EN—2016—Issue 8

WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER

…safeguarding, enlarging and strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system

WTO ACCESSION DEVELOPMENTS – SECRETARIAT REPORT TO MEMBERS

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66th Newsletter

Accessions Strategic Objectives

Domestic reform instrument

Systemic update

Market access expansion

International cooperation for trade

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H.E. Mr. Axel Addy, Minister for Commerce and Industry and former

Chief Negotiator on Liberia's WTO

Accession, joined the IGA meeting to brief Members on the Post-Accession

Strategy of Liberia and the progress of its implementation. Minister Addy

thanked Members and the Secretariat for their contributions in the accession

process of Liberia, which became a

WTO Member on 14 July 2016.

He informed that Liberia had adopted the Strategy on Post -Accession

Implementation of WTO Commitments and started its implementation. Specific

achievements to date included: (i) the ratification of the ECOWAS Common

External Tariff; (ii) the formation of a

Trade Facilitation Committee and an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Post-

A c c e s s i o n t o o v e r s e e t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a c c e s s i o n

commitments; (iii) the implementation of a single window system at the ports;

and (iv) the introduction of a new TRIPS

-consistent intellectual property law.

The institutionalisation of accession commitments and the "consolidation of

post-accession targets" were priorities

for the Government of Liberia. Economic diversification was also an

important component of the WTO Liberia Post-Accession Plan, with the

EIF, ITC and the World Bank providing support for the launch of a

diversification strategy and a tourism

strategy.

The Minister also highlighted Liberia's move towards an e-government

platform, which was an integral element of the Government's anti-

corruption program. Ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and

the TRIPS amendment was expected by

June 2017. Minister Addy took the opportunity to reiterate the critical

importance of technical assistance and capacity building for LDCs, such as

Liberia, to maximise the benefits of WTO membership.

EIGHTH INFORMAL GROUP ON ACCESSIONS

Friday, 30 September 2016

Agenda:

Statement of H.E. Mr. Axel Addy, Minister for

Commerce and Industry of Liberia, on the Post

-Accession of Liberia

Accession Working Party in 2016 Focus: Bosnia

and Herzegovina,

Accession Working Parties State-of-Play:

Belarus, Comoros, and Sudan

Technical Assistance and Outreach: Bhutan,

Iran, and, Course on Trade in Services for WTO

Acceding Governments.

Chaired by the WTO Secretariat (Maika Oshikawa,

Officer in Charge of the Accessions Division).

Post-Accession Implementation Strategy of Liberia

Accession Working Party in 2016 Focus Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Chief

N e g o t i a t o r o f B o s n i a a n d Herzegovina, Mr. Hamdo Tinjak,

informed that the draft amendment

to the Law on Internal Trade had been approved by the Government

in July, and that the Parliamentary procedure for formal adoption was

underway. This would complete the enactment of all legislation contained

in Bosnia and Herzegovina's

Legislative Action Plan. On 7 September, the Council of Ministers

of Bosnia and Herzegovina had accepted the proposal to join the

Internat ional Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants

(UPOV). Howev er , out st anding work

remained on the bilateral market

access negotiations - the ball was on the court of Sarajevo. Substantive

progress would be required in the

coming weeks to complete the technical work on this accession

within 2016.

A Study Tour Delegation from Bosnia

and Herzegovina, funded by the European Union, was visiting

Geneva from 27 to 30 September. The Study Tour Delegat ion

comprised participants from the

Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and

Herzegovina, including Assistant Minister Midhat Salic and Assistant

Minister Dragisa Mekic. At the requ es t o f t he de legat ion ,

the Secretariat organized working and information sessions on a range

of subjects , including WTO

accessions, technical assistance and capacity-building, trade remedies,

trade facilitation, agricultural policies,

post-Nairobi agenda and trade in services. The delegation had also

held several working sessions with

other Geneva-based agencies, including the ITC and UNCTAD.

