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Accessions Strategic Objectives

Domestic reform instrument

Systemic update

Market access expansion

International cooperation for trade

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Inside this issue:

TENTH INFORMAL GROUP ON ACCESSIONS

Monday, 4 December 2017

Agenda:

Accession of Iraq: Informal Meeting of the

Working Party — 17 November 2017

Progress Report on Accessions in 2017 Focus: Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina Accession of the Union of the Comoros

Accession Working Parties State of Play: LDCs: Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Sudan Non-LDcs: Azerbaijan, Belarus

New application: South Sudan

Accessions Activities at MC11

Technical Assistance and Outreach

Highlights of the 2017 Director-General's Annual Report on WTO Accessions – WTO Accessions and Improvements in the Business Environment

Accession Anniversaries in December:

Bulgaria, China, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyz Republic

Chaired by the WTO Secretariat (Maika Oshikawa, Officer-in-Charge of the Accessions Division).

N° 79 - December 2017

Accession of Iraq

Iraq: The Working Party on the Accession of Iraq met in informal mode on 17 November 2017. Ambassador Omar Hilale (Morocco) chaired the meeting. This was the first Working Party meeting held in nine years.

The delegation of Iraq was led by Ambassador Mouayed Saleh, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the UN, and Mr Adel Al-Masoodi, Director-General, Foreign Economic Relations Department of the Ministry of Trade, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Iraqi National Committee of Accession to the WTO. The Acting Minister of Trade, Dr Salman Ali Al-Jumaily, could not attend the meeting due to other official engagement.

At its opening statement, the delegation conveyed that the Government of Iraq was fully committed to resuming its accession process, and that technical work was underway. Iraq's technical team is updating negotiating inputs, including a revised Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime, a revised Legislative Action Plan, Agriculture

Supporting Tables, SPS and TBT Checklists, and a TRIPS Questionnaire. Iraq is finalising initial market access offers on goods and services. Iraq plans to circulate these negotiating inputs to the Working Party, starting in December 2017.

The Working Party welcomed the reactivation of Iraq accession process, and encouraged Iraq to submit updated negotiating inputs, which would serve as the basis for the next Working Party meeting in 2018. On the margins of the Working Party meeting, the Iraqi delegation also held several bilateral meetings.

Informal Meeting of the Working Party — 17 November 2017

Mr. Omar Hilale (Morocco), Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Iraq

H.E. Mr. Mouayed Saleh, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the UN and Mr. Adel Al-Masoodi, Director-General, Foreign

Economic Relations Department

Accession of Iraq — Informal Meeting of the Working Party Geneva, 17 November 2017

Accession of Iraq — Group photo

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Progress Report on Accessions in 2017 Focus

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ambassador Atanas Paparizov (Bulgaria) was appointed as Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the General Council meeting on 30 November 2017. Sarajevo intends to conclude outstanding bilateral market access negotiations on the margins of the 13th Working Party meeting, which is currently envisioned for January 2018.

Accession Working Parties State of Play — LDCs Equatorial Guinea: During Geneva Week, the Secretariat met with Ms Margarita Yehouessi, Director-General of Commerce in the Ministry of Commerce, and focal point on WTO accession. The discussion focused on Equatorial Guinea's technical assistance request to finalise the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime. A Secretariat's mission to Malabo is currently envisioned for January 2018.

Somalia: Somalia is currently finalizing the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime. Chief Negotiator Maryan Hassan is in regular contact with the Secretariat in this regard.

Sudan: In November, Sudan circulated several negotiating inputs in preparation for the next Working Party meeting. These included: (i) replies to questions submitted by Members

following the July Working Party cycle; (ii) a legislative notice; (iii) a consultation document; and (iv) a revised Legislative Action Plan. The circulation of revised Agricultural Supporting Tables and a related Q&A document is expected shortly. Based on these inputs, the Secretariat is currently updating the Factual Summary of Points Raised, which is expected for circulation by the end of December 2017.

