WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/ACC/7
10 March 1999
(99-0963)
TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS
Note by the Secretariat
At its meeting of 10 December 1998 the General Council held a discussion on the process of
accession at the request of the delegations of Egypt and Jamaica.  The statement of the delegation ofJamaica was distributed in advance of the meeting as Job No. 6787.  The General Council also had
before it a Note by the Secretariat, Accession to the WTO - State of Play (WT/GC/W/100).  The
present paper has been prepared by the Secretariat in response to a request by the General Council at
that meeting for a Technical Note on the Accession Process (WT/GC/M/32).
This paper is organized under the following headings:
Page No.
1. Overview 2
2. Introduction 5
3. Relevant WTO Provisions 7
4. The Accession Process(a) General 8
(b) Establishment of Working Party 15
(c) Collection of Factual Information on Acceding Government's Trade
Regime15
(d) Negotiation of Terms of Accession 19
(e) Completion of the Working Party Mandate 28
(f) Adoption of Working Party Report by General Council, Entry into
Force of Protocol of Accession29
(g) Invocation of Article XIII of the WTO Agreement 29
5. Technical Assistance 29
Annex 1 Status of Working Party Accessions 33
Annex 2 General Council Decisions and Protocols of Accession
2.1 Decisions and Protocols 64
2.2 Commitments on Rules 66
2.3 Specific Commitments on Services 97WT/ACC/7
Page 2
1. Overview
This overview summarises some of the main points made in this Note.  For details and
qualifications, see the following sections.
This Note first summarises the discussions on the process of accession to the WTO which
took place at the meeting of the General Council in December 1998 and at Ministerial Conferences in
Singapore and Geneva.  Discussions in particular concerned the following issues:
- the procedures laid down for accessions under Article XII;
- the transparency and pace of the accession process;
- whether the fact finding stage overburdened applicants, particularly smaller
economies;
- the terms and conditions of accession, in particular the availability of special and
differential treatment including transition periods;
- how the special needs and capacities of least developed applicants for accession are
addressed;
- the provision and co-ordination of technical assistance to acceding governments; and- the relationship between accessions and the new trade negotiations.
This Note then reproduces the relevant WTO provisions, in particular Article XII which
governs the accession process.  The negotiation of accession to the WTO under Article XII is a much
more complicated undertaking than accession to the GATT 1947, largely due to the increased scopeand coverage of the WTO Agreement.  It is, also, much more structured and transparent.  The
Secretariat, in consultation with WTO Members, has drawn up a set of procedures to be followed
(WT/ACC/1, 4 and 5).  This Note examines experience with their operation in the four years since the
WTO came into force.
Table 1 reviews the time taken by the six accession Working Parties to complete their work
pursuant to Article XII of the WTO Agreement, while Table 2 examines the status of the 30 accession
Working Parties now in existence, noting that these are at very different stages.  Twenty-
four Applicants have presented memoranda on their trade regime in accordance with WT/ACC/1
which is essential for triggering the first meeting of  their Working Parties.  Fourteen Applicants have
tabled the tariff offers, agricultural supporting tables and services offers which form the basis of
negotiations in these areas.  A significant number of these applicants are approaching the final stagesof their accession processes.
A great deal of information is needed by the Working Party so that it can examine the trade
and legal regime of the applicant, in particular to identify possible areas of inconsistency with the
WTO Agreements - the so called fact-finding stage.   The burden of providing the needed factual data
falls on the applicant government (although technical assistance is provided by the Secretariat and
other international organisations - see below).  However, delays can also occur during this stage if
members of Working Parties do not supply questions in a timely manner and if questions are
duplicated.
In order to provide increased transparency during the fact finding stage, the practice has
developed of requesting the Secretariat to circulate a factual summary of points raised, which
identifies the points that are established and those that require further work, which gradually evolves
into a draft Working Party Report.
During the negotiating phase which follows the applicant must table the necessary offers and
be ready to revise these when necessary.  The long intervals between different stages of the process
are often due to different factors - delays in provision of needed input from the applicant government,WT/ACC/7
Page 3
delayed reactions to offers during the negotiating stage of the work, and members of the Working
Party with differing positions on significant issues.  Working Party meetings can only usefully be
scheduled when delegations have had adequate time to examine the necessary inputs.
Because the purpose of this Note is to assist a discussion of the accession process rather than
to examine individual accessions, the relevant sections of this Note do not go into the details of the
negotiations on terms of accession which are at pres ent under way but does provide some analysis of
the terms agreed in the six negotiations which have been completed to date.
These negotiations fall into two main categori es - negotiations on multilateral rules, and
bilateral (or sometimes plurilateral) market access negotiations.
The multilateral negotiations on rules relate to goods, including systemic agricultural issues,
TRIPS and services.  Acceding countries are expected to observe the rules in the WTO Agreement.
Each of the Protocols of Accession of the six governments which have acceded to the WTO also bind
the new Members to observe specified commitments either set out in the text of the Protocol itself or,
more frequently, in the relevant Working Party' s commitment paragraphs, which are incorporated in
the Protocol of Accession.  Annex 2.2 of this Note reproduces the commitments undertaken in the six
completed accessions and gives examples of different types, e.g. statements of fact rather than
commitments; obligations to abide by existing WTO obl igations not to have recourse to specific WTO
provisions, such as transitional periods on customs valuation and TRIPS; identification of transitional
periods that may be used; authorisation to depart temporarily from WTO rules or commitments in theSchedules; and obligations to abide by rules created by the commitment paragraphs and not contained
in WTO Multilateral Agreements which relate e.g. to privatisation and accession to Plurilateral Trade
Agreements.
Transition periods have been the subject of considerable discussion in accession Working
Parties.  The transition periods granted to original WTO Members have not automatically been made
available to governments acceding under Article XII, regardless of their level of economic
development.  A few transition periods have been granted in limited areas and for short periods of
time following submission of a detailed plan ensuring WTO consistency (by enactment of needed
legislation, training of personnel responsible for implementation, etc.) by the date of accession in all
other areas.
This Note also examines the results of the market access negotiations with the six new
Members which are annexed to their Protocol of accession in their Goods Schedules, containing their
concessions on tariffs and commitments on agricultural domestic supports and export subsidies, and
their Schedules of specific commitments on services.
Negotiations on tariffs take place on a bilateral basis following submission of an offer by the
applicant.  Table 3 examines the concessions grante d on agricultural and non-agricultural products by
the six new Members.  These appear to have bound all items in their tariffs.  The simple average of
their agricultural bindings vary from a low of 11.7 per cent to a high of 34.9 per cent.  The picture is a
little more complex in the case of their non-agricultural bindings.  In this sector the simple average ofbindings of five of the new Members varied from 6.7 per cent to 20.1 per cent.  The other government
concerned bound rates on individually negotiated items at an average of 6.7 per cent and the
remaining items at a uniform rate of 20 per cent.  Four of these new Members have joined in sectoral
tariff agreements reached on a plurilateral basis by some participants in the Uruguay Round.  This
Note also surveys tariff-rate quotas and special safeguard clauses in the six Tariff Schedules.
Negotiations on agricultural supports and export subsidies now take place largely on a
plurilateral basis (chaired by the applicant).  Negotiations on the selection of a representative base
period have been difficult and in only one case has the most recent available period not been taken,WT/ACC/7
Page 4
and then for the very specific reasons set out in th e Report of the Working Party.  This has meant that
four of the six new Members commit themselves to keep domestic support which is subject to
limitation (the "amber box") at de minimis  levels, although flexibility has been shown by the granting
of a time-bound transitional period in one case.  Some Members have developed a firmly-held
position that regardless of whether export subsidies were granted in the base period, commitmentsmust be taken to abolish their use.  Five of the six new Members have bound export subsidies at zero.
One has been granted a transitional period for the phasing out of its export subsidies.
Table 4 and Annex 2.2 to this Note analyse the specific commitments undertaken in the
services sector by the six Members that have acceded under Article XII of the WTO Agreement.
Although it is more complicated in the services ar ea than the goods area to specify and compare the
levels of liberalisation bound by governments, this analysis does show that all six have enteredcommitments in a relatively large number of sectors, unlike some original Members of the WTO.
Annex 2 of this Note also briefly examines the texts of the Protocols of these six Members
which incorporate the commitment paragraphs, the goods Schedules and the services Schedules
referred to in the preceding paragraphs.  These set out the terms which the WTO offers to theacceding government in a single package.  All the obligations in this package are enforceable through
the Dispute Settlement Understanding.  The texts of the Protocols of the six new Members are nearly
identical and a standard pattern therefore appears to have been established.
The Secretariat provides technical co-operation to all governments in the process of accession
on request within the limit of available resources.  This Note provides information on the activities of
the Secretariat and refers to the substantial technical co-operation provided by national governments
and other international organisations.  It reviews technical co-operation provided during 1998.  All
governments in the process of accession have received technical assistance from the WTO Secretariat
in one form or another.  This coverage has been achieved thanks to financial contributions fromindividual WTO Members.  This has taken the form  of, e.g. regional or Geneva based courses or
seminars, as well as focussed assistance in the provision of information needed by the Working Party,
assistance in the drafting of legislation, tabling of offers, training courses and the like.  Other
international organisations including UNCTAD, the World Customs Organization and WIPO have
also provided technical assistance.  Co-operation with UNCTAD in the provision and tailoring of
technical assistance has been particularly close and complementary.  The Co-operation Agreements
between the WTO and the IMF and the World Bank provide for consultations with a view toachieving greater coherence in global economic policy-making, and are also relevant to the provision
of technical co-operation for acceding countries.  In addition, the Secretariat takes all possible steps to
co-ordinate technical assistance related to accessions provided by other organisations and WTO
Member governments.  There is a need for more an d better co-ordinated technical assistance for all
acceding governments.
The six least-developed applicants for accession have been the subject of particular attention.
In 1998 representatives from all six participated in intensive training courses and seminars organised
by the Secretariat.  An Integrated Framework for the review and evaluation of trade-related technical
assistance has been established, linking the WTO with UNCTAD, ITC, IMF, The World Bank andUNDP.  Many WTO Members have stated that steps should be taken to expedite the accession of
least-developed candidates.  Recently, the formulation of agreed guidelines for the accession of LDCs
has also been suggested as a means of expediting their accession processes.  The Secretariat and WTO
Members have already managed to reduce to a minimum the number of Working Party meetings and
to ensure that the meetings held are as productive as possible.  However, more substantial progressneeds to be registered with these six LDC applicants.  WTO Members could facilitate the accession of
these governments by agreeing to closely co-ordinate and increase technical assistance to LDC
applicants.  This could help ensure that the acceding governments have in place the necessary
legislation and enforcement mechanisms so that the need for transition periods can be reduced.WT/ACC/7
Page 5
Accessions remains a major challenge for the WTO, as 30 Working Parties have still to
complete their mandate. This Note shows that the current accession processes are at very different
stages of advancement, ranging from the very in itial stage to the very advanced.  A significant
number, including one LDC candidate, have the potential to be completed before the new tradenegotiations begin, given sufficient flexibility by both the acceding governments and WTO Members.
As momentum for the new negotiations builds up in the coming months, we should see a pronounced
push by acceding governments to finalise their accession processes.  It is also in the interest of WTO
Members that as many as possible of these governments should participate as Members in the new
trade negotiations.  To accomplish this, constructive and creative approaches need to be developed
and implemented.
WTO Members will need to determine how to deal with the accessions still ongoing during
the new trade negotiations.  Governments that are still in the accession process by the time the new
negotiations get underway should be associated with the negotiations as closely as possible.  This
would assist the acceding governments to ensure that the momentum of their domestic reform
processes is maintained and that the evolution of domestic reform is consistent with evolving WTOrules and disciplines.
2. Introduction
Discussions on the accession process itself, as distinct from discussions on the accession of
individual governments, have been held on a number of occasions in the WTO, notably at the
Ministerial Conferences in Singapore in December 1996 and in Geneva in May 1998, and in theGeneral Council on 10 December 1998.  Both Declarations adopted at the Ministerial Conferences
contain a paragraph on accessions.  This note summarises the main comments and suggestions made
during the discussions.  For details, see the records of these meetings: WT/MIN(96)/ST/series,
WT/MIN(98)/ST/series and WT/GC/M/32.
It was felt in the General Council on 10 December 1998 that, while some valid points had
been made in the discussions, a full picture had not yet emerged.
In the debate, many speakers welcomed the large number of governments which had applied
to join the WTO, saying that this demonstrated the viability of the system, and also represented a
challenge to the WTO and its evolution as a truly global organisation.  The more extensive the WTO's
membership became, the greater the benefits that would be enjoyed by its members and the more
global welfare would be increased.
Many acceding governments stressed the fact that accession would encourage and consolidate
their own internal reform process and accelerate their economic development.  Many speakers
therefore emphasised the importance of bringing the applicant governments into the system as rapidly
as possible.  It was generally recognized also that accession to the WTO involved wide-ranging and,
often difficult, legislative and executive action by acceding governments, that each accession was also
a negotiation between the acceding government and WTO Members and therefore to be treated on itsown merits, and that the balance in each accession was to accommodate the special situation of the
acceding government on the one hand, and to maintain the credibility of the WTO system on the
other.  The importance of technical assistance to acceding governments was generally recognised.
Many speakers felt that such assistance was essential for developing economies in general and for
small island developing economies and least-developed countries in particular.  While manyapplicants expressed their gratitude for the assistance that they had received, others drew attention to
their specific needs.  It was suggested that the WTO should take the lead in providing technical
assistance, that UNCTAD also had a major role to play and that International Organisations should
co-ordinate their efforts and their advice in this area.  It was felt that the various sources of technicalWT/ACC/7
Page 6
assistance needed more effective coordination now that the requirements of accession were
complicated and far-reaching.
As to the accession process itself, the procedures suggested in the Secretariat's papers
WT/ACC/1, 4 and 5 were generally welcomed as well structured and transparent.  The view was also
expressed however, that ways should be found of keeping all Members informed of developments inindividual accessions.
It was pointed out that the accession process was often lengthy and too demanding for certain
acceding governments;  the fact finding stage, particularly, appeared to be unduly long, inquisitorial
and frequently repetitive.  Many speakers said that many accessions were moving too slowly, some
adding that the process should be simplified.  Other speakers acknowledged that few accessions had
taken place recently but said that this did not mean that the system was not working.  The pace of each
individual accession depended overwhelmingly on the applicant's willingness and capacity to meet therequirements of the system.  It was possible that up to ten governments would be able to accede by the
end of this year and early next year.  Some speakers said that the process also had sufficient flexibility
to address the needs of individual acceding governments.  However, it appeared generally agreed that
the WTO should look for ways to expedite the current accession processes so that applicants are not
kept waiting longer than necessary.
Some speakers said that Members had the right to expect that acceding governments would
observe a standstill on WTO inconsistent measures and on tariff increases during accession, and
would not wait until completion of the negotiations to bring their legislation into conformity with the
WTO.
Many of the comments concentrated on the terms of accession.Some Members pointed out that Article XII of the WTO, like Article XXXIII of GATT 1947,
placed no limits on the terms, which were to be developed through negotiation with current Members.
Some said that the terms should guarantee a balance of rights and obligations.  Many said that the
accession of new governments should strengthen the system, not weaken it and that acceding
governments must therefore demonstrate their will ingness to comply fully with the WTO rules upon
accession.
A number of different criteria were suggested for judging market-access commitments, the
most frequently cited being that these should be, "c ommercially viable", "mean ingful in trade terms",
"meaningful", "fair", or "appropriate to the level of economic development of the applicant".  Both the
Singapore 1996 and Geneva 1998 Ministerial Declarations call for "meaningful market-access
commitments".
A number of speakers stressed that acceding governments should not be asked to undertake
more stringent obligations than present WTO Members (often referred to as "WTO-plus" obligations).
Some said that to do so was an abuse of economic power.  Some said that this applied especially to
small island developing economies and least-developed countries.
In this connection, some speakers said that legitimate claims for special and differential
treatment for developing economies were not being granted, in particular in regard to the transitionperiods foreseen in WTO Agreements, the relevant de minimis  agricultural support commitments,
provisions on export subsidies, the procedures for balance-of-payments consultations, and the
Decision on net-food-importing governments.
Some Members said that there was no provision for the automatic granting of transition
periods to acceding governments.  It was pointed out that the transition periods contained in the WTOWT/ACC/7
Page 7
Agreements were accorded to original Members to help them become accustomed to their new
obligations and were already expiring.  Acceding Governments were in a different position as they
had known the requirements of the WTO Agreement since the date of its entry into force.  Some
Members said that they were not, a priori , opposed to transitional periods, provided that there was a
clear justification for them.
Some Members said that care should be taken not to introduce two classes of Members but
that there was no easy answer to the question of "WTO-plus".  Members were still adding to their
commitments under the WTO and some order of reciprocity was applicable.
Some speakers said that membership of Plurilateral Agreements (Agreement on Government
Procurement and Civil Aircraft Agreement) should not be made a condition of accession to the WTO,
as Article XII itself made it quite clear that the procedures for accession to these were quite separate
from accession to the WTO itself.
One speaker said that some Members used the negotiations to resolve bilateral disputes not
relevant to WTO accession.
Many speakers said that particular attention needed to be paid to the accession of least-
developed countries.  Some said that the accession procedures for these governments should be
simplified and accelerated.  Some said that the commitments demanded of these governments shouldtake into account their level of development, and that transitional periods and special and differential
treatment were often appropriate.  Some said that  all existing WTO provisions regarding special and
differential treatment for least-developed countries should be extended automatically and without
negotiation to all least-developed countries acceding to the WTO.
Some applicants stressed that they be treated as market-economy governments and be granted
unconditional most-favoured-nation status on accession to the WTO.
The importance of completing a maximum number of accessions before the next series of
trade negotiations was generally recognized.  It was suggested that the General Council should
consider how governments which had not acceded by then could take part in the new negotiations as
effectively as possible.  It was also suggested that these governments might be provided with a degreeof security short of a legally-binding undertaking such as Provisional Accession and that these
governments might ensure that their foreign tr ade regime was consistent with WTO rules and
disciplines.
3. Relevant WTO Provisions
Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization deals
with accession.  The full text of this provision reads as follows:
"1. Any State or separate customs territory possessing full autonomy in the conduct
of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in this
Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements may accede to this Agreement, on
terms to be agreed between it and the WTO.  Such accession shall apply to this
Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements annexed thereto.
2. Decisions on accession shall be taken by the Ministerial Conference.  The
Ministerial Conference shall approve the agreement on the terms of accession by a two-
thirds majority of the Members of the WTO.WT/ACC/7
Page 8
3. Accession to a Plurilateral Trade Agreement shall be governed by the
provisions of that Agreement."
Perhaps the most striking thing about WTO Article XII is its brevity.  It gives no guidance on
the "terms to be agreed", these being left to negotiations between the WTO Members and the
applicant.  Nor does it lay down any procedures to be used for negotiating these terms, these being leftto individual Working Parties to agree.  These have evolved separately as will be seen in the next
section of this paper.  In this, it follows closely the corresponding Article XXXIII of GATT 1947.
A number of other WTO provisions are relevant to accession - for instance:
- Article XVI.1, lays down that "Except as othe rwise provided under this Agreement or the
Multilateral Trade Agreements, the WTO shall be guided by the decisions, procedures and
customary practices followed by the CONTRACTING PARTIES to GATT 1947 and the
bodies established in the framework of GATT 1947";
- Article XII:2 states that "Decisions on accession shall be taken by the Ministerial
Conference", Article IV:2 makes it clear that "In the intervals between meetings of the
Ministerial Conference, its functions shall be conducted by the General Council";
- Article IX deals with decision-making.  On 15 November 1995 the General Council agreed to
procedures regarding decision-making under Ar ticles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement
which clarified the relation between these two provisions (WT/GC/M/8, page 6);
- Article XIII provides that:
"1. This Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annexes 1 and 2 shall not
apply as between any Member and any other Member if either of the Members, at the time
either becomes a Member, does not consent to such application.
…
3. Paragraph 1 shall apply between a Member and another Member which has acceded
under Article XII only if the Member not consenting to the application has so notified the
Ministerial Conference before the approval of the agreement on the terms of accession by the
Ministerial Conference."
4. The Accession Process
(a) General
Procedures
The organization and pursuit of the accession negotiations in each Working Party follow a
well-established pattern based on procedures set out in a note by the Secretariat, WT/ACC/1 of
24 March 1995.  These procedures were modelled on those followed by the
CONTRACTING PARTIES to GATT 1947,including the Complementary Procedures on AccessionNegotiations agreed by the Council of GATT 1947 on 27 October 1993 (L/3713) and the statement by
the Chairman of the Council of GATT 1947 on the Management of Accession Negotiations on
10 November 1994 (C/COM/4).  Before issuing WT/ACC/1, the Secretariat consulted extensively
with interested WTO Members and took the views expressed into account.  During these consultations
an understanding was reached that this note would not be submitted to the MinisterialConference/General Council (hereinafter referred to as the General Council unless specific referenceWT/ACC/7
Page 9
to the Ministerial Conference is required) or to individual Working Parties for formal endorsement but
that it would be prepared as a practical guide for delegations of both WTO Members and acceding
Governments or separate customs territories and not a general policy statement on accession
negotiations (see WT/ACC/1, paragraph 2).
WT/ACC/1 sets out the different stages in the accession process.  It notes that the General
Council considers applications to accede under WTO Article XII and the establishment of a Working
Party.  The Working Party first conducts a factual examination of the trade regime of the acceding
government on the basis of a Memorandum presented by the acceding government and replies to
questions from Members.  The actual multilateral work commences with the submission of a
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime by the applicant government.  At an appropriate moment,
it moves on to negotiate the terms of accession, which relate to three main areas:  WTO rules, on
goods, TRIPS and services.  When agreed, the Report of the Working Party, including a draftDecision and Protocol of Access ion, is forwarded to the General Council.  The Protocol, which
contains a single package of agreed commitments on rules; concessions and commitments on goods;
and specific commitments on services, sets out the terms on which the applicant is invited to join
WTO.  Following the General Council's adoption of the Report and approval of the draft Decision, the
acceding government becomes a Member of the WTO thirty days after it accepts its Protocol ofAccession.
WT/ACC/1 is supplemented by two Technical Notes by the Secretariat, WT/ACC/4 -
Information to be provided on Domestic Support and Export Subsidies in Agriculture and WT/ACC/5
– Information to be Provided on Policy Measures Affecting Trade in Services.
The Accessions Division of the Secretariat has regular consultations with acceding
governments, WTO Members and the chairpersons on the programme of meetings and agenda of
accession Working Parties.
In consultation with Members, the Secretariat has also streamlined the accession process for
least-developed and small island developing economies by reducing the number of Working Party
meetings and ensuring that maximum progress is made between meetings without the accedinggovernment concerned having to visit Geneva.  This includes, to the extent possible, the bilateral
market access negotiations in goods and services.
Status of Accession Working Parties
Thirty nine governments have applied to accede under Article XII since the WTO came into
force on 1 January 1995.  A number of these converted requests made earlier to accede to GATT 1947
into applications to the WTO.  In pursuance of the decision adopted by the General Council on
31 January 1995, their GATT 1947 Working Parties were converted into WTO Working Parties.
Six of these have completed the accession procedures and have become WTO Members.
These are, in the order in which they acceded:  Ecuador; Mongolia; Bulgaria; Panama;
Kyrgyz Republic and Latvia.
Table 1 shows that the length of time between presentation of Memoranda and accession.
The shortest of these accession processes t ook 34 months (Kyrgyz Republic)and the longest
123 months (Bulgaria), or between approximately th ree and ten years.  These governments are not a
random sample of applicant governments.  These are the governments that have completed the
process.  It is possible that the governments still in the queue will, on the whole, take longer to do so.WT/ACC/7
Page 10
Table 1:  Timetable of Completed Accessions1
Country Ecuador Mongolia Bulgaria Panama Kyrgyz Republic Latvia
Date Time
Since
MemoDate Time
Since
MemoDate Time
Since
MemoDate Time
Since
MemoDate Time
Since
MemoDate Time
Since
Memo
Application Sept
92July
91Sept
86Aug
91Feb
96Nov
93
WorkingParty
EstablishedOct
92Oct
91Feb
90Oct
91Apr
96Dec
93
Memorandum May
93Jan
92July
93June
93Aug
96Aug
94
1st Meeting
of WorkingPartyJuly
932 months June
9317 months July
931 month April
9410
monthsMar
977 months Mar
957 months
Draft WP
ReportOct
9417 months Dec
9435 months May
9410 months May
9635
monthsApr
9820 months Dec
9628 months
Report
Adopted byWorkingPartyJuly
9526 months June
9653 months Sept
9638 months Sept
9639
monthsJuly
9823 months Sept
9849 months
Report
Adopted by
CouncilJuly
9526 months July
9654 months Oct
9639 months Oct
9640
monthsOct
9826 months Oct
9850 months
Membership Jan.
