty when entering the normal customs territory of Lao PDR.

157. He noted that certain incentives in the special economic zone and the border trade zones had been contingent upon export performance and the use of local content. Profit tax exemptions or reductions in the special trade zone were contingent upon export performance (enterprises exporting 70 per cent or more of their output could avail of a ten year tax holiday, while enterprises exporting between 30 and 69 per cent were eligible for seven years, and those exporting less than 30 per cent were eligible for a five year exemption period). In addition, enterprises sourcing 50 per cent or more of their raw materials domestically could avail of a reduced profit tax rate. In the border trade zones, a discount was applied to the ordinary rate of customs duty depending on the percentage of local raw materials and the value added in the zones. Goods with local content up to 20 per cent were subject to a flat 10 per cent reduction in the customs duty (e.g. 4.5 per cent instead of 5 per cent). The customs duty for goods with more than 20 per cent local content was rebated by a percentage corresponding to the percentage of local content in the good in question.

158. Some Members urged Lao PDR to remove the differentiated treatment between imported products and the goods produced in the border trade zones/special economic zone and to apply normal import duties, without reductions, when such goods entered the domestic market. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR said that legislation was being reviewed to ensure compliance with WTO principles and the ASCM. Decree No. 443/PM "On Specific and Special Economic Zone" was adopted in October 2010. In this Decree, "production for export" was listed as one type of promoted investment. Decree No. 162/PM "On Border Trade Zone at Boten, Louangnamtha Province" was no longer in force. The provisions on the use of domestic over imported goods in the remaining zones Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone (Decree No. 177/PM) and Dansavanh Village Border Trade Zone (Decree No. 25/PM) had been terminated in March 2012. However, the representative of Lao PDR reiterated the flexibilities on export performance requirements provided to LDCs by the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.

159. The representative of Lao PDR said that free zones established under Decree No. 443/PM "On Specific and Special Economic Zone in Lao PDR" and any subsequent legislation would be fully subject to the coverage of WTO Agreements and its commitments in its Protocol of Accession to the WTO Agreement and that Lao PDR would ensure enforcement of its WTO obligations in those zones. In addition, the Representative of Lao PDR confirmed that from the date of accession goods produced in any free trade, special economic zones or areas under tax and tariff provisions that exempt imports and imported inputs from tariffs and certain taxes would be subject to normal customs formalities when entering the rest of Lao PDR, including the application of tariffs and taxes. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Government procurement

160. The representative of Lao PDR said that government procurement was regulated by Prime Minister Decree No. 03/PM "On Goods, Works, Maintenance, and Services" of 9 January 2004, and Regulation No. 063/MOF of 12 March 2004. The bidding documents and procurement manuals were developed and used by government agencies and State-owned enterprises at the central and provincial


levels. The Procurement Monitoring Office at the Ministry of Finance was responsible for administering the procurement of all ministries, governmental agencies, the provinces and Vientiane Capital, and State-owned enterprises.

161. The regulations stipulated seven methods of procurement and defined the precise conditions for using each procedure, i.e. (i) public bidding whereby individuals, companies, enterprises, joint ventures or international enterprises obtained equal opportunity to submit bids; (ii) limited bidding, whereby the number of suppliers was limited, but the procuring entity was required to ensure a competitive price and sufficient capacity; (iii) price comparison - domestic and international. Domestic price comparison implied offers being sought from at least three qualified domestic suppliers, and international price comparison would involve at least three qualified international suppliers from at least two countries; (iv) direct contracting, in which case the procuring entity would negotiate the contract terms and conditions directly with one or more supplier(s). Approval for this procedure was subject to certain conditions and decided case by case; (v) international competitive bidding, where bidders could be domestic or foreign companies and the bidding notification was available abroad. A margin of preference was taken into account for comparison between domestic and foreign suppliers; (vi) pre-qualification of bidders, e.g. for large-scale, technically complex and high value projects, where the suitability of the bidders would be assessed by a tender committee, a number of companies would be short-listed, and the selected candidates would be invited to submit bids; and (vii) two-stage bidding, whereby technical and methodological requirements were taken into account at the first stage, followed by an evaluation of the proposals at the second stage.

162. Asked whether Lao PDR would consider joining the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, the representative of Lao PDR said the decision would depend on the capacity of governmental agencies to manage the terms and conditions of the Agreement.

- Transit

163. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR was a land-locked country dependent on the effective cross-border transit of goods. ASEAN had developed arrangements to facilitate transit trade among its members and to reduce costs in the cross-border movement of goods. Goods in transit through Lao PDR were regulated according to Article 33 of the Customs Law (2005) and Article 8 of Ministerial Instruction No. 0491/MOF of 16 June 2009. Goods in transit were exempt from import and export duties.

164. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, from the date of accession, Lao PDR would apply any laws, regulations or other measures governing transit operations and would act in full conformity with the provisions of the WTO Agreement, in particular Article V of the GATT 1994. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Agricultural policies

(a) Imports

165. The representative of Lao PDR said that the import duty on agricultural products ranged from 5 to 40 per cent with a simple average of 18.8 per cent. As agriculture was the backbone of the economy of Lao PDR, high tariffs were maintained on a number of products that affected the livelihood of the majority of the people of Lao PDR. In the past, imports of all animal parts and agricultural goods produced locally such as chillies, aubergines, tomatoes, bananas, lemons and other fruit had been banned (Notification No. 870/MOC of 19 September 1996). Presently, Lao PDR did not maintain any seasonal restrictions, prohibitions or other controls on the importation of agricultural products other than rice (HS 1006) and plant products under HS 0601, which were subject to automatic licensing (Table 12). He confirmed that the import restrictions previously imposed on rice


- non-automatic licensing and indicative annual import plan - had been abolished. In response to a specific query, he said that the procedure for obtaining import permits for agricultural commodities and agro-chemicals demonstrated with a flow chart, circulated in Annex V of document WT/ACC/LAO/5 was no longer valid. The current regime was explained in the Import Licensing Questionnaire (document WT/ACC/LAO/25).

166. Some Members noted that Lao PDR was seeking recourse to apply Special Safeguards (SSGs) for some products in its most recent market access offer. Lao PDR was invited to provide the rationale for this request. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR explained that Lao PDR previously maintained quantitative restrictions, such as prohibitions or licensing requirements for these products. He noted that once Lao PDR liberalized its trade regime, Lao PDR intended to maintain the possibility to apply SSG measures for some products in order to limit the unforeseen risk and mitigate adverse effects on vulnerable poor farmers, who accounted for more than 30 per cent of Lao PDR's population and were living under the poverty line.

(b) Exports

167. The representative of Lao PDR said that some agricultural products were subject to export licensing (Tables 16 and 17). Export duties were levied on certain agricultural products listed in Table 14. He added that Edict No. 002/PO was adopted in April 2012 listing the products subject to export duties. A copy of this Edict was shared with the Working Party.

168. A Member noted that Lao PDR had no agricultural export subsidies, but would like to maintain a right to use such subsidies as long as it remained an LDC. Lao PDR was encouraged to maintain its current level of export subsidies for agricultural products.

169. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR noted that Lao PDR did not envisage such measures at this stage, but welcomed the underlying development rationale of the flexibilities granted to LDCs.

(c) Internal policies

170. The representative of Lao PDR said that his country was predominantly an agrarian economy as the agricultural sector accounted for more than 50 per cent of Lao PDR's GDP, employed about 80 per cent of the workforce, and provided a livelihood - often at a subsistence level - to the majority of the population. Rice was the staple crop cultivated and consumed domestically. Other grains and pulses, vegetables, fruit, livestock, tobacco and coffee were also produced in Lao PDR.

171. The representative of Lao PDR provided information on domestic support and export subsidies in the agricultural sector for the period 2001 to 2003 in document WT/ACC/SPEC/LAO/1/Rev.1. Expenditures on "green box" measures – principally the funding of research, pest and disease control, training and extension and advisory services - had averaged some KN 56.7 billion (US$5.6 million) per year during this period. In addition, Lao PDR reported outlays on development programmes (Article 6.2) for input subsidies (investment and operating credits provided by the Agriculture Promotion Bank to low-income farmers in poor regions, and electricity at reduced rates to poor farmers), and a market price support programme for rice. The minimum farm gate price for rice (in husk) was based on production costs and calculated annually; and the external reference price was derived from data released by the University of Arkansas. However, the minimum farm gate price had been well below the external reference price throughout the period. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had also spent an average KN 86.4 billion (US$8.5 million) per year on irrigation. All support was well below the 10 per cent de minimis level.


172. He noted that his Government had previously established a State-owned enterprise to purchase agricultural products at market prices and resell the goods in the domestic market at a later time to stabilize the market. The enterprise had already ceased operations.

173. Lao PDR's commitments on agricultural tariffs and domestic support and export subsidies for agricultural products are contained in the Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods (document WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.1) annexed to Lao PDR's Protocol of Accession to the WTO.

- Trade in civil aircraft

174. In response to a specific question concerning the current import duty on civil aircraft and aircraft parts, the representative of Lao PDR said that the rate on aircraft parts was 10 per cent.

- Textiles regime

175. The representative of Lao PDR said that textiles were subject to the same general measures applied to other products. The simple average applied import duty on textiles and clothing was 9.46 per cent.

V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME

- GENERAL

- Industrial property protection

176. The representative of Lao PDR provided a technical note on the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in document WT/ACC/LAO/7/Rev.3, and an Action Plan for the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement in document WT/ACC/LAO/15/Rev.7 (Table 20-A). With the provision of technical assistance and national capacity building, the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement would be achieved, at the latest by 31 December 2016, according to the action plan. He added that Lao PDR, as an LDC, intended to avail itself of the special and differential treatment provisions provided for under the TRIPS Agreement and WTO Ministerial Declarations (paragraph 47 of WT/MIN(05)/DEC and IP/C/40 refers).

177. Industrial property protection was previously provided through the Prime Minister's Decree No. 06/PM "On Trademarks" of 18 January 1995; Regulation No. 466/STEA-PMO "On the Registration of Trademarks" of 7 March 2002; Decree No. 01/PM "On the Protection of Patents, Petty Patents (Utility Models) and Industrial Designs" of 17 January 2002; and Regulation No. 322/STEA-PMO "On the Implementation of the Patents Decree" of 18 February 2003. He further noted that Intellectual Property Law No. 08/NA of 24 December 2007 - covering copyright and related rights, trademarks, trade secrets, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, petty patents, layout designs of integrated circuits, and the protection of plant varieties, had entered into force on 14 April 2008. The 2007 Intellectual Property Law superseded provisions of the above-mentioned decrees and regulations to the extent that those provisions were incompatible with the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. Based on a Member's comments, the 2007 Intellectual Property Law had been revised and a new 2011 Intellectual Property Law had been adopted on 20 December 2011. He added that Lao PDR was currently working towards the objective to adopt drafting decisions to detail implementation aspects of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law by the date of accession (Action Plan Table 20-A).

178. A Member noted that Article 2 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law defined intellectual property as a "work of the human mind through inventions and creations having economic value and


benefit in social development". This Member asked Lao PDR to explain whether works eligible for protection pursuant to the TRIPS Agreement/Berne Convention and meeting the criteria to qualify as a patent, trademark or copyright could be denied protection under the 2007 Intellectual Property Law on the grounds that they did not have economic value or contribute to social development. In reply, the representative said that the definition contained in the 2007 Intellectual Property Law set-out Lao PDR's general policy vision to promote socio-economic development - without the intention to limit the rights of holders of Intellectual Property Rights. The representative of Lao PDR later explained that in the 2011 Intellectual Property Law the terminology "economic value and benefit in social development", as part of the definition of an intellectual property, was no longer used.

- Responsible agencies for policy formulation and implementation

179. The representative of Lao PDR said that the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) in the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) had overall responsibility for the coordination of the implementation of policies on intellectual property. The functions of the Department of Intellectual Property included preparation of legislation, the formulation of strategic development plans on intellectual property, the establishment of a registration system, international co-operation, dissemination of information, and receiving petitions and claims from the public and coordinating with other agencies to resolve them. Copyright and related rights were under the Copyright Division which was, inter alia, responsible for drafting legislation for the management of copyright and related rights; notification of information related to copyright and related rights; and the establishment of a database. The IP Dispute Settlement Division also acted as a forum for receiving complaints and could perform mediation to address such complaints. Lao PDR was also in the process of setting up a Geographical Indications Registry under the Trademark Division by December 2012. The Ministry of Science and Technology would coordinate with other Ministries and provincial authorities depending on the subject matter, e.g. the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on trademarks and trade secrets, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (plant varieties), and the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (copyright and related rights) and other concerned ministries.

180. The Customs Department at the Ministry of Finance was responsible for measures applied at the border to enforce intellectual property rights. The Economic Police within the Ministry of Public Security enforced intellectual property rights within the country.

- Participation in international intellectual property agreements

181. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had become a signatory to the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization in 1995, acceded to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1998, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty in 2006 and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in March 2012. Decisions to accede to the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms, and Broadcasting Organizations and the Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits had been deferred due to technical capacity limitations. Lao PDR had signed a two-year bilateral agreement with Viet Nam on intellectual property in 2011 and was in the process of renewing the bilateral agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation with Thailand. In 1996, Lao PDR had signed a two-year bilateral Agreement with Thailand on trademarks and other areas of intellectual property rights. The representative of Lao PDR added that his Government was also considering acceding to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.

182. Asked about Lao PDR's intentions regarding accession to the International Union for the Protection of Plant Varieties (UPOV), and urged to join the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, the Geneva Phonograms Convention, and the Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite, the


representative of Lao PDR noted that the TRIPS Agreement did not require accession to intellectual property treaties and conventions such as the UPOV. His Government would nevertheless study the implications of acceding to the various Agreements.

- Application of national and MFN treatment to foreign nationals

183. The representative of Lao PDR stated that the 2007 Intellectual Property Law included provisions on MFN and national treatment (Articles 6 and 7) and ensured conformity with Article 3 of the Berne Convention and Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement. He also confirmed that Lao PDR applied the principle of national treatment in accordance with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; and MFN treatment consistent with other international agreements to which Lao PDR was a party. At present, any person without lawful representation in Lao PDR was required to use an accredited representative in Lao PDR to file industrial property applications pursuant to Article 27 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. The requirement was aimed at protecting the interest of the right holder and at facilitating the right holder's communication with the competent State authorities. The representative of Lao PDR noted that under the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, MFN and national treatment (Article 6) were granted to all foreign nationals in accordance with the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of the TRIPS Agreement.

- Fees and taxes

184. The current fees and charges related to trademarks, patents, petty patents and industrial designs are enumerated in Table 21.

- SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS OF PROTECTION, INCLUDING PROCEDURES FOR THE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

- Copyright and related rights

185. The representative of Lao PDR said that the 2007 Intellectual Property Law was based on the WIPO model law and the requirements of the TRIPS Agreement. The Law included provisions on copyright and related rights, thereby protecting this subject matter for the first time in Lao PDR. Initially, Lao PDR intended to adopt a decree to implement the 2007 Intellectual Property Law by the end of 2011. However, the representative of Lao PDR said that the Government of Lao PDR had instead revised the entire 2007 Law and adopted a new Intellectual Property Law in December 2011. In his view, the 2011 Intellectual Property Law took full account of the WTO TRIPS Agreement, the Berne Convention and Members' comments. Lao PDR was in the process of preparing a Decision on Copyright and Related Rights, which was envisaged for adoption by the date of accession. He added that Lao PDR had acceded to the Berne Convention on 14 March 2012. A copyright and related rights information section was established in 2009.

186. On the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, a Member noted that copyright protection was not extendable to ideas and requested Lao PDR to amend the 2007 Law (Articles 3.25 and 79) to ensure conformity with Article 9.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. Lao PDR was also requested to amend Articles 3.26, 78(3) and 78(4) of the 2007 Law to include unencrypted broadcasts in the definition of related rights. Noting that Article 78 of the 2007 Law appeared to provide protection for the related rights of Lao nationals, this Member asked Lao PDR to explain how protection would be extended to the rights of foreign performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations (Articles 78, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2. and 3.2). Lao PDR was also requested to explain how it would address situations where the term of protection for copyright and related rights provided for in its Law was inconsistent with or differed from the term extended in an international convention or agreement. Lao PDR was further requested to include a more specific definition of the act of reproduction


(Article 3.30). A Member requested Lao PDR to further clarify the provision contained in paragraph 1 of Article 76.

