Liberia, Afghanistan to join WTO to improve economies

In the next two days, two countries, Liberia and Afghanistan will complete their accessions into the World Trade Organization (WTO), making them the eighth and ninth Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to join the organization since 1995.

According to a highly placed WTO official who spoke on request of anonymity, the two countries have taken the decision for the benefit of their economies.

“It is about using terms and conditions to integrate them into the global economy and leverage developmental assistance in order to accelerate growth,” said the source.

The process of becoming a WTO member is unique to each applicant country.

The terms of accession are dependent upon the country’s stage of economic development and current trade regime.

The process takes about five years, on average, but it can last longer if the country is less than fully committed to the process or if political issues interfere.

According to the source, the benefits of the WTO are law-defined benefits.

“The rules have leveled the playing field,” stated the source.

According to the official, the WTO has completed 34 accessions in the last 20 years, with an additional two going through this week.

“Some people say that the WTO is irrelevant, if that is so, why are so many countries applying to be part of the organization?”

Currently, there are 19 working parties left to join the WTO, and another queue of governments waiting to join the organization including Somalia and South Sudan.

“The WTO accessions have improved market access and fostered international co-operation,” stated the source.

According to the top official, many countries approach the WTO for various reasons since accession is a strategic priority to promote modern trade.

“Some say they want to diversify economies, some say they want to modernize, others say it is about changing their stereotype or attracting foreign investment.”

WTO members negotiating Afghanistan’s accession agreed by consensus, on the terms of the country’s WTO membership on 11th November 2015, paving the way for the ninth least-developed country to join the organization since 1995.

Afghanistan’s Accession Package will be submitted to ministers for a formal decision at the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi.

WTO members negotiating Liberia’s accession agreed by consensus, on the terms of the country’s WTO membership on 6th October 2015, paving the way for the eighth least-developed country to join the organization since 1995.

A country wishing to accede to the WTO submits an application to the General Council, and has to describe all aspects of its trade and economic policies that have a bearing on WTO agreements.

The application is submitted to the WTO in a memorandum which is examined by a working party open to all interested WTO Members.

After all necessary background information has been acquired, the working party focuses on issues of discrepancy between the WTO rules and the applicant’s international and domestic trade policies and laws.

The working party determines the terms and conditions of entry into the WTO for the applicant nation, and may consider transitional periods to allow countries some leeway in complying with the WTO rules.

The final phase of accession involves bilateral negotiations between the applicant nation and other working party members regarding the concessions and commitments on tariff levels and market access for goods and services.

The new member’s commitments are to apply equally to all WTO members under normal non-discrimination rules, even though they are negotiated bilaterally.

When the bilateral talks conclude, the working party sends to the general council or ministerial conference an accession package, which includes a summary of all the working party meetings, the Protocol of Accession (a draft membership treaty), and lists (“schedules”) of the member-to-be’s commitments.

Once the general council or ministerial conference approves of the terms of accession, the applicant’s parliament must ratify the Protocol of Accession before it can become a member.

Some countries may have faced tougher and a much longer accession process due to challenges during negotiations with other WTO members, such as Vietnam, whose negotiations took more than 11 years before it became official member in January 2007.