9632 months Jan
9760 months Dec
9641 months Sep
9751
monthsDec
9828 months Feb
9954 months
Total Time
Passed SinceMemorandum2 years 8
months5 years 3 years
5 months 4 years  3
months2 years
4 months4 years 6
months
                                                     
1 These governments are arranged in the order that they became WTO MembersWT/ACC/7
Page 11
Working Parties have been established to examine the requests presented by:  Albania;
Algeria;  Andorra;  Armenia;  Azerbaijan;  Belarus;  Cambodia;  China;  Croa tia;  Estonia;  Georgia;
Jordan;  Kazakstan;  Lao People's Democratic Re public;  Lebanon;  Lithuania;  Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia;  Moldova;  Nepal;  Sultanate of Oman;  the Russian Federation;  Samoa;
Saudi Arabia;  Seychelles;  Sudan;  the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and
Matsu (hereinafter referred to as Chinese Taipei);  Tonga;  Ukraine;  Uzbekistan;  Vanuatu andVietnam.  Working parties have not been established to examine requests from Iran, Lebanon and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).
Annex 1 and table 2 summarise the status of the 30 accession Working Parties.
They show that:
- Working Parties have been established for 30 Applicants;
- 24 Applicants have presented the memorandum on their trade regime which triggers
the multilateral process;
- 20 Working Parties have held their first meeting;
- 14 Applicants have tabled the offers on tariffs, offers on services, and basic data
necessary for the negotiations on market access and agricultural support;
- Draft Working Party Reports, or elements of a draft Report, have been circulated in
respect of six Applicants.WT/ACC/7
Page 12Table 2:  Status of Accession Processes
Country China Algeria Nepal Chinese
TaipeiAlbania Russian
FederationSaudi
ArabiaCroatia Belarus Moldova Armenia
Application July  86 Jun 87 May
89Jan 92 Nov 92 Jun 93 Jun 93 Sep 93 Sep 93 Nov 93 Nov 93
Working Party
EstablishedMar 87 Jun 87 Jun 89 Sep 92 Dec 92 Jun 93 Jul 93 Oct 93 Oct 93 Dec 93 Dec 93
Memorandum Feb 87
Dec 88
Sep 93Jul 96 Feb 90 Oct 92 Jan 95 Mar 94 Jul 94
May 96
Jul 96Jun 94 Jan 96 Sep 96 Apr 95
First Meeting of
Working PartyMar 87 Apr 98 Nov 92 Apr 96 Jul 95 May 96 Apr 96 June 97 Jun 97 Jan 96
Tariff Offers Apr 94 Feb 96 May 97
Jan 99Sep 97 Apr 97
Nov 98Mar 98
Jan 99Jan 99
Services Offers Sep 94
Dec 96
Nov 97Sep 94
Jul 96
Oct 98May 97
Aug 98Nov 98Sep 97 May 97
Mar 98
Nov 98Feb 98
Oct 98Oct 98
Jan 99
Agricultural Data Jun 94
Apr 96Jan 98 Sep 98 Jul 98
Feb 99May 96
Jul 96
Aug 98Oct 96
Dec 98May 97
Sep 97
Sep 98Jul 96
Jul 97
Sep 98May 97
Jan 99Mar 97
Draft Working Party
ReportDec 94 Mar 98 Aug 98* Mar
97*
Feb
99*
Report Adopted byWorking Party
Report Adopted byCouncil
Membership
*  Elements of a Draft Report
Note:  Applicants are arranged in the order that they made their application.WT/ACC/7
Page 13Country Ukraine Jordan Lithuania Estonia Sudan Cambodia FYR of
MacedoniaUzbekistan Vietnam Seychelles Tonga
Application Nov 93 Jan 94 Jan 94 Mar 94 Oct 94 Dec 94 Dec 94 Dec 94 Jan 95 May 95 Jun 95
Working Party
EstablishedDec 93 Jan 94 Feb 94 Mar 94 Oct 94 Dec 94 Dec 94 Dec 94 Jan 95 Jul 95 Nov 95
Memorandum Jul 94 Oct 94
Jun 96
Nov 96Dec 94 Mar 94 Jan 99 Oct 98 Sep 96 Aug 96 May
98
1st Meeting ofWorking PartyFeb 95 Oct 96 Nov 95 Nov 94 Jul 98 Feb 97
Tariff Offers May 96
Concept
PaperJul 98
Oct 98Oct 96 Aug 95
Feb 99Jun 97
Services Offers Feb 97
Jun 98Jan 99 Jul 96
Sep 97Apr 95 May 97
Agricultural Data Oct 95
Feb 97
Apr 98Jul 98 Jul 96
Oct 96
Jun 97Sep 95
Jan 99
Draft Working PartyReportJun 97
Oct 98May 96*
Nov 98
Report Adopted byWorking Party
Report Adopted byCouncil
Membership
*  Elements of a Draft ReportWT/ACC/7
Page 14
Country Vanuatu Kazakstan Oman Georgia Iran F R of
YugoslaviaAzerbaijan Andorra Laos Samoa Lebanon
Application July 95 Jan 96 Apr 96 Jul 96 Sep 96 Sep 96 Jun 97 Jul 97 Jul 97 Apr 98 Jan 99
Working Party
EstablishedJuly 95 Feb 96 Jun 96 Jul 96 Jul 97 Oct 97 Feb 98 Jul 98
Memorandum Nov 95 Sep 96 Oct 96 Apr 97
1st Meeting of
Working PartyJul 96 Mar 97 Apr 97 Mar 98
Tariff Offers Nov 97
May 98Jun 97 Oct 97 Feb 98
Oct 98
Dec 98
Services Offers Nov 97
Dec 97Sep 97 Oct 97
Mar 98Feb 98
May 98
Sep 98
AgriculturalDataJul 97 Sep 97 Nov 97
Jun 98
Oct 98
Draft WPReport
Report AdoptedbyWorking Party
Report AdoptedbyCouncil
MembershipWT/ACC/7
Page 15
(b) Establishment of Working Party
Governments wishing to accede on their own behalf or on behalf of a separate customs
territory write to the Director-General, indicating that they wish to do so under Article XII of the
WTO.  The Director-General verifies these requests and  transmits them to the General Council which
normally considers them at its next meeting.  At this stage, discussion in the General Council isusually general in nature.  Normally, the acceding government presents its application, Members
welcome this and the General Council establishes a Working Party with standard terms of reference,
which read as follows:
"to examine the application of the Government of [name of country concerned] to
accede to the World Trade Organization under Article XII and to submit to the
General Council/Ministerial Conference recommendations which may include a draft
Protocol of Accession."
These terms of reference are modelled on those previously used for GATT Accession
Working Parties.  All Working Parties have been given the standard terms of reference.
When the Working Party is established, it is standard practice for the Chairman of the General
Council to be given the authority to nominate its chairperson after consulting with the Applicant and
members of the Working Party.
Membership of the Working Party is open to a ll interested WTO Members.  This ensures that
the multilateral part of the accession process is conducted in as transparent manner as possible.  The
acceding government also, of course, participates in the work.  The size of Working Parties varies
considerably.  Of the twenty Working Parties that have held their first meeting, the two largest have
68 and 54 members (China and the Russian Federation) and the two smallest 23 and 25 (Seychellesand Vanuatu), the average being 40 members.  Any WTO Member or observer wishing to become an
observer to a Working Party may do so.
IMF and the World Bank have observer status in accession Working Parties by virtue of their
Agreements with the WTO.  The latest list of requests from other International Organisations is
contained in WT/GC/W/51/Rev.4.  Pending the outcome of broad informal consultations conductedby the Chairperson of the General Council, these requests are considered on a case-by-case basis by
each Working Party, based on the criteria contained in the guidelines on the subject in WT/L/161,
Annex 3, paragraph 4 (see Minutes of the General Council of 22 October 1998, WT/GC/M/23, page
23).
(c) Collection of Factual Information on Acceding Government's Trade Regime
The next phase in the process is one of fact finding, designed to give WTO Members an
understanding of the applicant country or territory, its economy and, in particular, its trade regime.This phase is usually also one of mutual education during which the applicant gains a better
understanding of the WTO and its requirements.  This process is inevitably demanding, especially on
the applicant, but is an essential preliminary to, and basis for the negotiation of the terms of accession.
Memorandum
The applicant submits a Memorandum describing in detail its foreign trade regime and
providing relevant statistical data for circulation to all WTO Members according to the outline format
attached to WT/ACC/1.  This outline was based on experience gained in GATT 1947 Working
Parties, much expanded to reflect the coverage of the WTO Agreements.WT/ACC/7
Page 16
The length of time taken to present Memoranda is an indication of the fact that its preparation
represents a considerable investment of time and resources for the applicant.  However, the
presentation of a complete and accurate document greatly helps to simplify and facilitate the
subsequent stages of the accession procedure.
However, many Memoranda presented have not been fully consistent with the outline format,
despite the efforts made by the Secretariat (see below under Technical Assistance).  In some cases,
Working Parties have started by considering information on certain main sections of the
Memorandum.  In others, an applicant may be asked to supplement and complete its Memorandum.
Copies of legislation
WT/ACC/1 states that laws and regulations relevant to accession are to be made available to
members of the Working Party at the same time as the Memorandum.  It goes on to state that "the
customary practice in this respect has been that  the Applicant send a complete and comprehensive
copy of the relevant laws and regulations to the Secretariat.  If the textual material is short, it should
be entirely translated by the Applicant into one of the WTO official languages (English, French and
Spanish), if it is long, the Applicant should pr ovide a detailed summary in one of the official
languages."
The purpose of this arrangement is, of course, to enable Working Party members to check
relevant sections of the Memorandum and to ensure that the laws and regulations conform to WTO
requirements.  As made clear in WT/ACC/1, only laws and regulations that are relevant to the
particular accession in question should be submitted.
In practice, many laws and regulations are supplied to the WTO after the Memorandum has
been distributed, especially since many acceding governments are in transition or are undertaking aprocess of economic reform which require major changes in their legislation.
Experience has shown that detailed summaries of laws and regulations are of limited
usefulness, as some major trading governments have insisted that they need to receive the full text of
laws and regulations relevant to accession in a WTO working language.
Data on applied duty rates
The procedures provide that copies of the Applicant's currently applicable tariff schedule in
the harmonized system (HS) nomenclature also be made available to members of the Working Party
at the same time as the Memorandum.  Applicants are requested to supply this in electronic format.
The expectation of WTO Members has been that the applied rates will be taken as the base rates in the
negotiations on the tariff concessions to be included in the Goods Schedule of the Applicant.
Members also ask that import data be supplied in electronic format on a tariff line level, broken down
by country.
As the details of the tariff are mainly used in the negotiations on the Tariff Schedule, these
details have often been provided to the WTO only when these negotiations are about to begin.
Data on agricultural domestic support and export subsidies
WT/ACC/1 foresees that the Memorandum will contain a description of the range of policies
affecting foreign trade in agricultural products.  In addition, a Technical Note by the Secretariat(WT/ACC/4) has been circulated "to allow acceding Governments to present factual information on
their domestic support and export subsidy measures actually in place in agriculture … in a manner
consistent with the notification requirements of the Agreement on Agriculture".  Information is
required "normally for each of the three most recent years".WT/ACC/7
Page 17
This Technical Note was drawn up in consultation with Members.  It sets out their
expectations in this regard and provides details of the information to be provided in the supporting
tables that form a basis for the negotiations on the commitments limiting subsidization of agricultural
products to be included in the Goods Schedule of the Applicant.
The preparation of the supporting tables involves a thorough grasp of complex WTO
requirements and detailed technical work.  Working Party members have also made clear the
importance that they attach to the full and accurate presentation of support actually granted and not,
for instance, budgetary estimates.  It is therefore not surprising that these tables are often presented at
a fairly advanced stage of the accession process.  Nor is it unusual that the tables are revised several
times before they are acceptable to members of the Working Party and that the revision of the tables
becomes a part of the process of negotiation dealt with below.  Acceding governments often hold
plurilateral meetings with interested WTO Members to assist in revision of these tables.
Data on services
The outline format attached to WT/ACC/1 gives some guidance on the information which
should be included in the Memorandum on the Applicant's trade - related services regime.  Here
again, the Secretariat has put together a 13 page Technical Note (WT/ACC/5) in consultation with
Members, which is designed "to assist acceding Governments in submitting factual information ontheir policies affecting trade in services relevant to their economy".
It appears that acceding governments have experienced difficulties in collecting and
presenting the information called for in the Te chnical Note.  Some Working Party members have
shown understanding of this problem and have indicated that they would be prepared to open
negotiations on specific commitments to be included in the Services Schedule of the Applicant on thebasis of a detailed offer, rather than a full response to WT/ACC/5.  This is logical because the request
to acceding governments to response to WT/ACC/5 was, in any case, aimed at helping them put
together a services offer as soon as possible.
Questions and answers
WT/ACC/1 procedures provide that, following the circulation of the Memorandum, members
of the Working Party be invited to submit questions in writing.  Answers are provided in writing by
the acceding government to the Secretariat, which consolidates them and arranges them by topic
under the headings of the Memorandum.  It was foreseen from the outset that more than one round of
questions and answers might be necessary before the first meeting of the Working Party is held.
The headings of the Memorandum have, on the whole, provided a good framework for the
questions and answers and Members have posed questions on other topics in only a few instances.
However, an understanding of the precise relationship between some measures and WTO
provisions has sometimes proved difficult to establish, registration requirements being a case in point.
Questions on the Memorandum have been submitted in all cases by Members and in a few
cases more than one round of questions and answers have taken place before the first meeting of the
Working Party.  The number and diversity of questions and the number of rounds has varied widely
from one accession to another.
Discussions have also been complicated on occasion by the fact that different delegations
have allocated similar questions to different sect ions of the Memorandum.  Duplication has occurred
fairly often, for instance, between sections II.2(b) monetary and fiscal policies and IV.1(k) application
of internal taxes on imports, between sections II.2(a) which includes privatisation plans andWT/ACC/7
Page 18
IV.3(e) State-trading practices and between sections IV.1(e) quantitative import restrictions and
IV.1(f) import licensing procedures.
Examination of trade regime in the Working Party
The first meeting of the Working Party is set once an adequate documentary basis is
available.  WT/ACC/1 stresses that a minimum of four to six weeks should elapse between the formalcirculation of the documentation in the 3 workin g languages and meetings of the Working Party to
allow adequate time for delegations to prepare.
Some Members have stressed from the start of the work that acceding governments should
maintain a standstill on WTO-inconsistent measures and on tariff increases during the accession
process.
WT/ACC/1 foresees that at the first meeting, representatives from the Applicant and members
of the Working Party will examine the Memorandum and the questions and answers provided, with aview to seeking any further clarifications that may be required in the light of the various provisions of
the WTO Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements.  After the meeting, members of the
Working Party submit the comments and questions posed during the meeting and any additional
points that they may have to the Secretariat, which consolidates them and forwards them to the
Applicant.  Further fact finding meetings may be held as necessary before the Working Party begins
to negotiate the terms on which the Applicant will accede.  In practice, the fact-finding and
negotiating phases of the work often overlap.
Experience has shown that six weeks need to be left between the circulation of the
documentation and the meeting at which it is to be examined if the meeting is to be productive.  This
amount of time has normally been provided.
The number of fact finding meetings that have been held of each Working Party has varied
considerably, depending on a number of factors including the interest generated by a particular
accession, the complexity of the policies examined and the adequacy of the information supplied.
Increasingly, in order to accelerate the process and ensure that time is used most productively, it has
been found useful for acceding governments to subm it sufficiently in advance supporting information
on agriculture in the WT/ACC/4 format, and on services in the WT/ACC/5 format.
Questions from WTO Members are channelled through the Secretariat which obtains
consolidated answers in writing.  There have been a few cases when questions have been directly sent
to the acceding government by some WTO Members;  even these are promptly transmitted to the
Secretariat in the interest of transparency.
The written "questions and answers" document distributed after each meeting of the Working
Party constitutes a record of the discussions.  In accordance with the agreed procedures set out inWT/ACC/1, at the conclusion of each meeting of the Working Party, the Chairman sums up the state
of play and next steps to be taken.
The practice has emerged since the circulation of WT/ACC/1 of requesting the Secretariat to
prepare a Factual Summary of Points Raised at an appropriate stage arranged by topic under the
headings of the Memorandum in order to consolidate the information contained in the Memorandum,in supplementary documents and in the questions and answers relevant to the Working Party's Report.
The aim of this is to facilitate the work of the Applicant and the members of the Working Party by
identifying the points that are established, those th at require further elucidation, examination in the
negotiating stage, and, more generally, to make the process more transparent.  As work proceeds and
as negotiations advance on multilateral commitments, the Factual Summary of Points Raisedgradually evolves into a Report of the Working Party.  During this process, further revisions asWT/ACC/7
Page 19
necessary are prepared and circulated to Working Party members.  The final version of the Report of
the Working Party sets out the results of the work done by the Working Party both in the fact finding
and in the bilateral and multilateral negotiating stages.
(d) Negotiation of Terms of Accession
The multilateral negotiations relate to three main areas:  rules in goods, TRIPS; and services.
The negotiations on these three areas are, on the whole, dealt with separately as they address different
issues.  The bilateral negotiations relate to market access concessions in goods and commitments in
the services sector.  The results of the acceding governments bilateral market access negotiations on
goods and services are consolidated by the Secretariat into Schedules of concessions and
commitments on goods (including negotiated levels of domestic support and export subsidisation of
agricultural products) and services.
The procedures in WT/ACC/1 contain fewer details concerning the negotiating phase of the
process than about the earlier fact-finding phase and the last phase in which the results of the
negotiation are formalised and put into effect, the main aim of that document being to define the
framework for the negotiations between the Members of the WTO on the one hand and the acceding
government on the other.
Paragraph 12 of WT/ACC/1 indicates that   "when the examination of the foreign trade
regime is far enough advanced, members of the Working Party may initiate bilateral market access
negotiations on goods and services and on the other terms to be agreed.  It is understood that the fact-
finding work on the foreign trade regime and the negotiating phase can overlap and proceed in
parallel".
The following sections show how the proces s has worked in practice, by giving some
information on the procedures followed and by anal ysing the terms contained in the Reports of the six
Accession Working Parties which have so far completed their work.  These sections are general in
nature as it is the aim of this paper to assist in a discussion of the accession process rather than
particular cases.  However, they are specific enough to demonstrate that the negotiations on the terms
of accession reflect the particular requirements of each case.
These terms are contained in the following documents:
Commitments on Rules Goods Schedule Services Schedule
Ecuador WT/L/77 and Corr.1 Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1 and 2 Add. 2
Mongolia WT/ACC/MNG/9 and Corr .1 Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1 Add. 2
Bulgaria WT/ACC /BGR/5 and Corr.1 Add.1 Add. 2
Panama WT/ACC/PAN/19 and Corr.1 Add. 1 Add. 2
Kyrgyz
RepublicWT/ACC/KGZ/26 and Corr.1 Add.1 Add.2.
Latvia WT/ACC/LVA/32 Add. 1 and Add.1/Corr.1 Add.2
Rules
The discussions on rules arise naturally from the fact-finding stage of the work and recently
the decision to move to examine the commitments that the Applicant should undertake in the rules
area has been taken less formally than in the past.  In some cases, the move is made first only in
certain areas of the work that are relatively far advanced.
While bilateral meetings with some Member s may deal with the commitments on rules,
discussions on these are in the main conducted multilaterally in the Working Party because the
application of WTO rules is a matter of common concern.WT/ACC/7
Page 20
The main aim of the discussions on WTO rules is to establish if the Applicant's regime
conforms to WTO rules and, in particular, how it is to be brought into conformity where necessary.  It
is the position of some Members, however, that acceding governments do not have the automatic right
to the treatment laid down in the WTO Agreements for original Members of the WTO, as is made
clear from Article XII which simply provides that accession shall be "on terms to be agreed between[the Applicant] and the WTO".
Among the subjects which have given rise to the most discussion in Working Parties are
whether or not the Applicant in question should rece ive the special and differential treatment reserved
in the WTO Agreements for developing economies.  Similar discussions have not taken place in the
case of least-developed countries because these are clearly identified in the United Nations list of
LDCs which is accepted by the WTO.  As it has been difficult to resolve this issue, participants in a
number of Working Parties have taken the view that it is more productive not to discuss the principleinvolved but to concentrate on the terms that are appropriate in each accession case and in relation to
each subject dealt with by the Working Party.
Several applicants have requested that they be granted transitional periods of the kind
provided in WTO Agreements for developing Members and, in some instances, for Members in the
process of transformation from a centrally-planned into a market, free-enterprise economy.  It is theposition of some WTO Members that only original Members of the WTO are entitled to use the
transitional periods referred to, which form part of the single undertaking of the WTO Agreement.
Some members state that a transitional period should not ordinarily be granted.  In this connection,
some Members make it plain that where existing legislation is deficient or lacking, draft laws and
regulations in full conformity with WTO rules be  presented to the Working Party for examination,
together with a timetable for their implementation.
Others say that they are not, a priori , opposed to transitional periods for applicants but that
applicants must demonstrate that they have done as much as they can to bring their system into line
with WTO requirements before asking for transitional periods.  Some others urge flexibility in this
matter, especially for small developing economies and least-developed countries.
Consequently, acceding governments usually present a plan and timetable showing, for each
of the main subjects dealt with in the Working Part y, what steps they have taken towards conformity,
what remains to be done and how and when they expect to complete this process.  This is then the
subject of negotiations in the Working Party on the terms to be included in the Protocol.
Each of the six Protocols, which follow a common pattern, make the acceding government a
Member of the WTO and bind it to observe the rules contained in the Agreement establishing the
WTO as rectified, amended or otherwise modified as of the date that the relevant Protocol entered intoforce.  Each of these Protocols also bind the new Member in question to observe specified
commitments.  These special commitments are either se t out in the text of the Protocol itself or, more
frequently, in the relevant Working Party Report's commitment paragraphs (which are incorporated by
reference in the Protocols).  Both sets of rules are integral parts of the Protocol and have the same
status and legal effect.  They are justiciable through the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the WTO.The entire package of Report, Protocol of Accession and Schedules of Concessions and Commitments
in Goods and Services constitute the conditions under which the acceding government is permitted to
join the WTO Agreement.
The following paragraphs give information on the rules accepted by the six governments that
have acceded to date, as contained in their Protocols of Accession.  The relevant texts are set out infull in part 2 of Annex 2, grouped together by subject for purposes of comparison.
The Protocol of Ecuador, the first country to accede to the WTO, incorporates 21 specific
commitments.  Comparable figures for the other five governments which have acceded are:WT/ACC/7
Page 21
Mongolia 17;  Bulgaria 26;  Panama 24;  Kyrgyz Republic 29;  and Latvia 22.  Two additional rules
specific to Mongolia are contained in the body of its Protocol.
On the evidence provided by these six cases, it appears that the outline for the original
Memorandum on the Applicant's trade regime prov ides a good framework for the whole accession
process.
It should be noted, however that the early sections of the outline dealing with Economic
Policies are included in the Memorandum mainly (but not exclusively) as background for the
Working Party's consideration of the Applicant's foreign trade regime.  In these sections specific
commitments have been required of some of the six governments on the following specific subjects:
foreign exchange and payments; State ownership and privatisation; and price controls.
It can also be noted that the commitment paragraphs are of different types.  Examples are
given of each in the introduction to Part 2 of Annex 2.
- statements of fact rather than commitments;
- obligations to abide by existing WTO rules, sometimes specifying national measures to be
amended to bring them into conformity with WTO provisions on the subject in question,
sometimes elaborating on the WTO provisions on the subject in question;
- obligations not to have recourse to specific WTO provisions;- specific identification of transitional periods that may be used;
- authorisations to depart temporarily from WTO rules or from commitments in the Goods
Schedule;
- obligations to abide by rules created by the commitment paragraph and not contained in WTO
Multilateral Agreements.
Market access
Paragraph 13 of WT/ACC/1 goes on to state that the negotiations on concessions and
commitments on goods and specific commitments on services may begin either on the basis of
requests from WTO Members or, as a means of expediting the work, on the basis of offers from the
Applicant.  Experience to date shows that, usually, it is the Applicant which initiates the marketaccess negotiations by presenting both basic factual information and offers on goods, including
agriculture, and/or services.  The offers have been circulated in WTO documents, except in one case
in which the document stated that the offer was available to interested Members on request.