187. The representative of Lao PDR replied that the definition of copyright explicitly referred to a "work", which was understood to be an expression created by the author, in whatever mode, in the domains of art, literature or science. The representative of Lao PDR noted that under the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, it was clearly defined that copyright protection did not extend to ideas. The 2011 Intellectual Property Law included unencrypted broadcasts in the definition of related rights, extended protection to the rights of foreign performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations. He said that in case the term of protection in the 2011 Intellectual Property Law was inconsistent with the term accorded in an international convention or agreement to which Lao PDR was a contracting party, the term of protection of that international convention or agreement would prevail. The 2011 Law also included a more specific definition of the act of reproduction and clarify the ineligibility for copyright protection (news of the day or miscellaneous facts, having character of mere items of press information).

188. Asked to clarify which "works" of "traditional art and literature" would be eligible for copyright protection and whether collective ownership of such works was permitted, he said that the collective ownership of copyright for traditional cultural expressions was permitted in Lao PDR (Articles 83 and 87 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law). The collective ownership of copyright for traditional cultural expressions aimed at the preservation of traditional values and moral rights. The local community would be considered the "author" of such works. Traditional art and literature were (local or group) traditional compilations of creations revealing the way of life of the community, the performance was culturally and socially consistent and transmitted orally through generations, copied or made similar such as local stories, poems, maxims, or proverbs; local songs, dances, or music; traditional dance, games, rites and competitions; or musical instruments, paintings, drawings, sculptures, architectural designs having been created using local materials and equipment. Individuals or entities using works of traditional art and literature were required to protect the source of the traditional performance and preserve its original values. The protection involved moral rights and not commercial rights. Their term of protection had not been determined.

189. Lao PDR was also requested to further refine the definition of "data compilation" (Article 86). A Member noted that the 2007 Intellectual Property Law granted performers the right to record and reproduce live performances of the performer onto audio-visual discs (Articles 89(3) and 89(4)), this provision appeared to be more limited than the corresponding provision provided for in the TRIPS Agreement, Lao PDR was therefore requested to amend its 2007 Intellectual Property Law to ensure full compliance with Article 14(1) of the TRIPS Agreement. In response, the representative of Lao PDR noted that, in his view, Section V of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law was in full compliance. Regarding the term of protection of a work (Article 93(2)), Lao PDR was requested to bring the 2007 Law into compliance with Article 12 of the TRIPS Agreement. Article 12 of the TRIPS Agreement provided for a term of protection of the copyright, namely 50 years from the end of the calendar year of authorized publication, or, failing such authorized publication, 50 years from the end of the calendar year of the making. Lao PDR was further requested to bring its Articles 94(1) and 94(2) of the 2007 Law into compliance with the term of protection available to performers and producers of phonograms according to Article 14(5) of the TRIPS Agreement. A Member sought further clarification as to how the limitations provided for in Articles 96, 97 and 98 of the 2007 Law were consistent with Article 13 of the TRIPS Agreement and requested Lao PDR to bring these provisions into compliance with the TRIPS Agreement. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that, in his view, the 2011 Intellectual Property Law had taken account of these issues and brought these provisions into compliance with the TRIPS Agreement. He further noted that in the case that any provision of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law was contrary to any international convention or agreement to which Lao PDR was a party, the provisions of such international convention or agreement would prevail (Article 5).


190. Asked to clarify the phrase "culture or fine traditions of the nation" contained in Article 4 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law and whether copyright protection could be denied based on "cultural" objections, the representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, according to Articles 88 and 90, all works were eligible for copyright protection except for: (i) news of the day or miscellaneous facts having the character of mere items of press information; (ii) ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such; and (iii) official texts of a legislative, administrative and legal nature, and official translations of such texts.

191. A Member requested Lao PDR to amend its 2011 Intellectual Property Law to: (i) include definitions on "joint work" and "traditional literary or artistic work"; (ii) indicate that all of the limitations and exceptions to copyright contained in Article 111 would be in compliance with the "three-step test" of TRIPS Article 13; (iii) address protection for "photographic works"; (iv) ensure that Article 111 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law was brought in to compliance with Article 10bis(1) of the Berne Convention; and (v) clarify Articles 22(1) and 111.3(1-2). The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that his Government had included relevant provisions in the draft Decision on Copyright and Related Rights, which was expected to be adopted by the date of accession.

- Trademarks, including service marks

192. The representative of Lao PDR said that trademarks were previously protected under the Prime Minister's Decree No. 06/PM "On Trademarks" of 18 January 1995, Regulation No. 466/STEA-PMO "On the Registration of Trademarks" of 7 March 2002, and the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, which was superseded by the 2011 Intellectual Property Law. Lao PDR was in the process of preparing a draft Decision on Trademarks and Trade Names to implement relevant provisions of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law.

193. Pursuant to the Intellectual Property Law, a trademark was defined as a mark (i.e. any sign, which could be an image, word, letter, number, signature, name, colour, form or shape of an item, or combination thereof) which could be used to distinguish a good or service from others. Applications for registration of a trademark were to be filed with the Department of Intellectual Property in the MoST. The Department processed the application, entered the approved trademark in a national register, and issued a trademark registration certificate. The registered mark was published in the Official Gazette of the MoST. The normal time-frame between application and the granting of a certificate was six months or less. The term of protection for a registered trademark was ten years, renewable indefinitely for successive periods of ten years. Applications for renewal should be filed six months prior to expiry. A trademark registration could be cancelled for non-use during a continuous period of five years, unless it could be demonstrated that special circumstances had prevented the use of the trademark.

194. Under the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, trademarks were excluded from registration that were (i) not clear and did not identify any product or service; (ii) contrary to national culture, morals or public order; (iii) misleading or likely to mislead, in particular with respect to geographical origin, nature or characteristics; (iv) forged or copied; (v) comprising symbols such as national seals, flags or emblems, or other symbols closely identified with a nation's culture or heritage; (vi) comprising names or bearing the official seals of countries or governments, international organizations, or organizations established by treaties; or (vii) if the mark was identical with - or confusingly similar to - trademarks or trade names of goods or services which were widely "well-known". The 2011 Intellectual Property Law (Article 23) had extended the cases of exclusion from the trademark registration in line with the TRIPS Agreement.

195. Pursuant to the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, the owner of a trademark already registered abroad had the right to claim priority when filing for registration in Lao PDR. Registration for


protection of a trademark was not compulsory in Lao PDR, but the rights of the owner or his/her consent could only be recognized if a trademark had been registered. Owners of registered trademarks had the exclusive right to use the trademarks, or to authorize others to use them. He noted that the 2007 Intellectual Property Law (Articles 112 to 118) provided for general administrative and judicial remedies to owners of registered trademarks against any infringement of such trademarks.

196. Responding to specific questions and comments, he acknowledged that Article 12 of the 1995 Decree made no reference to marks identical or confusingly similar to marks that were the subject of registration or pending applications (but not well-known). Decree No. 06/PM would also need to be amended to ensure full compliance with Article 15.5 of the TRIPS Agreement regarding the provision of reasonable opportunity for petitions to cancel a registration. He added that Articles 16, 23 and 45 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law incorporated the rights conferred to the trademark owner by virtue of Article 16.1 of the TRIPS Agreement to prevent the use of "similar signs" and to presume confusion where an identical mark was used without authorization. Registration of trademarks that were the same as, or similar to, trademarks of any goods (or services) already registered would be denied, even if used on goods not similar to the goods associated with the registered mark, unless the new registration was sought by the owner of the registered mark. The representative of Lao PDR noted that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law maintained the above provisions of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. He added that, in his view, the 2011 Law also preserved the exclusive and prior rights of an owner and covered examination of applications for a trademark and cancellation of a registered mark. To address a Member's concern on the protection of well-known marks for "related" goods or services, Lao PDR undertook to introduce relevant provisions in the draft Decision on Trademarks and Trade Names to ensure consistency with Article 16(3) of the TRIPS Agreement for the protection of registered well-known marks against uses in connection with dissimilar goods or services, where such use would indicate a connection to the owner and would likely damage the owner's interest. The draft Decision on Trademarks and Trade Names was expected to be issued by the date of accession.

- Geographical indications, including appellations of origin

197. Having reviewed the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, a Member noted that the provisions relating to geographical indications (GIs) were limited to definition and duration. A Member further requested additional information on how Lao PDR intended to provide protection for geographical indications, including additional protection for GIs for wines and spirits, and addressing situations where the owner of an earlier protected trademark would be able to prevent the protection or registration of a confusingly similar and later-in-time geographical indication in accordance with Articles 16.1 and 24.5 of the TRIPS Agreement.

198. The representative of Lao PDR replied that provisions for the protection of geographical indications had been included in the Intellectual Property Law No. 08/NA of 24 December 2007. Article 19 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law established the requirements for the protection of a geographical indication. The term of protection of a registered geographical indication was permanent, but third parties had the right to seek cancellation of a GI registration, if the registration had been made in bad faith as per Articles 57, 115, 116 and 117 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. The representative of Lao PDR noted that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law maintained the above provisions of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. He added that, in his view, the 2011 Law also included further provisions to ensure compliance with Articles 16.1 and 24.5 of the TRIPS Agreement. Lao PDR had set up a committee to supervise a project on the establishment of potential geographical indications under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in 2007. He added that, in 2009, Lao PDR established a geographical indications registration unit under the Department of Intellectual Property.


199. A Member noted that, for the definition of GIs, Article 3.17 and the last paragraph of Article 19 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law needed to be read in conjunction. The Member therefore suggested Lao PDR to provide the complete definition in Article 3.17 in order to avoid any confusion. The representative of Lao PDR replied that, in his view, the 2011 Intellectual Property Law provided a complete definition of GIs.

200. In response to specific questions on the 2007 Law regarding the possible co-existence of protected geographical indications and trademarks and on the safeguards in place to ensure compliance with Article 16 of the TRIPS Agreement, the representative of Lao PDR said that a geographical indication could not be registered if the indication was "identical or similar to protected trademarks that lead to misunderstanding as to the origin of the said goods" (Article 25.3 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law). The geographical indication, however, could be registered if its use would not mislead the consumer. Article 100 (paragraph 1.6) of the 2007 Law barred the owner of a geographical indication from preventing the use of the same or similar trademark where the trademark acquired protection before the date of filing of a registration application for the geographical indication. He added that Lao PDR would not prejudice the eligibility for or the validity of the registration of a trademark, or the right to use a trademark, on the basis of such trademark was identical with or similar to a geographical indication, in cases when the trademark was registered in good faith (i) before the date of entry into force of the Law on Intellectual Property Rights; or (ii) before the geographical indication was protected in its country of origin. Foreign geographical indications that were not protected in the foreign jurisdiction could not be registered in Lao PDR. He added that comments with regard to WTO jurisprudence (WT/DS/174/R) and the safeguards for compliance with Articles 16 and 17 of the TRIPS Agreement were taken into account in the 2011 Intellectual Property Law. He further noted that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law had incorporated a provision to allow owners of a registered trademark or third parties to object to the registration of a geographical indication. In response to a specific question on the registration of later-in-time geographical indications, the representative of Lao PDR noted that pursuant to Article 25.5 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, a geographical indication could not be registered if the indication was identical with or similar to a protected trademark where the use of the indication would lead to misunderstanding or confusion as to the origin of the said good. The representative of Lao PDR was of the view that Articles 59 and 25.6 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law fully implemented Article 23.3 of the TRIPS Agreement. He added that Lao PDR would further clarify this issue in the draft Decision on Geographical Indications envisaged for adoption by the date of accession.

- Industrial designs

201. The representative of Lao PDR said that Article 29 of Decree No. 01/PM "On the Protection of Patents, Petty Patents (Utility Models) and Industrial Designs" of 17 January 2002 provided protection for new industrial designs. The Decree covered the protection of textile designs (Article 32), but did not distinguish new from original designs. Provisions on industrial designs had also been included in the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. The 2007 Intellectual Property Law superseded provisions of the Decree where they were incompatible with the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. The representative of Lao PDR noted that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, adopted in December 2011, replaced the 2007 Intellectual Property Law.

202. Having reviewed the 2007 Law, which appeared to be restating provisions in Decree No. 01/PM, a Member noted that Lao PDR would seem to be protecting industrial designs for five years, less than the ten-year term of protection provided for under the TRIPS Agreement. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR said that in accordance with Article 48 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, the term of protection for industrial designs was 15 years, from the date of filing the application. Application procedures for the registration of industrial designs were provided for in Section III of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law.


- Patents

203. The representative of Lao PDR said that patents were granted for inventions considered new, involving an inventive step, and industrially applicable pursuant to Decree No. 01/PM "On the Protection of Patents, Petty Patents (Utility Models) and Industrial Designs" of 17 January 2002, Regulation No. 322/STEA-PMO of 18 February 2003, the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, and the 2011 Intellectual Property Law. He noted that the 2007 Intellectual Property Law superseded the provisions of Decree No. 01/PM and Regulation No. 322/STEA-PMO, which were incompatible with the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. In accordance with Article 21 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, discoveries; scientific theories and mathematical methods; schemes, rules or methods for doing business; the performance of pure mental acts or playing games; methods for the treatment of the human body or animals; and inventions contrary to public order or national cultural morality were not recognized as patentable subject matter. He noted that this provision was in line with Article 27.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. In response to a specific question, he confirmed that non-biological or microbiological processes were eligible for patent protection. Pursuant to the 2007 Intellectual Property Law, the term of protection for a patent was 20 years without renewal (ten years for a petty patent with a possible extension of two years). The requirements of Article 29 of the TRIPS Agreement - conditions on patent applicants - were covered by Article 30 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. The representative of Lao PDR noted that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, adopted in December 2011, superseded the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. He stated that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law also contained the provisions of the 2007 Intellectual Property, as described above. He also noted that further details and provisions on patent protection had been included in the 2011 Law.

204. The rights conferred to the patent owner - including the right to assign, transfer by succession and to conclude licensing contracts - were provided through Articles 45, 101 and 108 of the Intellectual Property Law and were, in his opinion, in conformity with Article 28 of the TRIPS Agreement. Exceptions to the exclusive rights conferred by a patent were laid down in Articles 53 and 54 of the Law. Responding to a comment that earlier provisions had appeared to be attempting to provide for a compulsory licence where the provisions of Article 5(A)(4) of the Paris Convention applied, although this was not clear from the text, he said that Article 54 of the 2007 Law related to non-use or insufficient exploitation of a patented invention for three years after the patent had been granted.

205. The representative of Lao PDR said that Article 63 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law concerned compulsory licensing of the use of patents or petty patents in cases of national emergency or urgent need - for non-commercial purposes. The permit would determine the limitations on use and stipulate the compensation to the right owner. The owner could challenge the issue of the licence and the compensation offered within 60 days. Hence, such compulsory licence would be non-exclusive and define the scope, function, time-limit, adequate compensation, and the condition of payment as provided for in the Paris Convention.

206. The representative of Lao PDR added that in addition to Section VII of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, some aspects of the TRIPS Agreement relating to patents had been addressed further in the Civil Procedure Law (Articles 3 and 20), in particular, regarding the opportunity for judicial review of decisions to revoke or forfeit a patent (Article 32 of the TRIPS Agreement), the conditions for providing limited exceptions to the rights conferred (Article 30 of the TRIPS Agreement), and to allow reversal of the burden of proof in process patent infringement actions in the instances foreseen in Article 34 of the TRIPS Agreement.


- Plant variety protection

207. The representative of Lao PDR said that provisions on plant variety protection had been included in the 2011 Intellectual Property Law. The requirements for a new plant variety to be protected were novelty, distinctness, uniformity, stability and denomination. The term of protection of new plant varieties was, for trees and vines, 25 years from the date of grant of the breeder's right, and for other varieties of plants, 20 years from the date of grant of the breeder's right. He added that under the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, domestic and foreign natural and legal persons were entitled to apply for plant variety rights.

208. Asked whether Lao PDR would consider becoming a UPOV member, the representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR would focus its limited capacities on implementing TRIPS requirements, as it understood that the TRIPS Agreement did not require membership of the UPOV Convention. He added that, in his view, the 2011 Intellectual Property Law was substantially in compliance with the UPOV Convention.

