Potential Benefits and Challenges of GPA Accession: Procedural and Strategic considerationsAnna Caroline MüllerLegal Affairs Officer, WTO Secretariat

EBRD Capacity Building Sessionfor Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and TajikistanLondon, UK9 December 2014

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ACCESSION TO THE GPA – PROCEDURAL CONSIDERATIONS

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Article XXII:2“Any Member of the WTO may accede to this Agreement on terms to be agreed between that Member and the Parties, with such terms stated in a decision of the Committee. Accession shall take place by deposit with the Director-General of the WTO of an instrument of accession that states the terms so agreed. This Agreement shall enter into force for a Member acceding to it on the 30th day following the deposit of its instrument of accession. “

Accessions to the Agreement: Current Statuso 10 observers are in the process of acceding Albania; China; Georgia; Jordan; Kyrgyz Republic; Moldova; Montenegro New Zealand;

Oman; Ukraine.

o 7 WTO Members have commitments to accede to the GPA the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;

Mongolia; Saudi Arabia; Russian Federation; Tajikistan.

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GPA accession commitments by new WTO Members

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The GPA: What are the benefits?

Double benefit: external and internal!

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Internal benefits: “Locking in” reform

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Issues to be addressed

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The accession process step by step

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Flexibilities

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o Transition periodoOffsetoPrice preferenceo Initially higher thresholdsoPhasing-in entities

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Key documents for reference

Accession to the GPA - Strategic considerations

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Potential costs of accession*

__________*It is recognized that each acceding WTO Member must ultimately asses these itself.

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Accession process & negotiationso Offer/request process: what you get will be commensurate

with what you offero Negotiationso Second/subsequent revised offerso Negotiating issues:

o extent of coverage: entities, goods, (construction) serviceso omissions, exclusions, exceptionso thresholds, claimed DC flexibilities, etc. o justification thereof

o Goal: balance of mutually acceptable concessionso prioritize, link back to original accession strategic goal(s)

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Planning / preparatory worko Preparation of initial accession offer

o Identification of offensive and defensive interestso use of thresholdso exclusions, exceptions, other notes and derogationso use of DC flexibilities

o domestic preferences/offsetso phase-in/transitional thresholdso implementation periods

o Shadow 2nd/3rd/final offerso anticipate Parties' potential requestso redlines vis-à-vis GPA min standards/min expectations of Parties

o Know/understand negotiating partners

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Important feedback loopso Importance of ongoing consultative process with

constituents/stakeholderso Alignment of results with original objectiveso Implementation & operation

o Challengeso If necessary, gradually phase in entities, reduce thresholds

o Importance of complementary policies o Training (both public and private sectors; capacity and institution

building)o Help to local industry – e.g. with accessing & assessing information on

market access opportunitieso Address supply-side constraints, competition bottleneckso The competition policy interface

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Concluding Remarks

o Legal basis: any WTO Member; terms to be agreed; deposit of accession instrument; come in to force 30days afterwards.

o Process: indicate interest; initial offer and replies to checklist issues; negotiations (revise offers, examination and modification of legislation); report to and decision by the GPA Committee; deposit accession instruments; come into force.

o Strategic considerations. Plan ahead!

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