Negotiations on tariffs and services have been conducted bilaterally, but it now appears to be
accepted that the draft commitments on agricultural domestic support and export subsidies are dealt
with from a relatively early stage in plurilateral meetings conducted by the Applicant with interested
WTO Members.  These commitments are of more general systemic interest than concessions onspecific tariff lines of interest to individual Members.  Paragraph 13(iii) of WT/ACC/1 adds however
that, following the conclusion of bilateral negotiations, the draft Schedules on both goods and services
are formally circulated to all members of the Working Party and reviewed multilaterally.  This
provides an opportunity to WTO Members to verify that the concessions contained in the draft
Schedules conform to the results of their bilateral negotiations with the acceding government.  It isalso, inter alia , to ensure that contents are in accordance with the relevant WTO provisions.WT/ACC/7
Page 22
Goods Schedule
The Goods Schedule contains the tariff concessions and agricultural commitments made by
the acceding government.  These take the same form as the Schedules of all other WTO Members –
Part I containing most-favoured-nation tariff conces sions (often referred to as "bindings"), Part II
containing any preferential tariff concessions, Part  III containing any non-tariff concessions and Part
IV containing commitments limiting subsidisation of agricultural products.  All WTO Members must
undertake most-favoured-nation tariff bindings and agricultural commitments but concessions on the
preferential tariff and non-tariff measures are seldom made.  None of the six governments which have
acceded to the WTO have made bindings in Parts II and III of th eir Goods Schedules.
Tariff concessions
Table 3 analyses the most-favoured-nation bindings that the six new Members have made in
Part I of their Schedules, to the extent that this is possible.  It is divided into two parts, dealing withagricultural items and non-agricultural items.
The Table shows that all six countries bound all items in their tariffs.  These bindings have
been made at different H.S. levels (including 4, 6, 8 digit).  This affects those averages in the table
and the inter-country comparability of the data.
The agricultural part of the Table shows, inter alia :
- that Bulgaria, Kyrgyz Republic and Latvia have bound a (relatively small) number of
specific or compound rates.  The ad valorem  equivalent of these has not been calculated;
- that Ecuador, Bulgaria, Kyrgyz Republic and Latvia have listed and bound all agricultural
items individually.  The simple average of their ad valorem  bindings is 25.8 per cent,
34.9 per cent, 11.7 per cent and 33.6 per cent, respectively;
- that Mongolia and Panama have listed and bound only some of their agricultural tariffs
individually, the remaining items, on which no specific requests were received, being
bound at a single rate in a headnote.  For Mongolia, the simple average of the rates bound
individually is 18.4 per cent, while the remaining items are bound at 20 per cent.  For
Panama the corresponding figures are 26.1 per cent and 30 per cent;
- tariff rate quotas (TRQ) are not included in the table above.  The agricultural part of the
Schedule of Ecuador contains 17 TRQs at th e 6 and 8 digit level of the Harmonised System
and comparable figures for the other new Members are:  Mongolia - none;  Bulgaria - 90 at
HS 8 digit level;  Panama - 57 at HS 8 digit level;  Kyrgyz Republic - none;  and Latvia - 4
at HS 4, 6 and 8 digit level;
- Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture provides for the use of special safeguard clauses
in certain defined circumstances.  Of the six governments under examination, only theSchedules of Panama (6 items at HS 8 digit level) and Bulgaria (21 items at HS 6 and
8 digit levels) include special safeguard clauses;
- no reference is made in any of the six Schedules to the special treatment ("tariffication")
provided for in Annex 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture.
The non-agricultural part of the Table shows, inter alia :
- that Kyrgyz Republic has bound a few specific or compound rates.  The ad valorem
equivalent of these has not been calculated;WT/ACC/7
Page 23
- that Ecuador, Kyrgyz Republic and Latvia have listed and bound all non-agricultural items
individually.  The simple average of these bindings is 20.1 per cent, 6.7 per cent and
9.3 per cent respectively;
- Mongolia, Bulgaria and Panama  have listed and bound only some of their non-agricultural
tariffs individually, the remaining items being bound in a headnote.  For Mongolia, thesimple average of the rates bound individually is 20 per cent, while the remaining items are
also bound at 20 per cent.  For Bulgaria, the corresponding figures are 12.6 per cent and
35 per cent and for Panama 11.5 per cent and 30 per cent.
Table 3 also shows the number of zero bindings made by the six governments.  These reflect
the fact that three of them have joined in so- called "zero-for-zero" initiatives negotiated among a
limited number of participants in the Uruguay Round in  the following sectors:  Bulgaria, some civil
aircraft, and some medical equipment;  Kyrgyz Republic, agricultural equipment, construction
equipment, ITA, medical equipment, paper, steel, to ys and most furniture;  and Latvia, beer, distilled
spirits, furniture, ITA, paper, toys, most agricu ltural equipment, most construction equipment, most
medical equipment, and most steel.  Mongolia, Panama, Kyrgyz Republic and Latvia harmonised their
bindings in the chemical sector on the rates agreed by a group of governments in the Uruguay Round.WT/ACC/7
Page 24
Table 3:  Tariff bindings of members which have acceded to the WTO
Agricultural Products
Ecuador Mongolia Bulgaria Panama Kyrgyz Republic Latvia
No. of Tariff  Items 1,019 n.a. 725 n.a. 912 729
No. of Tariff  Items Bound
Individually1,019 98 725 550 912 729
Specific + Compound Rates None None 114 None 49 8
0 0 4 42 4 19 32
0-5 30 2 47 94 64 16
6-10 11 4 66 75 530 129
11-15 110 50 82 100 98 64
16-20 230 27 16 43 151 29
20-30 509 2 92 157 1 26
30-40 61 6 63 10 0 41
40-50 43 2 3 8 0 375
50+ 25 1 200 59 0 9
Simple Average of Individual
Tariff Bindings25.8% 18.4% 34.9% 26.1% 11.7% 33.6%
M i n i m u m 5 % 00000
Maximum 86% 75% 98% 260 30% 55%
Other Tariff Items Bound in
HeadnoteNone 20% None 30% None None
Notes:
Tariff ranges go up to and include the second figure in each range
n.a. = not available
This table analyses the non-agric ultural tariff schedules of the six countries to the extent that this is possible. Please see the text above for fu rther explanations.WT/ACC/7
Page 25Non-agricultural Products
Ecuador Mongolia Bulgaria Panama Kyrgyz Republic Latvia
No. of Tariff Items 5,758 n.a. n.a. n.a. 6,068 4,564
No. of Tariff Lines Bound
Individually5,758 186 2,491 2,308 6,068 4,564
Specific + Compound Rates None None None None 36 None
0 0 4 100 127 1,401 802
0-5 111 1 282 291 812 243
6-10 1,189 13 899 1,076 3,371 2,365
11-15 773 0 846 319 447 777
16-20 1,242 145 93 133 1 298
20-30 2,425 23 209 350 0 19
30-40 18 0 62 6 0 3
40-50 0 0 0 0 0 45
5 0 + 00060 1 2
Simple Average of Individual
Tariff Bindings20.1% 20% 12.6% 11.5% 6.7% 9.3%
M i n i m u m 5 % 00000
Maximum 40% 30% 40% 81% 20% 55%
Other Tariff Items Bound in
HeadnoteNone 20% 35% 30% None None
Notes:
n.a. = not available
Tariff ranges go up to and include the second figure in each range
This table analyses the non-agric ultural tariff schedules of the six countries to the extent that is possible.  Please see text  above for further explanations.WT/ACC/7
Page 26
Agricultural commitments
The agricultural commitments on domestic support and export subsidies that must be made by
each acceding government are negotiated bilaterally and then plurilaterally at meetings attended by
the acceding government and interested members of the Working Party.
This section examines the agricultural commitments of the six governments which have
already acceded.  These are contained in Part IV of their Goods Schedule, which sets out first those
relating to domestic measures and second those relating to export subsidies.
One of the most difficult issues in this area has been agreement on the base period to be used
in the negotiations, which has been dealt with above.  In the end, the most recent period for which
data were available were used in the cases of Ecuador, Mongolia, Panama , Kyrgyz Republic and
Latvia.  In the case of Bulgaria, it was agreed that the most recent period was not representative and a
different period was taken as the base.  The Working Party Report notes that "An earlier period thanthe most recent three-year period was accepted by WTO Members only because the latter was not
regarded as representative due to the United Nations embargo applied to the former Republic of
Yugoslavia".
The Agreement on Agriculture provides that domestic support measures in the "green box"
are not subject to limitation but that non-product-specific and product-specific domestic support
measures in the "amber box" maintained in the base period must be reduced and bound if they are
above the relevant " de minimis " levels laid down in the Agreement, which is 5 per cent of the value of
total agricultural production of the country in question for developed countries and 10 per cent for
developing economies.
Many acceding governments' domestic support measures either fall in the "green box" or are
below " de minimis " levels, either as a result of policy decisions or a lack of financial resources.  This
is reflected in the Commitments of the six governments under consideration, which are contained in
Part IV of their Goods Schedule.
While there are some differences in the way in which these are scheduled, Ecuador,
Mongolia, Kyrgyz Republic and Latvia all undertake " de minimis " domestic support commitments.
Latvia, however, negotiated a transitional period to 1 January 2003, during which levels of domestic
support would be calculated using a method specified in the Working Party Report
(WT/ACC/LVA/32, paragraph 109).
Maximum permitted levels of domestic support are detailed in the case of Bulgaria and
Panama.  Bulgaria's Schedule specifies annual and final bound levels of aggregate support.  Panama's
Schedule contains a reference to a supporting table detailing the form and level of non-product
specific support which is below the de minimis  level and reserving Panama's right to use this support
up to that level.
The Agreement on Agriculture lays down that expo rt subsidies maintained in the base period
must be reduced and bound.
Ecuador, Mongolia and Kyrgyz Republic did not grant export subsidies during the relevant
period, and their Schedule binds these at zero.  Latvian export subsidies are also bound at zero.  In theWorking Party, the Latvian representative stated that  "export subsidies had been provided in the base
period for milk powder, canned milk, cheese, butter and rye in 1994, 1995 and 1996.  He also made
clear that Latvia's intention was to increasingl y direct its investment in agriculture towards
programmes designed to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Latvian agriculture andWT/ACC/7
Page 27
ensure its alignment with world requirements.  In th is context, Latvia would be prepared to eliminate
export subsidies as reflected in its schedule of commitments annexed to Latvia's Protocol of
Accession" (Working Party Report, WT/ACC/LVA/32, paragraph 107).
The Bulgarian Schedule sets out maximum levels of export subsidies by quantity and value
for wheat and wheat flour; sunflower seed; specified fruits and vegetables, fresh and preserved;  wine;tobacco;  white cheese;  kashkaval (yellow cheese);  specified live animals;  specified meats;  eggs;
and "incorporated products".  Transitional and final rates are provided.  A separate table excludes the
granting of export subsidies to certain listed markets and indicates that export subsidies shall only be
granted in respect of oriental tobacco.
Panama's Schedule commits it to eliminate its  "Certificados de Abono Tributario" (CAT) on
31 December 2002, noting that the form of this export subsidy made it difficult to provide for its
gradual phasing out and that therefore no transitional provisions are laid down.  Additionalinformation on the CAT is contained in the Working Party's Report (WT/ACC/PAN/19,
paragraphs 52 and 53).
Services Schedule
Negotiations on services are usually engaged after members of the Working Party have
undertaken some form of multilateral examination of the services regime, generally based oninformation submitted in the outline format descri bed in the Secretariat's Technical Note WT/ACC/5.
The negotiations usually start in earnest with th e circulation to all Working Party members of the
Applicant's initial offer.  The offer is made avai lable to all interested Working Party members and
takes the format of a draft of the Schedule of Specific Commitments which upon finalisation is
attached to the Protocol.  Negotiations then take  place bilaterally with interested members of the
Working Party, on the basis of the offer and requests from the members.  This process invariably
leads to revisions of the offers which are then circulated to members of the Working Party.
The results of the negotiations with the six governments which have acceded are summarised
in Table 4.  This shows that all six have entered commitments in a relatively large number of sectors,
unlike some original Members of the WTO.  The table can only indicate whether or not commitmentshave been made, but not the depth of these commitments.  In particular, it does not reflect how many
sub-sectors have actually been included and what type of limitations, if any, the governments
concerned have qualified the ensuing Market Access and National Treatment obligations.  In turn, this
implies that it is far more complicated in the serv ices than in the goods area to specify and compare
the levels of liberalisation bound by governments under the relevant provisions.  Fuller notes on the
commitments are annexed to this paper.
Table 4:  Sector Specific Commitments in Services of Members who have Acceded to the WTO
Ecuador Mongolia Bulgaria Panama Kyrgyz
RepublicLatvia
Professional services x x x x x x
- Legal services x x x x x
- Accountancy services x x x x x x
- Taxation services x x x x
- Architectural and
engineering servicesxx xx
- Medical services x x xWT/ACC/7
Page 28
Ecuador Mongolia Bulgaria Panama Kyrgyz
RepublicLatvia
Computer and related
servicesxx x x x
Research and development
servicesxx x
Other business services x x x x x x
Postal services x
Courier services x x
Telecommunications –
valued addedxx x x x
Telecommunications – basic x x x x
Audiovisual services x x
Construction services x x x x x x
Distribution services x x x x x x
Educational services x x x x
Environmental services x x x x x
Financial – insurance x x x x x x
Financial - banking and other
financial servicesxxx xxx
Health services x x x
Social services x x x
Tourism services x x x x x
Recreational services x x x x
Transport services x x x x x
- Maritime transport x x
- Air transport x x x x x
- Rail transport x
- Road transport x x x
Limitations on National
Treatmentxxx xxx
Note:  For fuller information please see Annex 2.
(e) Completion of the Working Party Mandate
When the Working Party agrees that it has completed its mandate, it adopts its package of
Report and Draft Protocol of Accession (annexing Schedules of Concessions and Commitments inGoods (including Agriculture) and Services).  These form a single package which must be accepted as
a whole by the Applicant.  The Working Party also adopts a Draft Decision which when taken by the
General Council invites the applicant to accede to the WTO on the terms set out in the Report,
Protocol and Schedules of Concessions and Comm itments.  The package of Report, Draft Protocol
(and its annexes) is submitted to the General Council for appropriate action.  The terms set out therein
reflect the result of negotiations amongst the applicant and the members of the Working Party and
have been adopted by consensus in all of the six Working Parties concluded so far.  The Report,Protocol (and its annexes) and Draft Decision have been forwarded to the next General Council
meeting in each case.WT/ACC/7
Page 29
The text of the draft General Council Decisions has been identical in each of the six cases and
a standard pattern therefore appears to have been established.  This text is reproduced in Annex 2 to
this Note.
The six accession Protocols are nearly identical to each other (Annex 2 to this Note identifies
the text that is common to all six Protocols and the four paragraphs containing differences).
(f) Adoption of Working Party Report by General Council, Entry into Force of Protocol of
Accession
The next stage is the adoption of the Report by the General Council, and the taking of the
Decision forwarded to it in dr aft form by the Working Party.
Following completion of their domestic ratification procedures, the six governments
concerned became Members of the WTO thirty days after depositing their acceptances of the terms of
entry set out in the Protocol of Accession (and annexes) with the Director General.  The ratificationperiod in those cases varied from 2-11 months.
(g) Invocation of Article XIII of the WTO Agreement
In two cases, one WTO Member has invoked Article XIII of the WTO Agreement  (Non-
Application of Multilateral Trade Agreements between Particular Members) prior to the decisions of
the General Council to adopt the Report and open the Protocol of Accession for acceptance.  Theseinvocations are still in force.
5. Technical Assistance
It has been recognized from the outset that, given the demands made by the process on
applicants, the provision of technical assistance fr om the earliest stages of the accession procedure is
of critical importance.  The need for this assistance ranges from help in the preparation ofdocumentation and in the negotiation of the terms of accession to the setting up of adequate legislative
and administrative infrastructures to ensure that the new members become effective participants in the
WTO as soon as possible.  Special attention has been given to technical assistance for least-developed
countries that are acceding to the WTO;  however, it is clear that more needs to be done.
The technical assistance currently provided by the Secretariat, including assistance given to
acceding governments, is summarised in the annual reports which it makes on the subject to the
Committee on Trade and Development.  These reports have noted that the process is demand-driven
and within existing human and financial resource constraints the Secretariat has been trying to deal
with greatly increased requests both from acceding governments and from governments
contemplating accession. The most recent of these reports covers activities in 1997
(WT/COMTD/W/36 of 18 February 1998) and the report on activities in 1998 will be issued shortly.
Statistics for 1998 are already available and have been drawn on in the following paragraphs.
The Secretariat provides technical assistance in different ways.  In 1998 it participated in
61 events which were attended by governments acceding to the WTO, 27 of which were regional
events, such as conferences, seminars or workshops, and 34 were national events, such as seminars or
technical missions.  Thirty acceding governments took part in one or more of these events.  A large
number of these events were financed by the following individual WTO Members:  the Netherlands;Hong Kong, China;  Norway;  Switzerland;  Japan;  and Singapore.
Many of these missions are designed to assist audiences from governments interested in
accession, or actually in the process of acceding, by providing an introduction to, and explaining theWT/ACC/7
Page 30
benefits to be derived from, the multilateral trading system.  In addition to these general introductions
to WTO, the Secretariat also participates in events  with a narrower focus , dealing with practical and
specific issues relating to the process of accession.  During 1998, the Secretariat took part in 24 events
of a general nature and 37 events dealing with specific subjects.
The Secretariat assists any Applicant that so requests with the technical demands of the
accession process as such, in particular in the preparation of its Memorandum and of subsequent
documentation required by the accession process.  In accordance with the procedures laid down in
WT/ACC/1, it checks the consistency of each Applicant's Memorandum on its foreign trade regime
with the outline attached to that document, make s technical comments to the Applicants concerned
and consults informally with interested Members, in particular before circulating Memoranda which
are not fully consistent with the outline.  In such cases it has made the views of these interested
Members known to the Applicants concerned, which have then decided whether to insist oncirculation or whether to revise their document.
The complexity of the accession negotiations also requires acceding governments to provide
highly technical data and information on specific sectors, such as tariffs, agriculture, TRIPS and
services, as well as notifications on customs valuation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures and State-trading.  Both during missions and from Geneva, the Secretariatassists in the compilation and tabling the necessary in formation in agreed formats, such as those for
replies to questions from WTO Members, market access offers and tables of support measures in
agriculture.
Applicants also avail themselves, to the extent possible, of the WTO training courses as part
of their preparation for accession negotiations.  Representatives of acceding governments have takenpart in the regular twelve-week training courses in Geneva on trade policy, international trade law and
the multilateral trading system which are organised alternatively in English, French and Spanish for
officials from developing economies' Members or Observers of the WTO.  In 1998 participants
included officials from five acceding governments.  In addition, special courses financed by the Swiss
Government are organised for officials from Eastern and Central European and Central AsianGovernments.  The last of these comprised 21 participants from 13 governments.  Special Trade
Policy Courses, financed by the Government of the United States, have also been held for officials
from the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Georgia.  Lectures are also given to visiting groups from
acceding governments, or governments interested in accession.
The six least-developed countries which are in the process of accession have been the subject
of particular attention.  In 1998 representatives of these governments were among the participants in
12 regional and 10 national events;  5 of which were organised by the Secretariat for least-developedcountries, in order to increase awareness of the multilateral trading system, rights and obligations
under the WTO Agreements and trade-related topics of specific concern to least-developed countries.
WTO has also provided five of the least-developed countries in the process of accession with a
reference centre with computer hard- and software, a link to the internet and training in the use of this
technology.
Applicants are being advised to use their ob server status to follow WTO meetings, in
particular those of other accession Working Parties and various WTO Councils and Committees.
Individual WTO Members have often given help, sometimes in a very substantial way, to
these governments to implement their plans for a transition to a market economy or for far-reaching
reform programmes; to set up the necessary basic legal and institutional framework; as well as torespond to the detailed requirements of the accession process itself.WT/ACC/7
Page 31
Acceding governments also receive technical assistance from other International
Organisations, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank),
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Customs
Organisation (WCO) and the World Intell ectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The Comprehensive and Integrated WTO Plan of Action for the Least-Developed
Governments adopted at the Singapore Ministerial Conference, in which UNCTAD, ITC, IMF, the
World Bank and UNDP are actively involved, has led to the establishment of an Integrated
Framework for the review and evaluation of trade-related technical assistance provided to these
governments.  Recent information on th is is contained in WT/COMTD/LDC/W/12.
The WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, the Bank for International
Settlements (BIS), the Organisation for Europ ean Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Developm ent (EBRD) are sponsors of the Joint Vienna
Institute, which has been established to provide training support for governments making the
transition from centrally-planned to market-based economies.
Cooperation with UNCTAD has been particularly close.  UNCTAD has extensive experience
in providing technical assistance and has executed a number of national projects, generally financed
by UNDP, related to WTO accession.  These have the following general objectives:
- to assist national officials in elaborating optimal approaches in the initial phase of the
WTO accession process, particularly in making an inventory of relevant problems to
be solved both of internal and external nature;
- to strengthen knowledge of national officials of multilateral trade negotiations'
techniques and tactics in order to improve their negotiating capacity;
- to provide advice in trade policy formulation, particularly relating to the WTO
accession negotiations; and
- to strengthen the capacities of trade supporting national institutional structures
(including academic community) through training and joint analysis of the relevant
problem areas.
UNCTAD delivers technical assistance by: undertaking advisory missions and working
directly with national negotiating teams; assisting in the preparation of documentation required by the
WTO accession negotiations;  preparing analytical papers and briefings for national policy-makers;
organising brainstorming meetings and seminars;  and diffusing trade policy information.
When the Secretariat elaborates its plans for assistance it coordinates them, to the extent
possible, with similar assistance being provided by individual Members and other International
Organisations so as not to duplicate assistance already available.  This is usually done in an informal,ad hoc  way, which has worked well on the whole.  The sort of assistance that the Secretariat provides
is often by its very nature complementary to the help provided by national Governments and other
Organisations.  As the Secretariat's assistance is demand-driven, it can also rely on the acceding
government to identify the assistance which it needs.
The Cooperation Agreements between the WTO and the IMF and the World Bank provide
fora for consultations with a view to achieving greater coherence in global economic policy-making.
The recent report of the Managing Director of the IMF, the President of the World Bank and the
Director-General of the WTO on Coherence (WT/GC/13 of 19 October 1998) contains the following
paragraphs:WT/ACC/7
Page 32
"15. An important example of common policy issues is the interrelationship
between trade liberalization as the outcome of WTO-based negotiations and unilateral
trade reforms in the context of programmes supported by the IMF and the World
Bank.  When governments make autonomous reductions in trade barriers as part of
IMF or World Bank programmes, two questions can arise.  The first concerns thepermanence of such liberalization, in order to provide greater predictability of policies
and help promote private sector activity by avoiding policy reversals.  The second and
related question is the degree to which such liberalization should receive “credit” in
future trade negotiations.  Discussions among the three institutions could help
elucidate the issues involved."
"19. Also of operational concern is the interaction among the three organizations in
their work relating to the governments that  are in accession to the WTO.  The WTO
and, in many cases, the World Bank, are active in helping interested governments
prepare for accession, and this effort may benefit from closer cooperation with the
IMF.  By combining the WTO’s knowledge of what needs to be done to facilitate
accession, with the country-specific knowledge accumulated by the IMF and the
World Bank staffs, it should be possible to make the accession process faster andsmoother for the benefit of the governments involved."