- Layout designs of integrated circuits

209. The representative of Lao PDR said that protection of layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits were provided for in Articles 3, 12, 18, 24, 34, 52, 58, 65 and 117 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law. The term of protection of layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits was 12 years. A decision to accede to the Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits had been deferred due to technical capacity limitations.

- Requirements on undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test data

210. The representative of Lao PDR said that Articles 3.18, 20, 54, 60 and 61 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law provided for the protection of undisclosed information in line with Article 39.2 and 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement. To be protected as a trade secret, information should meet all the following requirements: (i) be secret in the sense that it was not known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally dealt with the kind of information in question, such as a formula or production process; (ii) have commercial value; and (ii) have been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret. Trade secrets were protected for an unlimited period or until their secrecy was lost.

211. Article 104 of the 2005 Criminal Law contained a general provision making any person disclosing confidential matters having come to his/her knowledge in the performance of his/her profession or duty, and thereby causing damage to the owner of the confidential information, liable to imprisonment of three to six months and a fine ranging from KN 50,000 to KN 500,000.

- MEASURES TO CONTROL ABUSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

212. The representative of Lao PDR said that measures to control abuse of intellectual property rights had been included in Decree No. 01/PM "On the Protection of Patents, Petty Patents (Utility Models) and Industrial Designs" (Articles 20 and 21), Decree No. 06/PM "On Trademarks", and Decree No. 15/PM "On Trade Competition". He noted that the 2007 Intellectual Property Law superseded the provisions contained in Decrees No. 01/PM, No. 06/PM and No. 15/PM in cases where they were incompatible with the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. The representative of Lao PDR added that, in his view, the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, adopted in December 2011, was fully in line with the requirements in the TRIPS Agreement on the control of anti-competitive practices in contractual licenses.


- ENFORCEMENT

213. The representative of Lao PDR said that, in addition to the existing legislation on intellectual property protection (industrial property; copyright and related rights), provisions relevant to the enforcement of IPRs could be found in the Civil Procedure Law No. 02/NA of 17 May 2004, the Criminal Procedure Law No. 01/NA of 15 May 2004, the Penal Code Law, the Law No. 03/NA "On Judgement Enforcement" of 15 May 2004, the Law "On the People's Courts", and the Customs Law No. 04/NA of 20 December 2011. Right holders could opt for administrative measures or civil or criminal procedures to protect their rights, and any decision of the trial court could be appealed to a higher court. He added that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law contained provisions relevant to enforcement procedures and remedies, including administrative, civil and criminal procedures. He further added that Ministerial Instruction No. 1970/MOF on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property was issued in September 2011 to provide for border measures that were in compliance with Section 4 of the TRIPS Agreement.

- Civil judicial procedures and remedies

214. The representative of Lao PDR said that right holders could evoke civil judicial procedures pursuant to the 2011 Intellectual Property Law (Section VII) and the Civil Procedure Law (Articles 78, 83, 92 and 93). In response to a specific question, the representative of Lao PDR said that any party had equal opportunities to be heard in a court hearing on evidence presented either by the judge or by any of the parties. A judge could order the production of evidence to substantiate a party's claims according to Article 20 of the Civil Procedure Law, and Article 76 of the Law provided for additional remedies including the seizure and destruction of infringing goods, materials and implements. In response to Members' concerns, the representative of Lao PDR said that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law specifically included the destruction of infringing goods, as an additional remedy. In his view, the 2011 Law was therefore fully compliant with Articles 46 and 59 of the TRIPS Agreement. In addition, he noted that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law included provisions on civil judicial procedures and remedies in line with the TRIPS Agreement.

215. A Member previously noted that certain requirements of the TRIPS Agreement were not clearly reflected in the existing legislation. In reply, the representative of Lao PDR, however, stated that certain requirements had been reflected, namely: the ability of a judge to issue orders or injunctions enjoining a party from infringing intellectual property rights (Article 71 of Civil Procedure Law No. 02/NA, dated 17 May 2004); order the payment of adequate damages (Articles 83, 91 and 101 of Law No. 01/NA "On Contract and Tort", dated 8 December 2008); allow the right holder to recover enforcement costs, lost profits and/or statutory damages (Articles 26 and 33 of Court Fee Law No. 07/NA, dated 27 December 2006 and Article 35 of Judgment Enforcement Law No. 04/NA, dated 25 July 2008); indemnification of the defendant, including attorney's fees, in the event of litigation abuse by plaintiffs; and ensuring that administrative remedies would conform to these principles. He further noted that provisions exempting public authorities and officials from liability in connection with the administration of IP laws where actions were taken or intended in good faith and within the scope of their authority were contained in Article 83 of Law No. 1/NA "On Contract and Tort", dated 8 December 2008.

216. In response to a specific question on the forms of dispute resolution provided for under Articles 123-131 of the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, the representative of Lao PDR said that the parties could choose any form of resolution to resolve their dispute. All forms of dispute resolution, except for judicial action, were optional and were based on mutual agreement between the parties. The Civil Procedure Law and Criminal Procedure Law did not require the parties to resolve the dispute by any other means before filing a lawsuit. As a practical matter, most forms of alternative dispute resolution did, in fact, require agreement by both parties. If the parties could not agree on an alternative dispute resolution, the IP owner could always initiate a court proceeding.


- Provisional measures

217. The representative of Lao PDR stated that judges could grant temporary restraining orders and provisional relief to prevent infringement and to preserve evidence according to Articles 76 and 119 of the Civil Procedure Law (for civil cases) and Articles 59 to 68 of the Criminal Procedure Law (for criminal cases). The customs authority had the right to inspect and seize infringing goods (Article 76.10 of the Customs Law and Article 124 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law). He further noted that Article 76.10 of the Customs Law and Article 124 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law had been revised by Ministerial Instruction No. 1970/MOF on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property (which was issued in September 2011), to ensure compliance with Section 4 of the TRIPS Agreement. Asked about indemnification of the defending party in case of unjustified provisional relief, he said that Articles 83, 91 and 101 of the Law No. 01/NA "On Contract and Tort", dated 8 December 2008, allowed defendants to protect their rights and legitimate interests. He noted that, in his view, the 2011 Intellectual Property Law had brought the provisions on provisional measures into full compliance with the TRIPS Agreement.

- Administrative procedures and remedies

218. The representative of Lao PDR said that administrative procedures and remedies were previously established pursuant to the Decree "On Trademarks", the Decree "On the Protection of Patents, Petty Patents (Utility Models) and Industrial Designs" and the 2007 Intellectual Property Law. Currently, the administrative procedures and remedies had been governed by the 2011 Intellectual Property Law and the Petition Handling Law No. 07/NA, dated 9 November 2005. The representative of Lao PDR said that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law provided the possibility to request administrative action with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) or Customs Department (for border measures). He further noted that the administrative actions with border measures would be handled under Ministerial Instruction No. 1970/MOF "On Customs Protection of Intellectual Property" and the actions with MoST relied on the general provisions of the 2005 Petition Handling Law.

219. Administrative officials had the authority to issue injunctions to order a party to desist from an infringement and to prevent infringing goods from entering the channels of commerce. For example regarding trademarks, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) could issue a warning by administrative procedure to individuals and legal entities using trademarks without the consent of the owner or otherwise pursuing the use of trademarks illegitimately. The DIP would invite the parties concerned to discuss the alleged violation and find a mutually agreeable solution (acceptable also to DIP). If no Agreement was reached, the matter could be referred to the Economic Dispute Resolution Office under the Ministry of Justice or to the courts.

220. He added that Lao PDR had a tradition to settle trademark disputes through administrative channels. Eight cases involving claims of trademark infringement had been settled thus far; seven of them through DIP, and one case by the Economic Dispute Resolution Office. Although the settlements needed to be "certified" by a court to be legally enforceable, he considered the administrative procedure generally effective. He stressed that the complainant could bring an infringement case directly before a court and was not required to invoke the administrative procedure.

- Special border measures

221. The representative of Lao PDR said that the 2005 Customs Law and its implementing Decree No. 362/PM included provisions for intellectual property rights protection at the border. Right holders would request the Department of Intellectual Property in the MoST to take action, and the Department coordinated with the Customs Department in the application of border measures.


Pursuant to Article 76.10 of the Customs Law, the customs authorities could inspect and seize infringing goods.

222. In response to specific questions on whether the Customs Law and Decree No. 362/PM allowed for inspection and seizure of both imported and exported infringing goods, suspending the release of counterfeit or pirated goods, and whether further provisions were being contemplated, he noted that provisions on special border measures had also been included in Article 124 of the 2007 Intellectual Property Law which authorized border officials to inspect, seize and impound infringing imported or exported goods. Articles 129 through 135 of the Intellectual Property Law elaborated the applicable sanctions. The representative of Lao PDR noted that Ministerial Instruction No. 1970/MOF on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property (issued in September 2011) covered Articles 51 through 60 of the TRIPS Agreement. He further said that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law included provisions in line with Section 4 of the TRIPS Agreement. He also added that a new Customs Law had been adopted in December 2011.

- Criminal procedures

223. The representative of Lao PDR said that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law and the 2005 Criminal Law allowed recourse to criminal proceedings in case of infringement of intellectual property rights in accordance with Criminal Procedure Law. Penalties were stipulated in the 2011 Intellectual Property Law and in the 2005 Criminal Law. The representative of Lao PDR noted that the 2011 Intellectual Property Law also allowed recourse to criminal proceedings in the form of imprisonment and fines in case of infringement of intellectual property rights, specifically: (i) intentional violations for a commercial purpose; (ii) violations that cause damage; and (iii) intentional violations of Articles 121 and 122. Articles 121 and 122 referred to trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, and violation of these Articles was a criminal offense regardless of whether damage or commercial purpose could be demonstrated.

224. Asked to explain how existing legislation complied with Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement, he added that the 2007 Intellectual Property Law (Article 134) included sanctions against infringement of all intellectual property rights. Penalties were in the form of imprisonment ranging from three months to two years, and fines between KN 0.5 million and KN 5 million. He added that under the 2011 Intellectual Property Law, adopted in December 2011, fines ranged between KN 0.5 million and KN 10 million.

225. The representative of Lao PDR requested that the Working Party grant a transitional period to 31 December 2016 to address those issues identified in its Action Plan and to obtain technical assistance and provide the administration the time to implement fully the obligations of the TRIPS Agreement. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that if a transition period was granted for those aspects of the WTO Agreement on TRIPS identified in the Action Plan, his Government was prepared to undertake the following commitments. No later than the date of accession, Lao PDR would fully apply Articles 3, 4 and 5 of the Agreement that provide for, inter alia, national treatment and MFN treatment under current legislation in place as well as any other IPR-related measures that were not part of the Action Plan. Lao PDR would also ensure that any change made in its laws and regulations during this period would not result in a lesser degree of consistency with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement than existed on the date of accession.

226. The representative of Lao PDR further confirmed that, if a transition was granted, his Government would ensure that, from the date of accession, existing rates of infringement would not significantly increase and that any infringement of intellectual property rights would be addressed immediately using existing enforcement provisions and remedies and in cooperation with affected right holders. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that draft decisions implementing the Intellectual Property Law, which Lao PDR had shared with Members, would be finalized and issued


by the date of accession. The draft implementing decisions, which had been shared with Members, would be adopted without substantial amendment. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed his understanding that issuance of the implementing decisions was necessary to implement at least Articles 9.1, 13, 16.1, 16.3, 23.3, 31 and 33 of the TRIPS Agreement. He further confirmed that if a transition period was granted, Lao PDR, would no later than the end of that transition period, authorize consistent with Article 58 of the TRIPS Agreement competent authorities to act upon their own initiative and to suspend the release of goods in respect of which they had acquired prima facie evidence that an intellectual property right is being infringed by counterfeit trademark goods or pirated copyright goods. He added that Lao PDR would need substantial technical assistance to achieve this. He stated that Lao PDR would seek out all available technical assistance to ensure that it would have the capacity to enforce fully a TRIPS-consistent legal regime upon expiration of the transition period. He added that Lao PDR would make available all legislation and regulations in promulgated form to the WTO Secretariat so that interested WTO Members could confirm the consistency of those measures with the TRIPS Agreement. In response to requests from delegations for more specificity, the representative of Lao PDR presented an action plan setting-out details of the steps that still remained to be taken in order to achieve this objective and a timetable for each step (Table 20-B).

Table 20-B - Action Plan for the Implementation of the Agreement onTrade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of

Intellectual Property Rights

Laws/Actions Implementation Time-frame Remarks

Others Authorize ex officio action in compliance with TRIPS Article 58

Intellectual Property LawCustoms LawMinistry of Finance Instructions

Enhance public awareness on the protection of intellectual property rights.

Upgrade computerization of MOST.

Training for users (development of information brochure and training programme).

Training on copyrights, industrial property and plant variety protection for enforcement authorities such as customs officials, trade inspectors, policemen, judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

Technical assistance and capacity building sought

TA sought and received from ACWL, EU, JPO, SIDA, USAID and WIPO.





Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of

Intellectual Property Rights

Laws/Actions Implementation Time-frame Remarks

Full implementation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (except with respect to patents and undisclosed information of pharmaceutical products covered by the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health).

31 December 2016

227. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that Lao PDR would apply fully the TRIPS Agreement no later than 31 December 2016 with the understanding that the protections for intellectual property rights as provided for in paragraphs 225 and 226 would be applied by Lao PDR by the dates specified in those paragraphs. The representative of Lao PDR also confirmed that Lao PDR would avail itself of special and differential treatment for Least-Developed Countries under the TRIPS Agreement and various Ministerial Conference Declarations including the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration (paragraph 47), TRIPS Council Decision (IP/C/40), and the Eighth Ministerial Conference Decisions. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

VI. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES

228. The representative of Lao PDR said that services accounted for a quarter of all trade and around 37 per cent of Lao PDR's GDP in 2011. The public sector had traditionally been the principal services supplier. The main services sectors were wholesale and retail trade, followed by transportation, storage, communication and financial services. Tourism was an important source of export revenue. But with market-oriented reforms and privatization, the private sector was gaining prominence in services sectors, such as computer, courier, telecommunications, construction, distribution, education, environment, insurance, banking and tourism. He added that services exports had grown at about 6.6 per cent annually since 1990 while the growth in services exports was largely triggered due to a significant expansion in the tourism industry. He noted that there was currently no data available to assess the growth of the specific services sectors. Public suppliers continued to dominate the following services sectors: hospitals, water supplies, electricity distribution, and postal services.

229. Legislative developments had been made in various sectors, including: the adoption of the Law "On Postal" (2004); the Law "On Tourism" (2005); the Law "On Civil Aviation" (2005); the Law "On Health Care" (2005); the Law "On Accounting" (2007 Amendment); the Law "On Education" (2007 Amendment); the Law "On Media" (2008); the Law "On Water Supply" (2009); the Law "On Construction" (2008); the revised Law "On Telecommunications" (2011); the revised Insurance Law (2011); the Law "On Lawyers" (2011); and, the Law "On Electricity" (2011). The legal framework and the regulatory capacity for several service sections, such as banking was still being developed. Ministries and agencies responsible for services included the Ministries of Planning and Investment; Public Works and Transport; Justice; Finance; Health; Education and Sports; Information, Culture and Tourism; Agriculture and Forestry; Industry and Commerce; Energy and Mines; and Labour and Social Welfare; Science and Technology; Natural Resources and Environment; Post, Telecommunication and Communication and the Bank of Lao PDR. The Ministry of Planning and Investment coordinated services negotiations under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services, whereas the Ministry of Industry and Commerce had overall responsibility for trade in services issues as they arose in the WTO. Following the adoption of Decree No. 363/PM on the Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information, dated 19 August 2010, and Decision No. 0349/MOIC.FTPD on the GATS Enquiry Point, dated 22 February 2011, his Authorities


established the GATS Enquiry Point in the Foreign Trade Policy Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Lao PDR submitted a copy of the legislation to the Working Party. The GATS Enquiry Point could be contacted at:

Foreign Trade Policy DepartmentMinistry of Industry and CommerceP.O. Box 4107, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR

Tel: +856 21 450 065Fax: +856 21 450 066Website: www.laoftpd.comEmail: [email protected]

230. He noted that investment in service sectors were governed by the new investment legislation, i.e. Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" and its Implementing Decree. The Business Law No. 03/94/NA of 18 July 1994, which had reserved certain activities for Lao nationals, notably services incidental to forestry or manufacturing, retail services, clerical or secretarial services, tourist guides, road transport services, teaching the Lao language, security guard services, building cleaning services and postal services had been replaced by the Enterprise Law No. 11/NA of 9 November 2005, which aimed at providing foreign and domestic investors an opportunity to conduct businesses on an equal footing and retained only certain restrictions related to cultural sensitivity, for example, tourist guides. However, the Land Law No. 04/NA of 21 October 2003 stipulated that foreign nationals or juridical persons were not entitled to own land but could own premises or lease land.