H.E. Minister Axel Addy, Minister for Commerce and Industry of Liberia — Statement at the Informal Group on Accessions Meeting —

Geneva, 30 September 2016

Accession of Belarus— Meeting with Ambassador Vladimir Serpikov, Chief Negotiator—

Geneva, 29 September 2016

Accession Working Parties State-of-Play

Belarus: Minsk submitted a set of

negotiating inputs on 23 August. These included: the updates of the

2012 Factual Summary of the Points

Raised; and, the revised LAP. In addition to the technical work, the

updates by the Secretariat would ensure that the revised text was

coherent with the Working Party

Reports of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, in relation to the

competences falling under the

Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The circulation of this document

would pave the way for a meeting of the Working Party.

On 29 September, the Accessions

Division met with H.E. Mr. Vladimir Serpikov, the recently appointed

Chief Negotiator on the Accession of

Belarus. Mr. Serpikov confirmed Minsk 's commitment to the

resumption of its accession process before the end of the year.

Study Tour Delegation from Bosnia and Herzegovina —Geneva, 27 to 30 September 2016

Accession Working Parties State-of-play (cont’d)

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WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER

Accession of the Union of Comoros—Meeting with Ambassador Sultan Chouzour —

26 September 2016

Sudan: Following the announcement by H.E. Dr. Hassan Kamal, Minister of

International Cooperation, on

Sudan's readiness to resume its accession process at the General

Council meeting in July, Khartoum adopted a Roadmap which outlined

steps for the conclusion of the accession of Sudan by the 11th

Ministerial Conference in 2017. Since

the adoption of the Roadmap by the High Committee on WTO Accession,

chaired by the Vice President, the Sudanese technical team, led by

Chief Negotiator Dr. Hassan Ahmed Taha, has been preparing the

negotiating platform with updated documentation for the resumption.

At the request of the Government of Sudan, the Secretariat team is visiting

Khartoum, from 27 September to

6 October 2016, to assist the

Sudanese team in this work. Following the Secretariat's visit, the

Government of Sudan plans to

submit the updated documentation (Memorandum on the Foreign Trade

Regime and the Legislative Action Plan) for circulation to Working Party

Members in October. Comoros: The Union of Comoros submitted a comprehensive set of

documentation for the Working

Party. These included: (i) replies to Members ' quest ions on the

Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime; (ii) the Legislative Action

Plan; (iii) initial market access offers on goods and services; (iv) TBT, SPS

and TRIPS checklists; and (v)

questionnaires on customs valuation, import l i cens ing , S TEs and

agricultural domestic support.

Following the technical review by the Secretariat, the documentation

would be shortly circulated to

Working Party Members, first in French, the original submission. The

English version of the documents would follow after translation by the

Secretariat. The first meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of

Comoros is envisaged for November

2016.

The Secretariat met with H.E. Mr. Sultan Chouzour, Permanent

Representative of the Comoros in Ge ne v a o n 2 6 S e pt e m be r .

Ambassador Chouzour expressed the commitment by the Government of

Comoros to conclude its accession by

the 11th

Ministerial Conference in 2017.

Technical Assistance and Outreach Activities

Bhutan:

The Secretary of the Working Party took part in a WTO Secretariat

mission to Thimpu from 13 to 16

September. In the context of the inauguration of the WTO Reference

Centre at the Department of Trade in the Ministry of Economic Affairs,

WTO accession was also discussed.

Iran:

The Accessions Division met with a

50-member delegation of Iran's C ham be r o f C omme r ce on

22 September . Fol lowing a presentation by the Secretariat, the

representatives of the private sector engaged in active discussion on

Iran's accession to the WTO, including the process, and its

opportunities and challenges.

Course on Trade in Services for WTO

Acceding Governments

The Secretariat will organize a

Training Course on Trade in Services

for Acceding Governments at WTO headquarters from 28 November to

2 December. The main objective of this training, jointly organised by the

Accessions Division and the Trade in Services and Investment Division, is

to: provide in-depth training on

accession-relevant aspects of Trade in Services, with a focus on scheduling,

classification, and implementation issues in the main services sectors;

and provide a platform for the exchange of views with services

negotiators from recently acceded Members. Acceding Governments

are kindly invited to submit, by

10 October, nominations of officials who are directly involved in the

technical aspects of the WTO accession negotiations, particularly in

relation to Trade in Services.