The General Council has an item on its agenda  dealing with "Agreements between the WTO
and the IMF and the World Bank".  The Secretariat has prepared a check-list of issues raised by
Delegations in the course of the discussions (WT/GC/W/140), which deals, inter alia , with
cooperation in trade-related technical assistance and capacity-building.  These discussions arecontinuing.WT/ACC/7
Page 33
ANNEX 1
Status of Working Party Accessions
ALBANIA
1. Application Received:  12 November 1992 (L/7120)
2. Working Party Established:  2 December 1992 (SR.48/1)
3. Memorandum:  25 January 1995 (L/7613/Corr .1) and 26 August 1998 (WT/ACC/ALB/25)
4. Questions and Replies:  13 September 1995 (WT/ACC/ALB/3 and Add.1), 13 February 1996
(WT/ACC/ALB/4/Corr.1)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  3 meetings - 29-30 April 1996, 29 October 1996 and
27 January 1999
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  14 October 1996 (WT/ACC/ALB/8 and Add.1-9),
4 August 1997 (WT/ACC/ ALB/23), 22 April 1998 (WT/ACC/ALB/23/Rev.1)
(b) WT/ACC/4 Agricultural data:  31 May 1996 (WT/ACC/ALB/9), 30 July 1996
(WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/1 and Add.1), 25 August 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/4)
(c) WT/ACC/5 Services:  30 May 1996 (W T/ACC/ALB/7)  and 24 September 1996
(WT/ACC/ALB/14)
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  14 May 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/3), Last Revision 19 January 1999
(WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/3/Rev.3/Corr.1)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  22 May 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/2), 25 August 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/5), 26 November  1998 (WT/ACC/SPE C/ALB/5/Rev.1)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 34
ALGERIA
1. Application Received:  3 June 1987 (L/6182)
2. Working Party Established:  17 June 1987 (C/M/211)
3. Memorandum:  11 July 1996 (WT/ACC/DZA/1)
4. Questions and Replies:  14 July 1997 (WT/ACC/DZA/2)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  1 meeting – 23 April 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  22 January 1998 (WT/ACC/DZA/4), 10 February 1999
(WT/ACC/DZA/ 13/Add.1 and 2)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  30 January 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/DZA/2)
(c) WT/ACC/5 - Services:  4 Fe bruary 1998 (WT/ ACC/SPEC/DZA/1)
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 35
ANDORRA
1. Application Received:  4 July 1997 (WT/ACC/AND/1)
2. Working Party Established:  22 October 1997 (WT/GC/M/23)
3. Memorandum:
4. Questions and Replies:   
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 36
ARMENIA
1. Application Received:  29 November 1993 (L/7334)
2. Working Party Established:  17 December 1993 (C/M/268)
3. Memorandum:  10 April 1995 (WT/ACC/ARM/1)
4. Questions and Replies:  27 September 1995 (WT/ACC/ARM/2)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  3 meetings on:  24 January 1996,  23-24 September 1996 and
14 May 1997.
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  26 April 1996 (WT/ACC/ARM/5 and Add.1) and
3 April 1997 (WT/ACC/ARM/8)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  26 March 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ARM/ 1), 12 February 1999
(WT/ACC/SPEC/ARM/4)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  27 June 1996 (WT/SPEC/42)
7. Factual Summary:  20 June 1994
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  15 January 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ARM/3)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  2 October 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ARM/2), Revisions
14 January 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ARM/2/Rev.1)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:  Elements of Draft Report 26 March 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ARM/1),  Last
Revision 23 February 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ARM/1/Rev.3)
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 37
AZERBAIJAN
1. Application Received:  30 June 1997 (WT/ACC/AZE/1)
2. Working Party Established:  16 July 1997 (WT/GC/M/21)
3. Memorandum:
4. Questions and Replies:
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:   
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 38
BELARUS
1. Application Received:  23 September 1993 (L/7297)
2. Working Party Established:  27 October 1993 (C/M/267)
3. Memorandum:  16 January 1996 (WT/ACC/BLR/1)
4. Questions and Replies:  17 January 1997 (WT/ACC/BLR/2)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  2 meetings:  5 June 1997 and 28 April 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  19 December 1997 (WT/ACC/BLR/7), 12 January 1999
(WT/ACC/BLR/12)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  17 March 1998 (WT/ACC/BLR/9) Available on Request(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 39
CAMBODIA
Least Developed Country
1. Application Received:  8 December 1994 (PC/W/19)
2. Working Party Established:  21 December 1994 (PC/M/11)
3. Memorandum:
4. Questions and Replies:
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 - Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 40
CHINA
1. Application Received:  10 July 1986 (L/6017)
2. Working Party Established:  4 March 1987 (C/M/207)
3. Memorandum:  18 February 1987 (L/6125) and 9 December 1988 (Spec(88)13/Add.4),
4 May 1993 (Spec(88)13/Add.4/Rev.1), 7 September 1993 (Spec(88)13/Add.13) Consolidated
Summary of the Information on China's Foreign Economic and Trade Regime
4. Questions and Replies:  27 November 1987 (L/6270)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  29 meetings:  4 March 1987, October 1987,
23-24 February 1988, 26-28 April 1988, 28-30 June 1988, 27-28 September 1988,
28 February 1989, 1 March 1989, 18-19 April 1989, 12-14 December 1989,
19-20 September 1990, 13-14 February 1992, 21-23 October 1992, 10-11 December 1992,
15-17 March 1993, 24-28 May 19 93, 28 September 1993, 15-18 March 1994, 28-29 July 1994,
20 December 1994, 19 July 1995, 22 March 1996, 1 November 1996, 6 March 1997,
23 May 1997, 1 August 1997, 5 December 1997, 8 April 1998, 24 July 1998.
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  8 March 1996 (WT/SPEC/22), 17 April 1996
(WT/SPEC/28), 13 July 1998 (WT/ACC/CHN/15 and Corr.1)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  7 June 1994 (Spec(88)13/Add.17), 17 April 1996
(WT/SPEC/28)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  6 April 1993 (MTN.GNS/W/124/Rev.1)
(d) Notifications about Customs Tariff:  2 October 1992 (Spec(88)13/Add.12);  22 October 1997
(WT/ACC/CHN/11);  2 April 1998 (WT/ACC/CHN/14) Updated Package of Tariff Concessionson Industrial Products
(e) Other:  3 February 1992 (Spec(88)13/Add.9) List of the tariff reductions;  12 March 1993
(Spec(88)13/Add.12/Rev.1) Updated Summary Docume nt of the Existing Tariff and Non-Tariff
Measures in China;  18 May 1994 (Spec(88)13/A dd.15);  6 April 1998
(WT/ACC/CHN/14/Corr.1) Notificati on pursuant to Article 16 of the Draft Protocol on China's
Accession to the WTO and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures
7. Factual Summary:  29 March 1988 (Spec(88)13) Summary of the Main Points
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  12 September 1994 (Spec(88)13/Add.18)
(b) Goods Schedule:WT/ACC/7
Page 41
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  April 1994 (GATS/SC/19), 12 September 1994 (Spec(88)13/Add.18),
Revisions 18 October 1995 (Spe c(88)13/Add.19 ) 4 December 1996 (WT/ACC/CHN/4),
20 November 1997 (WT/ACC/CHN/12)
(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report: 20 December 1994 Draft Outline of the Report of the Working Party
28 May 1997 Revision of Draft Outline of the Report of the
Working Party
Draft Protocol: 20 December 1994 Draft Protocol on China
6 March 1997 Revision of Draft Protocol on China
28 May 1997 Revision of Draft Protocol on China
Annexes
Annex 1 Statistical data and information describing China's economy and trading system.Annex 2a Products subject to State trading:  2a-1 - Imports  16 July 1995 and 23 July 1997
(WT/ACC/CHN/9);  2a-2 - Exports  16 July 1995 and 26 February 1997
(WT/ACC/CHN/5)
Annex 2b Products subject to designated trading 16 July 1995 and 23 May 1997 (WT/ACC/CHN/8)
Annex 3 Non-Tariff Measures subject to phased elimination  16 July 1995 and 13 July 1998
(WT/ACC/CHN/16)
Annex 4 Products and services subject to price controls 16 July 1995 and 23 May 1997
(WT/ACC/CHN/8)
Annex 5a Notification pursuant to Article XXV of  the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures 23 July 1997 and 2 April 1998 (WT/ACC/CHN/14)
Annex 5b Subsidies to be phased out 23 July 1997 and 2 April 1998 (WT/ACC/CHN/14)
Annex 6  Products Subject to Export Duty 16 July 1995 and 26 February 1997 (WT/ACC/CHN/5)
Annex 7a Products subject to import statutory inspection  16 July 1995 and 2 December 1997
(WT/ACC/CHN/13)
Annex 7b Products subject to Export Statutory Inspection
Annex 8 Prohibitions and Quantitative Restrictions maintained by WTO Members  6 May 1997
(WT/ACC/CHN/7)
Annex 9  Outline of issues to be addressed in periodic consultations of the Working Party on trade 
with China.
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 42
CROATIA
1. Application Received:  22 September 1993 (L/7298)
2. Working Party Established:  27 October 1993 (PC/M/4)
3. Memorandum:  7 June 1994 (L/7466)
4. Questions and Replies:  29 August 1995 (WT/ACC/HRV/3/ Cor.1) and 29 March 1996
(WT/ACC/HRV/5)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  4 meetings on:  1 April 1996, 23-24 January 1997,
21 January 1998, 16 October 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  1 April 1996 (WT/ACC/HRV/7 and Add.1), 6 August 1996
(WT/ACC/HRV/11), 8 November 1996 (W T/ACC/HRV/11/Add.1), 22 January 1997
(WT/ACC/HRV/27), 28 July 1997 (WT/ ACC/HRV/27/Add.1) , 11 August 1997
(WT/ACC/HRV/30), 3 August 1998 (WT/ACC/ HRV/39 and Add.1 and 2), 19 January 1999
(WT/ACC/HRV/45/Corr.1 and 2),
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  30 July 1996 (WT/ACC/SPEC/HRV/1) 30 June 1997
(WT/ACC/SPEC/HRV/ 1/Rev.1), 3 July 1997 (W T/ACC/SPEC/HR V/2/Add.1),
24 September 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/HRV/1/Rev.2),
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  10 April 1996 (WT/ACC/HRV/9/Corr.1), 21 August 1997
(WT/ACC/SPEC/HRV/5)
7. Factual Summary:  8 December 1997
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  23 April 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/HRV/3) and its revision on 25 November 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/HRV/3/Rev.2)
(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  14 May 1997 (W T/ACC/SPEC/HRV/ 4)  Revisions 11 March and
25 November 1998 (WT/ACC/SPE C/HRV/4/Rev.1, 2 and 3 )
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:  Elements of Draft Repor t 27 August 1998 (WT/ACC/ SPEC/HRV/6), Revision
11 February 1999 (WT/AC C/SPEC/HRV/6/Rev.1)
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 43
ESTONIA
1. Application Received:  8 March 1994 (L/7421)
2. Working Party Established:  23 March 1994 (C/M/271)
3. Memorandum:  28 March 1994  (L/7423)
4. Questions and Replies:  13 October 1994 (L/7529 and Add.1 and 2)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  6 meetings on:  25 November 1994,  6-7 June 1995,
14 November 1995, 28 March 1996, 18 September 1996, and 11 February 1997.
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  23 May 1995 (WT/ACC/EST/2);  21 August 1995
(WT/ACC/EST/4);  15 February  1996 (WT/ACC/EST/9);  21 J une 1996 (WT/ACC/EST/11) and
3 September 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/3).
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  29 September 1995 (WT/SPEC/13), 12 February 1999
(WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/4)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  21April 1995 (WT/L/60)
7. Factual Summary:  19 March 1996
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  21 August 1995 (WT/ACC/EST/3), 4 February 1999, 25 February 1999
(WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/3)
(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  4 April 1995  (WT/L/59), 26 February 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/5)(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:  Elements of Draft Report 23 May 1996 (WT/SPEC/39)
Draft Report – 18 December 1996 (WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2), Last Revision 22 February 1999
(WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2/Rev.5)
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 44
FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF  MACEDONIA
1. Application Received:  8 December 1994 (PC/W/18)
2. Working Party Established:  21 December 1994 (PC/M/11)
3. Memorandum:  Not circulated.  Disagreement on document code.
4. Questions and Replies:   
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 45
GEORGIA
1. Application Received:  3 July 1996  (WT/ACC/GEO/1)
2. Working Party Established:  18 July 1996 (WT/GC/M/13)
3. Memorandum:  7 April 1997 (WT/ACC/GEO/3)
4. Questions and Replies:  22 September 1997 (WT/ACC/GEO/4)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  2 meetings:  3-4 March 1998 and 13 October 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:   4 February 1999 (WT/ACC/GEO/18)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  28 November 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/GEO/2), 10 June 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/GEO/2/Add.1), 6 Oct ober 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/GEO/2/Add.2)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  13 No vember 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/GEO/6)
7. Factual Summary:  1 September 1998
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  19 February 1998 (WT/ ACC/SPEC/GEO/ 4), Revisions 22 April 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/GE O/4/Rev.1), 2 October 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ GEO/4/Rev.2),
15 December 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/GEO/4/Rev.3)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  2 February 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/GEO/3), Revisions 13 May 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/GEO/3/Rev.1), 23 Sept ember 1998 (WT/ACC/ SPEC/GEO/3/Rev.2)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 46
JORDAN
1. Application Received:  6 January 1994 (L/7378)
2. Working Party Established:  26 January 1994 (SR.49/1)
3. Memorandum:  10 October 1994 (L/7533) Goods Only, 27 June 1996 (WT/ACC/JOR/2)
6 November 1996 (WT/ACC/JOR/3)
4. Questions and Replies:  4 June 1997 (WT/ACC/JOR/8) (WT/ACC/JOR/9)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  3 meetings on:  28 October 1996, 4 July 1997 and
22 July 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  19 June 1998 (WT/ACC/JOR/13)(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  3 July 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/JOR/2) and (WT/ACC/JOR/14)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  6 January 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/JOR/4)
7. Factual Summary:  July 1998
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  3 July 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/JOR/1), Revision 5 October 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/JOR/1/Add.1)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  7 January 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/JOR/5)(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 47
KAZAKSTAN
1. Application Received:  29 January 1996  (WT/ACC/KAZ/1)
2. Working Party Established:  6 February 1996 (WT/GC/M/10)
3. Memorandum:  23 September 1996 (WT/ACC/KAZ/3) and 4 October 1996
(WT/ACC/KAZ/3Add.1)
4. Questions and Replies:  3 February 1997 (WT/ACC/KAZ/6 and Add.1 and 2)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  3 meetings on:  19-20 March 1997, 9 October 1997 and
9 October 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  25 July 1997 (WT/ACC/KAZ/10), 5 August 1997
(WT/ACC/KAZ/11), 20 February 1998 (WT/ACC/KAZ/14),
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  25 July 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/KAZ/2)(c) WT/ACC/5 - Services:  19 September 1997 (WT/ACC/KAZ/12)
7. Factual Summary:  9 October 1997
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  24 J une 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/KAZ/1)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  19 September 1997 (W T/ACC/SPEC/KAZ3)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 48
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
Least Developed Country
1. Application Received:  16 July 1997 (WT/ACC/LAO/1)
2. Working Party Established:  19 February 1998 (WT/GC/M/26)
3. Memorandum:
4. Questions and Replies:
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:   
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 49
LITHUANIA
1. Application Received:  18 January 1994 (L/7398)
2. Working Party Established:  22 February 1994 (C/M/270)
3. Memorandum:  14 December 1994 (L/7551)
4. Questions and Replies:  12 September 1995 (WT/ACC/LTU/2/Add.1 and 2), 1 November 1995
(WT/ACC/LTU/4)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  5 meetings on:  10 November 1995, 25-26 March 1996,
7 October 1996, 26 March 1997, 27 October 1998 (Informal)
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  27 Fe bruary 1996 (WT/ACC/LTU/7), 29 February 1996
(WT/ACC/LTU/2/Add.3), 28 March 1996 (W T/ACC/LTU/2/Add.4) and 30 July 1996
(WT/ACC/LTU/10)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  30 July  1996 (WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/ 2) and 14 October 1996
(WT/ACC/SPEC/LT U/4) and 12 June 1997 (WT/ACC/SPE C/LTU/7)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  30 July 1996 (WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/1)
7. Factual Summary:  March 1996
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  14 Oct ober 1996 (WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/3)
(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  30 July 1996 (WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/1), 23 September 1997
(WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/1/Rev.1)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:  Elements of Draft Repor t - 7 February 1997 (WT/ ACC/SPEC/LTU/6), Draft
Report - 23 June 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/ 8), Last Revision 23 October 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.3/Corr.1)
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 50
MOLDOVA
1. Application Received:  25 November 1993 (L/7332)
2. Working Party Established:  17 December 1993 (C/M/268)
3. Memorandum:  23 September 1996 (WT/ACC/MOL/2 and Add.1 and 2)
4. Questions and Replies:  13 May 1997 (WT/ACC/MOL/3/Corr.1 and Add.1 and 2),
20 May 1997 (WT/ACC/MOL/4 and Add.1),
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  2 meetings on:  17 June 1997 and 18 March 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  27 October 1997 (WT/A CC/MOL/8 and Add.1),
20 January 1999 (WT/ACC/MOL/9 and Add.1)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  20 Ma y 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/ 1), Last Revision
20 January 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/1/Rev.3)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  18 June 1997 (WT/ACC/MOL/6)
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  4 March 1998 (WT/A CC/SPEC/MOL/3) , Revision 29 January 1999
(WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/3/Rev.1)
(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  25 Febr uary 1998 (WT/ACC/SPE C/MOL/2), Revision
19 October 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/MOL/2/Rev.1)
(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 51
NEPAL
Least Developed Country
1. Application Received:  16 May 1989
2. Working Party Established:  21-22 June 1989 (C/M/234)
3. Memorandum:  26 February 1990 (L/6637) Goods Only , 10 August 1998 (WT/ACC/NPL/2)
and 18 September 1998 (WT/ACC/NPL/2/A dd.1)
4. Questions and Replies:  19 November 1990 (L/6724) Goods Only
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  17 September 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/NPL/1)
(c) WT/ACC/5 Services:7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:
(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 52
SULTANATE OF OMAN
1. Application Received:  22 April 1996 (WT/ACC/OMN/1)
2. Working Party Established:  26 June 1996 (WT/GC/M/12)
3. Memorandum:  29 October 1996 (WT/ACC/OMN/2)
4. Questions and Replies:  21 March 19 97 (WT/ACC/OMN/5 and Add.1 and 2), and
(WT/ACC/OMN/6)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  3 meetings on:  30 April 1997, 26 June 1998 and
21 October 1998.
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  26 September 1997 (WT/ACC/OMN/6/A dd.1),
3 August 1998 (WT/ACC/ OMN/9), 4 February 1999 (WT/ACC/OMN/14)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  25 September 1997 (W T/ACC/SPE C/OMN/2)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  26 March 1998 (WT/ACC/OMN/8)
7. Factual Summary:  12 March 1998
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  29 October 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/OMN/3)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  29 October 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/ OMN/4), Revision 25 March 1998
(WT/ACC/SPE C/OMN/4Add.1)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 53
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
1. Application Received:  June 1993 (L/7240 and 7243)
2. Working Party Established:  16-17 June 1993 (C/M/264)
3. Memorandum:  1 March 1994 (L/7410) Goods Only
4. Questions and Replies:  2 June  1995 (WT/ACC/RUS/2/Add.1 and 2)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  9 meetings on : 17-19 July 1995, 4-6 December 1995,
30-31 May 1996, 15 October 1996, 15 April 1997, 22-23 July 1997 (Informal), 9-
10 December 1997, 29-30 July 1998, 16-17 December 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  1 November 1995 (WT/ACC/RUS/4 and Add.1),
23 April 1996 (WT/ACC/RUS/9), 30 May 1996 (WT/ ACC/RUS/9/Corr.1 a nd Adds.1, 2 and 3 ),
7 June 1996 (WT/ACC/RUS/2/Ad d.3), 23 August 1996 (WT/ACC/RUS/13) , 14 October 1996
(WT/ACC/RUS/ 13/Add.1), 11 March 1997 (WT/A CC/RUS/17), 11 April 1997
(WT/ACC/RUS/17/ Add.1), 2 December 1997 (WT/A CC/RUS/23 and Add.1), 1 May 1998
(WT/ACC/RUS/25) and (WT/ACC/SPEC/RUS/ 8), 13 November 1998 (WT/ACC/RUS/30),
9 December 1998 (WT/ACC/RUS/30/Add.1),
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  1 October 1996 (WT/ACC/ SPEC/RUS/3), 14 D ecember 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/RUS/10)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  25 October 1995 (WT/ACC/RUS/6)
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:   16 February 1998 (WT/ACC/RUS/24) Available on Request(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 54
SAMOA
Least Developed Country
1. Application Received:  15 April 1998  (WT/ACC/WSM/1)
2. Working Party Established:  15 July 1998 (WT/GC/M/29)
3. Memorandum:
4. Questions and Replies:
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 55
SAUDI ARABIA
1. Application Received:  13 June 1993 (L/7248)
2. Working Party Established:  21 July 1993 (C/M/265)
3. Memorandum:  5 July 1994 (L/7489), 13 May 1996 (WT/ACC/SAU/4) and 11 July 1996
(WT/ACC/SAU/5)
4. Questions and Replies:  15 November 1995 (L/7645 and Add.1)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  5 meetings on:  2-3 May 1996, 6-8 November 1996,
29-30 May 1997, 2-4 December 1997, 17-19 November 1998.
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  13 May 1996 (WT/ACC/SAU/3) , 30 September 1996
(WT/ACC/SAU/6 and Add.1, 2 and 3), 4 November  1996 (WT/ACC/SAU/8),
14 November 1996 (WT/ACC/SAU/10), 20 March 1997 (WT/ACC/ SAU/13 and Add.1),
20 May 1997 (WT/ACC/SAU/16), 26 May 1997 (WT/ACC/SAU/21), 21 October 1997
(WT/ACC/SAU/ 21/Add.1 and 2), 14 July 1998 (WT/ACC/SAU/35)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  23 Ma y 1997 (WT/ACC/SAU/19), 23 September 1997
(WT/ACC/SAU/27) , 24 September 1997 (WT/ACC/ SAU/29), 17 September 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/SAU/1/Rev.3)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  23 Se ptember 1997 (WT/A CC/SAU/23 and 24)
7. Factual Summary:  29 October 1998
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  24 September 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/SAU/2)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  24 September 1997 (W T/ACC/SPE C/SAU/3)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 56
SEYCHELLES
1. Application Received:  8 May 1995
2. Working Party Established:  11 July 1995 (WT/GC/M/5)
3. Memorandum:  22 August 1996 (WT/ACC/SYC/3)
4. Questions and Replies:  8 January 1997 (WT/ACC/SYC/5)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  20 February 1997, 26 February 1998 (Informal)
6. Other Documentation:  (WT/ACC/ SYC/1), (WT/ACC/ SYC/4 and Add.1-3)
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  11 April 1997 (WT/ACC/SYC/7), 20 February 1998
(WT/ACC/SYC/8)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  20 February 1998 (WT/ACC/SYC/8)
7. Factual Summary:  16 June 1997
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  5 J une 1997 (WT/A CC/SPEC/SYC/2)
(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  27 May 1997 (WT/ ACC/SPEC/SYC/3)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:  Elements of Draft Report - 4 June 1997(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 57
SUDAN
Least Developed Country
1. Application Received:  11 October 1994 (PC/W/4)
2. Working Party Established:  25 October 1994 (PC/M/6)
3. Memorandum:  26 January 1999 (WT/ACC/SDN/3)
4. Questions and Replies:   
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:   
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Elements of a Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 58
CHINESE TAIPEI
1. Application Received:  15 January 1992
2. Working Party Established:  29 September 1992 (C/M/259)
3. Memorandum:  29 October 1992 (L/7097)
4. Questions and Replies:  26 March 1993 (L/7189 and Rev.1)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  8 meetings on:  6 November 1992, 21 December 1992,
28 June 1993, 12 October 1993, 17 May 1994, 26 July 1994, 21 December 1994,
28 February 1997.
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  27 April 1994 (L/7429 and Add. 1), Consolidated Questions
and Replies, 7 December 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/6), 15 January 1999
(WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/7) (Agriculture), 9 February 1999 (WT/ACC/TPKM/14)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  3 July  1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/4), Last Revision
10 February 1999 (WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/4/Rev.2)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  5 August 1994 (Spec(94)30), 11 April 1995 (SPEC(95)5)
7. Factual Summary:  20 June 1994
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  13 February 1996 (WT/ACC/TPKM/2)(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  28 September 1994 (SPEC(94)37), revised on 10 July 1996
(WT/SPEC/40), 6 May 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/3), Revision on 27 October 1998(WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/3/Rev.1)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:  13 March 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/2), Revision 30 October 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/TPKM/2/Rev.1)
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 59
TONGA
1. Application Received:  30 June 1995 (WT/ACC/TON/1)
2. Working Party Established:  15 November 1995 (C/M/268)
3. Memorandum:  27 May 1998 (WT/ACC/TON/3 and Add.1)
4. Questions and Replies:   
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:   
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
Page 60
UKRAINE
1. Application Received:  30 November 1993 (L/7333)
2. Working Party Established:  17 December 1993 (C/M/268)
3. Memorandum:  26 July 1994 (L/7499)
4. Questions and Replies:  3 February 1995 (WT/L/20 and Add.1, 2 and 3)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  6 meetings on:  27-28 February 1995, 11 December 1995,
24-25 June 1996, 6-7 May 1997, 24-25 November 1997, 10 June 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  31 August 1995 (WT/ACC/UK R/1), 10 October 1995
(WT/ACC/UKR/3, 4, 5, 6 a nd 7), 8 May 1996 (WT/A CC/UKR/25), 21 March 1997
(WT/ACC/UKR/22/ Add.2), (WT/ACC/UKR/ 23/Add.1) and (WT/ ACC/UKR/ 24/Add.1),
14 October 1997 (WT/ACC/ UKR/41), 28 April 1998 (WT/ACC/UKR/50)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:  11 October 1995 (WT/A CC/UKR/12/ Rev.1),
23 November 1995 (WT/ACC/UK R/17), 27 February 1997 (W T/ACC/SPEC/UK R/1), Last
Revision 28 April 1998 (WT/ ACC/SPEC/UK R/1/Rev.3)
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  11 October 1995 (WT/ACC/UK R/13), 23 November 1995
(WT/ACC/UKR/19) , 6 May 1996 (WT/ACC/UKR/24)
7. Factual Summary:  8 June 1998
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  2 May 1996 "Con cept Paper" (WT/ACC/UKR/22/Add.1)
(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  26 Februa ry 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/UK R/2), Last Revision
9 June 1998 (WT/ACC/SPEC/UKR/2/Rev.5)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
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UZBEKISTAN
1. Application Received:  8 December 1994 (PC/W/20)
2. Working Party Established:  21 December 1994 (PC/M/11)
3. Memorandum:  21 October 1998 (WT/ACC/UZB/2 and Add.1-3)
4. Questions and Replies:
5. Meetings of the Working Party:
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
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VANUATU
Least Developed Country
1. Application Received:  7 July 1995 (WT/ACC/VUT/1)
2. Working Party Established:  11 July 1995 (WT/GC/M/5)
3. Memorandum:  30 November 1995 (WT/ACC/VUT/2)
4. Questions and Replies:  9 May 1996 (WT/ACC/VUT/4 and Add.1)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  3 July 1996 (Last informal meeting 11 May 1998)
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  27 October 1997 (WT/ACC/VUT/6), 11 May 1998
(WT/ACC/VUT/7 and Add.1 and 2)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:7. Factual Summary:  15 December 1997
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:  3 November 1997 (WT/A CC/SPEC/VUT/2), Latest revision 11 May 1998
(WT/ACC/SPEC/VUT/2/Rev.2)
(b) Goods Schedule:9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:  3 Nove mber 1997 (WT/ACC/SPE C/VUT/3), Revision
12 December 1997 (WT/ACC/SPEC/VUT/3/Rev.1)
(b) Services Schedule:
10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:
(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
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VIETNAM
1. Application Received:  4 January 1995 (WT/L/1)
2. Working Party Established:  31 January 1995 (WT/GC/M/1)
3. Memorandum:  24 September 1996 (WT/ACC/VNM/2)
4. Questions and Replies:  4 March 1998 (WT/ACC/VNM/3)
5. Meetings of the Working Party:  2 meetings on:  30-31 July 1998 and 3 December 1998
6. Other Documentation:
(a) Additional Questions and Replies:  20 August 1998 (WT/ACC/VNM/3/Add.2)
(b) WT/ACC/4 - Agricultural data:
(c) WT/ACC/5 – Services:  24 Augu st 1998 (WT/ACC/VNM/5 and Add.1)
7. Factual Summary:
8. Negotiations on Goods:
(a) Tariff Offers:(b) Goods Schedule:
9. Negotiations on Services:
(a) Draft Services Schedule:(b) Services Schedule:10. Working Party Report:
(a) Draft Report:(b) Adopted by Working Party:WT/ACC/7
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ANNEX 2
General Council Decisions and Protocols of Accession
This Annex analyses the General Council Decisions and Protocols of the Accession of
Ecuador (WT/L/77 and Corr.1), Mongolia  (WT/ACC/MNG/9 and Corr.1), Bulgaria
(WT/ACC/BGR/5 and Corr.1), Panama (WT/ ACC/PAN/19 and Corr.1), Kyrgyz Republic
(WT/ACC/KGZ/26 and Corr.1), Latvia (WT/ACC/LVA/32).