231. In response to a specific question on the restriction of tour guide services, the representative of Lao PDR said that tour guides played an important role in preserving Lao PDR's long history and culture, which had been often misunderstood or misled due to the similarities with its neighbouring countries. Therefore, the 2006 Tourism Law specifically required that tour guides must be Lao citizens. He confirmed that no other service sectors in which Lao PDR had made market access commitments had cultural sensitivity restrictions.

232. Foreign investors could also open representative offices or branches (Article 48 of Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" and Article 35 of the Enterprise Law No. 11/NA). This, however, did not obviate the standard registration requirements in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. In response to a specific question, he noted that the financial services were considered as one of the key sectors essential for the national stability/security ("economic stability"). It was therefore included in the Negative List, as stipulated in Decree No. 68/PM "On Controlled Business" of 28 April 2008 (Table 2). (see also Section on "Investment regime").

233. In legal services, pursuant to the 2011 Law on Lawyers (formerly referred to as the Law on Bar Association), foreign lawyers were not allowed to practice Lao laws or represent clients in front of Lao PDR's courts. However, they could practice international laws and the laws of their home country provided that they met the requirements as set-out in the Law on Lawyers.

234. Lao PDR was preparing for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the framework of a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with other members of ASEAN. Seven MRAs had been concluded by December 2009 in accountancy services, architectural services, engineering services, nursing services, medical practitioners, dental practitioners, and surveying qualifications.

235. The banking system was under the supervision of BOL and regulated by Law No. 03/NA "On Commercial Banks" and the Implementing Decree No. 275/PM. The Lao Securities Exchange


(LSX) was established on 10 October 2010 and had become operational since January 2011. Law No. 11/90/NA "On Insurance" and its implementing decree governed the insurance sector. The Insurance Law No. 06/NA had been amended and adopted in December 2011. The insurance market remained narrow whereby most insurance coverage applied to non-life insurance products and only a small proportion of the Lao population had insurance coverage. A monopoly on insurance services granted to Allianz General Laos, a joint venture with 51 per cent foreign ownership, had expired in 2002.

236. Although some natural monopolies existed, particularly in the supply of public services, a number of sectors had been opened to competition, including telecommunication, banking, insurance, air and road transport, water supply, and hospital services sectors. La Poste du Lao had retained a monopoly on the supply of postal services related to postal savings, national defence and national security, but all other postal services, including courier services, were open to competition.

237. The Telecommunications Act No. 02/NA of 10 April 2001 provided the legal framework for telecommunication services. The representative of Lao PDR noted that the 2001 Telecommunication Act had been revised and the Telecommunications Law No. 09/NA was adopted in December 2011. The Ministry of Post, Telecommunication and Communication provided regulatory oversight for this sector. Domestic and international fixed line telephone services were no longer a monopoly for the Lao Telecommunications Company, a joint venture with 49 per cent foreign ownership. Five companies provided mobile telephony services, and there were no specific limitations on operators of enhanced and value-added services, including internet services. On the 2011 Telecommunications Law, a Member noted that the requirement for natural and legal persons to register an internet domain with the competent Lao authority (Article 12), would effectively cut-off Lao PDR from the internet market place. In response, the representative of Lao PDR explained that foreign service providers that had assigned internet numbers and domain names in other countries were not required to register with Lao PDR's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and Communications, only Laotian domain names needed to be registered.

238. A Member of the Working Party expressed concerns regarding Regulation No. 1288/PTC "On the Establishment of International Letter Post Items and Postal Parcel Enterprise" of 25 June 2012. The Member pointed out that this Regulation included burdensome requirements for couriers providing services for international letters and parcel post items. These measures and requirements related to: dissolution of private courier companies providing the services of the international letter post and parcel post items; inspection system for post and parcel items and inspection fees; requirement of reporting transaction statistics; prohibition on freely setting the price by private courier companies; and possible fines imposed for non-compliance. In this Member's view, these requirements appeared to be inconsistent with Lao PDR's commitment to open the courier services sector. This Member requested the following clarifications:

- With respect to Article 5, under what circumstances can Lao PDR resort to the "dissolution of a private courier company providing the services of the international letter post and parcel post items"? Are similar requirements placed on courier companies servicing the domestic market? Do those requirements apply to the national postal authority when it is acting in competition with private courier services (for example, in providing express delivery services)?

- Article 8 states that "Letter post items (for small package) and parcel post items accepted by the company must be inspected by the postal officer and tax officer at the postal check point every time before dispatching and the company has to pay for service fee 20,000 kip/package/time to Lao State Postal Enterprise". This Member requested that Lao PDR further explained how this cost was in line with the service rendered. Further, could Lao PDR clarify whether a similar fee was placed on domestic letters? Did a similar


fee apply to the national postal authority when it was acting in competition with private courier services (for example, in providing express delivery services)?

- How many postal check points were there and where were they located? Would the Government, upon request, establish a postal check point at the place of business of a courier service provider? Lao PDR had undertaken a commitment to allow express delivery services defined, inter alia, as collection, transport and delivery "on an expedited basis". What steps had Lao PDR taken to ensure that the inspection system did not prevent the couriers from providing expedited service in comparison with other forms of collection, transport and delivery?

- Article 8 also requires that courier companies providing international services "Report monthly, quarterly, yearly statistics to the division of post, telecommunication and communication of the provinces/Municipality". What was the purpose of collecting this information? Was the same information required of the national postal authority's international services? Did this information relate solely to the volume of packages, etc. being transported, or was it more detailed? Were there exemptions for proprietary information? Was the same information required of courier companies and the national postal authority when providing domestic services?

- Article 11 appears to prohibit private courier companies from setting their own prices, and requiring such companies to obtain approval from the Ministry of Post for price decreases, increases or price campaigns. These requirements did not appear to be in line with Lao PDR's market access and national treatment commitments with respect to courier services. Could Lao PDR please clarify how this article functions?

- With respect to Article 14, and fines that could be imposed for non-compliance, were similar fines imposed on domestic couriers and the national postal authority? If so, could Lao PDR provide the regulation imposing such fines?

239. In response, the representative of Lao PDR noted that Article 5 of the Regulation provided a general statement on which government authority was responsible for issuing, suspending or withdrawing a business operating licence for international courier services in the Lao PDR. It was not intended to prescribe the circumstances of suspending or withdrawing the licence. In spite of the general provision of Article 5 of the Regulation, the government authority may impose a measure on an international courier company only as prescribed in Articles 13 and 14 of the Regulation. With regard to the dissolution of an enterprise, the 2005 Enterprise Law applied. An enterprise may be dissolved only in circumstances prescribed in the Enterprise Law (e.g. upon a resolution of shareholders or as per a court decision). As per its Article 2, the Regulation applies to all companies which are located in the Lao PDR and which provide services of international letter post and parcel post items regardless of the nationality of shareholders of such companies. The scope of application as per Article 2 of the Regulation did not provide any exemption for Lao State Postal Enterprise. Therefore, if Lao State Postal Enterprise runs services of international letter post and parcel post items, it would be subject to the same requirements as any other courier companies providing such services. There was a translation error: "tax officer" should have been "customs officer". The cost was to cover the approximate expenses to be incurred by the officers (e.g. daily travel to the courier company places) to carry out inspection at the places of courier companies. The relevant authority is in the discussion with courier companies to decide on annual fixed fee instead of 20,000 Kip/package/time. It is be noted that the fee was to cover the cost of the inspection of items imported to or exported from the Lao PDR by post. The inspection is for customs purpose and does not apply to domestic letters. The scope of application as per Article 2 of the Regulation does not provide any exemption to Lao State Postal Enterprise. Therefore, if Lao State Postal Enterprise runs services of international letter post and parcel post items, it would be subject to the same requirements as any other courier companies providing such services. The representative of Lao PDR also noted that the inspection/checkpoint could be carried out at the places of courier companies, if requested. The establishment of checkpoints at the places of courier companies aimed to expedite the courier services. Reports were for statistical purposes so that the authority could


monitor the increase or decline of use of courier services and general revenues made in these services. The scope of application as per Article 2 of the Regulation did not provide any exemption for Lao State Postal Enterprise. Therefore, if Lao State Postal Enterprise runs services of international letter post and parcel post items, it would be subject to the same requirements as any other courier companies providing such services. As per Article 9 of the Regulation, the information to be reported covered statistics, volumes and production value (i.e. revenues of services). Proprietary information was not required. The reporting obligation applied to all companies including those providing domestic services. The purpose of Article 11 was to ensure the stability and fairness of service fees for both service users and service providers. As per its Article 2, the Regulation applies to all companies which are located in the Lao PDR and which provide services of international letter post and parcel post items regardless the nationality of shareholders of such companies.

240. In response, the representative of Lao PDR explained that the dissolution of an international courier services provider was governed by the 2005 Enterprise Law. The inspection and fees applied equally to both domestic and foreign service suppliers for their international post and parcel services. The inspection fees, which only applied to international post services, covered the approximate expenses incurred by the inspection officers. He said that checkpoints could be established upon request of courier companies, at the places of courier companies to expedite the courier services. On reporting obligation, he explained that this requirement, applied to both international and domestic services, aimed at collecting information on volumes and service revenues, not proprietary information.

241. Lao PDR confirmed that it would apply and interpret its legislation in conformity with its commitments on services contained in the Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services (document WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.2) annexed to Lao PDR's Protocol of Accession to the WTO.

VII. TRANSPARENCY

- Publication of information on trade

242. The representative of Lao PDR said that Decree No. 363 "On the Notification and Enquiry of Trade-Related Information" of 19 August 2010 included provisions for prior comment and public review of proposed SPS and TBT regulations and legislation. Pursuant to Article 37 of Edict No. 02/OPR "On the Making of Legal Acts" of 20 October 2003, all laws of general application (except for administrative acts, such as appointment of a Director General) were subject to consultations with line ministries and with the general public though financial constraints might limit the extensiveness of the consultations. The Edict also provided for the publication of laws and regulations in the Official Gazette and/or dissemination through mass media. A Member encouraged Lao PDR to consider enacting a broader regulatory review process, to foster greater overall transparency. In response, the representative of Lao PDR said that Edict No. 02/OPR was upgraded to the Law "On the Making of Legal Acts". The Law was passed by the National Assembly in July 2012, and was expected to be promulgated by the President in October 2012. This Law would address the broader transparency requirements in legislative process. It would also enhance the publication of the Official Gazette of the Government. As it required intensive internal coordination and was financially demanding, Lao PDR requested additional time to make the Official Gazette fully operational.

243. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, upon accession, Lao PDR would promptly implement Article X of the GATT 1994, Article III of the GATS, Article 63 of the TRIPS Agreement, and other transparency provisions in the WTO Agreements requiring notification and publication. He further confirmed that no law, regulation, judicial decision, administrative rulings, or other measures of general application, at any level of Government, pertaining to or affecting trade in goods,


services and TRIPS, except for laws, regulations and other measures involving national emergency or security, or for which publication would impede law enforcement, would become effective prior to its publication in the Official Gazette, on official websites, or in newspapers. The obligation to establish the Official Gazette and the principle that any laws become effective only after their publication is established under the Law on the Making of Legal Acts. Lao PDR would fulfil its publication commitments through the use of official websites or newspapers by the time of accession, and would establish the Official Gazette within three years after accession. The publication of such laws, regulations and other measures would include the effective date of these measures. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

- Notifications

244. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that, at the latest within six months of the entry into force of the Protocol of Accession, Lao PDR would submit all initial notifications required by the WTO Agreement. Any laws, regulations, or other measures subsequently enacted by Lao PDR, and which were required to be notified pursuant to the WTO Agreement, would also be notified in a time and manner consistent with WTO requirements. The Working Party took note of these commitments.

VIII. TRADE AGREEMENTS

245. The representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had joined ASEAN and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 1997. By implementing the AFTA Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme, later renamed ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), duties on imports into Lao PDR from other ASEAN members would set to fall to zero, or maximum 5 per cent, on nearly 99 per cent on HS 2007. For goods on the "Sensitive List" (203 tariff lines), Lao PDR would eliminate the duties by 2015, or in some cases by 2018. Lao PDR had included 464 tariff line items on the "General Exemption List", thus excluded from any reduction commitment. He estimated that about 60 per cent of Lao PDR's imports would be covered when AFTA had been fully implemented. Lao PDR was also a member of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) and the ASEAN Investment Area Agreement, later renamed ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA). Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN dialogue partners (China, India, Japan, Korea, as well as the Closer Economic Relations (CER) Agreement with Australia and New Zealand) were in force. He noted that the ASEAN-Japan and ASEAN-India negotiations in services were expected to be concluded by the end of 2012.

246. Lao PDR had signed bilateral trade and economic cooperation agreements with Argentina, Belarus, Cambodia, China, the European Union, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and Viet Nam. Lao PDR was also a party to the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement, together with Bangladesh, China, India, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka. Lao PDR benefited from preferential access under the General System of Preferences accorded to LDCs by both developed and developing countries.

247. The representative of Lao PDR confirmed that his Government would observe the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement, including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994, the 1979 GATT Decision on Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (Enabling Clause) and Article V of the GATS in its trade agreements and would ensure that the applicable provisions of the WTO Agreements for notification, consultation, and other requirements concerning free trade areas, customs unions and other preferential trade arrangements, of which Lao PDR was, or may become, a Member, were met from the date of accession. The Working Party took note of these commitments.


CONCLUSIONS

248. The Working Party took note of the explanations and statements of Lao PDR concerning its foreign trade regime, as reflected in this Report. The Working Party took note of the commitments given by Lao PDR in relation to certain specific matters which are reproduced in paragraphs 35, 41, 52, 55, 59, 63, 66, 68, 72, 82, 90, 94, 96, 98, 99, 105, 114, 125, 149, 152, 159, 164, 227, 243, 244 and 247. The Working Party took note that these commitments had been incorporated in paragraph 2 of the Protocol of Accession of Lao PDR to the WTO.

249. Having carried out the examination of the foreign trade regime of Lao PDR and in the light of the explanations, commitments and concessions made by the representative of Lao PDR, the Working Party reached the conclusion that Lao PDR be invited to accede to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO under the provisions of Article XII. For this purpose, the Working Party has prepared the draft Decision and Protocol of Accession reproduced in the Appendix to this Report, and takes note of Lao PDR's Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods (document WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.1) and its Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services (document WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.2) that are annexed to the Protocol. It is proposed that these texts be adopted by the General Council when it adopts the Report. When the Decision is adopted, the Protocol of Accession would be open for acceptance by Lao PDR which would become a Member thirty days after it accepts the said Protocol. The Working Party agreed, therefore, that it had completed its work concerning the negotiations for the accession of Lao PDR to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.


