WT/ACC/28  
 
 2 December 2016 
(16-6634) Page: 1/36 
    
  
  
 
WTO ACCESSIONS  
 
2016 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE  DIRECTOR -GENERAL* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                
* This Annual Report takes account of confirmed accession -related developments up until  
2 December  2016.   This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or 
to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 2 - 
 
  TABLE  OF CONTENTS  
I.  INTRODUCTION AND OVE RVIEW  ................................ ................................ ....................  3 
II.  2016 DEVELOPMENTS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 5 
1. ACCESSION WORKING PA RTIES:  AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIV ITIES  ................................ ... 5 
2. WORKING PARTY CHAIRP ERSONS  ................................ ................................ .................  5 
3. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS  ................................ ...............................  6 
4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  AND OUTREACH  ................................ ................................ ...... 7 
5. ACCESSIONS TRANSPARE NCY TOOLS BOX (ATTB)  ................................ .........................  9 
III.  STATE -OF-PLAY IN ACCESSION WO RKING PARTIES  ................................ ....................  10 
IV. LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES'  ACCESSIONS  ................................ .............................  13 
V.  WTO ACCESSION  TEMPLATE FOR STRUCTU RAL REFORMS AND ECON OMIC 
DIVERSIFICATION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 14 
1. INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  14 
2. WTO ACCESSION ACQUIS : TEMPLATE FOR WTO -CONSISTENT STRUCTURA L REFORMS  15 
3. WTO ACCESSIONS: CONTRIBU TIONS TO STRUCTURAL REFORMS AND ECONOMIC  
DIVERSIFICATION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 18 
4. STRUCTURAL REFORM AG ENDA FOR THE REMAINI NG ACCESSIONS  .............................  20 
VI. WTO POST -ACCESSION SUPPORT  ................................ ................................ .................  22 
VII.  TRADE AND ECONOMIC P ERFORMANCE OF ARTICL E XII MEMBERS  ..............................  24 
VIII.  CONCLUSIONS - OUTLOOK 2017  ................................ ................................ ..................  28 
ANNEX 1 - ACCESSIONS DIVISION WORK INDICATORS  ................................ .......................  30 
ANNEX 2 - ACCESSIONS NEGOTIATED  PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XII ................................ ....... 31 
ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESSIONS WORKI NG PARTY (WP) CHAIRP ERSONS ................................ . 32 
ANNEX 4 – LENGTH OF TIME OF CO MPLETED ACCESSIONS  ................................ ...................  33 
ANNEX 5 - SECTION VII -DATA ON ECONOMIC PER FORMANCE  ................................ ..............  34 
ANNEX 6 - ACCESSIONS MANAGEMEN T ................................ ................................ .................  35 WT/A CC/28  
 
- 3 - 
 
  I.  INTRODUCTION AND OVE RVIEW  
1. I am pleased to present the Eighth An nual Report on WTO Accessions.  In 2016, Members 
continued supporting WTO accessions to achieve universality as a strategic priority for the 
Organization.  With the accessions of Liberia and Afghanistan in July, the WTO membership 
increased from 162 to 164 .  As for the on -going accessions, in addition to the activation of several 
new accessions, this year also saw the re -activation of a number of accession processes after 
periods of inactivity, which has prepared the ground for substantive and intensive eng agement on 
Article XII negotiations in 2017.  Moreover, in keeping pace with the evolving standards for 
openness and transparency in trade negotiations, the Secretariat launched the Accessions 
Intelligence Portal (AIP), which provides improved access to do cumentation and data on WTO 
accession.  
2. The accessions of Liberia and Afghanistan were gavelled at the Tenth WTO Ministerial 
Conference (MC10) in December 2015, in Nairobi, Kenya.  Along with the adoption of the "Nairobi 
package" of decisions, the accession  of these two countries has sent a powerful signal to the 
international community about the ability of the WTO to deliver results which can unlock the 
growth and development potential of vulnerable economies.  Not only did these two accessions 
provide posi tive impetus to MC10 and its deliverables, they also underscored the role that the 
Organization can play in responding to the needs of post -conflict LDCs and enabling their 
integration into the global economy.  In particular, in the year under review, the two completed 
LDC accession processes provided a unique opportunity for the Secretariat to refine its approach to 
post-accession support and ensure that the benefits of accession reforms are delivered from day 
one of membership.  The main focus of the WTO Post-Accession Implementation Support and its 
associated training was to assist the new Members in preparing for participation in the day -to-day 
work of the WTO.  The results of this new approach have been tangible and positive for Liberia and 
Afghanistan,  as reflected in the timely completion of the domestic ratification procedures of their 
respective Accession Protocols (and the Trade Facilitation Agreement in the case of Afghanistan), 
the submission of a comprehensive set of initial notifications during the first month of 
membership, and the receipt of substantial specific post -accession support from development 
partners.  As Director -General, I reiterate the critical importance of post -accession support, 
especially for LDCs, as the Organization continues  to accord priority to their accessions.  
3. At the time of issuing this Annual Report, there are 19 ongoing WTO accessions.1  In 2016, 
substantive technical progress was registered on several accessions, setting the stage for further 
advancement in 2017.  The  accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina moved to the final stages of the 
process following the completion of legislative work, but a number of outstanding bilateral market 
access negotiations need to be concluded before this accession can be finalized.  Good progress 
has also been registered in two LDC accessions. The Working Party on the Accession of the Union 
of the Comoros completed a substantive initial review of Comoros' trade regime at its first 
meeting, which paves the way for entering the negotiation p hase of the process in 2017.  
The accession of Sudan has been restarted after 12 years of inactivity and a Working Party 
meeting will be shortly reconvened on the basis of an updated set of technical inputs.  As 2016 
comes to a close, these two LDC accessi ons have entered into decisive stages, supported by 
high-level political commitment in their respective governments.  In this regard, I am pleased to 
observe the constructive engagement by all parties in exploring ways to accelerate LDC 
accessions.  This e ffort is based on the accession experience of Liberia, which has provided an 
example for a fast -track accession when key elements are met both politically and technically.  
4. The year 2016 also marked the re -activation of several accession dossiers.  Building  on the 
accessions of the Russian Federation (2012) and of Kazakhstan (2015), the accession of Belarus is 
being re -started as the "last chapter" of the accessions of the Eurasian Economic Union.  
A technical base is also being prepared for the resumption o f the accession of Lebanon.  Technical 
work on the accession of Iran, the biggest economy outside of the multilateral trading system, 
could be undertaken on the basis of updated negotiating inputs to be submitted by Teheran.  
In addition, regular technical  exchanges were held on the accession of Azerbaijan.  While there is 
clear potential for substantive progress in all these processes, sustained engagement by the 
                                                