On 1 November 2017, Sudan signed a bilateral market access agreement with India, which was subsequently deposited with the Secretariat. The next meeting of the Working Party is currently envisioned for February 2018.

Union of the Comoros: On the multilateral front, Comoros is currently working on the replies to questions submitted by Members following the Third meeting of the Working Party, which took place in October 2017. The Secretariat will prepare a draft Report of the Working Party based on the responses received. Comoros is also updating its Legislative Action Plan and intends to submit relevant legislation for review by Members.

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On the bilateral front, Comoros has thus far signed three bilateral market access agreements and intends to close all remaining bilateral market access negotiations before the next Working Party meeting. The next meeting of the Working Party is currently envisioned for February 2018.

Azerbaijan: At the invitation of the Government of Azerbaijan, the Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Azerbaijan, Ambassador Walter Werner (Germany), will visit Baku on 15–16 January 2018. The Secretariat will accompany the Chairperson. This will be the first visit to Baku by a WTO delegation in 12 years. During the trip, the Chairperson will meet with high-level government officials to discuss Azerbaijan's access process, which is in its 20th year.

Belarus: The Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Belarus, Ambassador Kemal Madenoğlu (Turkey) provided a report to the Informal Group on Accessions on his visit to Minsk on 1–2 November 2017. The content of that visit is reported in the November 2017 Accessions Newsletter.

On the state of play, Belarus aims to finalize the replies to questions raised by Members following the September Working Party cycle by the end of the year. The Secretariat would revise the Draft Working Party Report on the basis of those replies. On the bilateral front Belarus concluded its bilateral market access negotiations with Norway on 5 December 2017.

The next Working Party is tentatively scheduled for March 2018.

On 16–17 November 2017, the WTO Secretariat participated in the 15th Minsk Forum, at the invitation of the German-Belarusian Society. At the Forum, the WTO provided an overview of the accession of Belarus and engaged in a discussion with the representatives of the business community on the accession challenges and the potential benefits from Belarus' WTO membership.

Also while in Minsk, the Secretariat met with Belarussian experts on SPS.

Accession Working Parties State of Play — Non-LDCs South Sudan: On 30 November 2017, the General Council granted South Sudan ad hoc observer status to attend at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference. On 5 December 2017, South Sudan submitted a letter to the WTO Director-General, presenting an application to accede to the WTO, pursuant to Article XII of the Agreement Establishing the WTO. In that letter, South Sudan requested that its application be placed before the Members at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference. At the Ministerial Conference, South Sudan's delegation is expected to be led by Dr Moses Hassan A. Tiel, Minister for Trade, Industry and EAC Affairs.

New Application

Signing ceremony of the bilateral market access protocol between Belarus and Norway —

Minsk, 5 December 2017 (© http://eng.belta.by/)

Accession of Equatorial Guinea— Meeting with Ms Margarita Yehouessi and Ambassador Lazaro EKUA

AVOMO — Geneva, 27 November 2017

Ambassador Kuol Alor Kuol AROP, Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of South

Sudan to the UNOG

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Accessions Activities at MC11

6th China Round Table, 9 December 2017, Buenos Aires

The Sixth China Round Table will take place on Saturday, 9 December 2017, from 13:30 to 17:00 at the Sheraton Golden Horn.

The event will be jointly opened by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo; Ms Susana Malcorra, Chair of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference; and Mr Zhong Shan, Commerce Minister of China. This opening session will be followed by two substantive sessions with high-level speakers, all of whom are current or former accession negotiators, both from Acceding Governments and WTO Members.

This Round Table has two foci: (i) reconfirm the importance of WTO accessions, and in particular, their systemic contributions to the rules-based multilateral trading system; and (ii) launch a Network of WTO Accession Negotiators. Regarding the latter, over 80 former negotiators, former Working Party Chairpersons, and other accession experts have agreed to join the Network.

Immediately following the Round Table, there will be a launch of the new accession book "Trade Multilateralism in the 21st Century: Building the Upper Floors of the Trading System through WTO Accessions", co-edited by Mr Chiedu Osakwe and Mr Alexei Kireyev. This book launch, including a reception, will

take place from 17:00 to 18:00 at the lobby space of the Sheraton Golden Horn Room.