ANNEX

Laws, Regulations and Other Information Provided to the Working Party of Lao PDR

- Law No. 5/95/NA "On the Bank of the Lao PDR" of 14 October 1995;- Decree No. 95/PM "On the Bank of Lao" of 22 June 1993;- Regulation No. 02/BOL "On Commercial Banks and Financial Institutions' Capital Adequacy

Under Supervision by the Bank of the Lao PDR" of 15 January 1996;- Regulation No. 04/BOL "On Protecting Soundness Practices of the Commercial Banks and

Financial Institutions which are Under the Supervision of the Bank of the Lao PDR" of 15 January 1996;

- Additional Instruction No. 01/BOL "On Implementation of Some Articles of the Instruction No. 02/BOL of 29 September 2003" of 5 February 2004;

- Regulations No. 08/BOL "On Foreign Currency Exposure" of 7 May 1996;- Decree No. 53/PCM "On the Management of Foreign Exchange and Precious Metals" of

7 September 1990;- Presidential Decree Law No. 01/P "Governing the Management of Foreign Exchange and

Precious Metals", dated 17 March 2008;- Instruction No. 01/BOL "On Implementation of Decree Law on Management of Foreign

Currency and Precious Metals", dated 2 April 2010;- Law No. 02/NA "On Investment Promotion" of 8 July 2009;- Decree No. 119/PM "On Implementation of the Investment Promotion Law", dated

20 April 2011;- Decree No. 68/PM "On Adoption of the Negative List", dated 28 April 2008;- Law No. 11/NA "On the Promotion of Foreign Investment" of 22 October 2004;- Decree No. 301/PM "Regarding the Implementation of the Law on the Promotion of Foreign

Investment" of 12 October 2005;- Law No. 1/94 "On the Promotion and Management of Foreign Investment in the Lao PDR" of

14 March 1994;- Decree No. 46/PM "On the Implementation of the Law on the Promotion and Management of

Foreign Investment in the Lao PDR" of 23 March 2001;- Decision No. 013/CPC "On the Rules for Consideration Approval of Foreign Investment

Project in the Lao PDR" of 27 February 2002;- Law No. 10/NA "On the Promotion of Domestic Investment" of 22 October 2004;- Domestic Investment Promotion Law No 03/95/NA of 14 October 1995;- Resolution No.3/NA "Approving the Domestic Investment Promotion Law" of

14 October 1995;- Decree No. 27/PM "On Domestic Investment Promotion" of 26 October 1995;- Decree No. 115/PM "On Associations", dated 29 April 2009;- Contract and Tort Law No. 01/NA, dated 8 December 2008; - Law No. 04/97/NA "Mining Law" of 12 April 1997;- Prime Minister's Order No. 18/PM "On Forestry Management Policy for the Year 2002-2003"

of 4 October 2002;- Notification No. 11/PM "On the Management of Forestry and the Timber Industry" of

23 August 1999;- Forestry Law No. 01/96 of 11 October 1996;- Resolution "On the Adoption of the Forestry Law No. 04/96" of 11 October 1996;- Decree No. 125/PDR "On the Promulgation of the Forestry Law" of 2 November 1996;- The Constitution of the Lao PDR of 15 August 1991;- Presidential Ordinance No. 02/OPR "On Legal Act Drafting" of 20 October 2003;- Law No. 06/NA "On the Resolution of Economic Disputes", dated 17 December 2010; - Enterprise Law No. 11/NA of 9 November 2005;- Business Law No. 03/NA of 18 July 1994;


- Decree No. 31/PMO "On the Implementation of the Business Law" of 1 February 1996;- Notification No. 750/MOC "On the Implementation of Enterprise Registration Based on the

Business Law" of 6 August 1996;- Decree No. 474/PM "On the Administration of Prices of Goods and Services", dated

18 November 2010;- Decree No. 207/PMO "On Goods Trading Business" of 11 October 2001;- Law No. 05/NA "On Tax", dated 20 December 2011;- Decree No.114/GoL "On Import and Export of Goods", dated 6 April 2011;- Decree No. 205/PM "On Export and Import" of 11 October 2001;- Regulations No. 462/MOC "On the Authorization for the Operation of the Import-Export

Business" of 8 December 1993;- Notification No. 870/MOC "Amendment to Notification No. 175/MOC of 4 April 1994 –

On Prohibited Goods for Import or Export" of 19 September 1996;- Notification No. 1552/MCTPC "On the Import of Motor Cycles Over 250cc" of 8 July 1996;- List of Chemical Products Under Restricted Control No. 1364/95/DFM of September 1995;- Decree No. 03/PR "On the Preservation of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage" of

20 June 1997;- List of Medicines Prohibited in the Lao PDR based on Decree of the Ministry of Public

Health No. 740/MPH of 3 April 1994;- Decree No. 180/PM "On Import Licensing Procedures" of 7 July 2009;- Notification No. 2151/MOIC.DIMEX "On the List of Controlled Goods Subject to

Non-Automatic Import and Export Licensing Procedures in Lao PDR" of 30 October 2009;- Notification No. 0826/MOIC.DIMEX "On the Automatic and Non-automatic Licensing of

Import and Export of Goods", dated 3 May 2011: - Annex 1: Goods subject to non-automatic import and export licensing; and- Annex 2: Goods subject to automatic import and export licensing;

- Notification No. 0076/MOIC.DIMEX "On the List of Goods subject to Automatic and Non automatic Import and Export Licensing" of 13 January 2012;

- Decision No. 0450/MOIC.DIMEX "On the Procedures for Steel and Cement Import and Distribution", dated 1 March 2012;

- Decision No. 0451/MOIC.DIMEX "On the Procedure for Timber Import", dated 1 March 2012;

- Decision No. 0352/MEM "On Import and Export Licensing Procedures of Minerals and Mineral Products", dated 13 March 2012;

- Instruction No. 109/NDID "On Procedures for the Importation of Industrial Explosive Substances", dated 29 May 2012;

- Decision No. 609/BOL "On Procedures for Importation and Exportation of Gold Bars", dated 26 June 2012;

- Decision No. 0080/MAF "On Procedures for Importation, Management and Utilization of Chainsaw (Wood-cutting machines)", dated 19 June 2012;

- Decision No. 518/MICT "On Procedures for Importation and Distribution of Publications", dated 13 June 2012;

- Notification No. 799/MPS "Importation of Gun and Bullet for Sportive Purposes", dated 13 June 2012;

- Decision No. 0452/MOIC.DIMEX "On Procedures for Rice Import and Export in the Lao PDR", dated 1 March 2012;

- Notification No. 0202/MOC.FTD "On the List of Imports and Exports Subject to Licensing from Trade Authorities and Subject to Technical Certification from Related Authorities (for the year 2002-2003)" of 14 February 2003;

- Law No. 05/NA "Customs Law" of 20 May 2005;- Law No. 04/NA "On Customs", dated 20 December 2011;- Guidance No. 0491/MOF "On the Implementation of the Customs Law No. 05/NA dated

20 May 2005 and Decree Implementing the Customs Law" dated 12 March 2009;


- Instruction No. 1398/PM "On Customs Valuation" dated 16 June 2010;- Instruction No. 2401/CD of the Director-General of the Customs Department "On Customs

Valuation for Imported Goods", dated 29 September 2010;- Instruction No. 11589/CD "On Additional Explanations on the Customs Valuation of

Imported Goods", dated 24 July 2012;- Decree No. 362/PM "On the Implementation of the Customs Law" of 19 October 2007;- Law No. 4/94/NA "Customs Law" of 18 July 1994;- Decree No. 228/PM "On the Origin of Import and Export Goods" of 22 April 2010;- Decree No. 187/PM "On the Abolishing of Export Tariffs for Agricultural Products" of

21 October 1994;- Minister Instruction No. 230/MOF "On the Abolishing of Export Tariffs for Agricultural

Products" of 4 March 1995;- Edict No. 002/OP "On List of Goods and Export Duty Rates", dated 27 April 2012;- Decree No. 85/PM "On the Management of the Standards and Quality of Goods and Services"

of 2 November 1995;- Provisions No. 105/FMC for Quality Control of 31 October 1991;- Standards Law No. 13/NA of 26 December 2007;- Ministerial Decision No. 0039/MoAF "On the Basic Principles for the Application of Sanitary

and Phytosanitary Measures in Plant and Animal Product Administration", dated 11 January 2012;

- Decree No. 363/PM "On the Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" dated 19 August 2010;

- Decision No. 0471/MOIC "On Notification Unit of Sanitary-Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade", dated 9 March 2011;

- Decision No. 1199/NAST-PMO "On the Organization and Operation of Technical Barriers to Trade Enquiry Point", dated 22 June 2011;

- Decision No. 1502/MAF "On the Organization and Operation of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Enquiry Point", dated 23 June 2011;

- Regulation No. 519/MoH "On Labelling of Pre-packaged Food", dated 18 March 2009; - Law No. 06/NA "On Plant Protection", dated 9 December 2008; - Regulation No. 0719/MAF "On the Management and Use of Plant Species and Seeds for

Planting in the Lao PDR" of 3 December 1997;- Regulation No. 0639/MAF "On the Quarantine of Plants in the Lao PDR" of 2 July 1993;- Decree No. 66/PM "On the Quarantine of Plants in the Lao PDR" of 23 March 1993;- Regulation No. 894/MAF "On the Control and Use of Plant Pesticides in the Lao PDR" of

21 November 1992;- List of pets and diseases of plants quarantine;- Law No. 03/NA "On Livestock Production and Veterinary Matters" of 25 July 2008;- Instruction No. 0005/MAF for the Regulation on Livestock Management in Lao PDR of

2 January 1997;- Decree No. 85/PMO "On Livestock Management in Lao PDR" of 31 May 1993;- Regulation No. 0004/MAF "On Livestock Management in Lao PDR" of 2 January 1997; - Technical Norms No. 0313/MAF "On livestock management in the Lao PDR" of

21 January 2000;- Law No. 04/NA "On Food" of 15 May 2004;- National Policy No. 028/PMO "On Food Safety" of 3 February 2009;- Regulation No. 518/MOH "On the Basic Principles in the Application of Sanitary and

Technical Measures for the Food Safety Management" of 18 March 2009;- Regulation No. 586/MOH "On the Control on Production, Exported-Imported Safe Food", of

12 May 2006;- Provisions No. 035/FMC "On the Control of Export-Oriented and Imported Foodstuffs" of

26 October 1991;


- Elaborated Recommendations No. 035/FMC Relating to the Regulations on Quality Control of Export-Oriented and Imported Foodstuffs of 9 September 1991;

- Regulation No. 105/CFD "On Food Quality Control in Domestic Distribution" of 31 October 1991;

- Provisions No. 048/FMC "On Quality Control of Domestically Produced Food Products" of 26 September 1991;

- Fisheries Law No. 03/NA, dated 9 July 2009;- Resolution No. 09/PMO endorsing "The National Science and Technology Policy of

Lao PDR up to the year 2010" of 27 November 2003; - Ministerial Decision No. 1502/MAF "On the Organization and Operation of Sanitary and

Phytosanitary Enquiry Point" (re-submitted), dated 23 June 2011;- Decree No. 228/GoL "On the Prevention and Control of Animal Diseases", dated

31 May 2012;- Decree No. 229/GoL "On Implementing the Law on Plant Protection", dated 31 May 2012;- Decision No. 297/MOH "On Food Inspection", dated 24 February 2012;- Instruction No. 109/NDID "On Procedures for the Importation of Industrial Explosive

Substances";- Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law on Standardization", dated

6 June 2012;- Decree No. 230/GoL "On the Control of the Movement of Animal and Animal Products",

dated 4 June 2012;- Decree No. 162/PM "On Border Trade Zone at Boten, Louangnamtha Province" of

8 October 2002;- Decree No. 25/PM "On Dansavanh Village Border Trade Zone" of 25 March 2002;- Decree No. 148/PM "On Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone" of 29 September 2003;- Decree No. 443/PM "On Special Economic Zone and Specific Economic Zone in the

Lao PDR", dated 26 October 2010;- Decree No. 154/PM "On the Cancellation of Local Content Requirements set out in Previous

Legislations", dated 5 March 2012;- Implementation of Rules and Regulations No. 01639/MOF "On Government Procurement of

Goods, Construction, Repairs and Services" of 22 December 1998;- Law No. 08/NA "On Intellectual Property" of 24 December 2007;- Law No. 01/NA "On Intellectual Property" (amended), dated 20 December 2011;- Decision "On Industrial Designs";- Decision "On Patents and Petty Patents";- Decision "On Integrated Circuit Layout-Designs"; - Decision "On Geographical Indications"; - Decision "On Copyright and Related Rights"; - Decision "On Trademarks and Trade Names";- Instruction No. 1970/MOF "On Customs Measures for the Protection of Intellectual Property

Rights", dated 8 September 2011;- Regulation No. 466/STEA-PMO "On Registration of Trademarks" of 7 March 2002; - Decree No. 06/PM "On Trademarks" of 18 January 1995;- Decree No. 01/PM "On Patent, Petty Patent and Industrial Designs" of 17 January 2002;- Regulation No. 322/STEA-PMO "On the Implementation of Decree on Patent, Petty Patent

and Industrial Designs" of 18 February 2003;- Presidential Decree No. 06/PO "On the Promulgation of the Amended Law on Court Fees",

dated 16 January 2007; - Presidential Decree No. 137/PO "On the Promulgation of the Law on the Handling of

Petitions", dated 9 December 2005; - Presidential Decree No. 34/PO "On the Promulgation of the Amended Law on Criminal

Procedure", dated 14 June 2004;


- Presidential Decree No. 04/PO "On the Promulgation of the Penal Law", dated 9 January 1990;

- Penal Law No. 12/NA, dated 9 November 2005;- Decree No. 51/PO "On the Promulgation of the Amendments to Laws", dated 25 April 2001;- Decision No. 0349/MOIC.FTPD "On GATS Enquiry Point", dated 22 February 2011;- Law No. 04/NA "On Judgement Enforcement (Amended)", dated 8 July 2008; - Regulation "On Conditions for Establishing Banks in the Lao PDR" of 30 November 1995;- Decree No. 01/NA "On Commercial Banks" of 11 March 1997;- Law No. 03/NA "On Commercial Banks", dated 26 December 2006;- Decree No. 275/PM "On the Implementation of the Law on Commercial Bank", dated

25 September 2009; - Insurance Law No. 11/90/PSA of 29 November 1990;- Telecommunications Act No. 02/NA of 10 April 2001;- Law No. 09/NA "On Telecommunications (Amended)", dated 21 December 2011;- Decree No. 64/PM "On Private Education" of 14 August 1995;- Regulations No. 159/OPM "On the Management of Hotels and Guesthouses" of 30 July 1997; - Regulations No. 1150/PM "On the Establishment and Management of Tourist Service

Operators" of 25 October 1993;- Regulations No. 1413/49/MCTPC "On the Establishment of Businesses of Transportation

Shipping and Repair Services by the State; State Private Collectives and Private Individuals" of 22 June 1996;

- Law No. 3/97/NA "On Road Transportation" of 12 April 1997;- Decree No. 35/PDR "On the Enforcement of the Law on Road Transportation" of

31 May 1997;- Resolution No. 43/NA "On the Adoption of the Law on Education (as amended)", dated

3 July 2007;- Decree No. 146/PO "On the Promulgation of the Accounting Law (amended text), dated

17 July 2007; - Decision No. 0075/MOIC.DIMEX "On the Procedures for Car Import and Distribution in the

Lao PDR", dated 13 January 2012;- Decision No. 0238/MOIC.DIMEX "On Procedure for Import and Distribution of Gas in the

Lao PDR", dated 2 February 2012; - Decision No. 0237/MOIC.DIMEX "On Procedure for Import and Distribution of Petroleum

in the Lao PDR", dated 2 February 2012;- Decree No. 39/PO "On the Promulgation of the Law on Postal Services", dated 15 June 2004;- Decree No. 43/PO "On the Promulgation of the Law on Civil Aviation", dated 25 May 2005;- Decree No. 139/PDR "On the Promulgation of the Law on Health Care", dated

9 December 2005; and- Decree No. 140/PO "On the Promulgation of the Law on Tourism", dated 9 December 2005.


Table 2 - List of Controlled Businesses (Negative List)

ISIC Code Controlled businessesAgriculture, forestry and fishing

0170 Hunting, trapping and related service activities0210 Silviculture and other forestry activities0220 Logging0230 Gathering of non-wood forest products0312 Freshwater fishing

Mining and quarrying0510 Mining of hard coal0520 Mining of lignite0610 Extraction of crude petroleum0620 Extraction of natural gas0710 Mining of iron ores0721 Mining of uranium and thorium ores0729 Mining of other non-ferrous metal ores0810 Quarrying of stone, sand and clay0891 Mining of chemical and fertilizer minerals0892 Extraction of peat0893 Extraction of salt0899 Other mining and quarrying n.e.c.