1 These include: Algeria, Andorra, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bhutan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanese Republic, Libya, São Tome and Principe, Serbia, 
Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Uzbekistan.   WT/ACC/28  
 
- 4 - 
 
  acceding governments, on both the legislative and negotiating fronts, will be essential for mo ving 
these accessions to an advanced phase in 2017.  
5. This year is closing with two applications for WTO accession from Somalia and Timor -Leste.  
These new expressions of interest in joining the Organization manifest the confidence of post -
conflict states in  using the accession process to develop, and build or re -build their economies.  
These applications will be considered by WTO Members at the last meeting of the General Council 
in 2016 for a formal decision on the establishment of Working Parties.  
6. Every An nual Report has a thematic focus.  This year, as the global economy continues to 
experience weak growth and uncertainty, I chose the topic of structural reform and WTO 
accessions.  Reform is one of the main reasons to undertake an accession process for the  
55 applicants which have expressed interest to join the Organization through the Article XII 
process since its establishment in 1995.  Empirical evidence suggests that WTO accession, whose 
process normally entails domestic reforms, has had an overall posi tive impact on the economic 
performance of the 36 Article XII Members.  The section also concludes that the accession process 
has had a positive impact on the structure of most of their economies which became more 
diversified after accession, with more tha n a half of Article XII Members experiencing an increase 
in the number of commodities exported after WTO membership.  Looking at the remaining 
accessions, which involve a large number of economies dominated by a narrow -range of export 
products, the agenda of structural reforms will remain a critical, if not overriding impetus, for 
economic diversification, increased competitiveness, private sector development and 
improvements in the business environment and governance - within the overall goals of faster 
growth and job creation.  
7. Specific actions were taken this year to enhance transparency.  To better serve the WTO 
Membership, the Secretariat continued to upgrade its electronic platforms, through the launch of 
the Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP) in July .  Monthly meetings of the Informal Group on 
Accessions (IGA) and the annual outreach cycle with WTO regional groups continue to serve as an 
important platform for information exchange between Members and the Secretariat on fast -
evolving accession processe s.  The Accession Newsletter was re -designed in 2016 and became 
more widely disseminated, including through the use of WTO social media.  This year, we have 
maintained Central Asia as a region of strategic focus. The first WTO Trade Policy Forum was 
organi sed in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan where Members – old and new – and those yet to join the 
Organization from the region, debated the role of the multilateral trading system and, in particular, 
that of WTO accession and the Trade Facilitation Agreement in promot ing regional integration.  
8. I am grateful for the valuable support which has been provided in the area of accession -
related technical assistance and post -accession support by a range of WTO Members, including 
China, the European Union (and its member States such as Sweden), India, Japan and the United 
States.  The partnership has been strengthened between the WTO and the Enhanced Integrated 
Framework and its core partners, including the International Monetary Fund, the International 
Trade Centre, the UN Confe rence on Trade and Development and the World Bank, based on 
complementary contributions to respond to the specific needs of LDCs during accession and the 
post-accession phase.  The Secretariat has also benefited from collaboration and expertise from its 
regional partners, including the Asian Development Bank, the UN Economic and Social Commission 
for Asia and the Pacific, and the UN Economic Commissions for Africa and Europe.  Furthermore, 
the China Least Developed Countries' and Accessions Programme ("Chin a Programme") continues 
to make a distinct and valuable contribution to LDC accessions; this year, specific support has 
been extended to the accessions of Comoros and Sudan, and the post -accession of Afghanistan 
and Liberia.  The next China Round Table, wh ich will be the fifth, is envisaged to be held in March 
2017, in Cambodia, one of the first LDCs which joined in the Organisation in 2004.  
9. 2016 has been a good year for WTO accessions.  The WTO family has grown and its 
accession community is being expanded  with new applications.  Technical progress has been made 
on several accessions for further substantive advancement in 2017, which I expect will be another 
busy yet fruitful year for WTO accessions.  The accession dossiers will remain an area of prime 
attention for me as Director -General, as the Organization strives to achieve the strategic goal of 
universality, based on its core principles of inclusiveness, openness and non -discrimination.  I look 
forward to working closely with the acceding governments an d Members so that we are in a 
position to deliver substantive outcomes for the Organization, including on the LDC accession 
front, in the WTO ministerial year of 2017.  WT/A CC/28  
 
- 5 - 
 
  II.  2016 DEVELOPMENTS  
1. ACCESSION WORKING PA RTIE S:  AN OVERVIEW OF AC TIVITIES  
10. Nineteen (19 ) acceding governments were in the process of WTO accession, at the start of 
the year. These negotiations were managed through a combination of  formal and/or informal 
multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral meetings ( See Annex 1).  In the year under review:  
 Two (2) formal Working Party meetings were held.  These were on the accessions of:  
Azerbaijan (one2 meeting); and, Comoros  (one3 meeting ).  
 
 One (1) plurilateral meeting  addressed specif ic technical issues in the area  of agriculture4, 
on the accession of Azerbaijan .  This plurilateral meeting was  chaired by the Officer -in-
Charge  of the Accessions Division.  
11. In 2016 , progress  at the a ccession W orking Parties,  was documented as follows:  
 Draft Reports were  revised by the Secretariat for two Working Part ies: Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (one revision) and, Azerbaijan (one revision) .      
 
2. WORKING PARTY CHAIRP ERSONS  
12. There were several changes in the status of Acces sion Working Party Chairpersons  in 2016 , 
in a chronological order :   
 
 H.E. Mr. Rajmund Kiss (Hungary)  took over the Chairmanship of the Working Party on the 
accessio n of Bosnia and Herzegovina , in Ja nuary 2016, following the retirement  of 
H.E. Mr. István Major  (Hungary) ; 
 
 H.E. Mr. Walter Werner (Germany)  took over the Chairmanship of the Working Party on the 
accession of Azerbaijan , in March 2016, following the retirement of H.E. Mr. Walter Lewalter 
(Germany) ; 
 
 Mr. Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan) was designated  as the Chairperson of the Working Party on 
the accession of Sudan , in July 2016 ; 
 
 H.E. Mr. Gustavo Miguel Vanerio Balbela (Uruguay) took over the Chairmanship of the 
Working Party on the accession of Alg eria, in October 2016, following the departure of 
H.E. Mr. Alberto D'Alotto (Argentina);  
 
 The position of Chairperson of the Working Party on the accession of Belarus became vacant 
due to the departure of H.E. Mr. Haluk Ilicak (Turkey). Consultations with Members are 
ongoing on the designation of the new C hairperson of the Working Party;  
 
13. At present, eight of the Chairpersons are Geneva -based.  There are six vacancies for the 
position s of Chairpersons of Accession Working Parties (see Annex 3).  These include vacancies on 
accessions at the ir initial stages, where no documentary basis for work exists , at this time.  
 