See more information at https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/6th_chinaround2017_e.htm.

Launch of g7+ WTO Accessions Group

A group of post-conflict LDCs associated with WTO accession will launch a new informal group, called the g7+ WTO Accessions Group in Buenos Aires. Afghanistan, together with Liberia, spearheaded the creation of this group, which brings together three recently acceded Article XII Members (Afghanistan, Liberia and Yemen), four acceding governments (Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia and Timor-Leste), and South Sudan which has applied for accession to the WTO. The g7+ WTO Accessions Group is a sub-group of the g7+, an association of 20 fragile and conflict-affected states, established in 2010 to facilitate transition and economic development.

The Group will be holding two meetings on 10 December 2017: (i) a closed inaugural ministerial meeting of the g7+ WTO Accession Group, from 8:30 to 10:20; and (ii) a public dialogue session with a broader audience, from 10:30 to 12:00 in Hilton Atlantico B. The public dialogue session will be moderated by WTO Deputy Director-General Ambassador Alan Wm Wolff, with the participation of Ms Susana

Malcorra, Chairperson of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference, as keynote speaker, and the Trade Ministers of the g7+ WTO Accessions Group. This will be followed by a press conference at 12:30.

See more information at https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/mc11g7group_e.htm

Informal Dialogue of Acceding LDCs' Ministers

Acceding LDCs' Ministers (Bhutan, Comoros, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Timor-Leste) will organize an informal dialogue on 11 December 2017. With the participation of Cambodia, Coordinator of the WTO LDC Group, the informal dialogue will provide a platform for exchange on the opportunities and challenges of LDC accessions. Attendance will be restricted to LDC governments in the accession process.

N° 79 - December 2017

Annual outreach: In recent weeks, the Secretariat continued with annual outreach with WTO Regional Groups. Specifically, these meetings were with the GRULAC (9 November 2017) and the Arab Group (13 November 2017). A further meeting with the African Group is expected to be held in December 2017.

Technical Assistance and Outreach activities

The g7+ WTO Accessions Group — Informal meeting Geneva, 21 November 2017

Annual Outreach with the Arab Group Geneva, 13 November 2017

Annual Outreach with the GRULAC Geneva, 9 November 2017

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Highlights of the 2017 Director-General's Annual Report on WTO Accessions – WTO Accessions and Improvements in the Business Environment (WT/ACC/31, WT/GC/189, WT/MIN(17)/6)

The 2017 Director-General's Annual Report on WTO Accessions was issued ahead of the last General Council meeting of the year. In his overview, the Director-General highlighted a surge in Working Party activity in 2017, which was

reflected in a four-fold increase in the number of meetings over 2016, and also in over 3,000 pages of the documentation issued for these meetings.

He welcomed the progress made in the accession processes of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of Comoros which have entered an advanced stage of negotiations, setting the stage for a conclusion in 2018. The report also highlighted the resumption of the accession Working Parties of Belarus, Iraq and Sudan after many years of dormancy, while more reactivation activities are expected in 2018, including on the accessions of Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Lebanon and Serbia. Moreover, the Director-General reiterated the priority accorded to LDC accessions, and welcomed the concrete steps taken by Timor-Leste and Somalia, the latest accession applicants from 2016.

The thematic focus of this year's Report is the relationship between WTO accessions and the business environment. First, it explores Acceding Governments' reasons for accession, as reflected in the Introductory Statements in their Working Party Reports. Although they have offered a variety of reasons for accession, many recurring reasons, such as the desire to enhance economic growth and stability, increase economic diversification, reduce poverty, and/or transition their economies from a centrally planned model to a market–based economy, are strongly connected to the need for an environment friendly to business. This indicates that Acceding Governments enter into the accession process with, inter alia, the goal of enhancing their business environments.