Inauguration of WTO Reference Center, Thimpu, Bhutan — 13-16 September 2016

Book launch by DG Roberto Azevêdo: “African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO: Domestic Reforms,

Structural Transformation and Global Economic Integration”— 2016 Public Forum

28 September 2016 https://www.wto.org/english/ news_e/news16_e/

publ_28sep16_e.htm

Meeting with Iran’s Chamber of Commerce — 22 September 2016

Accession of Sudan—Technical Assistance Mission — Karthoum, 27 September 2016

The A-Team —28 September 2016

Helen and Heather—Friends of Accessions Division 28 September 2016

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WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER

List of WTO Accessions Working Party Chairpersons

No. Government Date Working Party

established WP Chairperson

1. Algeria 17 June 1987 Pending

2. Andorra 22 October 1997 Pending

3. Azerbaijan 16 July 1997 H.E. Dr. Walter Werner (Germany)

4. The Bahamas 18 July 2001 H.E. Mr Wayne McCook (Jamaica)

5. Belarus 27 October 1993 H.E. Mr Haluk Ilicak (Turkey)

6. Bhutan* 6 October 1999 H.E. Mr Thomas Hajnoczi (Austria)

7. Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 July 1999 H.E. Dr. Rajmund Kiss (Hungary)

8. Comoros, Union of the* 9 October 2007 H.E. Mr Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia (Peru)

9. Equatorial Guinea* 5 February 2008 Pending

10. Ethiopia* 10 February 2002 H.E. Dr. Steffen Smidt (Denmark)

11. Iran 26 May 2005 Pending

12. Iraq 13 December 2004 H.E. Mr Omar Hilale (Morocco)

13. Lebanese Republic 14 April 1999 Mr Jean-Paul Thuillier (France)

14. Libya 27 July 2004 Mr Victor Echevarría Ugarte (Spain)

15. Sao Tomé and Principe* 26 May 2005 Pending

16. Serbia 15 February 2005 H.E. Mrs Marie-Claire Swärd Capra (Sweden)

17. Sudan* 25 October 1994 Mr Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan)

18. Syrian Arab Republic 4 May 2010 Pending

19. Uzbekistan 21 December 1994 H.E. Mr Seokyoung Choi (Korea)

* Least-developed country (LDC)

WTO ACCESSIONS NEWSLETTER

Accession Working Parties Evolving Calendar of Accession Meetings (ECAM)

Accession Working Party Chairpersons Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)

WTO Director-General's Annual Reports on Accessions

WTO Accessions Internship - "China Programme"

Handbook on Accessions to the WTO Accession processes of Article XII Members, click here

Accession-Related Technical Assistance Activities WTO Accessions Newsletters

Accession Portal on the WTO Website (En, Fr, Es)

Contact the WTO Accessions Division Secretariat: accessions.newsletter@wto.org

Accessions Toolbox

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Evolving Calendar of Accessions Meeting (ECAM)

DATE WORKING

PARTY MEETING STATUS ROOM

Friday, 30 September 2016 IGA 8

th 2016 Informal Group on Accessions

(9:00-10:00)

Convening Fax dated

23/09/2016 refers and revised

agenda dated 28/09/2016 refers

D

[Week of 24 October 2016] IGA 9

th 2016 Informal Group on Accessions

(9:00-10:00) Convening Notice pending TBC

[Second half of November

2016] Comoros

1st Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of the Union of Comoros Convening Notice pending TBC

[Week of 28 November

2016] IGA

10th

2016 Informal Group on Accessions

(9:00-10:00) Convening Notice pending TBC

[November] Bosnia and

Herzegovina

13th

Meeting of the Working Party on

the Accession of Bosnia and

Herzegovina (AM)

Convening Notice pending TBC

[December] Belarus Informal/Formal Working Party Meeting Convening Notice pending TBC

[December] Sudan 3

rd Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Sudan Convening Notice pending TBC

[TBC] Lebanon 18

th Meeting of the Working Party on

the Accession of the Lebanese Republic Convening Notice pending TBC

Date Event

28 September 2016 Book launch “African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO: Domestic Reforms, Structural Transformation and

Global Economic Integration”— 2016 Public Forum

28 November—2 December 2016 Geneva-based training on services for selected acceding governments

First Quarter 2017 5th

China Round Table

Other Accessions Events