14. In 2016 , Working Party Chairpersons remained actively engaged .  They consulted with 
Members and acceding governments in various formats and confi gurations and, engaged in 
outreach to improve technical and policy understanding  on WTO accessions .  The active 
engagement of Chairpersons advanced the accession process es, including through country visits. 
15. The Chairperson  of the Working Party on the a ccession of Lebanon , Mr. Jean-Paul Thuillier 
(France ), led a mission, accompanied by the Director of the Accessions  Division and the W orking 
Party Secretary , to Beirut , on 9-10 March , at the invitation of the Government . The objectives of 
the mission were thre efold: (i) to review the state -of-play on the accession of Lebanon to ascertain 
the level of commitment and the technical ability of the government of Lebanon and assess 
                                                
2 The 13th meeting of the Working Party held on 22 July 2016.  
3 The first meeting of the Working Party held on 2 December 2016.  
4 Held on 21 July 2016, in the context of the accession of Azerbaijan.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 6 - 
 
  support in the wider economy, to re -start and advance the accession process; (ii) to e stablish 
clarity with the government of Lebanon on the technical substance required; and, (iii) to agree on 
practical next steps based on an accession roadmap.  The mission programme included meetings 
with: (i) H.E. Mr. Tammam Salam, Prime Minister, and th e Cabinet of Ministers; and, (ii) the 
Parliament.  The meetings and consultations underscored the pressing necessity to re -start and 
conclude the accession of Lebanon .   
16. The Chairman of the Working Party on the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
H.E. Mr. Rajmund Kiss (Hungary) , led a mission, accompanied by the Director of the Accessions 
Division and the W orking Party Secretary, to Sarajevo, from 20 to 22 June, at the invitation of the 
Government. The objectives of the mission were: (i) to take stock of t he progress that had been 
registered; (ii) to review what remained outstanding; and, (iii) to underscore for the authorities in 
Sarajevo the importance for prompt decision -making to conclude the accession of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina. The WTO delegation met w ith H.E. President Bakir Izetbegović; H.E. Mr. Denis 
Zvizdić, Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Chairpersons of the 
Houses of Parliament ary Assembly , other senior officials and stakeholders.   
17. In keeping with systemic t ransparency obligations, the Chairpersons of the Working Party 
reported to Members and the progress of the work in their respective Working Parties,  including 
the results of their visits, at the Informal Group on Accessions  (IGA) .5 
3. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS  
18. Ensuring transparency and predictability in the accession process remain key priorities for 
the WTO Director -General and the WTO Membership.  In 2016, the transparency measures that 
were introduced since 2010  continued to be implemented and reinforced.      
i. Informal Group on Accessions (IGA)  
19.   The Informal Group on Accessions (IGA) held 10 meetings in 2016.  Consultations in the 
Informal Group focused on:  (i)  information exchange on acce ssions; (ii) Secretariat reports on 
technical developments in accession processes; (iii) reports by Working Party Chairpersons; (iv) 
planning of accession meetings and related activities on the basis of the Secretariat Evolving 
Calendar of Accession Meetin gs (ECAM); and , (v) addressing specific concerns raised by Members 
and acceding g overnments.  
ii. WTO Accessions Newsletter  
20. In 2016, the Secretariat prepared ten WTO Accessions Newsletters.  The Newsletter has 
served its purpose to ensure transparency on access ion matters, report on monthly meetings of 
the Informal Group on Accessions (IGA) and, enhance communication with acceding governments, 
Chairpersons, Members and the broader global trade policy community. The newsletter was 
re-designed with a view to enhan cing friendliness for readers.  The number of subscribers to the 
Newsletter in 2016 was 721, excluding the Secretariat . 
iii. 2016 Annual Outreach Dialogue with WTO Regional Groups   
21. As part of its 2016 annual outreach dialogue with WTO regional groups, a briefin g for LDCs 
was provided at the Seventy -Ninth session of the Sub -Committee on LDCs held on 19 October.  
Annual outreach dialogue on accessions was conducted with the GRULAC on 21 November; the 
African Group on 22 November; the WTO Arab Group on 25 November;  and, the Informal Group of 
Developing Countries on 28 November .  The  objective of the outreach dialogue is to strengthen 
communication channels with Members and acceding governments alike, through the WTO 
regional groups.  The  briefings provide a platform  to exchange region -specific information on 
WTO accessions; and respond to accession -specific concerns by Members and Acceding 
                                                
5 The Chair person of the Working Party o n the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Mr. Rajmund 
Kiss (Hungary), reported to the IGA, on 28 January, 26 February and, 30 June. The Chair person of the Working 
Party on the accession of Lebanon, Mr. Jean-Paul Thuillier (France), reported to the IG A on 24 March.   
The Chairperson of the Working Party on the accession of Comoros, H.E. Mr. Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia 
(Peru) and, the Chairperson of the Working Party on the accession of Sudan, Mr. Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan) , 
reported to the IGA, on 31 Oct ober.          WT/A CC/28  
 