2.1 Decisions and Protocols
General Council Decisions
This Part reproduces the text of the relevant Decisions.  This is a common text used in all six
cases.
"The General Council,
Having regard to the results of the negotiatio ns directed towards the establishment of the
terms of accession of [name of country] to the Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization and having prepared  a Protocol for the Accession of [name of
country].
Decides, in accordance with Article XII of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization, that [name of country] may accede to the Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization on the terms set out in the said Protocol."
Protocols of Accession
This Part examines the text of the relevant Protocols of Accession.  The following text is
common to all six Protocols.
"PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF [name of country]
TO THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
"The World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO"), pursuant to the
approval of the General Council of the WTO accorded under Article XII of the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as "WTO
Agreement"), and the Republic of …[name of c ountry]… (hereinafter referred to as "[short
form of name]"),
Taking note of the Report of the Work ing Party on the Accession of …[name of
country]… to the WTO in document WT/ACC/[...]  (hereinafter referred to as the "Working
Party Report"),
Having regard to the results of the negotiations on the accession of …[name of
country]… to the WTO,
Agree as follows:WT/ACC/7
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Part I – General
1. Upon entry into force of this Protocol, …[name of country]… accedes to the WTO
Agreement pursuant to Article XII of that Agreement and thereby becomes a Member of
the WTO.
2. The WTO Agreement to which …[name of country]… accedes shall be the WTO
Agreement as rectified, amended or otherwise modified by such legal instruments as may
have entered into force before the date of entr y into force of this Protocol.  This Protocol,
which shall comprise the commitments referr ed to in paragraph …[list of relevant
commitment paragraph numbers]… of the Working Party Report, shall be an integral part
of the WTO Agreement.
3. Except as otherwise provided for in the pa ragraphs referred to in paragraph …[list of
relevant paragraphs numbers]… of the Working Party Report, those obligations in theMultilateral Trade Agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement that are to be implemented
over a period of time starting with the entr y into force of that Agreement shall be
implemented by …[name of country]… as if it had accepted that Agreement on the date of
its entry into force.
Part II – Schedules
4. The Schedules annexed to this Protocol shall become the Schedule of Concessions
and Commitments annexed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994
(hereinafter referred to as the "GATT 1994")  and the Schedule of Specific Commitments
annexed to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as "GATS")
relating to …[name of country]….  The staging of the concessions and commitments listedin the Schedules shall be implemented as speci fied in the relevant parts of the respective
Schedules.
5. For the purpose of the reference in paragraph 6(a) of Article II of the GATT 1994 to
the date of that Agreement, the applicable da te in respect of the Schedules of Concessions
and Commitments annexed to this Protocol sha ll be the date of entry into force of this
Protocol.
Part III - Final Provisions
6. This Protocol shall be open for acceptance, by signature or otherwise, by …[name of
country]… until …[date]…
7. This Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the day of its
acceptance.
8. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Director-General of the WTO.  The
Director-General of the WTO shall promptly furn ish a certified copy of this Protocol and a
notification of acceptance thereto pursuant to paragraph 7 to each Member of the WTO and
to…[name of country]…
9. This Protocol shall be registered in acco rdance with the provisions of Article 102 of
the Charter of the United Nations.WT/ACC/7
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Done at Geneva this ... day of ...[date]…, in  a single copy in the English, French and
Spanish languages each text being authentic, except that a Schedule annexed hereto may
specify that it is authentic in only one or more of these languages."
Specific provisions
The following texts are contained only in some of the Protocols.
Ecuador
The following text was included after paragraph 3 above:"The staging of the dismantling of th e Tariff Adjustment Mechanism shall be
implemented according to the time-table in Annex II of this Protocol".
Mongolia
The following text was included after paragraph 2 above:"Mongolia will notify the Secretariat annually of the implementation of the phased
commitments with definitive dates referred to in paragraphs 10, 13, 20, 21, 23, 24, 29,
35, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 51, 54, 59 and 60 of the Working Party Report, and will identify
any delays in implementation together with the reasons therefore".
The following text was included after paragraph 3 above:
"Those notifications that are to be made under the Multilateral Trade Agreements annexed
to the WTO Agreement within a specified peri od of time starting with the date of entry
into force of the WTO Agreement shall be ma de by Mongolia within that period of time
starting with the date of entry into force of this Protocol".
Bulgaria, Panama, Kyrgyz Republic and Latvia
The following text was included after paragraph 3 above:
"4. …[name of country]… may maintain a measure inconsistent with paragraph 1 of
Article II of the GATS provided that such a m easure is recorded in the List of Article II
Exemptions annexed to this Protocol and m eets the conditions of the Annex to the GATS on
Article II Exemptions".
2.2 Commitments on Rules
This part reproduces the commitments on rules contained in the Protocols of Accession of the
six governments that have acceded to the WTO;  grouped by subject for purposes of comparison.
These commitment paragraphs are numbered consecutively for reference purposes.  Numbers in
brackets refer to paragraphs in the relevant Working Party Reports.  These commitment paragraphs
are of different types:
- Statements of fact rather than commitments:
Some Members have made the point that this practice should be avoided because it
leads to confusion as to what obligation is created, if any.  Examples (examples referWT/ACC/7
Page 67
to paragraph numbers below): 1 (first sentence), 2 (first 2 lines), 3 (all except last 2
lines), 4 (all), 5 (first sentence), 11 (first 2 sentences), 15 (first sentence), 28 (all), etc.
- Obligations to abide by existing WTO rules:
Commitment paragraphs sometimes make a reference to the WTO provisions on the
subject in question, either citing specific provisions or quoting certain provisions asexamples.  Examples: 9 (third sentence), 11 (fourth sentence), 12, 17, 18, 22, 24, 27,
40, 41.
They sometimes specify national measures to be amended to bring them into
conformity with WTO provisions on the subject in question.  Examples:  29, 31, 34,
36, 37, 46.
They sometimes elaborate on the WTO provisions on the subject in question.
Examples: 26, 43 (second, third, fourth and fifth sentences), 80 (second and thirdsentences), 95 (second and third sentences).
- Obligations not to have recourse to specific WTO provisions, e.g. those relating to
transitional periods.  Examples: 57, 58, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123.  These relate to
customs valuation and TRIPS.
- Specific identification of transitional periods that may be used, e.g. customs
valuation.  Examples: 13, 23, 78, 87 (first sentence).  These relate to right of appeal,
other duties and charges, subsidiaries and trade-related investment measures.
- Authorisations to depart temporarily from WTO rules or from commitments in Goods
Schedule.  Examples:  39, 43 (penultimate sentence), 84, 115.  These related to
internal taxes, import licensing, technical barriers to trade and agricultural support.
- Obligations to abide by rules created by the commitment paragraph and not contained
in WTO Multilateral Agreements.  Examples: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 (second sentence). 14
(second sentence), 15 (second sentence), 30, 44, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 116, 117,
124 (first two lines), 125.  These relate to an obligation to comply with "WTO
obligations and other international obligations", privatisation, sub-centralgovernments, government procurement, trade in civil aircraft and publication.
- ECONOMIC POLICIES
- Foreign Exchange and Payments
Ecuador
1. The representative of Ecuador stated that the m odality of the foreign exchange regime described
in paragraph 9 would not have negative effects for private sectors traders and would provide no implicit
subsidies.  The representative of Ecuador added that his Government shall exercise its economic policieswith particular attention to ensure complian ce with WTO obligations including GATT Article XV,
GATS Article XI and other international obliga tions.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 10)WT/ACC/7
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- State Ownership and Privatization
Mongolia
2. At the request of a member of the Working Part y, the representative of Mongolia agreed that it
was important to ensure full transparency and to keep WTO Members informed of its progress in the
reform of its transforming economic and trade regi me, and stated that his Government would report
every two years to the WTO on developments in its programme of privatization and on other issues as
relevant to its obligations under the WTO.  Th e Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 35)
Bulgaria
3. A number of members of the Working Party expressed appreciation for the clarifications
concerning the status and prospects for Bulgaria's efforts to privatize State-owned enterprises and the
manner in which the State exercised its ownership in  State-owned firms and the role of State-owned
enterprises in international trade.   These members noted, however, that while Bulgaria was constructing
the legal framework for equality of treatment of pr ivate enterprises with State firms and the eventual
separation of former State firms from government asso ciation after privatization, the current rules for the
management of State-owned firms c ontemplated a State role in ente rprise operations.  For example,
Government ministries appointed the Management a nd Supervisory Boards that select the management
of State firms and that negotiate the terms of a Ma nagement Contract with the selected individuals.
These contracts regulated the relationship between management, labour and the State, and there were
areas, such as the establishment of subsidiaries, wh ere the management was required to consult with the
Government.  Even though Bulgaria had stated that  the Government was not liable for State enterprises
debt, the most recent regulations had transferred th e ultimate responsibility for a great deal of State
enterprise debt from the banks to the Government, in order to allow the banks to reorganize their role in
Bulgaria's economy and free up resources for new loans.  In 1994, a full separation of the State from the
still sizeable and economically critical State-owned sector was not possible.  Moreover, in their view,
Bulgaria's privatization process was proceeding ve ry slowly because of the approximately 4,500 State
firms slated for transfer to private ownership under the Law on Transformation and Privatization of
State and Municipal Enterprises, Bulgaria was prep aring some 400 State firms for sale and the reasons
for cautious progress were clear.  It would appear, therefore, that the setting up of an economic basis
independent of the Bulgarian St ate would be a long-term project.  While respecting Bulgaria's
statements concerning its ultimate goals and intent to establish a market-driven economy based on
private ownership, these members believed that for accession to the Agreement Establishing the WTO
the relationship between the Bulgarian State and its trade and industry had to be clear.  As a minimum
they expected transparency and dialogue as Bulg aria's economic transition progressed and would intend
to address these issues in the Protocol of Accession of Bulgaria.  A member recalled that Bulgaria had
the commitment to keep the WTO informed of th ese developments.  The representative of Bulgaria
affirmed his Government's intention to ensure th e transparency of its national trade policies and
practices under the regular trade policy reviews in the WTO, including the wider background of national
and economic development.  This was not to be regarded as a basis for the imposition of specificobligations under the Agreements or as a basis fo r the adoption of new special policy commitments.
Bulgaria could not undertake commitments exceeding the regular membership obligations.  The
Republic of Bulgaria was committed to fulfil the notification requirements ensuing from the existing
procedures in the WTO Agreements.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 24)
4. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that the former State monopoly in foreign trade in
Bulgaria has been abolished and that no restrictions exist on the right of foreign and domestic
individuals and enterprises to import and export goods and services within Bulg aria's customs territory,
except as provided for in WTO Agreements.  He further confirmed that individuals and firms were not
restricted in their ability to import or export based on their registered scope of business, and the criteriaWT/ACC/7
Page 69
for registration of companies in Bulgaria were generally applicable and published in the State Gazette.
The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 25)
5. At the request of a member of the Working Part y, the representative of Bulgaria agreed that it
was important to ensure full transparency and to keep WTO Members informed of its progress in the
reform of its transforming economic and trade regime .  He stated that his Government would provide
every 18 months to WTO Members information on developments in its programme of privatization
along the lines of that provided to the Working Part y, and on other issues related to its economic reforms
as relevant to its obligations under the WTO.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 26)
Kyrgyz Republic
6. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the Kyrgyz Republic would provide
annually to WTO Members information on developments in its privatization for as long as itsprogramme of privatization is in existence along th e lines of the information provided to the Working
Party during the accession process, and on other issues related to its economic reforms as relevant to its
obligations under the WTO.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 14)
Latvia
7. The representative of Latvia confirmed the readiness of Latvia to ensure the transparency of
its ongoing privatization programme and to keep WTO Members informed of its progress in the
reform of its transforming economic and trade regime.  He stated that his Government would provide
annual reports to WTO Members on developments in its programme of privatization as long as the
privatization programme would be in existence along the lines of that provided to the Working Party.
He also stated that his Government would provide annual reports on other issues related to itseconomic reforms as relevant to its obligations under the WTO until 1 January 2003.  The Working
Party took note of these  commitments. (paragraph 18)
- Pricing Policies
Ecuador
8. The representative of Ecuador assured the Work ing Party that his Government did not intend to
extend the price setting policy to other sectors of the economy beyond the pharmaceutical sector.  The
Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 53)
Bulgaria
9. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that price controls on products and services in
Bulgaria have been eliminated with the exception of those listed in paragraph 15.  He added that, except
in the case of critical situations, monopolies, the protection of consumers, or abuse of dominant market
position by firms, prices for goods and services in ev ery sector in Bulgaria were determined by market
forces.  He further confirmed that in the application of such controls, and any that are introduced or re-
introduced in the future, Bulgaria will apply such  measures in a WTO-consistent fashion, and take
account of the interests of exporting WTO members as provided for in Article III.9 of the GATT 1994.
Bulgaria will also publish the list of goods and servi ces subject to State price controls in the State
Gazette including any changes from the list in paragraph 15.  The Working Party took note of thesecommitments. (paragraph 16)WT/ACC/7
Page 70
Panama
10. The representative of Panama confirmed that pr ice controls on products and services in Panama
have been eliminated with the exception of those lis ted in Annex 1 and commits that these controls, and
any that are introduced or reintroduced in the future , would be applied in a manner consistent with the
requirements of the WTO Agreement, in particular Article III.9 of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party
took note of this commitment. (paragraph 10)
Kyrgyz Republic
11. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that all price and profit controls on
products and services still in effect, at the central and sub-central level were listed in paragraphs 15, 18
and 19 above by HS code where applicable.  Al l other prices for goods and services in the
Kyrgyz Republic were determined by market forces .  Any changes in price controls or additional
controls would be published in official publications.  All price and profit controls would be applied in a
WTO-consistent fashion, taking into account the interests of exporting WTO Members as provided for
in Article III:9 of the GATT 1994 and in Article VIII of the General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS).  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 21)
Latvia
12. The representative of Latvia stated that in the application of price controls now or in the
future, Latvia would apply such measures in a WTO-consistent fashion, and take account of the
interests of exporting WTO Members as provided for in Article III.9 of the GATT 1994.  Latvia
would publish the list of goods and services subject to State controls and any that are introduced or
re-introduced in the future in its Official Journal.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 21)
- FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES
- Powers of Executive, Legislative and Judiciary, Administration of Policies on WTO-Related
Issues
Kyrgyz Republic
13. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stat ed that the Kyrgyz Republic would provide a
right of appeal to an independent body for foreig n and domestic importers and exporters of official
measures affecting trade.  The Working Part y took note of this commitment. (paragraph 26)
- Authority of Sub-Central Governments
Kyrgyz Republic
14. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic conf irmed that central authorities would be solely
responsible for establishing foreign trade policy a nd that the Central Government would implement the
provisions of the WTO relevant to sub-central  governments, including Article XXIV:12 of the
GATT 1994, the corresponding WTO Understanding and Article I:3(a)of the GATS.  He further
confirmed that, from the date of accession, the Centra l Government would eliminate or nullify measures
taken by sub-central authorities in the Kyrgyz Repub lic that were in conflict with the WTO Agreement
when those measures were brought to its attention.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 28)WT/ACC/7
Page 71
Latvia
15. The representative of Latvia confirmed that sub-central administrative authorities, e.g. local
administrative bodies, have no jurisdiction or authority to establish regulations or taxes on goods and
services in Latvia independent of the central authorities and that application of these measures are
exclusively the responsibilities of the executive and legislative branches of the central government.Central authorities will eliminate or nullify measures taken by sub-central authorities in Latvia that
are inconsistent with WTO provisions from the date of accession.  The Working Party took note of
this commitment. (paragraph 30)
- POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS
- Reference to Annexed Schedule to GATT 1994 Containing Import Concessions, Export
Concessions and Agriculture Commitments
Panama
16.  The representative of Panama stated that Pa nama would bind all duties and charges, other than
the ordinary customs duties, listed in its goods schedule annexed to its Protocol of Accession under
Article II.1(b) of the GATT 1994, at zero on all products.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 16)
- Import Regulation
- Trading rights
Kyrgyz Republic
17. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic confirmed that from the date of accession, the
Kyrgyz Republic would ensure that all of its laws and regulations relating to the right to trade in goods,
and all fees, charges or taxes levied on such righ ts would be in full conformity with its WTO
obligations, including Articles VIII:1(a), XI:1 and III:2 and 4 of the GATT 1994 and that it would also
implement such laws and regulations in full conform ity with these obligations.  The Working Party took
note of these commitments. (paragraph 30)
Latvia
18. The representative of Latvia confirmed that from the date of accession Latvia would ensure
that its laws and regulations relating to the right to trade in goods and all fees, charges or taxes levied
on such rights would be in full conformity with its WTO obligations, including Articles VIII:1(a),
XI:1 and III:2 and 4 of the GATT 1994 and that it would also implement such laws and regulations in
full conformity with these obligations.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 40)
- Ordinary customs duties
Mongolia
19. The representative of Mongolia stated that Mongolia would bind import duties and charges
other than the tariffs listed in the Schedules of C oncessions at zero in accordance with the requirements
of the WTO.  Any other fees and charges for servi ces rendered would be limited to the cost of those
services and would conform to the provisions of  Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party
took note of these commitments. (paragraph 10)WT/ACC/7
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Bulgaria
20. The representative of Bulgaria stated that the 10 per cent tax on imports of used automobiles
was applied for ecological reasons.  By the date of accession, the tax would be revised to ensure that
used automobiles whether imported or sold within the Bulgarian customs territory would bear the same
tax upon sale, importation or resale of the automobile.  The Working Party took note of thiscommitment. (paragraph 32)
Kyrgyz Republic
21. In response to questions concerning the seasonal duties, the representative of the
Kyrgyz Republic stated that according to the Custom s Code of 30 July 1997, the Cabinet of Ministers of
the Kyrgyz Republic may establish seasonal duties.  The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated
that if imposed, seasonal duties would not exceed the bound level of tariffs and would be applied in a
manner consistent with the requirements of the WTO Agreement.  Also, adequate notice would be
provided before imposing seasonal duties.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 34)
- Other duties and charges levied on imports but not on domestic production (except charges
for services rendered)
Ecuador
See "fees and charges for services rendered" below.
Mongolia
See "ordinary customs duties" above.
Bulgaria
22. The representative of Bulgaria stated that according to current regulations, the surcharge
introduced at 5 per cent ad valorem  on 4 June 1996 was applied to all imports from all sources
(including preferential trading partners) with the exception of the list of products contained in
WT/SPEC/41 annexed to this Report.  The surcharge would be reduced to 4 per cent on 1 July 1997, to
2 per cent on 1 July 1998, to 1 per cent on 1 July 1999, and finally eliminated on 30 June 2000.  He
confirmed that the surcharge was to be based on the customs value of the goods and would be added tothe applied tariff rates and would not alter the co mmitments undertaken in the Schedule of Concessions
on Goods annexed to the Protocol.  After accession, the Government of Bulg aria would immediately
enter into consultations with the WTO to review the measure within the framework of WTO provisions
governing the application of measures for Balance of  Payments purposes contained in Article XII of the
GATT 1994 and the WTO Understanding on the Appli cation of Measures for Balance of Payments
purposes, and would review remaining measures on an annual basis.  If it was determined in the course
of any of these consultations that Bulgaria was no long er justified in applying such measures for balance
of payments purposes, the Government of Bulgaria w ould advance the elimination of this surcharge.  He
further confirmed that Bulgaria would not expa nd the list of exempted import categories without
consultations with the WTO to ensure  that the surcharge was not being applied selectively, and that any
subsequent application of customs duties, charges and surcharges to imports by Bulgaria will be in
accordance with the provisions of WTO Agreemen ts.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 29)
23. The representative of Bulgaria stated that, as of the date of accession, the only charges applied
to imports would be the import duty and the Cu stoms Clearance Fee, and the import surcharge asWT/ACC/7
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described in paragraph 29.  Any other charges applied to imports after this time would be in accordance
with WTO provisions.  Reflecting this situation, he confirmed that Bulgaria would not list any additional
charges in its goods market access schedule under Article II.1(b) of the GATT 1994  The Working Party
took note of these commitments. (paragraph 30)
24. The representative of Bulgaria said that upon accession to the Agreement Establishing the
WTO, his Government would use the authority to a pply taxes and surcharges on imports and exports in
conformity with the provisions of the GATT 1994, in particular Articles III, VI, VIII, XII, XVIII and
XIX thereof.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 33)
- Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions
Ecuador
25. The representative of Ecuador assured the Workin g Party that imports by the public sector under
duty free exemptions did not comp ete with ordinary private sector trade and that there was no
discrimination among supplying governments thr ough the application of duty exemptions.  The
Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 14)
Bulgaria
26. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that the access to the duty-free and reduced-duty tariff
rate quotas (TRQs) applied on the products listed in paragraph 33 will be administered on a non-discriminatory basis among all import suppliers.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 35)
Kyrgyz Republic
27. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that upon accession to the WTO, any tariff
exemptions would only be implemented in conform ity with the relevant WTO provisions including
Articles I and XXIV of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 37)
- Fees and charges for services rendered
Ecuador
28. The representative of Ecuador indicated that  his Government has adopted measures which
revise the procedure of application of the customs control fees of 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent referred to
in paragraph 16 to bring them into conformity with Article VIII.  Ecuador has eliminated the 1 per cent
fee and applies only an ad valorem  fee of 0.5 per cent to imports under regime of temporary admission,
not to imports for consumption.  Ecuador has established a ceiling for the 0.5 per cent import fee of
15 Constant Units of Value (CUV), currently equal to approximately US Dollars 60, in order to ensure
that the fee charged approximates the cost of services  rendered.  This is the only tax or charge applied
exclusively to imports other than the customs tariff at the current time.  A Constant Unit of Value is
denominated in sucres and indexed in line with in creases in the Consumer Price Index.  The Working
Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 17)
Mongolia
See "ordinary customs duties" above.WT/ACC/7
Page 74
Bulgaria
29. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that  by 31 December 1997 Bulgaria would bring its
customs clearance fee into conformity with Article  VIII of the GATT 1994.  In this regard, from that
time revenues collected through the application of th e Customs Clearance Fee would be used solely for
the operation of customs clearance of imports and exports to which the fee was applied, and total annualrevenues from collection of the fee would not exceed  the cost of customs clearance operations items
subject to the fees.  Information regarding the app lication and level of the fee, revenues collected and
their use would be provided to WTO Members upon request.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 37)
Panama
30. The representative of Panama confirmed that Pa nama had abolished consular fees and invoices
and document certification requirements, as provid ed for in Law No. 36 of 6 July 1995, and would not
reintroduce them.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 22)
31. The representative of Panama also stated th at prior to accession the customs service fee of
US Dollars 70 for transactions over US Dollars 2 ,000 would replace other customs fees and charges for
services rendered and would be the only customs char ges other than the customs duty applied to imports
and would not be included in the base for calculation of the customs duty.  He added that from the date
of accession any application of fees and charges by Panama for services rendered for imports or exports
would be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreements, in particular,
Articles VIII and X of GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 23)
Kyrgyz Republic
32. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic confirmed that all fees and charges for services
related to importation or exportation  would be operated in conformity with the provisions of
Article VIII of the GATT 1994 from the date of accession. The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 44)
Latvia
33. The representative of Latvia confirmed that from the date of accession Latvia would impose
any fees or charges for services rendered related to importation or exportation only in conformity with
Article VIII of the GATT 1994.   Information regarding the application and level of any such fees,
revenues collected and their use would be provided to WTO Members upon request.  The Working
Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 48)
- Application of internal taxes to imports
Ecuador
34. The representative of Ecuador acknowledged that  the Special Consumption Tax is applied to a
number of imported products at rates in excess of t hose applied to similar domestically produced goods,
and that this practice is not in conformity with Artic le III.  Ecuador would equalize the application of the
tax no later than 31 July 1996.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 19)
35. The representative of Ecuador stated that the incidence of the VAT falls equally on domestically
produced goods and imported items in all cases and that his Government would apply the VAT inWT/ACC/7
Page 75
accordance with the provisions of the General Agreem ent, in particular Articles III and VIII.  The
Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 21)
Mongolia
36. The representative of Mongolia stated that from 1 January 1997, Mongolia would apply national
treatment with regard to the rate of excise tax  (either specific or ad valorem ) to both imports and
domestically produced products in each of the categories in paragraph eleven above and to all other
products.  The representative of Mongolia also said  that Mongolia would eliminate the discrimination
against imported products in the application of the sales tax from 1 January 1997.  The Working Party
took note of these commitments. (paragraph 13)
Bulgaria
37. The representative of Bulgaria stated that  as of 31 December 1997, Bulgaria would apply its
excise tax rates on beer, wine, distilled spirits and tobacco products in strict compliance with Article IIIof the GATT 1994, in a non-discriminatory manner to imported and domestically produced goods.