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply3510 Electric power generation, transmission and distribution3520 Manufacture of gas; distribution of gaseous fuels through mains

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities3600 Water collection, treatment and supply3700 Sewerage3812 Collection of hazardous waste3822 Treatment and disposal of hazardous waste

Transportation and storage4911 Passenger rail transport, interurban4912 Freight rail transport4930 Transport via pipeline5110 Passenger air transport5120 Freight air transport5310 Postal activities

Information and communication5811 Book publishing5813 Publishing of newspapers, journals and periodicals5911 Motion picture, video and television programme production activities5912 Motion picture, video and television programme post-production activities5913 Motion picture, video and television programme distribution activities5920 Sound recording and music publishing activities6010 Radio broadcasting6021 Television broadcasting6022 Leasing program via cable, satellite and other6110 Wired telecommunications activities6120 Wireless telecommunications activities6130 Satellite telecommunications activities6190 Other telecommunications activities


Financial and insurance6411 Central banking6419 Other monetary intermediation6420 Activities of holding companies6430 Trusts, funds and similar financial entities6491 Financial leasing6492 Other credit granting6499 Other financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding activities, n.e.c.6511 Life insurance6512 Non-life insurance6520 Reinsurance6530 Pension funding6611 Administration of financial markets6612 Security and commodity contracts brokerage6619 Other activities auxiliary to financial service activities6630 Fund management activities

Human health and social work activities8610 Hospital activities8620 Medical and dental practice activities8690 Other human health activities

Arts, entertainment and recreation9200 Gambling and betting activities9321 Activities of amusement parks and theme parks


Table 5 - State-Owned Enterprises

A. Enterprises Involved in Importation and Exportation of Goods

No. Name of SOEs ResponsibleAgency Sectors Registered Activities

1. Lao Trade Import-Export Company

Ministry of Industry and Commerce

Construction and technical

equipment

Import of construction materials, electrical equipment and export of wood and handicraft products.

2. Lao International Import-Export



equipment

Import of construction materials, electrical equipment and export of wood and handicraft products.

3. Technical Equipment Supply Enterprise



equipment

Import of technical equipment including telecommunication equipment.

4. Lanexang Development Co. Ltd



equipment

Import of construction materials, spare parts, electrical equipment; export of wood and handicraft products.

5. Construction Materials, Surveys and Analyses Co.



equipment

Import of construction materials and technical equipment.

6. Lao International Trade Service Company



equipment

Import of technical equipment including various consumption goods; export of handicraft products.

7. Lao State Fuel Company


Energy Import of gasoline, diesel, lubricants and gas.

8. Barite Exploration Co.

Ministry of Energy and

Mining

Mining Operation ceased.

9. Lao Cotton State Enterprise

Lao Women's Union

Textile Export of clothing and other cotton-made products.

10. Pharmaceutical Factory No. 2

Ministry of Public Health

Public health Import of chemical products and export of medicines.

11. Pharmaceutical Factory No. 3

Ministry of Public Health

Public health Import of chemical products and export of medicines.

12. State Printing Enterprise

Ministry of Information and Culture

General printing Printing equipment.

13. Agricultural Machinery Company (Tha Ngone)

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Agriculture and forestry

Import of agricultural machinery and materials; export of agricultural, forest and wood products.

14. Development of Agro-Forestry Industry Co. (DAFI)

Ministry of Defence

Agriculture and forestry


15. State Enterprise for Agriculture and Industry Development

Ministry of Defence

Agriculture, forestry and

manufacturing


16. Bolisat Phattana Khet Phoudoi (Mountainous Area Development Company)

Prime Minister's

Office

Agriculture, forestry and rural

development



B. Other State-Owned EnterprisesNo.

Names Responsible agency Products or services

17. Lao National Tourism Prime Minister's Office Tourist services18. Education Printing Enterprise Ministry of Education Education printing services19. Education Equipment Printing Lao Youth Union Educational equipment20. Electricité du Laos Ministry of Energy and Mining Electricity 21. National Lottery Co. Ministry of Finance Lottery22. Lao Labour Services Co. Ministry of Labour and Social

WelfareEmployment services

23. Banque Pour Le Commerce Extérieur du Laos

Bank of Lao PDR Banking service

24. Lao Development Bank Bank of Lao PDR Banking service25. Agricultural Promotion Bank Bank of Lao PDR Banking service26. Lao Water Supply Co. Ministry of Public Works and

TransportWater supply

27. La Poste du Laos National Authority of Post and Telecommunication

Postal service

28. Lao Airlines Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Airline services

29. Design Communication Institute

National Authority of Post and Telecommunication

Communication and design

30. Road and Bridge Construction No. 8 Co.

Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Construction

31. River Transportation Co. Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Transportation

32. River Construction and Transportation Co.

Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Construction

33. Communication and Design Co.


Communication and design

34. River survey and Design Co. Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Survey and design

35. Consultant Services Co. Ministry of Finance Consultant services36. Lao Air Ministry of Public Works and

TransportAirline service

37. Enterprise Telecommunication du Lao (ETL)


Telecom services


Table 6(a) - Price Controls in Lao PDR

HS Number Product description Measure2710, 2711 Fuel and gas Maximum prices7213-7215 All kinds of steel for construction2523 Cement1006 Rice Minimum prices

Table 6(b) - Price Surveillance in Lao PDR

HS Number Product description39,18, 4409, 6904, 6905, 6907, 6908

Roof, floor and wall tiles

7907 Roof made of zinc4407 Sawn wood3208-3210 All kinds of house paint 3917 PVC pipes8701 Tractors8413 Water pumps8432, 8433 Harvesting or threshing machines31 Fertilizer2309 Animal feed8437 Milling machinery (of cereals and vegetables)8437.20 Milling machinery (of rice)8712 Bicycles8711 Motorcycles

Student clothingWriting toolsRaw materials for factories

30 Medicines1701, 1702 Sugar2103.10.00 Soya sauce2103.90.30 Fish sauce2922.42.20 Monosodium glutamate1507, 1511, 1512, 1513 Vegetable oil1101, 1102, 1106 Flour0201, 0202, 0203, 0207, 0209, 0210, 1602

Meat (cattle, pork and poultry)

03 Sea fish and fresh water fish

Table 6(c) - Price Administration on Essential Utilities (Services)

Sector/Subsector MeasureElectricity (CPC 1710) Tariff is based on Notification No. 302/MoIH, dated 24 June 2005.Water supply (CPC 1800) Tariff is based on Decision No. 494/VT, dated 1 September 2009.


Table 7(a) - Goods for which the Trading Rights in Paragraph 59 will Apply within Two Years from the Date of WTO Accession

HS Code Description2710 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not

elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70% or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils.

2711 Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons: liquefied: Natural Gas, Propane, Butanes, Ethylene, propylene, butylene and butadiene, Other

1006 Rice: Rice in the husk (paddy or rough), Husked (brown) rice, Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed Broken Rice.

25233816

Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement, supersulfate cement and similar hydraulic cements, whether or not colored or in the form of clinkers;Refractory cements, mortars, concretes and similar compositions, other than products of heading 3801.

7213721472157216

Bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, of iron or non-alloy steel; other bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel, not further worked than forged, hot-rolled, hot drawn or hot-extruded, but including those twisted after rolling; other bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel; angles, shapes and sections of iron or non-alloy steel.

Table 7(b) - Action Plan for Implementing Trading Rights Commitments for the Goods listed in Table 7(a)

Action to be Taken Time-frameLegal framework will be in compliance with WTO trading rights commitments.

Date of accession

Study on implementing trading rights obligations for the goods listed in Table 7(a), to include review of practices in recently acceded countries and neighbouring countries.

November 2013

Train key officials in line ministries for implementing trading rights commitments for the goods listed in Table 7(a) i.e. Customs Department, Ministry of Finance; Department of Import-Export, Internal Trade Department, Department of General Business Promotion, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Department of Standard, etc.

2013 - November 2014

Enhancing public awareness of trading rights implementation for the goods listed in Table 7(a).

2013 - November 2014

Full implementation of trading rights commitments for goods listed in Table 7(a).

Two years from the date of accession


Table 8 - Fees on or in Connection with Importation or Exportation

Fee or Charge for Services Rendered Amount of Fee or Charge Ministry or Agency ResponsibleInspection of imported medicines KN 20,000 per invoice Ministry of Health

Foodstuffs:- Issuing a permit for imports- Biennial registration of imported

products

KN 20,000 per invoice KN 50,000 per product

registered

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health

Quality inspection of import of fuel, steel bar and cement

KN 600,000 per invoice Ministry of Science and Technology

Fee for Import or Export Licence- Import licence for vehicles and parts - Import licence for machines, raw

materials, semi-final products or other parts for installation, manufacturing, assembly or processing in factories

KN 10,000 per setKN 40,000 per set

Ministry of Industry and Commerce and relevant competent licensing authorities

Customs Processing Fee for Import and Export1. Certificate of Vehicles duty payment;2. Customs declaration form (large);3. Customs declaration form (attachment

form);4. Customs seal;5. Sticker (D9);6. Duty stamp(big one);7. Duty stamp (medium, small);8. Stamp for duty free alcohol, stamp for

cigarette;9. Certificate of duty payment of vehicle

for those produced and assembled in the system of IKD;

10. Customs declaration form for vehicle for touring (D53);

11. Customs declaration form for guarantee (large one D86);

12. Customs declaration form for guarantee (attachment form) (D86);

13. Retail customs declaration form (D44);

14. Service charge of customs data management system;

KN 2,000KN 500KN 250

KN 3,000KN 4,000KN 600KN 500KN 1,500

KN 2,000

KN 2,000

KN 500

KN 250

KN 500KN 100,000

Customs Service

Warehouse fees Fees are collected in non-ad valorem, depending on type of goods and period of storage.

Warehouse authorities


Table 9(a) - Excise Tax for General Goods

Excise Tax Rate in percentageInflammable fuel: - Premium gasoline- Regular gasoline- Diesel- Aviation gasoline- Lubricant oil, hydraulic oil, grease and brake oil

25%20%10%10%5%

Gas for vehicles 10%Alcohol or alcoholic beverages: - Alcohol or alcoholic beverages of 15% proof or higher- Alcohol, wine and other alcoholic beverages under 15% proof- Beer

70%60%50%

Finished beverages:- Soft drinks, soda water, drinking mineral water, fruit juice and other similar

beverages- Energy drinks

5%

10%Cigarettes: shredded tobacco, packaged cigarettes and cigars; 60%Cristal objects or jewelleries 20%All types of carpets 15%Furniture (sofa) sets amounted from 10,000,000 kip 15%Perfumes and cosmetic products ; 20%Playing cards and gambling equipment, 90%rockets fireworks and fire cracks 80%

Vehicles:1. Motorcycles:

- with power of 110 cc or under- with power of 111-150 cc- with power of 151-250 cc- with power of 251 cc or higher - rates for electrical motorcycles shall be discounted by 20% of the applicable

rates above

2. Motor vehicles:Rates for vehicles range from 25 – 150% based on capacity of engine. Detailed

excise tax rates shall be considered and determined in a presidential edict by the Government.

10%15%20%25%

Parts for vehicles 10%Vehicle accessories 15%Speedboats, yachts, motorized sports boats including parts and components 15%Satellite television receivers, audio and visual players, cameras, telephones, audio and visual recorders, musical instruments including their equipment and components 10%

Electrical appliances: air conditioners, washing machines and vacuum cleaners 10%Billiard and snooker tables, bowling equipment, football game tables 20%All types of gaming stations/machines 30%

Table 9(b) - Excise Tax for Services

Excise Tax Rate in percentage1. Entertainment services: bars, discotheques, karaoke 60%2. Bowling 10%3. Massage, sauna, beauty salon 10%4. The use of telephone services, cable television, digital television, internet 10%5. Golfing 10%6. Lottery activities 25%7. Casinos and casino gambling equipment 80%

Authentic in Lao Only

Table 10 - Import Prohibitions

HS Code Goods Purpose Regulation Supervising authorityNA Chemicals of high-level danger used in

industries For protection of health, safety of human and environment

- Decree "On Import and Export of Goods" No. 114/GoL dated 6 April 2011.

Ministry of Industry and Commerce(Industry Department)

8710.00.0093019302.00.009306

Bullets and weapons of all kinds (except for explosives used in industries ) and war vehicles

For public order and national security

- Articles 76 and 77 of Criminal Law No. 12/NA, dated 9 November 2005.

- Prime Minister's Decision "On the Control and Use of Explosives in Lao PDR" No. 39/PM, dated 12 July 2001.

Ministry of National Defense (Advisory Major Department)

1211.40.001211.301211.90.121207.91.001302.112939.11.002939.19.002939.91.10

OpiumOpium balls, poppy seedsOpium poppies, other finished and dried opium poppies made from coco leaves, marihuana in various forms, cocaine and their derivatives

For public order and national security

- Article 146 of Criminal Law No. 12/NA, dated 9 November 2005.

- Law "On Narcotic Drugs".- Decree implementing Law

"On Narcotic Drugs" No. 076/PM, dated 20 February 2009.

Ministry of Public Security (Narcotic Drug Control Police)

Prime Minister's Office (Narcotic Drug Control and Inspection Authority)

NA Destructive fishing tools For sustainable conservation of aquatic fauna and environment

- Fisheries Law. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry(Department of Livestock and Fishery)

NA Pornographic medias / materials For protection of fine tradition

- Law "On Printings" No. 05/NA, dated 9 December 2008.

Ministry of Information and Culture (Media Department)

3215.19.004802.62.908443.19.008454.30.00

Banknote paper, banknote ink, banknote printer and coin making machine

For financial stability - Article 4 scope of rights of banks, Law "On Bank of Lao PDR" No. 05/NA dated 14 October 1999.

Bank of Lao PDR(Stock-Monetary Department)



Table 11 - Goods Subject to Non-Automatic Import Licensing

HS Code Product Reason Responsible Agencies93.03.2093.03.30

Guns and bullets for sportive purposes

For safety of public and national security

Ministry of National Defense(National Defense Department)

36.0236.03

Explosives used in industries:- explosives- explosive equipment- explosive objects- fireworks

For safety of public and national security

Ministry of National Defense(National Defense Industry Department

7108.12.10 Gold bars (only for gold bars as internationally recognized as medium of payment)

For exchange stability Bank of Lao PDR(Monetary Policy Department)


Table 12 - Goods Subject to Automatic Import Licensing

HS Code Products Reasons Responsible Agencies

8701.208701.30.208701.9087.0287.0387.0487.0587.11

Road vehicles, except road vehicles with three wheels (87.04.31)

For statistical and import monitoring purpose

Ministry of Industry and Commerce(Department of Import and Export)

27.1027.11

Petroleum and Gas For statistical and import monitoring purpose


44034407.10-4407.280601

Logs, trunks, barks and rough-processed timber



1006 Rice, Rice in the husk, husked (brown) rice, semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed


Provincial, Vientiane Capital Department of Industry and Commerce

72.13 72.1472.1572.16

Bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, of iron or non-alloy steel; Other bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel, not further worked than forged, hot-rolled, hot-drawn or hot-extruded, but including those twisted after rolling; Other bars and rods of iron or non-alloyed steel; Angles, shapes and sections of iron or non-alloy steel.