- 7 - 
 
  Governments.  They  strengthen the collaboration between Members, acceding governments and 
the Secretariat .   
4. TECHNICAL ASSISTA NCE AND OUTREACH  
22.  The WTO Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan for 201 6-2017 establishes support 
for acceding g overnments as one of its four overarching objectives.6  The Plan grants priority 
attention to acceding LDCs.    
23. Traditionally, accession -related technical assistance and capacity -building focus on training 
for government officials.  These activities, however, also cover outreach and awareness -raising 
activities for Parliamentarians, the pr ivate sector, academia, civil society and the media.   
24. In the period under review, technical assistance and capacity -building activities 
included:   (i) national seminars; (ii) sessions on accessions in advanced trade policy courses, 
regional courses and int roductory courses for LDCs; (iii) workshops; (iv) technical missions; 
(v) establishment/upgrade of WTO Reference Centres; (vi) e -Learning; (vii)  outreach dialogue with 
WTO groupings; and, (viii) participation in conferences.     
25. This year, the Secretariat pioneered the first -ever dedicated training on post -accession for 
Liberia and Afghanistan, the two most recently acceded LDCs, before their official WTO 
membership.  The National Workshop on Post -Accession for Liberia, 27 -29 June, and the Policy 
Dialogue o n Post -Accession for Afghanistan, 11 -15 July, were held in preparation for their official 
WTO membership dates of 14 and 29 July, respectively.  The two activities focused on the 
implementation of accession -specific commitments by the two soon -to-be Member s, including the 
preparation of their initial notifications.  In addition to the country -specific post -accession 
activities, a high -level WTO Post -Accession Forum was held on 19 July in Nairobi, Kenya, on the 
margins of the Fourteenth session of the United  Nations Conference on Trade and Development 
(UNCTAD14) where Trade Ministers from Liberia and Afghanistan shared their visions and 
strategies for membership and indicated post -accession needs to the development partners (see 
Section IV "WTO Post -Accession  Support") . 
26. The Secretariat organised its first Trade Policy Forum with the focus on the region of Central 
Asia, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on 11-13 May, in partnership with the U N Economic Commission 
for Europe (UNECE).  The First Trade Policy Forum on Ce ntral Asia and the Multilateral Trading 
System  focused on the dual themes of the trade policy agenda of the region: i) WTO accession and 
associated domestic reforms; and ii) regional integration, including the implementation of the WTO 
Trade Facilitation A greement.  At the conclusion of the Ashgabat Trade Policy Forum, participants 
from the region and its neighbouring countries adopted the Ashgabat Statement.7  The outcome 
document also set -out a framework for the WTO to sustain its engagement with the regi on, 
including the establishment of a "Network of Central Asian Chief Negotiators".    
27. From 28 November to 2 December, the Secretariat organised the Course on Trade in 
Services for WTO Acceding Governments.  Participants included 27 officials from 1 4 governm ents 
(acceding governments and governments applying for WTO accession) .  The course objectives 
were to: (i) review key milestones in the accession process related to Trade in Services; (ii) 
provide in -depth training on all accession relevant aspects of Tra de in Services, with a focus on 
scheduling, classification, and implementation issues in the main services sectors; and (iii) 
enhance the understanding of the negotiating objectives of other WTO Members involved in the 
accession negotiations; and (iv) prov ide a platform for exchanging views with services negotiators 
from recently completed accessions . 
28. In 2016, the Accessions Division was involved in the delivery of 24 technical assistance 
activities which were held by the Accessions Division, including the activities specified above .  
The beneficiary countries included all acceding governments and, several Members.  Specifically, 
tailor-made technical assistance was delivered to Bhutan,  Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon  and 
Sudan.  In addition, at the specific  requests from Turkmenistan and Timor -Leste, which  had no 
status in the Organization but expressed interest in applying for WTO observer status and WTO 
                                                
6 WT/COMTD/W/211.  
7 The Ashgabat Statement is contained in document WT/ACC/26.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 8 - 
 
  accession, respectively, the Accessions Division undertook technical missions to assist them in 
their ap plication process.   
29. In general technical assistance and capacity -building, i n 2016 , Acceding Governments were  
invited to participate in over 100  WTO TA activities.8  Chart 1, below, shows the number of 
participants from Acceding Governments that com pleted  TA activities during 2016 .9 
Chart  1 - Participants from Acceding Governments in WTO TA Activities – 2016 
 
30. Accession -related TA and capacity -building were also provided by other institutions, and 
often in partnership with WTO Me mbers.  The Secretariat continues to work in a strong and 
effective partnership with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), the International Trade 
Centre (ITC), Swedish National Board of Trade (SNBT), the United Nations Economic Commission 
for Europe (U NECE), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), 
and the World Bank.  Activities have been coordinated with positive results.    
31. In 2016, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) provided technical and capacity -building 
suppor t in the accessions of Liberia and Afghanistan. The EIF supported Liberia through financing 
technical expertise in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and played an advocacy role in 
encouraging partners to contribute to the post -accession programme of su pport.  For Afghanistan, 
while the 2012 DTIS addressed some accessions -related issues, the main EIF support would  focus 
on Afghanistan's post -accession needs, with the implementation of an institutional 
capacity -building project to strengthen the national  implementation arrangements.  In this 
context, it should be noted that for the first time, the Executive Secretariat for the EIF participated 
in a WTO post -accession activity for Afghanistan held in July, in partnership with the UNESCAP.  
The EIF also con tinued supporting the WTO accession processes in Bhutan, Comoros, Ethiopia, São 
Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, in accordance with the countries' specific 
demands .    
                                                
8 São Tomé and Príncipe  is currently under the Category III of the Administrative Measures. Thus, it has 
no access to technical assistance and capacity building a ctivities provided by the Secretariat.  
9 Data source: WTO TRTA Database.  Afghanistan and Liberia are indicated in Chart 1 as their 
membership date, 29 July 2016, and 14 July 2016, respectivel y, still falls under.  
WT/A CC/28  
 