During this period, Bulgaria will not increase the difference in the amount of tax between imported and
domestically produced goods.  As of 31 December  1997, Bulgaria will implement a new system of
excise taxes on beer, wine, spirits and cigarettes, wh ich is currently being developed, that envisages the
following methods of determination of the excise tax le vels:  (a) for distilled spirits, specific duties based
on percentage alcohol content;  and (b) for beer, wine and cigarettes, an identical tax on imported and
domestically produced articles, or on the basis of sp ecific, measurable characteristics of the product or
the component parts of the product, which criteria will be consistent with Article III of the GATT 1994,
published and readily available to importers, exporters and domestic producers.  The Working Party
took note of these commitments. (paragraph 45)
Panama
38. The representative of Panama stated that, as of the date of accession, the only domestic tax or
internal charge applied to imports would be the Tax on the Transfer of Tangible Personal Property
(ITBM).  He further stated that, from the date of accession, any application to imports of domestic taxes
or other internal charges of any kind would be in accordance with the provisions of the WTOAgreements.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 26)
Kyrgyz Republic
39. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the Law on Making Amendments and
Supplements to the Tax Code of the Kyrgyz Republic  would be adopted and enter into force no later
than 1 January 1999 and that as soon as possible from the date of accession but not later than
1 January 1999, the Kyrgyz Republic would ensure that  value added taxes would be applied to imports
in full conformity with WTO requirements, in pa rticular, the most-favoured-nation requirements of
Article I and the national treatment provisions of  Article III of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party
took note of this commitment. (paragraph 48)
40. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the Regulations on the Harmonization of
Excise Tax Rates (No. 348 of 13 June 1998) had passed  the first reading in Parliament on 30 June 1998
and would be adopted by 15 Septem ber 1998.  He also stated that from the date of accession to the
WTO, the Kyrgyz Republic would ensure that excise  taxes were applied to imports in full conformity
with WTO requirements, in particular the most favoured nation requirements of Article I and the
national treatment provisions of Article III of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 53)WT/ACC/7
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Latvia
41. The representative of Latvia stated that, from the date of accession, Latvia will apply its
domestic taxes, including those on products listed in paragraphs 50 to 52 and Tables 3 and Annex 1 in
strict compliance with Article III of the GATT 1994, in a non-discriminatory manner to imports
regardless of country of origin and to domestically-produced goods.  The Working Party took note ofthis commitment. (paragraph 53)
- Prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences
Ecuador
42. The representative of Ecuador indicated that his Government would eliminate by the date of
accession all non-tariff import and export restrictions (i ncluding all quantitative restrictions currently in
place in the agricultural sector) that cannot be justified specifically under WTO provisions (e.g., bans,
quotas, permits and licences), in particular th e Agreements on Agriculture and Import Licensing
Procedures, and Article XI of the GATT 1994.  In th is regard, Ecuador would eliminate by 1 July 1996
its import bans on used articles listed in paragraph 32, replacing them as necessary with the application
of objective criteria uniformly applied to domestic  and imported goods for the protection of plant,
animal and human health and safety administered in  conformity with the provisions of the Agreement
on Import Licensing Procedures, e.g ., bans on used clothing, automobiles and tyres.  Such measures
would not be applied or re-introduced after accession to  the WTO unless specifically provided for in the
WTO.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 34)
Mongolia
43. The representative of Mongolia said that Mong olia commits that, from the date of accession, the
authority of its Government to suspend imports and exports or to apply licensing requirements that can
be used to suspend trade in the products under licence would be applied in  conformity with the
requirements of the WTO, in particular GATT 1994 Articles VI, XI, XVIII, XIX, XX and XXI, and the
Multilateral Trade Agreements on Agriculture, San itary and Phytosanitary Measures, Import Licensing
Procedures, and Technical Barriers to Trade and th at his government would not maintain from the date
of accession non-tariff import measures, including ba ns, quotas, permits and licences, that cannot be
justified specifically under WTO provisions.  In par ticular, Mongolia would apply the same controls and
rules regarding technical regulations, standards certification, and labelling requirements to imported and
domestic goods, and would not use such regulations to restrict imports.  Mongolia would ensure that its
technical regulations, standards, certification, and labe lling requirements are not applied to imports in an
arbitrary manner, in a way that discriminates be tween supplier governments where the same conditions
apply or as a disguised restriction on international tr ade.  Mongolia would also ensure that certification
requirements are administered in a transparent and expeditious manner, and would be willing to consult
with the WTO Members concerning the effect of these requirements on their trade with a view to
resolving specific problems.  The representative of Mongolia stated that his Government would ensure
that licensing was applied only when necessary to protect human, animal and plant life and the
environment.  The representative of Mongolia ag reed that the Committee on Import Licensing would
review the compatibility of the product coverage of th e licensing system by no later than two years after
the date of Mongolia's accession to the WTO.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 20)
44. The representative of Mongolia said that from the date of Mongolia's accession to the WTO, the
period of validity of the import licences would be ex tended to one year.  The Working Party took note of
this commitment. (paragraph 21)WT/ACC/7
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Bulgaria
45. In conclusion the representative of Bulgaria confirmed that, in the context of its accession to the
Agreement Establishing the WTO, the Bulgarian Go vernment would use its authority to suspend or
prohibit imports and exports or otherwise restrict th eir quantities in conformity with the provisions of
the GATT 1994 in particular Articles XI, XII, XIII, XIX, XX and XXI.  The Working Party took note ofthis commitment. (paragraph 49)
46. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that, from the date of accession, Bulgaria will
eliminate and shall not introduce, re-introduce or a pply quantitative restrictions on imports or other non-
tariff measures such as licensing, quotas, bans and othe r restrictions having equivalent effect that cannot
be justified under the provisions of the WTO Agreement.  In this regard, Bulgaria will eliminate, as of
the date of accession, its discretionary licensing regime and any other WTO inconsistent measures on
tobacco imports and on other products covered by the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.  The WorkingParty took note of these commitments. (paragraph 50)
Also see " technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures" below.
Panama
47. The representative of Panama stated that from the date of accession to the WTO, trade in goods
including agricultural products would be administer ed in accordance with WTO obligations, including
the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.  As of  its date of accession to the WTO, Panama would
eliminate all quotas, restrictive import permit requirements, bans and reference prices, except as
expressly permitted under the WTO Agreement.  All unnecessary permit requirements would be
eliminated.  Panama would not seek a delay in the application of Article 2 of the Agreement on Import
Licensing.  The Working Party took not e of these commitments. (paragraph 41)
48. The representative of Panama confirmed that, from the date of accession, the authority of his
Government to suspend imports and exports or to apply licensing requirements that could be used to
suspend, ban, or otherwise restrict the quantity of trade would be applied in  conformity with the
requirements of the WTO, in particular Articles XI, XIII, XVIII, XIX, XX, and XXI of the GATT 1994,
and the Multilateral Trade Agreements on Agriculture, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, ImportLicensing Procedures, Safeguards and Technical Barriers to Trade, and that his Government would
eliminate from the date of its accession, non-tariff import measures, including bans, quotas, permits,
prior authorization requirements and licences that could not be justified specifically under WTO
provisions.  In particular, Panama  would apply no less favourable controls, criteria and rules regarding
technical regulations, standards certification and la belling requirements to imported and domestic goods,
and would not use such regulations to restrict im ports unnecessarily.  Panama would ensure that its
technical regulations, standards, certification and la belling requirements were not applied to imports in
an arbitrary manner, in a way that discrimina ted between supplier governments where the same
conditions apply or as a disguised restriction on inte rnational trade, in accordance with WTO provisions.
Panama would also ensure that from the date of it s accession its criteria for granting prior authorization
or for securing required certification or "sanitary registration" for imported products would be published
and made available to traders, and would be ad ministered in a transparent, expeditious and
nondiscriminatory manner.  Panama would be willing to consult with WTO Members concerning the
effect of these requirements on WTO Members trade w ith a view to resolving specific problems.  The
Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 42)
Kyrgyz Republic
49. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic conf irmed that the Kyrgyz Republic would, from the
date of accession, eliminate and shall not introduce, re-introduce or apply quantitative restrictions onWT/ACC/7
Page 78
imports or other non-tariff measures such as li censing, quotas, bans, permits, prior authorization
requirements, licensing requirements and other restri ctions having equivalent effect that cannot be
justified under the provisions of the WTO Agreements .  He added that the special import licences listed
in items 10, 11, 18 and 19 of Table 5 would be issued in conformity with the provisions relating to
automatic licensing in the Agreement on Import Licensi ng Procedures and would not restrict the right to
import these products into the Kyrgyz Republic or in any way discriminate against imported products.
He further confirmed that the legal authority of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic to suspend
imports and exports or to apply licensing requirement s that could be used to suspend, ban or otherwise
restrict the quantity of trade would be applied from the date of accession in conformity with the
requirements of the WTO, in particular Articles XI, XII, XIII, XIX, XX and XXI of the GATT 1994,
and the Multilateral Trade Agreements on Agriculture, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Import
Licensing Procedures, Safeguards and Technical Barriers to Trade.  The Working Party took note of
these commitments. (paragraph 60)
Latvia
50. The representative of Latvia confirmed that Latvia would, from the date of accession,
eliminate and shall not introduce, re-introduce or apply quantitative restrictions on imports or other
non-tariff measures such as licensing, quotas, bans, permits, prior authorization requirements,licensing requirements and other restrictions having equivalent effect that cannot be justified under
the provisions of the WTO Agreement.  This will include the current licensing restrictions on certain
products in Chapters 10, 11 and 12 and the import ban on sugar products in section 1701 of Latvia's
tariff schedule.  He added that the special import permits required for the importation of alcoholic
beverages and tobacco are granted automatically to all who request them and would not restrict the
right to import these products into Latvia or in any way discriminate against imported products.  He
further confirmed that the legal authority of the Government of Latvia to suspend imports and exports
or to apply licensing requirements that could be used to suspend, ban, or otherwise restrict the
quantity of trade will be applied from the date of accession in conformity with the requirements of the
WTO, in particular Articles XI, XII, XIII, XVIII, XIX, XX and XXI of the GATT 1994, and theMultilateral Trade Agreements on Agriculture, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Import
Licensing Procedures, Safeguards and Technical Barr iers to Trade.  The Working Party took note of
these commitments. (paragraph 59)
- Import licensing procedures
Ecuador
51 The representative of Ecuador said that an y prior authorizations or licence requirements
incompatible with the provisions of the General Agreement 1994 or the Multilateral Trade Agreements,
in particular the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, would be eliminated at the time of
accession.  From the date of accession additional measures  would only be applied as provided for in the
Articles of the General Agreement 1994, for instance Articles III and XX, and the WTO Agreements.  If
justified under relevant provisions, restrictions would be implemented in accordance with the
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.  In addition, Ecuador would ensure that remaining
restrictions and import permit requirements are applie d in a way consistent with Article XIII of the
GATT 1994 and shall apply all restrictions in accordan ce with the principle of non-discrimination.  The
representative of Ecuador further confirmed that hi s Government would, if requested, consult with the
Contracting Parties concerning the effect of these m easures on their trade.  The Working Party took note
of these commitments. (paragraph 38)
Mongolia
See "prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences" above.WT/ACC/7
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Panama
See "prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences" above.
Kyrgyz Republic
See "prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences" above.
Latvia
See "prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences" above.
- Customs valuation
Ecuador
52. The representative of Ecuador said that his Government will continue not to apply minimum
values for customs purposes from the date of accessi on of Ecuador to the WTO.  Ecuador would abide
by the provisions of the Agreements on Preshipmen t Inspection and Customs Valuation in this regard,
from the date of accession of Ecuador to the WTO.  The Working Party took note of thesecommitments. (paragraph 29)
Mongolia
53. The representative of Mongolia stated that his Government's laws on customs valuation were in
full conformity with the WTO Agreement on the Im plementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, and
that Mongolia would not require recourse to any transitional period for implementation of that
Agreement.  Should the services of a preshipment in spection firm be used to assist Mongolia in the
implementation of its customs procedures, the Go vernment of Mongolia would ensure that the
operations of such firms were consistent with the relevant WTO Agreements, e.g. on Preshipment
Inspection and Customs Valuation.  The Working Pa rty took note of this commitment. (paragraph 45)
54. With reference to customs practices and procedures, the representative of Mongolia said that his
Government would apply customs practices and pr ocedures in accordance with the provisions of
Articles VII, VIII and X of the GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VII
of the GATT 1994 from the date of its accession.  By th at date Mongolia would amend any provision of
law or administrative regulation that provided for practices inconsistent with the above-mentioned
provisions.   The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 46)
Bulgaria
55. The representative of Bulgaria indicated that it will fully apply the WTO provisions concerning
customs valuation from the date of accession, including, in addition to the Agreement on the
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, the provisions for the Valuation of Carrier Media
Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment and the provisions on the Treatment of Interest
Charges in Customs Value of Imported Goods.  He  further confirmed that, as an international
agreement, the provisions of the WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of theGATT 1994 would supersede domestic law after accession.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 73)WT/ACC/7
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Panama
56. With reference to customs practices and procedur es, the representative of Panama said that his
Government would apply customs practices and pr ocedures in accordance with the relevant WTO
provisions including those of Articles VII, VIII  and X of the GATT 1994 from the date of its accession.
By that date, Panama would amend any provision of law or administra tive regulation that provided for
practices inconsistent with the above-mentioned prov isions.  He further stated that from the date of
accession the use of minimum import prices would be eliminated and, that in accordance with the WTO
Agreements on Agriculture and Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, such measures would
not be reintroduced.  The Working Party t ook note of these commitments. (paragraph 34)
57. The representative of Panama stated that by  July 1996, his Government would enact a decree
law on customs valuation that would be in fu ll conformity with the WTO Agreement on the
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, a nd that that law would come into effect by
1 January 1997.  Panama would not require recour se to any additional transitional period for
implementation of the Agreement.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 35)
Also, see "preshipment inspection" below.
Kyrgyz Republic
58. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic i ndicated that the Kyrgyz Republic would fully
apply the WTO provisions concerning customs valuation from the date of accession, including, in
addition to the Agreement on the Implementation of  Article VII of the GATT 1994, the provisions for
the Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software fo r Data Processing Equipment and the provisions on
the Treatment of Interest Charges in Customs Valu e of Imported Goods.  He further confirmed that, as
an international agreement, the provisions of th e WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII
of the GATT 1994 would supersede domestic law after accession. He stated that upon accession,
minimum import prices would not be applied for cu stoms valuation purposes.  The Working Party took
note of these commitments. (paragraph 63)
Latvia
59. The representative of Latvia confirmed that Latvia would fully apply the WTO provisions
concerning customs valuation from the date of accession without recourse to a transition period,
including the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 including its
provisions on methods of appraisement and Annex I (Interpretative Notes) and Article 13 of the
Agreement, as well as the provisions for the Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data
Processing Equipment (Decision 4.1).  The Wo rking Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 62)
- Rules of origin
Bulgaria
60. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that Bulgaria would remedy any departures from full
conformity with the WTO Agreement on Rules of Orig in prior to its accession, and that by that time,
Bulgaria's application of rules of origin for both MFN and preferential trade would be administered in
conformity with the provisions of the Agreement.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 75)WT/ACC/7
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Kyrgyz Republic
61. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic confirmed that the Kyrgyz Republic would remedy
any departures from full conformity with the WTO Ag reement on Rules of Origin prior to its accession,
and that by that time, the Kyrgyz Republic's applica tion of rules of origin for both MFN and preferential
trade would be administered in conf ormity with the provisions of the Agreement.  The Kyrgyz Republic
would adopt the Harmonized Rules of  Origin once finalized by the WT O in co-operation with the World
Customs Organization.  The Working Party t ook note of this commitment. (paragraph 66)
- Preshipment inspection
Ecuador
See "Customs valuation" above.
Mongolia
See "Customs valuation" above.
Panama
62. The representative of Panama said that should the services of a preshipment inspection firm be
used to assist Panama in the implementation of its customs procedures, the Government of Panama
would ensure that the operations of such firms were  consistent with the relevant WTO Agreements, in
particular, on Preshipment Inspection and Customs Valuation.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 36)
Kyrgyz Republic
63. In response to questions, the representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the
Kyrgyz Republic had no plans to introduce any pres hipment inspection requirements; however, if such
requirements were introduced, they would be consis tent with the requirements of the Agreement on
Preshipment Inspection.  The Working Party t ook note of this commitment. (paragraph 67)
- Anti-dumping, countervailing, safeguard regimes
Ecuador
64. The representative of Ecuador confirmed that from the date of accession to the WTO, Ecuador
will apply the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI in cases involving
allegations of dumping by imports.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 57)
Bulgaria
65. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that it was Bulgaria's intent that its legislation conform
to the provisions of the WTO Agreements on Anti-Dumping and Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures, and that draft legislation was under cons ideration to accomplish that goal.  He further
confirmed that, from the date of accession, and notwith standing any provision of domestic law to the
contrary, Bulgaria would administer all proc eedings and measures taken for anti-dumping or
countervailing duty purposes in full conformity with the provisions of these WTO Agreements, and that
no action would be taken by the Government of Bulg aria that departed from the provisions of these
agreements.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 55)WT/ACC/7
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Kyrgyz Republic
66. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the Laws on Anti-Dumping, Safeguards
and on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures woul d be adopted in October 1998.  Any legislation in
place at the time of accession or implemented in the future providing for the application of measures
taken for anti-dumping, countervailing duty, or safegu ard purposes would confor m to the provisions of
the WTO Agreements of Anti-Dumping, on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and on Safeguards.
In the absence of such legislative authority in place at the time of accession, the Kyrgyz Republic would
not apply measures for anti-dumping, countervailin g duty, of safeguard purposes until legislation in
conformity with the provisions of these WTO Agre ements had been implemented.  The Working Party
took note of these commitments. (paragraph 70)
Latvia
67. The representative of Latvia said that Latvia would not apply any anti-dumping,
countervailing or safeguard measure until it had implemented appropriate laws in conformity with the
provisions of the WTO Agreements on the Implementation of Article VI, on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures, and on Safeguards.  In the elaboration of any legislation concerning anti-
dumping duties, countervailing duties and safeguards , Latvia would ensure their full conformity with
the relevant WTO provisions, including Article VI and XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement onthe Implementation of Article VI, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the
Agreement on Safeguards.  After such legislation was implemented, Latvia would only apply any
anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and safeguard measures in full conformity with the
relevant WTO provisions.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 66)
- Export Regulation
- Customs tariffs, fees and charges for services rendered, application of internal taxes to
exports
Mongolia
See "export restrictions" below.
Bulgaria
68. The representative of Bulgaria stated that his Government applied export taxes for the relief of
critical shortages of foodstuffs or in cases of critical  short supply for the domestic industry, and that after
accession, any such taxes would be applied in accord ance with the provisions of the WTO Agreement.
He noted that, at the current time, Bulgaria applied the export taxes only to the goods and services listed
in the Annex 2 to the Report.  Bulgaria would, after accession, minimize its use of such taxes and
confirmed that any changes in the application of su ch measures, their level, scope, or justification,
would be published in the State Gazette.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 39)
Also see "application of internal taxes to imports" above.
Kyrgyz Republic
69. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the Kyrgyz Republic would ensure that its
system of export licensing was in conformity with  the requirements of Article XI of the GATT 1994 as
from the date of accession.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 79)WT/ACC/7
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Latvia
70. The representative of Latvia confirmed that present export tariff rates related only to the
goods listed in Annex 3 Export Duty Tariffs.  All customs tariff changes were published in the official
journal of the Republic of Latvia - the newspaper "Latvijas Vèstnesis".  Latvia would abolish all
export duties listed in Annex 3 by 1 January 2000 with the exception of the duty on antiques.  Thetimetable for elimination of export duties would be similar for regional trade agreement partners and
partners to which MFN treatment was applied as indicated in Annex 3.  The Working Party took note
of these commitments. (paragraph 69)
- Export restrictions
Mongolia
71. The representative of Mongolia also stated th at his government would maintain the prohibition
on the export of raw cashmere only until 1 October 1996, when an export duty at the rate of not more
than 30 per cent ad valorem would be introduced.  That export dut y would be phased out and eliminated
within 10 years of the date of Mongolia's accession to the WTO.   The representative of Mongolia also
stated that export licensing requirements for fe rrous and non-ferrous metals would be removed by
1 January 1997.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 24)
Bulgaria
See "prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences" above.
