Summary: May 17 2001: Communication from Canada, European Communities, Japan and United States on the accession of LDCs to the WTO as a contribution to The 3rd UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (Brussels)
We welcome commitments by the World Bank to "mainstream" trade into individual country development and poverty reduction strategies. Negotiations on accession to the WTO provide an important avenue to take concrete action in the pursuit of our common goal of integrating the poorest countries into the global economy. In practical terms, accession commitments can help each individual least developed country establish and shape a framework of laws and policy measures that foster a better environment for trade and investment to take place, raise standards of living, and increase employment opportunities.
For these reasons, we are committed to improving and accelerating the negotiating process for those least developed countries that have signaled their readiness to undertake a protocol package of commitments to provide market access and adopt and enforce trade rules.
Nine least-developed countries currently are negotiating admission to the WTO. We have witnessed important progress in some negotiations, most notably, Vanuatu, whose negotiations are nearing completion and which reflect important decisions that Vanuatu is undertaking to reform its trade regime, from binding commitments on goods and services to adopting, with only limited recourse to transitional periods, the rules of the trading regime. We welcome these meaningful commitments.
The accession negotiating process has become more complex from that of GATT 1947 because the coverage of WTO rules has expanded and all members now require schedules of commitments. Although the WTO accession process has been streamlined, more needs to be done to reflect the unique and individual needs and situations of least-developed applicants, and to maximize efficiencies in the negotiating process. The accession of each country to the WTO must be assessed on its own merit and allowed to proceed at its own pace. Sufficient flexibility in the negotiating schedules is required to ensure that variable resource capabilities and capacities for effective implementation are taken into account.
We have agreed to consider ways to facilitate the accession negotiations further, taking into account Article XII of the WTO Agreement, the Uruguay Round Decision on Measures in Favor of Least-Developed Countries, and other provisions for special and differential treatment in the WTO Agreements. Our goal is to ensure that the accession negotiations complement the broader mainstreaming effort, and take into account the broader development context. In this regard, we attach priority to four main points, and will work with the WTO Secretariat and other Members:
Expedite the process: We will work to ensure that the accession process is more effective and less onerous for LDCs and tailored to their specific economic conditions, taking into consideration limited administrative capacities, by streamlining procedures and documentation required, minimizing the number of Geneva meetings and consolidating Member's exchanges with LDC applicants.
Market access commitments: We will seek reasonable schedules of commitments on goods and services. In doing so we will take into consideration that LDCs should only undertake commitments that are commensurate with and reflect the current and often unique situation in each acceding country.
Rules and their Implementation: Make full use of the flexibility foreseen under the WTO Agreement for LDCs. The WTO Agreement includes a number of specific provisions concerning LDCs, like the granting of transitional periods for the full implementation of specific rules. While the goal should be the adoption of WTO provisions upon accession, these transitional periods may be applied to the acceding LDCs upon request and presentation of a detailed plan of action for assuring compliance with WTO rules, to be included in the protocol of accession. The implementation of the action plans could be supported by technical assistance.
Strengthen technical assistance and capacity building: We will take advantage of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Programs, the Integrated Framework and bilateral and other multilateral assistance programs to ensure that programmes of assistance currently in place respond adequately to the needs of the acceding country and that there is an effective co-ordination among the different bilateral and multilateral assistance programmes. We note that several least developed countries are already participating in the IF pilot programs. In addition, some countries have established parallel activities complementary to the pilot scheme.
Attachment:
The United Nations designates 49 Least Developed Countries. Thirty are already WTO members based on previous contracting party status in GATT 1947 (Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Senegal Solomon Islands, Tanzania. Togo, Uganda, and Zambia). Another nine are in the process of accession (Bhutan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Laos, Nepal, Samoa, Sudan, Vanuatu, and Yemen) and two are observers (Ethiopia and Sao Tome and Principe). The remaining LDCs are (Afghanistan, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Kiribati, Liberia, Somalia, and Tuvalu).
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