- 9 - 
 
  i. China LDCs' and Accessions Programme  
32. The China "Least Developed Countries  (LDCs) and Accessions Programme" (hereafter:   the 
China  Programme) was established by the Government of China and the WTO on 14  July 2011.   
China undertook the fifth renewal and extension on 14 December 2015, with a contribution of 
US$500,000.  
33. The China P rogramme is aimed at strengthening LDCs' participation in the WTO and 
assisting LDCs acceding to the WTO.   It is an accession -specific focused programme that takes 
account of the concerns and priorities of LDCs.   The China Programme comprises five pillars:  
i.  The WTO Accessions Internship Programme;  
ii.  Annual WTO Accessions Round Table;  
iii.  LDCs' participation in WTO meetings;  
iv.  South -South dialogue on LDCs and development; and ,  
v.  LDCs' Trade Policy Review follow -up workshops.   
34. With respect to  the WTO Accessions Internship Programme, in the year under review, four 
interns benefited from this Programme.10   So far, 20 trainees have benefitted from the China 
Accession Internship Programme.    
35. Regarding the annual WTO Accessions Round Table, the fi fth China Round Table will be 
hosted by the Government of Cambodia in March 2017.  Consultations have been underway on the 
theme and programme for the Fifth China Round Table.   
36. The Fourth China Round Table on WTO Accessions and the Multilateral Trading Sy stem was 
held in Nairobi, Kenya from 13 to 14 December 2015, back -to-back with the Tenth WTO Ministerial 
Conference.   The theme of the Fourth China Round Table was "Domestic Reforms for 
Competitiveness and Deeper Trade Integration in the Global Economy ", with the focus on Africa. 
The result of the Fourth China Round Table is reflected in a book: "African Perspectives on Trade 
and the WTO: Domestic Reforms, Structural Transformation and Global Economic Integration" 
published by the WTO and the Cambridge Univ ersity Press in September 2016. This book proposes 
a range of African perspectives on the role of trade, the WTO and its future agenda.    
37. Under the sponsorship by the China's LDCs and Accessions Programme (the "China 
Program me"), two tailor -made activities  geared towards post -accession capacity -building were 
delivered for Liberia on 27 -29 June in Monrovia, Liberia, and for Afghanistan on 11 -15 July in 
Bangkok, Thailand, as reflected in Section on Post -Accession Support.  Allocation has been made 
to meet spe cific needs of the accession of Comoros and Sudan as the two acceding governments 
embarked on accelerated accession processes .  
ii. Other Outreach Activities  
38. In 2016, the Accessions Division updated and modernized the E -learning module on WTO 
Accessions in col laboration with the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC).  
The E-learning module on WTO accessions is generally prerequisite to any WTO accession -specific 
training activities for acceding governments.      
5. ACCESSION S TRANSPARENCY TOOL S BOX (ATTB)  
i. WTO Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP)  
39. The Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP) is the latest accession transparency initiative 
launched in 2016.  The launch of the AIP, by WTO Deput y Director -General David P. Shark at a 
meeting of the Informal Group on Accessions on 26 July 2016, was a significant step in achieving a 
greater standard for openness and transparency for WTO  accessions. The AIP is available at:  
https://www.wto.org/access ions.   
                                                
10 The four interns are from Mali (LDC), Ir an (acceding government), Angola (LDC) and Tajikistan 
(Article XII Member).  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 10 - 
 
  40. The Accessions Intelligence Portal upgrades the existing accessions gateway on the 
WTO website, providing improved access to documentation and data on the WTO accessions 
process.  The new features offered by the AIP include:  
a) direct access to all no tified legislation in completed  WTO accession processes since 1995;  
b) a Legislative Action Plan Register for all WTO members that have joined since 1995;  
c) an interactive tracker, which provides comprehensive information on the status of ongoing 
accessions; an d 
d) an interactive WTO accessions map with a time bar allowing users to see the evolution of 
WTO membership since 1995.    
ii.  Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)  
41. The Accession Commitments Database (ACDB) provides access to all accession -specific 
commitmen ts and related information contained in Accession Working Party Reports of 
36 Article  XII Members.   The ACDB is available in the three official languages of the WTO at: 
http://acdb.wto.org.  
42. In 2016, the ACDB was updated to include the accession -specific co mmitments as contained 
in the Reports of the Working Party on the Accession of Afghanistan and Liberia, which became 
WTO members in July 2016.        
iii.  Secretariat Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements  
43. The Register of Bilateral Market Access Ag reements contains basic information regarding 
signed Bilateral Market Access Agreements on Goods and Services that have been deposited with 
the Secretariat.  The information includes: the sector of the agreement (goods; services; or both, 
as applicable); a nd, the dates of signature and deposit.  Reports generated by this Register are 
available to WTO  members only via a secure/password -protected access:  
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/xacc_e/register_e.htm.    
44. In accordance with long -standing pract ice, the substantive content of Bilateral Market Access 
Agreements remains absolutely confidential to the parties that signed the Agreement, as well as 
the Secretariat with whom the Agreements are deposited.    
III.  STATE -OF-PLAY IN ACCESSION WO RKING PARTI ES 
45. In the period under review, two accessions were concluded.  Following formal action by 
Members to adopt the accession packages of Liberia and Afghanistan at the Tenth Ministerial 
Conference i n Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2015, the two acceding governments completed their 
domestic ratification procedures and deposited their respective instruments of acceptance on 
14 June and 29 June, respectively.  Liberia became the 163rd Member of the WTO on 14 July, and 
Afghanistan became the 164th Member of the Organization on 29 July 2016.  
46. WTO accession negotiations advance on the basis of three interdependent tracks – with 
multilateral, bilateral, and in many cases, plurilateral processes running in parall el.  Separately, 
there are domestic processes in the acceding governments to establish national negotiating 
positions and to decide on inputs.  In 2016, there was mixed progress in the 19 on -going 
accessions.  Some advanced whereas others did not advance, as planned.  A range of factors, as 
in the past, remain in play.  They include, but are not limited to, continued negotiations with 
Members; technical complexities; domestic challenges; political choices to delay for more impact 
analysis; re -ordered priori ties; and/or immediate post -conflict situations.   
47. Algeria :  Algeria applied for WTO accession in June 1987. The Working Party on the 
Accession of Algeria was established in June 1987.  The 12th meeting of the Working Party was 
held in March  2014.   The most  recent version of the d raft Working Party Report was circulated in 
February  2014.   Bilateral market access negotiations are on -going with interested Members on the 
basis of revised market access offers circulated to the Woking Party in November 2013 (good s) 
and October 2013 (services).   The next meeting of the Working Party w ill be convened after replies 
to Members' questions and a complete set of updated technical inputs have been submitted by the 
Acceding Government . WT/A CC/28  
 