25.2338.16

Cement, mortar, concrete For statistical and import monitoring purpose


490149034905.91.004905.99.004906

Publications For statistical and import monitoring purpose

Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism(Department of Publication)

26.01-26.17 Minerals and mineral products


Ministry of Energy and Mines(Mining Department)

84.67.81.0084.67.89.0084.67.91.10

Timber exploitation machines, logging machines, chain saws including parts and equipment's thereof


Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry(Forestry Department)


Table 13 - List of Products Eligible for Safeguard Measures during Transition Period

HS Code Description0201.10.00 - Carcasses and half-carcasses0201.20.00 - Other cuts with bone in0201.30.00 - Boneless0202.10.00 - Carcasses and half-carcasses0202.20.00 - Other cuts with bone in 0202.30.00 - Boneless0203.11.00 - - Carcasses and half-carcasses0203.12.00 - - Hams, shoulders and cuts thereof, with bone in0203.19.00 - - Other0203.21.00 - - Carcasses and half-carcasses0203.22.00 - - Hams, shoulders and cuts thereof, with bone in0203.29.00 - - Other0206.49.00 - - Other 0206.90.00 - Other, frozen 0207.11.00 - - Not cut in pieces, fresh or chilled0207.12.00 - - Not cut in pieces, frozen0207.13.00 - - Cuts and offal, fresh or chilled0207.14.10 - - - Wings0207.14.20 - - - Thighs0207.14.90 - - - Other0207.24.00 - - Not cut in pieces, fresh or chilled0207.25.00 - - Not cut in pieces, frozen0207.26.00 - - Cuts and offal, fresh or chilled0207.27.10 - - - Livers0207.27.90 - - - Other0207.32.10 - - - Of ducks0407.00.11 - - Hens' eggs0407.00.12 - - Ducks' eggs0407.00.19 - - Other0407.00.91 - - Hens' eggs0407.00.92 - - Ducks eggs0407.00.99 - - Other0702.00.00 Tomatoes, fresh or chilled.0704.10.10 - - Cauliflowers0710.40.00 - Sweet corn0710.80.00 - Other vegetables0710.90.00 - Mixtures of vegetables0805.10.00 - Oranges0805.50.00 - Lemons (Citrus limon, Citrus limonum) and limes (Citrus aurantifolia, 0807.19.00 - - Other0807.20.00 - Papaws (papayas)0813.40.00 - Other fruit 0813.50.00 - Mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this Chapter1006.10.90 - - Other 1006.20.10 - - Thai Hom Mali rice 1006.20.90 - - Other 1006.30.11 - - - Whole1006.30.12 - - - Not more than 5% broken 1006.30.13 - - - More than 5% but not more than 10% broken1006.30.14 - - - More than 10% but not more than 25% broken 1006.30.19 - - - Other 1006.30.20 - - Parboiled rice


HS Code Description1006.30.30 - - Glutinous rice (pulot)1006.30.40 - - Basmati rice1006.30.50 - - Thai Hom Mali rice 1006.30.61 - - - Whole1006.30.62 - - - Not more than 5% broken 1006.30.63 - - - More than 5% but not more than 10% broken1006.30.64 - - - More than 10% but not more than 25% broken 1006.30.69 - - - Other 1006.40.00 - Broken rice 2401.30.10 - - Tobacco stems 2401.30.90 - - Other


Table 14 - Export Duties

Heading Sub-heading Descriptions Export Duty Rate %06.02 Other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and

slips; mushroom spawn. 0602.20.00 - Trees, shrubs and bushes, grafted or not, of kinds

which bear edible fruit or nuts40

0602.30.00 - Rhododendrons and azaleas, grafted or not 40 0602.90 - Other: 0602.90.10 - - Rooted orchid cuttings and slips 1009.08 Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms.

09.08.10.00 Nutmeg 100908.20.00 Mace 10

0908.30.00 - Cardamoms 1013.01 Lac; natural gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins

(for example, balsams). 1301.20.00 - Gum Arabic 10 1301.90 - Other: 1301.90.10 - - Gum benjamin 10 1301.90.20 - - Gum damar 1014.01 Vegetable materials of a kind used primarily for

plaiting (for example, bamboos, rattans, reeds, rushes, osier, raffia, cleaned, bleached or dyed cereal straw, and lime bark)

1401.10.00 - Bamboos 10 1401.20.00 - Rattans 40 1401.90.00 - Other 1025.05 Natural sands of all kinds, whether or not coloured,

other than metal-bearing sands of Chapter 26. 2505.10.00 - Silica sands and quartz sands 5 2505.90.00 - Other 525.13 Pumice stone; emery; natural corundum, natural

garnet and other natural abrasives, whether or not heat-treated.

2513.10.00 - Pumice stone 5 2513.20.00 - Emery, natural corundum, natural garnet and other

natural abrasives5

25.14 2514.00.00 Slate, whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape.

5

25.15 Marble, travertine, ecaussine and other calcareous monumental or building stone of an apparent specific gravity of 2.5 or more, and alabaster, whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape.

- Marble and travertine: 2515.11.00 - - Crude or roughly trimmed 5 2515.12 - - Merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks

or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape: 2515.12.10 - - - Blocks 5 2515.12.20 - - - Slabs 5 2515.20.00 - Ecaussine and other calcareous monumental or

building stone; alabaster5


Heading Sub-heading Descriptions Export Duty Rate %25.16 Granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone and other

monumental or building stone, whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape.

- Granite: 2516.11.00 - - Crude or roughly trimmed 5 2516.12 - - Merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks

or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape: 2516.12.10 - - - Blocks 5 2516.12.20 - - - Slabs 5 2516.20.00 - Sandstone 5 2516.90.00 - Other monumental or building stone 525.17 Pebbles, gravel, broken or crushed stone, of a kind

commonly used for concrete aggregates, for road metalling or for railway or other ballast, shingle and flint, whether or not heat-treated; macadam of slag, dross or similar industrial waste, whether or not incorporating the materials cited in the first part of the heading; tarred macadam; granules, chippings and powder, of stones of heading 25.15 or 25.16, whether or not heat-treated.

2517.10.00 - Pebbles, gravel, broken or crushed stone, of a kind commonly used for concrete aggregates, for road metalling or for railway or other ballast, shingle and flint, whether or not heat-treated

5

2517.20.00 - Macadam of slag, dross or similar industrial waste, whether or not incorporating the materials cited in subheading 2517.10

5

2517.30.00 - Tarred macadam 5 - Granules, chippings and powder, of stones of

heading 25.15 or 25.16, whether or not heat-treated: 2517.41.00 - - Of marble 5 2517.49.00 - - Other 544.02 Wood charcoal (including shell or nut charcoal),

whether or not agglomerated. 4402.10.00 - Of Bamboo 15 4402.90.00 - Other: 1572.04 Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of

iron or steel. 7204.10.00 - Waste and scrap of cast iron 10 - Waste and scrap of alloy steel: 7204.21.00 - - Of stainless steel 10 7204.29.00 - - Other 10 7204.30.00 - Waste and scrap of tinned iron or steel 10 - Other waste and scrap: 7204.41.00 - - Turnings, shavings, chips, milling waste,

sawdust, filings, trimmings and stampings, whether or not in bundles

10

7204.49.00 - - Other 107204.50.00 - Remelting scrap ingots 10


Table 15 - Export Prohibitions

HS Code Goods Purpose Regulation Supervising authority9705.00.009706.00.00

Archaeological objects including Buddha statues, angel statues and holy objects, national heritages with historical and cultural values of 50 years old or older.

For protection of national artistic and cultural heritage "protection of valuable national artistic, historical and archaeological heritage" in compliance with Article XX (f) of the GATT 1994.

Article 15 of Customs Law.National Heritage Law.Article 2 Edict on Preservation of National cultural, historical and natural heritage.

Ministry of Information and

Culture(Heritage

Department)

2834 Bat guano/manure For protection of natural resources

Article 29, Agriculture Law, No. 01/98.NA, dated 10 October 1998.Order of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry on the Control and Use of Bat Guano in the Country No. 0613/MoAF.05, dated 8 July 2005.

Ministry of Agriculture and

Forestry(Agriculture Department)

Table 16 - Goods Subject to Non-Automatic Export Licensing

HS Code Product Reason Responsible Agencies44034407.10-4407.280601

Logs, trunk, bark, rough-processed timber and semi-finished timber from natural forest

For monitoring the conformity of the implementation of the Chain of Custody System (CoC)


7108.12.10 Gold bars (only for gold bars as internationally recognized as medium of payment)

For exchange stability Bank of Lao PDR(Monetary Policy Department)

Table 17 - Goods Subject to Automatic Export Licensing

HS Code Products Reasons Responsible Agencies44034407.10-4407.280601

Logs, trunk, bark, rough-processed timber and semi-finished timber from plantations

For monitoring the conformity of the implementation of the Chain of Custody System (CoC)


1006 Rice, Rice in the husk, husked (brown) rice, semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed

For statistical purpose Provincial, Vientiane Capital Department of Industry and Commerce

2601-2617 Minerals and mineral products For statistical purpose Ministry of Energy and Mines


(Mining Department)

Table 18 - Action Plan on the Legislative Work and Implementation of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

WT/ACC/LAO/45

Issues Actions Implementation Time-frame Technical Assistance (TA) Provided/Sought

1. TBT related activities Reassessment of the Institutional, Legal and Regulatory Framework for TBT.

Completed in June 2011 TA received from Trade Development Facility (TDF).

2. Institutional strengthening activities

Medium to Long-Term Institutional Development Strategy for Quality Infrastructure.

Initial draft completed and being in consultation process before submission to the government by the end of 2012 and adopted by February 2013

TA received from TDF and USAID.

Decision No. 235/PMO-NAST "On the Organization and Activities of the National Standards Council" of 3 February 2010.

Adopted in February 2010

Regulation No. 336/NSC NAST "On Organization and Activities of Central Technical Committee" of 22 October 2010.

Adopted in October 2010

3. Technical regulations Law No. 13/NA "On Standardization" of 26 December 2007. Adopted in December 2007 TA received from EU and UNIDO (ended in 2008).

Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law on Standardization" of 6 June 2012

Adopted on 6 June 2012 Recommendations received from USAID and TDF.

Regulation No. 1226/PMO-NAST "On Quality Inspection of Goods" of 17 July 2009.

Adopted in July 2009

Regulation No. 518/MoH "On Basic Principles in Application of Sanitary and Technical Measures in Food Safety Management in accordance with the SPS Agreement" of 18 March 2009.

Adopted in March 2009 Recommendations received from FAO and WHO.

TA received from TDF for publication, dissemination and training for all stakeholders.

Regulation No. 519/MoH "On Labelling of Pre-Packaged Food" of 18 March 2009.

Adopted in March 2009 TA received from the WHO on drafting.

Code of Practice for Technical Regulations.(adopted through Article 10 of Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law on Standardization" of 6 June 2012).

Adopted in June 2012 TA received from USAID.

Decision No. 297/MOH on Food Inspection of 24 February 2012 (formerly referred to as Regulation "On Food Control System").

Adopted in February 2012 TA received from TDF, FAO legal expert has been employed for finalizing the regulation.



4. Standards Law No. 13/NA "On Standardization" of 26 December 2007. Adopted in December 2007 TA received from EU and UNIDO (ended 2008).

Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law "On Standardization" of 6 June 2012.

Adopted on 6 June 2012 Recommendations received from USAID and TDF.

Regulation No. 1718/ PMO-NAST "On the Use of Standard Mark for Lao Products" of 7 August 2006.

Adopted in August 2006 TA received from EU and UNIDO.

5. Conformity Assessment Law No. 13/NA "On Standardization" of 26 December 2007. Adopted in 2007 TA received from EU and UNIDO (ended in 2008).

Decree No. 234/GoL "On the Implementation of the Law "On Standardization" of 6 June 2012.

Adopted on 6 June 2012 TA and recommendations received from USAID and TDF.

Law No. 07/NA "On Metrology" of 20 December 2010. Adopted in December 2010 Technical review undertaken by UNIDO Experts.

Lao PDR joined MRA under ASEAN for Electrical and Electronic Equipment.

Adopted on 5 April 2002

Establishment of testing facilities for construction materials, textiles and chemicals.

Deferred TA to be requested.

6. Information Procedures Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" of 19 August 2010.

Adopted in August 2010 TA received from EU on drafting and received from USAID and ADB for implementation.

Establishment of TBT Enquiry Point under Decree on Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information No. 363/PM of 19 August 2010.

Decision No. 1199/ PMO-NAST "On TBT Enquiry Point" of 22 June 2011 was adopted to strengthen coordination among notification unit, enquiry points and relevant authorities.

Address of Lao PDR TBT Enquiry Point:Standards Division, Department of Standardization and Metrology, Ministry of Science and TechnologyP.O. Box 2279, Vientiane, Lao PDRTel: +85621732093 Fax: +856 21 732 093Email: [email protected]

Operational upon accession

Adopted in June 2011

Responsible staff have been assigned; webpage developed under Trade Portal website; training and study visits for responsible staff requested from USAID

TA received from USAID and ADB for implementation.

TA received from USAID.

WT/ACC/LAO/45

mailto:[email protected]?subject=TBT%20Enquiry


Establishment of SPS and TBT Notification Unit under Decree on Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information No. 363/PM of 19 August 2010.

Decision No. 0471/MOIC "On SPS and TBT Notification Unit" of 9 March 2011.

Address of SPS and TBT Notification Unit: Multilateral Trade Policy Division, Foreign Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Commerce. P.O. Box 4107, Phonexay Road, Vientiane Capital,Lao PDRTel: 85621-450065 Fax: 85621-450066 Email: [email protected]: www.laoftpd.com

Operational upon accession

Adopted in March 2011

TA received from USAID and ADB for implementation, e.g. establishment of database, training of relevant staff on the SPS and TBT Agreements including through exchange experiences and study visits.

Notes: Lao PDR will ensure that its legal framework on technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment is in compliance with the TBT Agreement by 31 December 2012. Full implementation of the TBT Agreement is 31 December 2014.

Although this Action Plan indicates that much progress has been achieved in the preparation and adoption of the legal framework in compliance with the TBT Agreement, Lao PDR still lacks the capacity to implement the provisions and it is working with development partners to achieve the objective of implementation.Plan of activities for 2012:

1) Produce Operational Manual for TBT Enquiry Point;2) Organize dissemination workshops and produce publications on activities and function of TBT Enquiry Point; 3) Provide training and study visits for staff responsible for TBT Enquiry Point; and4) Adopt all necessary legislation to ensure the full compliance with the TBT Agreement.

Plan of activities and technical assistance needed for 2013:1) Dissemination workshops on the implementation of TBT legislation, including the Law on Standardization and its implementing Decree;2) Adopt the Medium to Long-Term Institutional Development Strategy for Quality Infrastructure;3) Prepare to implement the Medium to Long-Term Institutional Development Strategy for Quality Infrastructure;4) Capacities building and institutional strengthening to ensure effective implementation of the TBT legislations and the Medium to Long-Term Institutional Development Strategy for

Quality Infrastructure; 5) Assign the national representatives to participate the WTO TBT Committee meetings; and6) Organize an annual national review on the implementation of the TBT legislation.

Plan of activities and technical assistance needed for 2014:1) Communicate to address on outstanding issues identified by annual national review;2) Organize dissemination workshops and consultation meetings, if necessary;3) Participate in the WTO TBT committee meetings and other relevant WTO meetings;4) Organize an annual national review on the implementation of the TBT legislation; and



5) Exchange experiences with other Members.

WT/ACC/LAO/45

Table 19 - Action Plan on the Legislative Work and Implementation of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)


Issues Actions Implementation Time-frame Technical Assistance Provided/Sought1. Food Safety Regulation No. 585/MoH "On Bottled Drinking Water"

of 12 May 2006Adopted in May 2006 TA received from FAO and WHO.

Regulation No. 586/MoH "On Production, Exported-Imported Safe Food" of 12 May 2006

Adopted in May 2006 TA received from FAO and WHO.

National Policy No. 028/PMO "On Food Safety" of 3 February 2009

Adopted in February 2009 TA received from FAO and WHO.

TA received from Trade Development Facility (TDF) for publication, dissemination and training for all stakeholders.

Regulation No. 518/MoH "On Basic Principles in Application of Sanitary and Technical Measures in Food Safety Management in accordance with the SPS Agreement" of 18 March 2009

Adopted in March 2009 TA received from FAO and WHO on drafting.

TA received from TDF for publication, dissemination and training for all stakeholders.

Regulation No. 519/MoH "On Labelling of Pre-Packaged Food" of 18 March 2009

Adopted in March 2009 TA received from the WHO on drafting.

Decision No. 297/MOH "On Food Inspection" of 24 February 2012

Adopted in February 2012 TA received from TDF, FAO legal expert has been employed for finalizing the regulation.

Regulation "On Food Additives" Adopted under Ministerial Decision No. 605/MoH "On Adopting Codex Alimentarius Standards as Priorities" of 27 April 2011

TA requested from TDF for translation, publication, training and implementation.

Ministerial Decision No. 605/MoH, "On Adopting Codex Alimentarius Standards" of 27 April 2011

Adopted in April 2011 TA requested from TDF for translation, publication, training and implementation.

National Association of Testing Authority (NATA)'s assessment on ISO 17025 accreditation for microbiology testing laboratory

Started in 2009 TA received from UNIDO.

Improving food processing by introducing food hygiene practice, GMP

GMP Guidelines developed and training provided in 2009-2010.

TA provided by EC, FAO and WHO in November 2009 for training and developing guidelines.

TA requested from Japan for GMP through APO project.

WT/ACC/LAO/45

Issues Actions Implementation Time-frame Technical Assistance Provided/Sought2. Animal Health Law No. 03/NA "On Livestock Production and

Veterinary" of 25 July 2008 Adopted in July 2008 Recommendations received from FAO and

EU.

TA received from FAO and TDF for publication, dissemination and training for all stakeholders.

Law No. 03/NA "On Fisheries" of 9 July 2009 Adopted in July 2009 TA received from TDF for publication, dissemination and training for all stakeholders.