Second, the Section explores business' participation in accession processes. It demonstrates that businesses are often directly engaged in the accession process through, inter alia, participation in domestic political discourse, participating in national inter-ministerial steering committees on WTO accession, attending Geneva-based accession activities, and meeting with Working Party Chairpersons and the WTO Secretariat.

Third, the Section examines a variety of commitment paragraphs appearing in Article XII Members' Working Party reports. It indicates that many such commitment paragraphs influence Acceding Governments' regulatory environments. Moreover, and importantly, many such commitment paragraphs operate in a manner such that they can directly benefit domestic businesses.

Finally, the Section empirically explores the relationship between WTO Accession and Acceding Governments' business environments using data taken from the World Bank's annual "Doing Business" Report, which measures business regulations for local firms in economies around the world. More specifically, it examines a set of Article XII Members' "distance to frontier" (DTF) scores relating to ten regulatory indicators. Comparing a country's DTF scores over time indicates the extent to which the country's regulatory environment has improved. The Section examines DTFs over a period of ten years for a sample of 12 Article XII Members. Such data indicate that these Members' accessions were generally accompanied by material improvements to their domestic business environments. The following graphs visually illustrate this point:

N° 79 - December 2017

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The Accessions Division wishes a very Happy WTO Accession Anniversary to:

1

DECEMBER Bulgaria is the 2nd economy that joined the WTO pursuant to Article XII of

the Marrakesh Agreement and became the 130th Member of the WTO on

1 December 1996.

China is the 15th economy that joined the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the

Marrakesh Agreement and became the 143th Member of the WTO on

11 December 2001.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the 21st economy that joined the WTO

pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement and became the 149th

Member of the WTO on 11 December 2005.

The Kyrgyz Republic is the 5th economy that joined the WTO pursuant to

Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement and became the 133rd Member of

the WTO on 20 December 1998.

11

DECEMBER

11

DECEMBER

20

DECEMBER

N° 79 - December 2017

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Evolving Calendar of Accessions Meetings (ECAM)

Accession Working Parties Evolving Calendar of Accession Meetings (ECAM)

WTO Director-General's Annual Reports on Accessions

Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)

Handbook on Accessions to the WTO WTO Accessions Internship - "China Programme"

Accession-Related Technical Assistance Activities Accession processes of Article XII Members, click here

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

Accessions Toolbox

Other Accession Events

N° 79 - December 2017

DATE WORKING PARTY MEETING STATUS ROOM

Thursday, 30 November - Friday, 1

December General Council

Monday, 4 December 2017 IGA 10th 2017 Informal Group on Accessions (9:00-

10:00) Convening fax dated

27/11/2017 refers S3

10-13 December 2017 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11), Buenos Aires, Argentina

2018

[Week of 22 January 2018] Bosnia and Herzegovina 13th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina Convening Notice

pending TBC

[February 2018] Comoros 4th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of the Union of the Comoros Convening Notice

pending TBC

[February 2018] Sudan 5th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Sudan Convening Notice

pending TBC

[March 2018] Belarus 10th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Belarus Convening Notice

pending TBC

[1st Quarter 2018] Timor-Leste 1st Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Timor-Leste Convening Notice

pending TBC

Date Event

9 December 2017 6th China Round Table on WTO Accessions, Buenos Aires, Argentina

10 December 2017 Launch of the g7 plus WTO Accessions Group, Buenos Aires, Argentina

11 December 2017 Informal Dialogue of Acceding LDCS' Ministers - WTO Accession – Challenges, Opportunities and Way-forward, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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List of WTO Accessions Working Party Chairpersons

Government Date Working Party established Working Party 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 Kemal Madenoğlu (Turkey)

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

7. Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 July 1999 H.E. Mr Atanas Paparizov (Bulgaria)

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 2003 H.E. Mr Carsten Staur (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. Somalia* 7 December 2016 Pending

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

19. Syrian Arab Republic 4 May 2010 Pending

20. Timor-Leste* 7 December 2016 H.E. Mr Pedro Nuno Bártolo (Portugal)

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

* Least-Developed Country (LDC)

N° 79 - December 2017