- 11 - 
 
  48. Andorra : Andorra applied for WTO acce ssion in July 1997. The Working Party on the 
Accession of Andorra  was established in October 1997.  The Working Party held its first and only 
meeting in October 1999.  This accession process is inactive , and there are no indications of any 
intentions to re -start the process.   
49. Azerbaijan : Azerbaijan applied for WTO accession in June 1997.   The Working Party on the 
Accession of Azerbaijan was established in July 1997.   The 13th meeting of the Working Party was 
held in July  2016.  Multilateral negotiations ar e underway on the basis of a d raft Working Party 
Report. The second revision of the d raft Report was circulated in June 2016.   Bilateral market 
access negotiations with interested Members are ongoing on the basis of revised market access 
offers circulated t o the Working Party in November 2014 (goods) and, in February 2015 (services).  
50. The Bahamas : The Bahamas applied for WTO accession in May 2001.  The Working Party on 
the Accession of The Bahamas was established in July 2001.  The second Working Party meetin g 
was held in June 2012.  A Factual Summary of Points Raised was sent to Nassau for factual 
updates in August  2013.  In July 2015, Nassau submitted negotiating inputs, comprising its 
feedback on the Factual Summary, an updated Legislative Action Plan (LAP)  and three projects of 
legislation.  The timing of the next meeting of the Working Party will be subject to the finalization 
of the draft Factual Summary, and the submission by Nassau of required updated negotiating 
inputs, including an updated LAP and rev ised market access offers on goods and services . 
51. Belarus :  Belarus applied for WTO accession in September 1993.   The Working Party on the 
Accession of Belarus was established in October 1993.   The seventh meeting of the Working Party 
was held in May 2005.   Informal Consultations by the Chairperson took place in 2010, 2012 and 
2013.    Belarus submitted updated negotiating inputs in August 2016. These inputs were used by 
the Secretariat to revise and update the Factual Summary of Points Raised (last circulate d in 
November  2012). This document, along with other updated documentation submitted by Belarus, 
will provide the basis for holding the next meeting of the Working Party.   
52. Bhutan : Bhutan applied for WTO accession in September 1999.  The Working Party on th e 
Accession of Bhutan was established in October 1999.  The fourth meeting of the Working Party 
was held in January 2008.  The most recent market access offers on goods and services were 
circulated in November 2007.  The latest version of the draft Working  Party Report was circulated 
in December 2007.  The Secretariat prepared a revision of the draft Report in 2008, but Bhutan is 
yet to submit its comments on the revised draft.  Bhutan is periodically in touch with the 
Secretariat on domestic consultations under way.  This year, at the occasion of the establishment 
of a WTO Reference Centre at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in September, the acceding 
Government held consultations with the Secretariat on its accession process . 
53. Bosnia and Herzegovina : Bosnia  and Herzegovina applied for WTO accession in May 1999.  
The Working Party on the Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established in July 1999.  
The 12th meeting of the Working Party was held in June 2013.  The latest version of the 
draft Working Party  Report was circulated in April 2016.  There remain outstanding bilateral 
market access negotiations with a limited number of Members.  The next meeting of the Working 
Party will be convened, as appropriate: (i) to review recent domestic legislative action ; (ii) to 
finalize the draft  Working Party Report; and (iii) to review the status of bilateral market access 
negotiations.  
54. The Union of the Comoros : The Union of the Comoros applied for WTO accession in 
March  2007. The Working Party on the Accession of the  Union of the Comoros was established in 
October 2007. The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) was circulated in October 
2013.   Following technical exchange with the Secretariat, negotiating inputs were submitted in 
September 2016 and were circul ated to the Working Party in October 2016. At the same time, 
Comoros also circulated initial market access offers on goods and services.  The first meeting of 
the Working Party was convened on 2 December 2016 .  
55. Equatorial Guinea : Equatorial Guinea applied for WTO accession in March 2007. The Working 
Party on the Accession of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea was established in February 2008. 
No Working Party meeting has been held to date. Equatorial Guinea has not submitted any 
negotiating inputs to initiat e the accession process.  In October 2016, Equatorial Guinea requested WT/ACC/28  
 
- 12 - 
 
  technical assistance from the Secretariat for 2017 to help the Government improve its knowledge 
on the preparation of a Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime .   
56. Ethiopia : Ethiopia appl ied for WTO accession in January 2003.  The Working Party on the 
Accession of Ethiopia was established in February 2003. The third meeting of the Working Party 
was held in March 2012.  An initial market access offer on goods was circulated in February 2012 .  
The next meeting of the Working Party will be convened once Ethiopia submits negotiating inputs 
required for the transformation of the Factual Summary into  an Elements of a draft Working Party 
Report, as well as an initial market access offer on service s.     
57. Islamic Republic of Iran : The Islamic Republic of Iran applied for WTO accession in 
July 1996.  The Working Party on the Accession of the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 
May 2005. The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) was cir culated in 
November  2009.  Technical inputs submitted by Iran, including replies to Members' questions on 
the MFTR, were circulated in 2011.  To convene the first meeting of the Working Party, the 
Chairperson of the General Council would need to undertake consultations with Members on the 
designation of a Chairperson of the Working Party.  There is on -doing domestic preparatory 
activity to provide a technical platform for the re -engagement of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 
accession process .   
58. Iraq: Iraq applied for WTO accession in September 2004. The Working Party on the 
Accession of Iraq was established in December 2004. The second meeting of the Working Party 
was held in April 2008.  Iraq provided a number of negotiating inputs requested by the Work ing 
Party.  The  next meeting of the Working Party will  be scheduled when Iraq submits updated 
negotiating inputs, including its initial market access offers on goods and services .      
59. Lebanese Republic : The Lebanese Republic applied for WTO accession in J anuary 1999.   
The Working Party on the Accession of the Lebanese Republic was established in April 1999.   
The seventh meeting of the Working Party was held in October 2009.   The first revision of the draft 
Working Party Report was circulated in October 200 9.  The latest revisions of the market access 
offers on goods and services were circulated in June 2004.  Following a visit by the Chairperson of 
the Working Party to Beirut in March, the Secretariat undertook a technical assistance mission on 
the preparat ion of revised market access offers. The next meeting of the Working  Party will be 
convened after Beirut submits negotiating inputs, including factual updates to the draft Working 
Party Report to reflect developments since 2009, an updated Legislative Acti on Plan and, revised 
market access offers on goods and services .  
60. Libya : Libya applied for WTO accession in June 2004.  The Working Party on the Accession of 
Libya was established in September 2004.  The Working Party has never met.  Libya has not 
submitte d any negotiating inputs to initiate the process of accession negotiations . 
61. São Tomé and Principe : São Tomé and Principe applied for WTO accession in February  2005. 
The Working Party on the Accession of São Tomé and Principe was established in June 2005.  
São Tomé and Principe has not submitted any inputs to initiate the process of accession 
negotiations.  São Tomé and Principe is subject to Category III11 administrative measures. 
No Working Party meetings can be convened for acceding governments falling und er these 
measures  
62. Serbia : Serbia applied for WTO accession in December 2004. The Working Party on the 
Accession of Serbia was established in February 2005.  The 13th meeting of the Working Party was 
held in June 2013.  The latest version of the draft Work ing Party Report was circulated in 
October  2012.  Bilateral market access negotiations with interested Members are outstanding.  
The next meeting of the Working Party will be convened when: (i) outstanding domestic legislative 
action is completed by Belgra de; (ii) work on the latest draft of the Working Party Report is 
finalized; and, (iii) substantial progress on the remaining bilateral market access negotiations is 
registered .    
63. Sudan : Sudan applied for WTO accession in October 1994.  The Working Party o n the 
Accession of Sudan was also established in October 1994.  The second meeting of the Working 
                                                