Panama
72. The representative of Panama stated that following accession to the WTO, his Government
would only apply export controls in conformity w ith relevant WTO provisions including Article XI
paragraph 2(a) of the GATT 1994.  The Working Pa rty took note of this commitment. (paragraph 71)
- Export subsidies
Ecuador
73. The representative of Ecuador stated that his Go vernment intends to eliminate all existing export
subsidies  no later than November 1995, including th e measures described in paragraph 58 above, and
that after this date Ecuador will not have any su ch subsidies.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 59)
Bulgaria
74. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that his Government does not maintain subsidies
which meet the definition of a prohibited subsidy, w ithin the meaning of Article 3 of the Agreement on
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and would th erefore not invoke provisions in the Agreement
that provide for the progressive elimination of su ch measures within a fixed period of time.  The
Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 57)
Panama
75. The representative of Panama stated that hi s Government would progressively eliminate all
measures which meet the definition of a prohibited subsidy, within the meaning of Article 3 of the
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, including those prohibited subsidies covered byWT/ACC/7
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Law No. 3 of 1986, including all registrations grante d to enterprises prior to enactment of the Law
Adopting General Production Tax Incentives and Es tablishing Other Provisions, (Law No. 28 of
20 June 1995) and Incentives for Export Promo tion under Law No. 108 of 30 December 1974 (as
amended by Law No. 28 of 20 June 1995).  Consiste nt with this obligation, Panama would provide
explanatory information in its annual notification of subsidies under Article 25 of the Agreement on
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and Articl e XVI:1 of the GATT 1994 to enable other Members
to confirm that such programmes are being progre ssively eliminated.  The above-mentioned subsidy
measures would be notified as provided for in the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures upon accession.  The Government of Panama would eliminate all subsidies inconsistent with
the provisions of Article 3 of the Agreement on S ubsidies and Countervailing Measures by no later than
31 December 2002 as provided by Article 27 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures.  The Working Party took not e of these commitments. (paragraph 63)
Kyrgyz Republic
76. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic st ated that the lease payment exemption for
export-oriented and import substitution production pr ovided for the Bishkek Free Economic Zone and
other such free zones which could be considered to  conflict with the requirements of the Agreement on
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures would be el iminated by 31 December 2002.  He further stated
that the Regulations No. 376 On the Amendments to  Certain Decisions of the Government, which will
have the effect of prohibiting any and all such  export performance and import substitution incentives
within free economic zones, in c onformity with the requirements of the Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures had been adopted and implemented as of 23 June 1998, prior to the
Kyrgyz Republic's date of accession.  The Work ing Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 83)
77. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic confirmed that no government or public body within
the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic provides an y other subsidy which was inconsistent with the
provisions of Article 3 of the Agreement on Subsidie s and Countervailing Measures.  He stated that his
Government would terminate, by 31 December 2002, all incentives granted under prior foreign
investment laws which had retained their validity fo llowing enactment of the Foreign Investment Law of
September 1997.  The Working Party took not e of these commitments. (paragraph 84)
- Internal Policies Affecting Foreign Trade in Goods
- Industrial policy, including subsidies
Mongolia
78. The representative of Mongolia committed that his Government would eliminate by no later
than 31 December 2002, preferably in a progressive ma nner, the measures which meet the definition of
a prohibited subsidy within the meaning of Article  3 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures, i.e., the subsidies provided under the new Foreign Investment Law, which came into force on
1 July 1993.  These include the incentives for foreign investment in sectors such as mining, metal
processing, machinery and infrastructure, which gr anted (i) partial and full tax relief during a 5 to
10 year period, and (ii) tax abatement in a 3 year period for foreign invested enterprises which exportedmore than 50 per cent of their output.  Consistent wi th this objective, the representative of Mongolia
committed  that the subsidies granted under that programme would not be extended or renewed beyond
their current scope of application, and agreed to  provide explanatory information in its annual
notification of subsidies under Article 25 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
and Article XVI:1 of the GATT 1994 which was sufficiently precise to enable other Members toconfirm that such programmes are being eliminated in a manner consistent with this commitment.  He
further confirmed that the subsidy measures listed above would be notified as provided for in theWT/ACC/7
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Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures upon accession, and that Mongolia applied no
other subsidies which fall within the meaning of prohi bited subsidies as described in Article 3 of that
Agreement, or that would require notification under the provisions of  GATT Article XVI:1 or Article 25
of the Agreement.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 23)
Bulgaria
See "export subsidies" above.
Panama
See "export subsidies" above.
Latvia
79. The representative of Latvia confirmed that any subsidy programmes would be administered
in line with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and that all necessary
information on programmes to be notified, if such exist, would be provided to the Committee onSubsidies and Countervailing Measures in accordance with Article 25 of the Agreement upon entry
into force of Latvia's Protocol of Accession.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 77)
- Technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures
Mongolia
See "prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences" above.
Bulgaria
80. The representative of Bulgaria stated that Bulgaria would apply the WTO Agreements on
Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures from the date of accession without
recourse to any transition period.  He further confir med that, in particular, Bulgaria would apply the
same controls, criteria and rules regarding techni cal regulations, standards certification and labelling
requirements to imported and domestic goods, and woul d not use such regulations to restrict imports.
Bulgaria would ensure that its technical regulati ons, standards certification and labelling requirements
are not applied to imports in an arbitrary manne r, in a way that discriminates between supplier
governments where the same conditions apply or as  a disguised restriction on international trade.
Bulgaria will not require additional certification or sanitary registration for products which have been
certified as safe for human use and consumption by recognized foreign or international bodies.  Bulgaria
would also ensure that, from the date of accession, its  criteria for granting prior authorization or securing
required certification or 'sanitary registration' fo r imported products will be published and available to
traders, and that its sanitary and other certificati on requirements are administered in a transparent and
expeditious manner.  Bulgaria would be willing to consult with WTO Members concerning the effect of
these requirements on their trade with a view to resolving specific problems.  The Working Party took
note of these commitments. (paragraph 64)
Panama
81. The representative of Panama stated that upon accession to the WTO, Panama would comply
with all the provisions of the Agreement on Tec hnical Barriers to Trade without recourse to any
transitional arrangements.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 47)WT/ACC/7
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82. The representative of Panama stated that from the date of accession to the WTO, Panama would
apply all its sanitary requirements consistently with the requirements of the WTO Agreements on
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Import Licensing Procedures w ithout recourse to any
transitional arrangements.  In particular, he stated that if a decision was taken to require notification of
diseases other than those listed in Organisation Internationale des Epizooties (OIE) Classes A and B,
any such decision would be taken in conformity with  the requirements of the Agreement on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures.  He also stated that Pa nama will allow a reasonable interval between the
publication of the sanitary or phytosanitary regulation and its entry into force in order to allow time for
producers in exporting Members, to adapt to the new requirements.  The Working Party took note of
these commitments. (paragraph 51)
Also, see "prohibitions, quotas, restrictive licences" above.
Kyrgyz Republic
83. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stat ed that his Government would apply the WTO
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade from the date of accession without recourse to any transition
period.  He further confirmed that, in particular, the Kyrgyz Republic would apply the same controls,
criteria, and rules regarding technical regulations, standards, certification, and labelling requirements to
imported and domestic goods, and would not use such regulations to restrict imports.  The
Kyrgyz Republic would ensure that its technical re gulations, standards, certification and labelling
requirements are not applied to imports in an arbi trary manner, in a way that discriminates between
supplier governments where the same conditions appl y or as a disguised restriction on international
trade, and would also ensure that from the date of  accession its criteria for granting licences or securing
required certification for imported products will be published and available to traders, and that its
sanitary and other certification requirements are ad ministered in a transparent and expeditious manner.
The Kyrgyz Republic would be willing to consult w ith WTO Members concerning the effect of these
requirements on their trade with a view to resolvin g specific problems.  The Working Party took note of
these commitments. (paragraph 94)
84. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic said that the Government was currently considering
draft Regulations "On measures for transition to international standards and improving the order of
using technical regulations" which set out the pr ogramme of work required to harmonize Kyrgyz
sanitary and phytosanitary standards with internat ional standards in 1999.  The Kyrgyz Republic would
report annually on progress in the work on harmonization until their standards were in conformity with
WTO requirements.  The Working Party took  note of this commitment. (paragraph 100)
85. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that from the date of accession to the WTO his
Government would apply all its sanitary requirement s consistently with the requirements of the WTO
Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  and Import Licensing Pro cedures without recourse
to any transitional arrangements.  In particular, he stated that if a decision was taken to require
notification of diseases other than those listed in  OIE Classes A and B, an y such decision would be
taken in conformity with the requirements of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
He added that the Kyrgyz Republic would not require additional certification or sanitary registration for
products which have been certified as safe for human use and consumption by recognized foreign or
international bodies, and the Kyrgyz Republic would ensure that from the date of accession its criteria
for granting prior authorization or securing the required certification for imported products would be
published and available to traders.  He confirmed that  sanitary and other certification requirements in the
Kyrgyz Republic were administered in a transparen t and expeditious manner, and that his Government
would be willing to consult with WTO Members concerning the effect of these requirements on their
trade with a view to resolving specific problems.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 103)WT/ACC/7
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Latvia
86. The representative of Latvia stated that Latvia would apply the Agreements on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade from the date of accession without recourse
to any transition period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 88)
- Trade-related investment measures
Ecuador
87. The representative of Ecuador acknowledged that the trade related investment measures
described in this paragraph were inconsistent wi th the provisions of the Agreement on TRIMs.  He
confirmed that these measures would be eliminated  prior to 1 January 2000.  Regarding this programme,
Ecuador committed to provide the information in A nnex III to the Council for Trade in Goods for the
information of the TRIMs Committee.  During the pe riod in which these measures are applied, Ecuador
shall not modify the terms so as to increase the de gree of inconsistency with the provisions of the
TRIMs Agreement, in particular Article 2.  In orde r not to disadvantage established enterprises which
are subject to these measures, Ecuador will consider applying the same measures to the investments
during the transitional period (i) where the products of such investment are like products to those of the
established enterprises, and (ii) where necessary to avoid distorting the conditions of competition
between the new investment  and the established ente rprises.  Ecuador will notify any TRIM so applied
to a new investment to the Council for Trade in Goods.  The terms of such a TRIM shall be equivalent
in their competitive effect to those applicable to the established enterprises, and it shall be terminated at
the same time.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 76)
Mongolia
88. The representative of Mongolia stated that Mongolia did not maintain any measure inconsistent
with the TRIMs Agreement and would abide by the TRIMs Agreement from the date of accession
without requesting any transitional period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 42)
Bulgaria
89. The representative of Bulgaria stated that Bulgaria does not maintain measures that are not in
conformity with the Agreement on Trade-Related In vestment Measures and w ould therefore not invoke
provisions in the Agreement that provide for the prog ressive elimination of such measures within a fixed
period of time.  The Working Party took  note of this commitment. (paragraph 83)
Panama
90. In response to questions raised by members of the Working Party, the representative of Panama
said that Panama does not maintain and in the futu re would not introduce any measure inconsistent with
the TRIMs Agreement.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 112)
Kyrgyz Republic
91. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that from the date of accession, the
Kyrgyz Government would not maintain measures th at were not in conformity with the Agreement on
Trade-Related Investment Measures.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 106)WT/ACC/7
Page 88
Latvia
92. The representative of Latvia said that Latvia would not maintain any measures inconsistent
with the TRIMs Agreement and would apply the TRIMs Agreement from the date of accession
without recourse to any transitional period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 90)
- State trading entities
Ecuador
93. The representative of Ecuador gave the assurance that his Government would observe the
provisions of the WTO including Article XVII of  the General Agreement 1994 and Article VIII of
GATS including notification and the description of Stat e trading activities for all the enterprises listed in
the preceding paragraphs 63 and 64 as of WTO accession.  The Working Party took note this
commitment. (paragraph 65)
Mongolia
94. The representative of Mongolia said that in the view of his Government, at this time only
"Mongolemimpex" Corporation, "Erdenet" Corpor ation and "Mongolrostsv etmet" Corporation,
described in paragraph 27 above, were engage d in State Trading pursuant to Article XVII of
GATT 1994.  Those firms were also subject to the Pa rtnership and Company Law.  The representative
of Mongolia confirmed that his Go vernment would apply its laws and regulations governing the trading
activities of these enterprises in conformity with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement, in
particular Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and Article VIII of the GATS.  He also said that Mongolia
would abide by the provisions for notification, non- discrimination and the application of commercial
considerations for trade transactions, and that it would submit its notification under Article XVII at the
time of its accession.  The representative of Mongolia also said that his government would apply its laws
and regulations governing the trading activities of State owned enterprises, and would otherwise act in
full conformity with the provisions of the WTO Agreement.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 29)
Bulgaria
95. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed th at his Government would apply its laws and
regulations governing the trading activities of State- owned enterprises in conformity with the relevant
provisions of the WTO Agreement, in particular  and where relevant, Article XVII of the GATT 1994,
the WTO Understanding on that Article,  and Article VIII of the GATS.  In this regard, he noted the list
of State-owned firms contained in WT/ACC/BGR/3, some of which were in the process of privatization.
He also said that Bulgaria would abide by the provisions for notificati on, non-discrimination, and the
application of commercial considerations for trade transactions for any enterprise whose activities were
subject to Article XVII of the GATT 1994, the WTO U nderstanding on that Article and Article VIII of
the GATS.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 69)
Panama
96. The representative of Panama confirmed that  his Government would apply its laws and
regulations governing the trading activities of these enterprises listed in paragraph  82 in conformity
with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreemen t, in particular Article XVII of the GATT 1994, the
Understanding on that Article and Article VIII of th e GATS.  He also said that Panama would abide by
the provisions for notification, non-di scrimination, and the application of  commercial considerations for
trade transactions, and that it would submit its notification under Article XVII at the time of itsWT/ACC/7
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accession.  The representative of Panama also said that his Government would apply its laws and
regulations governing the trading activities of State- owned enterprises and other enterprises with special
and exclusive privileges and would otherwise act in full conformity with the provisions of the WTO
Agreements.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 83)
Kyrgyz Republic
97. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic conf irmed that his Governme nt would apply its laws
and regulations governing the trading activities of State-owned enterprises and other enterprises with
special or exclusive privileges, as noted in paragra ph 107 of this Report, in conformity with the relevant
provisions of the WTO Agreement, and woul d abide by the provisions for notification,
non-discrimination, and the applicati on of commercial considerations for trade transactions for any
enterprise whose activities were subject to Article XVII of the GATT 1994, the WTO Understanding on
that Article, and Article VIII of the GATS.  He fu rther confirmed that the Kyrgyz Republic would notify
any enterprise falling within the scope of Article XVII at the time of accession.  The Working Party took
note of these commitments. (paragraph 113)
Latvia
98. The representative of Latvia confirmed that his Government would apply its laws and
regulations governing the trading activities of State-owned enterprises and other enterprises withspecial or exclusive privileges and would act in full conformity with the provisions of the
WTO Agreement, in particular Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on that
Article and Article VIII of the GATS.  He further confirmed that Latvia would notify any enterprise
falling within the scope of Article XVII.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 93)
- Free zones, special economic areas
Ecuador
99. The representative of Ecuador said that his Government as of the date of accession to the WTO
would be prepared to make a commitment that the imported component of sales from the zones into the
rest of Ecuador would be assessed normal taxes, ta riffs and other border measures.  Ecuador's national
legislation establishes the payment of normal taxes and tariffs on the imported component of sales from
the zones into the rest of Ecuador.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 61)
Mongolia
100. The representative of Mongolia confirmed that, should Mongolia establish free trade zones, if
the output of these zones will be sold into the rest  of Mongolia, Mongolia will apply all normal taxes,
tariffs, customs charges and other regulations on imports to the products or to their imported
components, and that Mongolia will observe the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies andCountervailing Measures in providing incentives for establishment of firms in the free zones.  The
Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 51)
Panama
101. The representative of Panama stated that fr ee zones including the Colon Free Zone and Export
Processing Zones are sovereign Panamanian Territory.  As such, they are fully subject to the coverage of
Panama's commitments in its Protocol of Accession to the WTO Agreement.  In this regard Panama
would ensure enforcement of its WTO obligations in  those zones, including those commitments derived
from the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.  In addition, when goodsWT/ACC/7
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produced or imported into the zones under the special tax and tariff regime existing in these areas enter
into the rest of Panama, normal customs formalities,  tariffs and taxes would be applied.  The Working
Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 77)
Kyrgyz Republic
102. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the free zones and special economic zones
authorized by the legislation described in paragraph 114 above were fully subject to the coverage of the
commitments of the Kyrgyz Republic in its Protocol  of Accession to the WTO Agreement and that the
Kyrgyz Republic would ensure enforcement of its WTO obligations in those zones.  In this regard, he
confirmed that the Regulations on the Amendments to Certain Decisions of the Government had been
adopted and implemented from 23 June 1998 by the date of accession to the WTO.  In addition, goods
produced in these zones under tax and tariff provisi ons that exempt imports and imported inputs from
tariffs and certain taxes would be subject to normal  customs formalities when entering the rest of the
Kyrgyz Republic, including the application of tariffs and taxes.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 115)
Latvia
103. The representative of Latvia stated that the free ports and special economic zones authorized
by the legislation described in paragraph 94 were fully subject to the coverage of Latvia'scommitments in its Protocol of Accession to the WTO Agreement and that Latvia would ensure
enforcement of its WTO obligations in those zones.  In addition, goods produced in these areas under
tax and tariff provisions that exempt imports and imported inputs from tariffs and certain taxes will be
subject to normal customs formalities when entering the rest of Latvia, including the application of
tariffs and taxes.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 95)
- Government procurement
Mongolia
104. The representative of Mongolia confirmed that  his Government would seek observer status in
the Committee for the Agreement on Government Procurement at the time of its accession with a view
to initiating negotiations for membership thereafter.   The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 59)
Bulgaria
105. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed th at, upon accession, his Government would notify the
Committee on Government Procurement of its intention to accede to the Agreement on Government
Procurement and seek observer status in that Comm ittee.  He further confirmed that Bulgaria will
initiate negotiations for membership in the Agreemen t by tabling an entity offer prior to 30 June 1997.
He also confirmed that, if the results of the negotiatio ns are satisfactory to the interests of Bulgaria and
the other members of the Agreement, Bulgaria w ill complete negotiations for membership in the
Agreement by 31 December 1997.  The Working Pa rty took note of this commitment. (paragraph 80)
Panama
106. The representative of Panama confirmed that his Government was currently an observer in the
Committee for the Agreement on Government Procurem ent.  He stated that his Government would
notify the Committee at the time of Panama's accessi on to the WTO of its intention to accede to the
Agreement on Government Procurement, and that Panama would initiate negotiations for membership
in the Agreement by tabling an en tity offer prior to 30 June 1997.  He also confirmed that, if the resultsWT/ACC/7
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of the negotiations are satisfactory to the interest s of Panama and other members of the Agreement,
Panama would complete negotiations for membership in the Agreement by 31 December 1997.  The
Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 68)
Kyrgyz Republic
107. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the Kyrgyz Republic would initiate
negotiations for membership in the Government  Procurement Agreement upon accession by tabling an
entity offer at that time.  He also confirmed that, if the results of the negotiations were satisfactory to the
Kyrgyz Republic and the signatories of the Ag reement, the Kyrgyz Republic would complete
negotiations for membership in the Agreement by 31 December 1999.  The Working Party took note of
this commitment. (paragraph 120)
Latvia
108. The representative of Latvia confirmed that Latvia will initiate negotiations for membership
in the Agreement on Government Procurement upon accession by tabling an entity offer at that time.
He also confirmed that, if the results of the negotiations are satisfactory to Latvia and the other
members of the Agreement, Latvia will complete negotiations for membership in the Agreement by
1 January 2000.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 100)
-T r a n s i t
Latvia
109. The representative of Latvia confirmed that his Government would apply its laws and
regulations governing transit operations and would act in full conformity with the provisions of the
WTO Agreement, in particular Article V of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 102)
- Agricultural Policies
Ecuador
110. The representative of Ecuador indicated that his Government would eliminate by the date of
accession all non-tariff import and export restrictions  not addressed in paragraphs 34, 38, 41 and 48
which cannot be justified specifically under WTO provisions, in particular the Agreements on
Agriculture, and Article XI of the GATT 1994.  If just ified under relevant provisions, restrictions would
be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions, for instance the Agreement on Import
Licensing Procedures. Such measur es would not be applied or re-introduced after accession to the WTO
unless specifically provided for in the WTO Ag reement.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 31)
111. The representative of Ecuador said that all agricultural restrictions listed in paragraph 39 above
would be brought into conformity with the rules of the General Agreement 1994 and the WTO
Agreement on Agriculture.  Seasonal restrictions on fruit imports and the Interministerial Agreement
061 of 31 January 1991 concerning quotas for wheat im ports had been eliminated in November 1994.
At the time of accession to the WTO, Ecuador would repeal Interministerial Agreement 067 of
20 February 1978 which was the remaining provision in force which allowed official bodies to set
quotas or other restrictions for the import of agri cultural products.  Ecuador's commitments regarding
domestic and export subsidies are reproduced in the agriculture country schedule.  The agricultural
schedule of Ecuador was submitted to the Working Party.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 41)WT/ACC/7
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112. The representative of Ecuador said that his Government undertook to operate this tariff
adjustment mechanism in conformity with the prov isions of Article II of the General Agreement 1994
and without impairing the rates duty bound in Ecuador 's schedule of concessions.  He added that in
order to comply with the provisions of the WT O Agreement on Agriculture, Ecuador would gradually
eliminate the price band system within a seven year  period in accordance with the time table annexed to
Ecuador's Protocol of A ccession.  During the period for the phase-out of this mechanism, Ecuador
would not enlarge the coverage of the system nor  reintroduce products back into the system.  The
Working Party took note of these commitments. (paragraph 48)
Bulgaria
113. The representative of Bulgaria stated that the system of import reference prices applied to
agriculture had been eliminated as of 1 January 1995, and that such measures will not be reintroduced
except in accordance with WTO Agreements.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 17)
Panama
114. The representative of Panama affirmed that when Panama acceded to the WTO, trade in
agricultural products would be administered in conf ormity with the relevant provisions of the WTO
Agreements.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 86)
Latvia
115. The representative of Latvia said that during a transition period to expire on 1 January 2003,
Latvia would forego the 5 per cent de minimis  exemption for product-specific domestic support and for
non-product specific domestic support in calculating its Current Total AMS as provided for in
paragraph 4 (a) of Article 6 of the Agreement on Ag riculture, provided that the sum of product-specific
and non-product-specific domestic support does not exceed SDR 24 million (representing approximately
8 per cent of the average value of final agricultural production during the period 1994 - 1996) and that
SDR 24 million instead constitutes Latvia’s de minimis exemption under Article 6.4(a) during each year
of the said transition period.  Accordingly, during the transition period, Latvia would not be required to
include product-specific domestic support or non-pr oduct specific domestic support in calculating its
Current Total AMS pursuant to paragraph 4(a) of Ar ticle 6 of the Agreement on Agriculture, and would
not be required to reduce such domestic support in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the
Agreement on Agriculture, where the sum of produc t-specific and non-product specific support does not
exceed SDR 24 million during the relevant year.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 109)
- Trade in Civil Aircraft
Kyrgyz Republic
116. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic confirmed that his Government would become
signatory to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Airc raft on terms and conditions acceptable to it and the
other parties to that Agreement within a reasonable period of time, but in no case later than the date on
which it accords duty free treatment on the products covered by the Agreement to another country which
has also become signatory to the Agreement.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 122)WT/ACC/7
Page 93
Latvia
117. The representative of Latvia said that Latvia would implement the Agreement on Trade in
Civil Aircraft without exceptions or transitional period at the time of accession.  The representative of
Latvia confirmed that Latvia would become a signatory to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft
upon accession to the WTO.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 110)
- TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME
Ecuador
118. The representative of Ecuador confirmed that the date of application of the provisions of the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights for Ecuador will be no later than
31 July 1996.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 78)
Mongolia
119. The representative of Mongolia stated that his country's laws in the field of intellectual property
rights were already in conformity with the provis ions of the Agreement on the Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and that Mong olia would fully apply the provisions of the
Agreement on TRIPS by the date of its accession to the WTO.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 54)
Bulgaria
120. The representative of Bulgaria confirmed that hi s Government would apply the provisions of the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights by the date of its accession to the
WTO, without recourse to any tr ansitional period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 85)
Panama
121. The representative of Panama stated that Pana ma would fully apply all the provisions of the
Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights by the date of its accession to the
WTO, without recourse to any tr ansitional period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 111)
Kyrgyz Republic
122. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic conf irmed that his Government would fully apply
the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement by the date of its accession to the WTO without recourse to a
transitional period.  The Working Party took  note of this commitment. (paragraph 164)
Latvia
123. The representative of Latvia confirmed that his Government would fully apply the provisions
of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellec tual Property Rights (TRIPS) by the date of its
accession to the WTO without recourse to a transitional period.  The Working Party took note of thiscommitment. (paragraph 116)
 - POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES
- Reference to Annexed Schedule to GATSWT/ACC/7
Page 94
- Policies Affecting Trade in Services
- TRANSPARENCY
- Publication
Mongolia
124. The representative of Mongolia stated that from the date of accession, all laws, regulations, or
decrees of whatever character related to trade wi ll be published promptly prior to implementation in
"Ardin Erh" the official newspaper of the Parliame nt and the Government or "Zasgiin Gazriin Medee"
the official newspaper of the Government in such  a manner as to enable governments and traders to
become acquainted with them, and that no law, rule , etc., related to international trade will become
effective prior to publication in one of those organs.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 44)
Bulgaria
125. The representative of Bulgaria stated that, from the date of accession, all laws and other
normative acts related to trade will be published in the State Gazette promptly.  As a rule, "promptly"
under the WTO Agreements would mean two weeks pr ior to implementation, unless a longer period is
specified under the relevant WTO Agreement.  He stat ed further that they will be accessible to traders
prior to implementation, and that no law, rule, etc. related to international trade will become effective
prior to such publication.  The Working Part y took note of this commitment. (paragraph 40)
Panama
126. The representative of Panama said that laws are published in the official publication organ,
which is currently the Official Gazette.  No law en ters into force without previous publication in the
Official Gazette.  He also stated that Panama w ould secure transparency on all publication requirements
and comply with the provisions of Article X of  GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 115)
- Notification
Ecuador
127. The representative of Ecuador said that no later th an the earlier of the date of entry into force of
the Protocol of Accession or the date specified be low for the relevant provision, Ecuador shall submit
notifications (other than notifications required to be made on an ad hoc  basis) pursuant to the following
provisions of Multilateral Trade Agreements for which the date specified in those provisions is earlier to
the date of entry into force of the Protocol of A ccession:  Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of
GATT 1994:  1 August 1995;  Agreement on Safeguards, Articles 11.1, 11.2, 12.6 and 12.7:
1 August 1995;  Agreement on Subsidies and Counter vailing Measures:  1 August 1995;  Agreement on
Technical Barriers to Trade:  1 September 1995;  Agreement on Textiles and Clothing:1 September 1995.  No later than the earlier of 1 August 1995 or the date of entry into force of the
Protocol of Accession, Ecuador shall submit all other not ifications other than notifications required to be
made on an ad hoc  basis as required by the WTO Agreement.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 79)
128. Ecuador is committed to notify the Secretariat annually of the implementation of the phased
commitments with definitive dates for compliance referred to in paragraphs 9, 19, 34, 48, 59, 75, 77 andWT/ACC/7
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78 of this Report and to identify any delays in im plementation together with the reasons therefore.