Ministerial Decision No. 0870/MAF "On Animal Slaughtering and Animal Product Inspection" of 18 March 2011

Adopted in March 2011 Recommendations received from EU.

Decree No. 230/GoL "On the Control of the Movement of Animal, Animal Product and Related Item" of 4 June 2012 (formerly referred to as Amendment of Decree on Livestock and Livestock Products Movement Control)

Adopted in June 2012 TA received from FAO, TDF and USAID.

Decree No. 228/GoL "On Animal Disease Control and Prevention" of 31 May 2012 (formerly referred to as Amendment of Decree on Animal Epidemic Diseases)

Adopted in May 2012 TA received from FAO, TDF and USAID.

Establishment of a diagnostic laboratory Completed in December 2011.BSL.3 system was installed. Equipment moved in from the old laboratory.

Implementation funding requested from the World Bank.

Identification of animal disease free areas

Regulation "On Establishment of Animal Disease Free Area or Compartmentalization"

The principles were included in Decree No. 228/GoL "On Animal Disease Control and Prevention" of 31 May 2012

ADB and World Bank under process of designing programme to get accreditation from OIE.

Regulation No. 0039/MAF "On Principles in the Application of SPS Measures in Plant and Animal Administration" of 11 January 2012

Adopted in January 2012 TA received from USAID.

Regulation "On Criteria for Livestock Production and Veterinary Business "

Incorporated in Decree No. 230/GoL "On the Control of the Movement of Animals, Animal Product and Related Item" of 4 June 2012 and Decree No. 228/GoL "On Animal Disease Control and Prevention" of 31 May 2012

TA received from FAO, TDF and USAID.


Issues Actions Implementation Time-frame Technical Assistance Provided/Sought3. Plant Health Law No 06/NA "On Plant Protection and Quarantine" of

9 December 2008 Adopted in 2008 Recommendations received from FAO legal

experts, practices of neighbouring countries.

TA received from TDF for publication, dissemination, translation and training for all stakeholders.

Decree No. 229/GoL "On Implementation of the Law on Plant Protection" of 31 May 2012

Adopted in May 2012 TA received from FAO, TDF and USAID.

Regulation "On Good Agriculture Practices Adopted in 2010Guideline on Inspection and Certification Procedures for Plants, Plan Products and Related Articles (formerly refers to as the Regulation "On Plant Inspection and Certification").

Incorporated in Decree No. 229/GoL "On Implementation of the Law on Plant Protection" of 31 May 2012

TA received from FAO and TDF.

Establishment of a laboratory on plant diseases and pests Deferred No funding. Identification of pest and disease free areas Basic principles incorporated in

Decree No. 229/GoL "On Implementation of the Law on Plant Protection" of 31 May 2012

Ministerial Decision No. 2860/MAF "On Control of Pesticides in Lao PDR" of 11 June 2010 (formerly referred to as the Regulation "On Pesticide Management")

Adopted in 2010 TA requested from TDF for translation and publication.

4. Information Procedures

Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" of 19 August 2010 (formerly referred to as Decree "On the SPS and TBT Notification Centre and Enquiry Points")

Adopted in August 2010 TA received from EU on drafting and received from USAID and ADB for implementation.

WT/ACC/LAO/45

Issues Actions Implementation Time-frame Technical Assistance Provided/SoughtEstablishment of SPS Enquiry Point under Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" of 19 August 2010

Decision No. 1502/MAF "On SPS Enquiry Point" of 23 June 2011 was adopted to strengthen coordination among notification unit, enquiry points and relevant authorities.

Address of SPS Enquiry Point: Division of Agriculture and ForestryDepartment of PlanningMinistry of Agriculture and ForestryP.O. Box 811 Vientiane, Lao PDRTel: +856 21 415363Fax: +856 21 412343Email: [email protected]

Operational upon Accession

Adopted in June 2011

Responsible staff has been assigned. Webpage has been developed under the Trade Portal website.

TA received from USAID and ADB for implementation.


Training and study visits for responsible staff have been requested from USAID.

Establishment of SPS and TBT Notification Unit under Decree No. 363/PM "On Notification and Enquiry of Trade Related Information" of 19 August 2010

Decision No 0471/MOIC "On SPS and TBT Notification Unit" of 9 March 2011

Address of SPS and TBT Notification Unit:Multilateral Trade Policy Division,Foreign Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Commerce. P.O. Box 4107, Phonexay Road, Vientiane Capital,Lao PDRTel: 85621-450065Fax: 85621-450066 Email: [email protected]: www.laoftpd.com

Operational upon Accession

Adopted in March 2011

Responsible staff has been assigned.

TA requested from USAID and ADB for implementation, e.g. establishment of database, training of relevant staff on the SPS and TBT Agreements including through exchange experiences and study visit.

Training and study visits for responsible staff requested from USAID.



mailto:[email protected]?subject=SPS%20Enquiry

Note: Lao PDR will ensure that its legal framework on food safety, animal and plant health is in compliance with the SPS Agreement by 31 December 2012. Full implementation of the SPS Agreement is 31 December 2014, taking into consideration of national capacity and the provision of technical assistance mentioned above.

Plan of activities and technical assistance needed for 2012:1) Develop operational manuals for SPS Enquiry Point and Notification Unit (with ADB support);2) Organize dissemination workshops and produce publications on activities and function of SPS Enquiry Point and Notification Unit (with ADB and USAID support); 3) Provide training and study visits for staff responsible for SPS Enquiry Point and Notification Unit (with USAID support);4) Launching event for the operation of SPS Enquiry Point and Notification Unit (with TDF support); and 5) Adopt all necessary legislation to ensure the full compliance with the SPS Agreement by December 2012 (with TDF and USAID support).

Plan of activities and technical assistance needed for 2013:1) Organize dissemination workshops and produce publications on SPS new adopted legislations and SPS Agreement for relevant stakeholders include business sector,

local government authorities and relevant competent authorities;2) Set up the risk assessment systems for public health and agriculture sectors including seeking funding support to provide necessary equipment;3) Provide relevant training and study visits on risk assessment staff;4) Establish the National SPS Committee; 5) Assign the national representatives to participate in the WTO SPS committee meeting;6) Organize an annual national review on the implementation of newly adopted SPS legislation;

Plan of activities and technical assistance needed for 2014:1) Communicate to address on outstanding issues identified by annual national review;2) Organize dissemination workshops and consultation meetings, if necessary;3) Participate in the WTO SPS committee meeting and other relevant WTO meetings;4) Organize an annual national review on the implementation of the SPS legislations; and5) Exchange experiences on SPS matters with other Members.

WT/ACC/LAO/45

Table 20-A - Action Plan for the Implementation of the WTO TRIPS Agreement

Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

RightsLaws/Actions Implementation Time-frame Remarks

General Provisions:Participation in Intellectual Property Conventions

Participation in:- World Intellectual Property Organization- Paris Convention- Patent Cooperation Treaty- Berne Convention- Rome Convention- Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in

Respect of Integrated Circuits

Since 1995Since 1998Since 2006Since 2012DeferredDeferred

(Deferred due to technical capacity limitations. Priority has been given to ensuring legal framework compliance with the TRIPS Agreement).

Part II, Section 1:Copyrights and related rights

Intellectual Property Law

Decision on Copyright and Related Rights

Amended in December 2011

To be issued by the date of accession

In force.


Part II, Section 2:Trademarks


Decision on Trademarks and Trade Names

Trademarks Registry System



Set up in 1991

In force.


TA received from EU and USAID.Part II, Section 3:Geographical indications


Decision on Geographical Indications

Setting up of the Geographical Indications Registry



To be set up by December 2012

In force.


TA sought from EU and USAID.Part II, Section 4:Industrial designs


Decision on Industrial Designs

Setting up of the Industrial Designs Registry



Set up in 2002

In force.


TA received from EU and WIPO.




Part II, Section 5:Patents


Decision on Patents and Petty Patents

Setting up of the Patent Registry



Set up in 2002

In force.

TA received from USAIDs.

TA received from EU, USAID and WIPO.

Part II, Section 6:Layout-designs (Topographies) of integrated circuit


Decision on Integrated Circuits



In force.


Part II, Section 7:Undisclosed information

Intellectual Property Law Amended in December 2011 In force.

Part II, Section 8:Control of anti-competitive practices in contractual licence

Intellectual Property Law Amended in December 2011 In force.

Part III, Section 2:Civil and administrative procedures and remedies


Law on Civil Procedures

Petition Handling Law

Court Fee Law

Law on People's Courts

Judgment Enforcement Law

Contract and Tort Law

Economic Dispute Resolution Law


Amended in May 2004

Amended in November 2005


Amended in November 2009

Amended in July 2008



In force.

In force.

In force.

In force.

In force.

In force.

In force.

In force.Part III, Section 4:Special requirements related to border measures


Customs Law

Instruction on Customs Measures for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights



Issued in September 2011

In force.

In force.

In force.

WT/ACC/LAO/45



Part III, Section 5:Criminal procedures


Criminal Procedure Law


Amended in May 2004

In force.

In force.Others Authorize ex officio action in compliance with TRIPS

Article 58

Intellectual Property LawCustoms LawMinistry of Finance Instructions

Enhance public awareness on the protection of intellectual property rights.

Upgrade computerization of MOST.

Training for users (development of information brochure and training programme).

Training on copyrights, industrial property and plant variety protection for enforcement authorities such as customs officials, trade inspectors, policemen, judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

2012 to 2016

Technical assistance and capacity building sought.





Full implementation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (except with respect to patents and undisclosed information of pharmaceutical products covered by the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health).

31 December 2016

Note: The above transition strategy for the implementation of Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) would be achieved latest by December 2016. The Lao PDR Government avails itself to special and differential treatment for Least-Developed Countries under the TRIPS Agreement and various Ministerial Conference Declarations, including the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration (paragraph 47), TRIPS Council Decision IP/C/40 and Eighth Ministerial Conference Decisions.



Table 21 - Fees for Intellectual Property Registration

Action Fee (US$ per mark or item)TRADEMARKS

Trademark registration or trademark renewal 80- Each class (fee per class) 5Transmission 20Consultation for the registration 5Search of Trademark 10Modification of items of the application 10Publication 20Application per form 2

PATENTSOfficial fees:

1. Official fee for granted patent 30Regular services fees:

1. Application form for registration of invention2. Consultation on invention

2010

Irregular services fees:

1. Request against registration2. Amendment of application for registration3. Assignment or licensing of patent rights4. Duplicate of patent

201040

10 (per copy)Fee charge of each search report relies on the calculation of relevant foreign examination body or international organization.

In order to maintain the patent, an annual official fee and service fee shall be paid by the owner of invention are as follows:

- 5th year: Official feeServices fee










- 15th year: Official feeService fee


30204020502060408060

10080

140100180120230150280180330210390250


Action Fee (US$ per mark or item)- 17th year: Official fee

Services fee- 18th year: Official fee



Services fee

450300510350570400650450

PETTY PATENTSOfficial fees:

1. Official fee for granted petty patent 30Regular services fees:

1. Application form for registration of device2. Consultation on device

1010


1. Request against registration 2. Amendment of application for registration 3. Assignment or licensing of petty patent rights 4. Duplicate of petty patent

101040

10 (per copy)In order to maintain the petty patent, an annual official fee and service fee shall be paid by the owner of device are as follows:

- 2nd year: Official feeServices fee

- 3rd year: Official feeServices fee



- 6th year Official feeServices fee


101520153020402550307035

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNSOfficial fees:

1. Official fee for certificate of industrial design 20Regular services fees:

1. Application form for registration of industrial design 2. Consultation on industrial design

1010


1. Request against registration2. Amendment of application for registration3. Assignment or licensing of rights of industrial design4. Duplicate of industrial design

101040

10 (per copy)


Action Fee (US$ per mark or item)In order to maintain the industrial design, an annual official fee and service fee shall be paid by the owner are as follows:

- 2nd year: Official feeServices fee

- 3rd year: Official feeServices fee



- 6th year – 15th year:Official feeServices fee

105

158

20112511

3020

Remark:In addition to the official fee for registration of invention, device or industrial design, the Registry Unit is asked to gather a contribution fund from the owner of patent, petty patent and industrial design for publication of the result of the patent registration US$40, device registration US$30, and industrial design registration US$30 per item.

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APPENDIX

DRAFT DECISION

ACCESSION OF THE LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Decision of […]

The General Council,

Having regard to paragraph 2 of Article XII and paragraph 1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (the "WTO Agreement"), and the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed by the General Council (WT/L/93),

Conducting the functions of the Ministerial Conference in the interval between meetings pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article IV of the WTO Agreement,

Taking note of the application of the Lao People's Democratic Republic for accession to the WTO Agreement dated 16 July 1997,

Noting the results of the negotiations directed toward the establishment of the terms of accession of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the WTO Agreement and having prepared a Protocol on the Accession of the Lao People's Democratic Republic,

Decides as follows:

1. The Lao People's Democratic Republic may accede to the WTO Agreement on the terms and conditions set out in the Protocol annexed to this Decision.

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DRAFT PROTOCOL

ON THE ACCESSION OF THE LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Preamble

The World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO"), pursuant to the approval of the General Council of the WTO accorded under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO Agreement"), and the Lao People's Democratic Republic,

Taking note of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the WTO Agreement reproduced in document WT/ACC/LAO/45, dated 1 October 2012 (hereinafter referred to as the "Working Party Report"),

Having regard to the results of the negotiations on the accession of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the WTO Agreement,

Agree as follows:

PART I - GENERAL

1. Upon entry into force of this Protocol pursuant to paragraph 8, the Lao People's Democratic Republic accedes to the WTO Agreement pursuant to Article XII of that Agreement and thereby becomes a Member of the WTO.

2. The WTO Agreement to which the Lao People's Democratic Republic accedes shall be the WTO Agreement, including the Explanatory Notes to that Agreement, as rectified, amended or otherwise modified by such legal instruments as may have entered into force before the date of entry into force of this Protocol. This Protocol, which shall include the commitments referred to in paragraph 248 of the Working Party Report, shall be an integral part of the WTO Agreement.

3. Except as otherwise provided for in paragraph 248 of the Working Party Report, those obligations in the Multilateral Trade Agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement that are to be implemented over a period of time starting with the entry into force of that Agreement shall be implemented by the Lao People's Democratic Republic as if it had accepted that Agreement on the date of its entry into force.

4. The Lao People's Democratic Republic may maintain a measure inconsistent with paragraph 1 of Article II of the GATS provided that such a measure was recorded in the list of Article II Exemptions annexed to this Protocol and meets the conditions of the Annex to the GATS on Article II Exemptions.

PART II - SCHEDULES

5. The Schedules reproduced in Annex I to this Protocol shall become the Schedule of Concessions and Commitments annexed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the "GATT 1994") and the Schedule of Specific Commitments annexed to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as "GATS") relating to the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The staging of the concessions and commitments listed in the Schedules shall be implemented as specified in the relevant parts of the respective Schedules.


6. For the purpose of the reference in paragraph 6(a) of Article II of the GATT 1994 to the date of that Agreement, the applicable date in respect of the Schedules of Concessions and Commitments annexed to this Protocol shall be the date of entry into force of this Protocol.

PART III - FINAL PROVISIONS

7. This Protocol shall be open for acceptance, by signature or otherwise, by the Lao People's Democratic Republic until 24 April 2013.

8. This Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the day upon which it shall have been accepted by the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

9. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Director-General of the WTO. The Director-General of the WTO shall promptly furnish a certified copy of this Protocol and a notification of acceptance by the Lao People's Democratic Republic thereto pursuant to paragraph 7 to each Member of the WTO and to the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

This Protocol shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Done at Geneva this [...] day of [...] in a single copy in the English, French and Spanish languages, each text being authentic, except that a Schedule annexed hereto may specify that it is authentic in only one of these languages, and the Report of the Working Party is authentic in English only.

_______________


ANNEX I

SCHEDULE CLXVII - LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Authentic only in the English language.

(Circulated in document WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.1)

_______________

SCHEDULE OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS ON SERVICES

LIST OF ARTICLE II EXEMPTIONS

Authentic only in the English language.

(Circulated in document WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.2)

__________

Documents

docs.wto.org · Web viewThe representative of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR had formulated an Industry-Handicraft Development Plan for the period 1996 to 2005 covering the manufacturing