11 As of November 2016.  WT/A CC/28  
 
- 13 - 
 
  Party was held in March 2004.  After 12 years of dormancy and following a Secretariat's 2 -week 
technical assistance mission to Khartoum in late September, the updated Memorandum on the 
Foreign Trade Regime , a Legislative Action Plan were circulated to the Working Party in October 
2016.  Other negotiating inputs were submitted thereafter, including revised market access offers 
on goods and services.  The next me eting of the Working Party could be convened early next year .   
64. The Syrian Arab Republic : The Syrian Arab Republic applied for WTO accession in 
October  2001.  Its application was reviewed in 2004, 2005 and 2010.  The Working Party on the 
Accession of the S yrian Arab Republic was established in May 2010.  No Working Party meeting 
has been held to date.  The Syrian Arab Republic has not submitted any negotiating inputs to 
initiate the process of its accession negotiations .   
65. Uzbekistan : Uzbekistan applied for  WTO accession in December 1994.  The Working Party on 
the Accession of Uzbekistan was also established in December 1994.  The Third Meeting of the 
Working Party took place in October 2005.  This accession is dormant.  
IV. LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES'  ACCESSI ONS 
66. In the year under review, positive developments were registered with regard to LDCs 
accessions.  Two LDCs joined the WTO  in 2016: Liberia became the 163rd Member on 14 July; and, 
Afghanistan became  the 164th Member on 29 July.  With these two additions, 9 Members, or in 
other words  25 per -cent of the 36 completed accession s since the establishment of the WTO in 
1995, acceded to the Organization as LDCs.12   
67. With respect to six on -going accessions of  LDCs, positive developments have been 
registered in the accessions of Comoros and Sudan.  The Secretariat has been in technical contacts 
with Comoros and Sudan to identify areas where technical negotiating inputs were missing.  
The aim of the exchanges wa s to prepare updated and comprehensive sets of negotiating 
documentation which would be reviewed by their respective Working Parties, scheduled at the time 
of writing this report, in the last quarter of 2016.   
68. Bhutan and Ethiopia sustained contacts with th e Secretariat, but there has been no 
substantive technical engagement at the level of the Working Part y on these dossiers.    
69. Equatorial Guinea recently indicated its readiness to prepare the base documentation for its 
accession process  and was in touch wit h the Secretariat regarding the organization of a workshop 
focused on the preparation of the Memorandum of the Foreign Trade Regime,  in 2017 .  São Tomé 
and Principe is still subject to Category III of Administrative Measures.   
70. In 2016, there were two reque sts to join the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh 
Agreement establishing the WTO.  In November, the applications for WTO accession from Somalia 
and Timor -Leste were circulated to WTO Members.  These applications were expected to be 
considered by  WTO Members at the meeting of the General Council in December 2016, with a view 
to the establishment of respective Working Parties to examine the applications.    
71. In response to the human capital and resource constraints of LDCs, the Secretariat 
continues  to provide a combination of generalized start -up technical assistance activities with 
tailored accession -specific activities to acceding LDCs at all stages of their WTO accession process.  
This year, as in previous years, technical assistance to acceding LDCs delegations in Geneva was 
combined with assistance to capital -based officials.   This  customized assistance is being improved 
and refined in several ways.  For instance, this year, a structured framework for post -accession 
support was developed by the  Secretariat and specialised post -accession training was delivered to 
Liberia and Afghanistan in preparation fo r their membership (see Section  "WTO Post-Accession 
Support ").  
72. In addition to in -house Secretariat support, Members have continued to provide te chnical 
support for LDC Accessions.  This includes, amongst others, capacity -building on the platform of 
                                                
12 Article XII Members which acceded to the WTO as LDCs were: Afghanistan, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, 
Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Nepal, Samoa, Van uatu and Yemen.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 14 - 
 
  the China "Least -Developed Countries (LDCs) and Accessions Programme".  So far, nine of the 20 
interns  have been  trained under the WTO Accessions Inter nship Programme  were from LDCs.  
73. Several WTO Members continue to sustain and upgrade their capacity -building and technical 
support for Acceding LDCs.  Some do, nationally, others on the platform of the Enhanced 
Integrated Framework (EIF).  Steady support h as been e xtended from Australia, Brazil,  the 
European Union (including dedicated programmes from its individual m ember States , such as 
Sweden ), India, Japan,  and the United States.  
74.   In 2012, the General Council adopted the Addendum to WT/L/508 to strength en, 
streamline and operationalize the Guidelines on LDCs' Accessions.13  Members are mindful of these 
Guidelines in on -going active LDCs' accessions.  The Director -General has underscored the vital 
importance of Members to be cognizant of these Guidelines i n facilitating negotiations with LDCs.  
Members were sensitive to these Guidelines in the conclusion of the accession negotiations of 
Liberia and Afghanistan.  
V.  WTO ACCESSION TEMPLA TE FOR STRUCTURAL RE FORMS AND ECONOMIC 
DIVERSIFICATION  
1. INTRODUCTION  
75. WTO accession has been used as a platform to launch, deepen and consolidate a structural 
transformation of the economies of acceding go vernments.  An accession process typically involves 
a series of economy -wide reforms undertaken by the acceding government, which are  made  in the 
framework of multilateral trading rules.  Based on the empirical evidence from 36 completed 
accessions to date , WTO accessions have had a far -reaching impact on policy -making, legal and 
economic and structural reforms .14  
76. Structural reform has been at the centre of the global economic agenda for strong, 
sustainable and balanced growth, as reflected in the Hangzhou Consensus adopted by G20 Leaders 
in September 2016.  In the communiqué, the importance of structural reforms is stressed in 
boosting productivity and potential output, as well as promoting innovative growth.  While noting 
that the choice and design of stru ctural reforms may differ from one country to another, promoting 
trade and investment openness has been identified as one of the nine priority areas of structural 
reforms.15  The g uiding principles for this priority area include: (i) reduction of tariff and  non-tariff 
barriers to trade; (ii) reduction of barriers and restrictions to foreign direct investment; (iii) 
implementation of trade facilitation measures to reduce border costs; (iv) reduction of behind -the-
border restrictions on trade and investment an d greater cross -border harmonization; and, (v) 
reduction of barriers to trade and investment through multilateral as well as plurilateral and 
bilateral agreements while minimising the discriminatory measures against third parties.  These 
guiding principles  coincide with reform actions which are often pursued as part of the accession 
negotiations.   
77. This year's thematic focus explores the relationship between WTO accessions and structural 
reforms.  In doing so, this section will provide: (i) reasons for WTO a ccession; (ii) an accession 
template for WTO -consistent structural reforms which has emerged from more than two decades 
of WTO accession experience; (iii) some empirical evidence on the links between WTO accession 
and economic performance, including trade diversification; and, (iv) structural reform agenda for 
the governments in the process of accession.  
                                                