(paragraph 80)
Mongolia
129. The representative of Mongolia confirmed that dr aft notifications pursuant to provisions of the
following Multilateral Trade Agreements had been prepared and circulated for the review of the
Working Party (see paragraph 3 above) and that Mongolia would submit the following notifications
upon entry into force of its Protocol of Accession:   Agreement on Agriculture;  Agreement on Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Measures;  Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures;  Agreement on the
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994;  a nd the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
He added that pursuant to the commitments made in the course of the accession negotiations referred to
in paragraph 61 below, notifications pursuant to  provisions of the following Multilateral Trade
Agreements would be submitted by Mongolia upon entry into force of the Protocol of Accession;  the
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the Agreement on TRIMS, the Agreement on
Implementation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994, and the Agreement on TRIPS.  He also confirmed
that all other notifications would be made by M ongolia in accordance with the time limits arising from
paragraph 4(b) of Mongolia's Prot ocol of Accession to the WTO.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 60)
Also see the section after paragraph 2 and the section after paragraph 3 in the Protocol of
Accession of Mongolia
Bulgaria
130. The representative of Bulgaria also stated  that his Government would notify the WTO
Secretariat annually of the implementation of th e phased commitments with definitive dates for
compliance referred to in paragraphs 29, 37, 45, 80 and 88 of this Report and would identify any delays
in implementation together with the reasons th erefore.  The Working Party took note of this
commitment. (paragraph 90)
Panama
131. The representative of Panama said that upon en try into force of the Protocol of Accession,
Panama would submit notifications of legislati on pursuant to the implementation of the following
provisions of Multilateral Trade Agreements for which the date specified in those provisions is earlier
than the date of entry into force of the Protocol of Accession, and any other notifications required for the
following Agreements:  Agreement on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures;  Agreement on Import
Licensing Procedures;  Agreement on Technical Barr iers to Trade;  and the Understanding on the
Interpretation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994.  The notifications for the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 would be submitted by 1 January 1997.  Anyregulations subsequently enacted by Panama which ga ve effect to the laws enacted to implement the
above mentioned Agreements would also conform to  the requirements of those Agreements.  Draft
notifications for the Agreements  on Agriculture and Subsidies and Countervailing Measures had been
examined by the Working Party and those notifica tions would be submitted to the WTO Secretariat at
the time of Panama's accession.  The Working Part y took note of these commitments. (paragraph 113)
132. The representative of Panama also stated  that his Government would notify the WTO
Secretariat annually of the implementation of th e phased commitments with definitive dates for
compliance referred to in paragraphs 35, 53, 63 and 68 of this Report and would identify any delays in
implementation together with the reasons therefore.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 114)WT/ACC/7
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Kyrgyz Republic
133. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic said that upon entry into force of the Protocol of
Accession, the Kyrgyz Republic would submit all ini tial notifications required by any Agreement
constituting part of the WTO Agreement.  Any regulations subsequently enacted by the Kyrgyz
Republic which gave effect to the laws enacted to  implement any Agreement constituting part of the
WTO Agreement would also conform to the requireme nts of that Agreement.  The Working Party took
note of these commitments. (paragraph 168)
Latvia
134. The representative of Latvia said that at the latest upon entry into force of the Protocol of
Accession, Latvia would submit all initial notifications required by any Agreement constituting part
of the WTO Agreement.  Any regulations subsequently enacted by Latvia which gave effect to the
laws enacted to implement any Agreement cons tituting part of the WTO Agreement would also
conform to the requirements of that Agreement.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.
(paragraph 124)
- TRADE AGREEMENTS
Ecuador
135. The representative of Ecuador stated that his Government would use its best efforts to ensure
that the WTO provisions for notification, consulta tion, and other requirements concerning preferential
trading systems, free trade areas, and customs unions of which Ecuador is a member are met,
e.g., Article XXIV of the GATT 1994, Article V of GATS and paragraph 3 of the Enabling Clause.  The
Working Party took note of this commitment. (paragraph 70)
Mongolia
136. The representative of Mongolia stated that when entering into trade agreements, his government
would comply with the provisions of the WTO including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994, paragraph 3
of the Enabling Clause and Article V of the GATS.  Mongolia also would notify the WTO of any trade
agreements that provided for preferential trade tr eatment.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 48)
Bulgaria
137. The representative of Bulgaria stated that his Government would observe the provisions of the
WTO including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and Ar ticle V of the GATS in its trade agreements and
would ensure that the provisions of these WTO Agreements for notification, consultation and other
requirements concerning preferential trading syst ems, free trade areas and customs unions of which
Bulgaria is a member are met from the date of accession.  The Working Party took note of these
commitments. (paragraph 78)
Panama
138. The representative of Panama also stated that Panama would observe the provisions of the WTO
including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994, paragraph 3 of the Enabling Clause, and Article V of the
GATS in its trade agreements, and would ensure that the provisions of these WTO Agreements
concerning preferential trading systems, free trade areas, and customs unions of which Panama is a
member are met from the date of its accession.  Th e Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 80)WT/ACC/7
Page 97
Kyrgyz Republic
139. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic st ated that his Government would observe the
provisions of the WTO including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and Article V of the GATS in its
participation in trade agreements, and would ensure that the provisions of these WTO Agreements for
notification, consultation and other requirements concerning free trade areas and customs unions of
which the Kyrgyz Republic was a member were met from the date of accession.  He confirmed that the
Kyrgyz Republic would, upon accession, submit notificat ions and copies of its Free Trade Area and
Customs Union Agreements to the Committee on Re gional Trade Agreements (CRTA).  He further
confirmed that any legislation or regulations requir ed to be altered under its Trade Agreements would
remain consistent with the provisions of the WT O and would, in any case, be notified to the CRTA
during its examination of the same.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 172)
Latvia
140. The representative of Latvia stated that his Government would observe the provisions of the
WTO including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and Article V of the GATS in its trade agreements,
and would ensure that the provisions of these WTO Agreements for notification, consultation and
other requirements concerning free trade areas a nd customs unions of which Latvia was a member
were met from the date of accession.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.
(paragraph 130)
- CONCLUSIONS
This section of each report lists the commitment paragraphs in the report which are
incorporated by reference in the Protocol of the country concerned.
2.3 Specific Commitments on Services
(a) Horizontal commitments
All six acceding governments have entered limitations in their schedules which apply across
all included sectors.  These horizontal limitations generally touch on the same issues – restriction onreal estate acquisition and ownership, subsidies, limitations on presence of natural persons – as the
limitations entered by WTO original Members in the Uruguay Round.  The four modes of supply
identified under the GATS classify transactions depending on the territorial presence of supplier and
consumer at the time of the transaction.  Mode 1 refers to cross-border trade, Mode 2 to consumption
of services abroad (i.e. the consumer as his property moves into the territory of the supplier), Mode 3
to commercial preserve (i.e. the supplier opens a subsidiary branch, etc. in the territory of the
consumer) and Mode 4 to the presence of natural persons (i.e. direct physical movement of thesupplies into the territory of the consumer).
These are limitations on the number of service suppliers; limitations on the total value of
service transactions and assets; limitations on the total number of service operations as the total
quantity of service output; limitations on the total number of natural persons employed; restrictions on
specific types of legal entity as joint venture;  and ceilings on foreign equity participation
Ecuador.  Mode 4 commitments on managers, administrators, legal representatives and specialists.
Limitation on total number of foreign employees.WT/ACC/7
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Mongolia.  Mode 4 commitments on business visitors, intracorporate transferees and professionals
under a service contract.
Bulgaria.  Limitations on payments and transfers.  Exclusion of services relating to the use of nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes.  Subsidies in all se ctors.  Limitations on real estate ownership.
Privatisation related provisions.  Mode 3: limitations on legal form (unbound for representativeoffices) and national treatment limitations on foreign investment.  Mode 4 commitments on intra-
corporate transferees (managers, highly skilled professionals) (maximum three years);  managers
responsible for setting up commercial presence (maximum three month in a year);  and
representatives negotiating the sale of services (maximum three month in a year).
Panama.  Partial restriction on land acquisition by foreigners.  Geographical limitation on applicability
of commitments.  Mode 4 commitments on managers, administrators and specialists with detailed
limitations.  Limitation on total number of foreign employees.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Mode 4 commitments on services salespersons, intra-corporate transferees
(managers, executives and specialists), persons responsible for the setting up of a commercial
presence and employees of non-established professional enterprises engaging in substantial business
in the Kyrgyz Republic (maximum five years for all categories).
Latvia.  Limitations on purchase of real estate: only lease up to 99 years permitted.  Mode 4
commitments on: intracorporate transferees occupying senior managerial or executive positions and
specialists (maximum five years);  persons of an enterprise engaged in substantive business (limited to
management consulting);  business visitors (maximum 90 days).
(b) Sector specific commitments
All six new Members have entered commitments in a large number of sectors, unlike some
original Members in the Uruguay Round.  The broad picture is therefore one of wide sectoral
coverage, although there are some relevant exclusions and some far-reaching MFN exemptions.  In
those sectors where commitments have been undertaken the tendency is to have minor or no
limitations, while more often a mode of supply is excluded (more frequently mode 1).  All six
Members have undertaken commitments in professional services (mostly accounting, legal, taxation,architecture and engineering), business services (a very wide range of sectors), communication
services (but the coverage of basic telecoms is uneven), financial services (in some cases with
important modes 1 and 2 exclusions), construction services and distribution services.  Construction,
distribution and financial services are the sectors where the coverage is most complete.
Five Members have undertaken commitments in environmental, health and social, tourism and
transport services, four Members in education and recreational services and two in audiovisual
services.
Professional services
Ecuador.  Legal services (advisory services in foreign and international law), architectural and
engineering services:  full commitments.  Account ing and taxation: full commitments, but no mode 1.
Mongolia.  Accounting:  full commitment.
Bulgaria.  Legal services (advisory services in foreign and international law), accounting and
bookkeeping services (no auditing):  full commitments.  Architectural and engineering services: some
limitations on mode 3 for projects of national or regional significance (partnership with nationals
requirement) and general accreditation/qualification requirements;  mode 4:
accreditation/qualification requirements.  Medical and dental services: access granted only to naturalWT/ACC/7
Page 99
persons for private practice; qualification and residency requirements;  mode 2 public medical
insurance does not cover treatment abroad and by  foreigners in Bulgaria;  Bulgarian language
requirement;  mode 4 unbound.  Veterinary services: access granted only to natural persons for private
practice;  economic needs test;  mode 1 unbound*.
Panama.  Legal services:  full commitment on international and home law (no court appearances no
drafting of documents).  Accounting services: very limited mode 3 commitments:  only agreements
between local and foreign firms and use of foreign firms letterhead by domestic firms.  Taxation
services:  only business tax planning services, no mode 1, no NT in all modes.  Architects and
Engineers:  only mode 3 (also 1 for engineers);  national licensing requirements;  additional
limitations on mode 4.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Legal services:  full commitments in foreign and international law.  Practice as or
through a qualified Kyrgyz lawyer: advocate serv ices reserved to Kyrgyz citizens.  Accounting,
auditing, bookkeeping and taxation services:  full co mmitment.  Architectural, engineering and urban
planning and landscape services:  full commitment.  Medical, dental, veterinary, midwives, nurses,
physiotherapists, and para-medical services:  no mode 3, full commitment in modes 1 and 2.  Services
in the sphere of intellectual property:  no mode 3, only modes 1 and 2; citizenship requirement for
patent agents.
Latvia.  Legal services:  full commitment on consultancy on home country and international law.
Local law and representation:  licensing requirements and language requirement;  representation in
criminal proceedings excluded.  Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services:  full commitment,
but head of firm should be nationally qualified auditor.  Taxation services:  full commitment.
Architectural and landscape services:  full commitment, but 3 years practice in Latvia andqualifications required.  Engineering, integrated engineering and urban planning services:  full
commitment.  Private medical and dental services:  mode 2, public insurance schemes do not cover
treatment abroad;  mode 3 and 4, practice by foreigners subject to permission by local health authority
based on economic needs test.  Veterinary services:  full commitment, mode 1 unbound*.  Midwives
and nurses in private establishments:  mode 1 unbound*;  mode 4:  access for natural persons only andeconomic needs test.
Other business services
Ecuador:  Computer and related services:  full commitments, but no mode 1.  Airline computer
reservation system:  full commitment.  Rental or l easing of cars and ships without operators, services
incidental to mining, related scientific and technical consulting services: full commitments, but no
mode 1.  Management consulting and related services:  full commitment.
Mongolia.  Management consulting, engineering services, technical testing and analysis services,
services incidental to mining and related scientific and technical consulting services:  full
commitments.
Bulgaria.  Computer and related services:  full commitment.  Research and development services:  full
commitment.  Full commitments on:  advertising services, market research and opinion polling
services, management consulting services, technical testing and analysis services, services incidentalto agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacturing, maintenance and repair of equipment
(excluding transport equipment), building cleaning services, photographic services and packaging
services.
Panama.  Computer and related services:  full commitment.  Rental of cars without drivers:  only
modes 1 and 2.  Advertising:  no NT for modes 1 and 2.  Association with national firm required formode 3.  Management consulting and related services:  full commitment.  Services incidental toWT/ACC/7
Page 100
agriculture, hunting and forest: partial commitments.  Services incidental to fishing:  modes 1 and 2.
Services incidental to mining and related to manufacturing:  full commitment.  Liberal commitments
also in some other business services.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments on computer and related services, research and development
services, rental/leasing without and with operators services, advertising services, managementconsulting services, technical testing and analysis services, services incidental to agriculture, hunting,
forestry, mining, and manufacturing, scientific and technical consulting services, maintenance and
repair of equipment (excluding transport equipment), printing and publishing services, convention
services, and market research and opinion monitoring services.  Real estate services: no mode 3, full
commitment on modes 1 and 2.  Services incidental to fishing: full commitment on modes 1 and 2.
Services incidental to energy distribution:  no modes 1 and 2, mode 3 commitment excluding
electricity distribution.
Latvia.  Computer and related services (except airline computer reservation systems):  full
commitments in all sub-sectors.  Research and development services:  full commitment on (a) and (b).
Rental/leasing without operators relating to ships, relating to other machinery and equipment and
other:  full commitments.  All “F. Other business services” (a) to (s), MTN/GNS/W/120:  full
commitments.
Communication services
Ecuador.  Telecommunications:  full commitment on all value added services;  cellular telephony, full
commitment, but no mode 1.
Mongolia.  Full commitments in postal services, courier services and value added telecommunications
services.
Bulgaria.  Telecommunications:  basic telecomm unications:  full commitment, but competition in
public voice services as from 2003 and in infrastructure as from 2005.  The telecommunications
commitments include the Reference Paper on regulatory principles.  Full commitment on on-line
information and data base retrieval, enhanced/value added facsimile, code and protocol conversion,
telecommunication equipment rental and sale services and consulting services.
Panama.  Telecommunication services:  phased-in commitment in value added services, within one
year though association with nationa l company, within five years dire ctly (uncertain legal status of
these commitments due to location in AD column).
Kyrgyz Republic.  Postal services:  mode 2 co mmitment.  Courier services:  full commitment.
Telecommunications services:  full commitments on value added and basic services (for international
and long distance telephone, telex, telegraph, mobile voice, mobile data and paging services:  phase in
as from 2003);  includes full commitments on regulatory principles.
Latvia. Land-based courier services:  full co mmitment.  Telecommunications services:  full
commitments on basic and value added services, but until 2003 all infrastructure and basic services
reserved to national operator.
Financial services
Ecuador.  Insurance services:  broad commitments, but no modes 1 and 2 and further limitations on
mode 4.  Banking: full commitment with some na tional treatment restrictions in a footnote.WT/ACC/7
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Mongolia.  Full commitment in insurance.  Part ial commitments in banking:  excludes lending,
financial leasing, securities, money broking, asset management, and other auxiliary and advisory
services.
Bulgaria.  Insurance services:  important aspects of commitments phased-in (3 years and 6 years);
separation between life and non-life;  supply of services only through participation in domesticcompanies, but no limits on foreign equity; some limitations on national treatment.  Banking:
modes 1 and 2 unbound;  mode 3 subject to licensing and authorization requirements.  Other financial
services:  only mode 3, subject to various limitations.
Panama.  Commitments on insurance but no mode 1 and 2 for life and non-life.  Banking:  very broad
and very liberal commitments.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Insurance:  mode 1 only for insurance of cargo transportation, brokerage and
reinsurance;  mode 3, 49 per cent foreign equity ceiling until 2002.  Banking and other financialservices:  full commitment, but NT mode 3 higher capital requirement for banks with more than
20 per cent foreign equity until 2003.
Latvia.  Insurance:  full commitment, but no mode 1 for direct insurance;  mode 3: restriction on legal
form, no branches until 2003 and intermediaries can only be natural persons.  Banking:  full
commitment in all sub-sectors, but no (MA) mode 1, except for (g) securities, (l) provisions andtransfer of financial information and (k) advisory and auxiliary services; residency requirement for
managers of foreign branches and subsidiaries.
Construction services
Ecuador.  Full commitment on site preparation for mining.
Mongolia.  Full commitment in installation and assembly work and building completion and finishing
work (in both cases mode 1, unbound*).
Bulgaria.  Full commitment, but for (A) and (B) some limitations on mode 3 for projects of national
or regional significance (partnership with nationals requirement) and general
accreditation/qualification requirement.  All sub-sectors: mode 1, unbound*.
Panama.  Rather liberal commitments, but no national treatment for mode 3;  national licensing
requirement for the person responsible for works.  All sub-sectors:  mode 1, unbound*
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors.  All sub-sectors:  mode 1, unbound*
Latvia.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors, mode 1 unbound* in all sub-sectors.
Distribution services
Ecuador.  Full commitment on wholesale, but no mode 1.
Mongolia.  Full commitment in wholesale services.  Retail only mode 2.  No franchising.
Bulgaria.  Headnote:  excludes some categories of products for all sectors and contains criteria for
economic needs test.  Commission agents’ services:  full commitment on products listed, but no
mode 1.  Wholesale trade services:  mode 1, unbound;  mode 3, economic needs test, licensing for
specialised wholesaling, unbound for national treatment.  Retailing services:  same as wholesaling,WT/ACC/7
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but national treatment for mode 3 bound.  Franchising:  mode 3, (MA) unbound;  mode 1, access only
for juridical persons.
Panama.  Full commitments, but no retail services.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors, but excludes alcoholic beverages, tobacco,
and pharmaceutical for wholesale and alcoholic beverages and tobacco for retail.
Latvia.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors.
Environmental services
Ecuador.  Full commitments.
Bulgaria.  Full commitments:  mode 1, unbound* in all sub-sectors.
Panama.  Partial commitments.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors.
Latvia.  Full commitments in all sub- sectors, (B), (C), (D) mode 1 unbound*.
Transport services
Ecuador.  Full commitments on aircraft repair and maintenance, road transport and auxiliary services
for maritime, but in all cases no mode 1.
Bulgaria.  Maintenance and repair of aircrafts, rail transport equipment and road transport equipment:
full commitment, mode 1 unbound*.  Air transport services:  sales and marketing including CRS:  fullcommitment.  Storage and warehouse services auxiliary to road transport:  full commitment, mode 1
unbound*.  Freight transport agency services and other auxiliary transport services:  mode 1
commercial presence required, mode 3 only t hough participation in Bulgarian company and
49 per cent foreign equity ceiling.
Panama.  Full commitment on maintenance and repair of aircrafts.Kyrgyz Republic.  Maritime transport services, rail transport services, road transport services, pipeline
transport, services auxiliary to all modes of transport, services on transport tickets reservation by
means of computers: full commitments.  Maintenance and repair of aircrafts: full commitment, but
49 per cent foreign equity limitation until 2005.
Latvia.  Maritime transport: full commitment (including cabotage).  Internal waterways transport:  full
commitment, but mode 1 unbound*.  Maintenance and repair of aircrafts:  full commitment.  Road
transport services:  no mode 1;  mode 3, authorization requirement; passenger transportation:
authorisation cannot be extended to foreign registered vehicles.  Full commitment on all auxiliary
services to all modes of transport.
Tourism services
Ecuador.  Full commitment on hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and tour operators.
Mongolia.  Full commitment.WT/ACC/7
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Bulgaria.  Hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and tour operators’ services:  mode 1, unbound*;
mode 3, suppliers to be established as Bulgarian incorporated companies, number of foreign managers
should not exceed number of citizens in public controlled companies.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments on all sub-sectors.
Latvia.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors, (A) mode 1 unbound*.
Health and social services
Ecuador.  Full commitment on hospital services.
Bulgaria.  Privately funded social services:  full commitment, mode 1 unbound*.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments on all sub-sectors, except professional services.
Latvia.  Private hospital and sanatorium services:  mode 1, unbound;  mode 2, public medical
insurance schemes not applicable to treatment abroad;  mode 3, head or deputy of health facility to be
qualified medical doctor, all professional services limitations apply, authorization requirement,economic needs test for number of beds.  Social services: full commitment.
Recreational services
Ecuador.  Full commitment excluding news agency services.
Bulgaria.  Entertainment services (with listed exclusions):  full commitment, mode 1 unbound*.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments on all sub-sectors.Latvia.  Cinema theatre operation services, mode 1 unbound, NT unbound for subsidies.  News
agency services: full commitment.
Education services
Bulgaria.  Privately funded adult education:  full commitment.  Privately funded primary and
secondary education:  no (MA) mode 1, access only for juridical persons (no natural persons and noassociations), compliance with state educational and health requirements.  No commitments on higher
education.
Panama.  Approval requirement for establishment, no national treatment for primary and secondary
education, mode 3.  Only Panamanians can teach citizenship and history.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments in privately funded primary, secondary, higher and adult
education.
Latvia.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors.
Audio-visual services
Panama.  Full commitment, but medium fo r showing services limited to nationals.
Kyrgyz Republic.  Full commitments in all sub-sectors.WT/ACC/7
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3. MFN Exemptions
Ecuador.  Audiovisual services:  Ibero-American Cinematographic Agreement and Latin American
Cinematographic Agreement (preferential).
Bulgaria.  Audiovisual services:  bilateral and plurilateral agreements on co-production of audio-
visual works (preferential);  European audio-visual agreements (preferential).  Passenger and freighttransportation on internal waterways (preferential).  Passenger and freight transportation by rail
(preferential).  Road passenger and freight transportation (preferential).  Maritime transport:
UN Liner Conference Convention and bilateral cargo sharing (preferential).  Sales and marketing
services for air transport including CRS.  Cargo-handling services and storage in warehouse services
in sea and rivers harbours, including services relating to containers and goods in containers
(reciprocal).  Legal services (preferential).  Medical services (preferential).
Panama.  All sectors: very broad exemption on le gal agreements between governments of the region
(preferential).  All sectors: preferential treatment for suppliers operating under Panama Canal treaties
(preferential).  Professional services: reciprocity for authorization to exercise a profession
(reciprocal).  Audiovisuals: Ibero-American Cinematographic Agreement and Latin American
Cinematographic Agreement (preferential).
Latvia.  Passenger and freight road transport: bilateral and plurilateral agreement on road transport
(preferential).  Sales and marketing of air transport services and CRS: bilateral air transport
agreements (reciprocal).  Audio-visual services: bilateral and plurilateral agreements on co-production
of  audiovisual works;  European audio-visual agreements (preferential).
__________