13 WT/L/508/Add.1, 30 July 2012.   
14 See M. Haddad, C.H. Hollweg and A. Portugal -Perez (2015) "The structural reform implications of 
WTO accession", in Dadush and Osakwe, "WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism: Case Studies and 
Lessons fr om the WTO at Twenty",  Cambridge University Press, 2015 , pp. 81 - 121. 
15 The other eight priority areas identified by G20 Enhanced Structural Reform Agenda include: 
(i) advancing labour market reforms, educational attainment and skills; (ii) encouraging in novation; 
(iii) improving infrastructure; (iv) promoting fiscal reform; (v) promoting competition and an enabling 
environment; (vi) improving and strengthening the financial system; and, (vii) enhancing environmental 
sustainability.   WT/A CC/28  
 
- 15 - 
 
  2. WTO ACCESSION ACQUIS : TEMPLATE FOR WTO -CONSISTENT STRUCTURA L 
REFORMS   
78. As of December 2016, 55 states or customs territories have applied for WTO membership 
since the establishment of the Organization in 1995.  Application for WTO accession sends a 
powerful signal about the acceding government's readiness and commitment to  WTO-consistent 
structural reforms, which are based on the values of open market s, non-discrimination, the rule of 
law and good governance.  Table 1 lists reasons for WTO accession, drawn from the Introductory 
Statements in the Working Party Reports of the  36 concluded accessions.  The table indicates that 
out of the 36 completed accessions to date, 28 Article XII Members cited economic reforms, 
including structural reforms, as one of the main reasons to seek WTO membership.  Moreover, 
reflecting a large nu mber of so -called transition economies in the 36 accessions, the table 
indicates that a half of the Article XII Members cited the transition from central planning to market 
economy as one of additional reasons to join the WTO .  
79. Apart from these two reasons , individual Article XII Members had other reasons for seeking 
WTO membership to address their specific constraints or circumstances.  These included the need 
to diversify the economy away from its dependence on a narrow set of commodities (Oman and 
Saudi Arabia) or from its vulnerability associated with smallness (Cabo Verde, Samoa, Seychelles, 
Tonga and Vanuatu).  Several have also cited WTO membership as part of their nation -building 
processes after independence (these states emerged from the dissolution  of the Soviet Union and 
the break -up of Yugoslavia) or post -conflict economic recovery (Afghanistan, Cambodia and 
Liberia).  In some other cases, WTO accession was a stepping stone to a regional integration 
initiative, such as membership of the EU or ASEA N, which often entailed broader and/or deeper 
structural reforms.16  Almost all LDCs also referred to poverty reduction by way of WTO accession, 
reflecting their desire to use trade in general , and the WTO in particular, specifically as an 
instrument for ec onomic development.   
80. WTO accession involves a process of negotiating enforceable WTO commitments for 
structural reforms.  This means that the acceding government would formulate and implement its 
legal, economic and policy framework in compliance with WTO rules.  However, as in any reform 
process, an accession process takes time; on average, it has taken 10 years and 4 months, to 
conclude an accession process for the 36 Article XII Members, as shown in Table 1.  
Table 1: Reasons for WTO accession: 36 complet ed accessions  
 Article XII 
Member  Date of WP 
establishment  Date of 
Membership  Total Time of 
Accession 
Process  Reasons for WTO 
accession: Introductory 
Statements in the Working 
Party Report  
Economic 
Reform  Transition 
From Central 
Planning to 
Market 
Economy  
1 Ecuador  09/1992  01/1996  3 years 4 months  Y N 
2 Bulgaria  11/1986  12/1996  10 years 1 month  Y Y 
3 Mongolia  10/1991  01/1997  5 years 3 months  Y Y 
4 Panama  10/1991  09/1997  5 years 11 months  Y N  
5 Kyrgyz 
Republic  04/1996  12/1998  2 years 8 months  No Introductory Statements  
6 Latvia  12/1993  02/1999  5 years 2 months  Y Y 
7 Estonia  03/1994  11/1999  5 years 8 months  N Y 
8 Jordan  01/1994  04/2000  6 years 3 months  Y N 
9 Georgia  07/1996  06/2000  3 years 11 months  Y Y 
10 Albania  12/1992  09/2000  7 years 9 m onths  Y Y 
11 Oman  06/1996  11/2000  4 years 5 months  Y  N 
12 Croatia  10/1993  11/2000  7 years 1 month  Y Y  
13 Lithuania  02/1994  05/2001  7 years 3 months  Y Y 
14 Moldova  12/1993  07/2001  7 years 7 months  Y Y 
                                                
16 Croatia, Estonia, L atvia and Lithuania joined the EU after their WTO memberships, while Cambodia, 
Lao PDR and Vietnam started their WTO accession processes before or at the same time as their ASEAN 
memberships.     WT/ACC/28  
 
- 16 - 
 
   Article XII 
Member  Date of WP 
establishment  Date of 
Membership  Total Time of 
Accession 
Process  Reasons for WTO 
accession: Introductory 
Statements in the Working 
Party Report  
Economic 
Reform  Transition 
From Central 
Planning to 
Market 
Economy  
15 China  03/1987  12/2001  14 years 9 months  Y Y 
16 Chinese Taipei  09/1992  01/2002  9 years 4 months  N N 
17 Armenia  12/1993  02/2003  9 years 2 months  Y Y 
18 FYROM  12/1994  04/2003  8 years 4 months  Y N 
19 Nepal*  06/1989  04/2004  14 years 10 
months  Y N 
20 Cambodia*  12/1994  10/2004  9 years 10 months  Y N 
21 Saudi Arabia  07/1993  12/2005  12 years 5 months  N N 
22 Tonga  11/1995  07/2007  11 years 8 months  N N 
23 Viet Nam  01/1995  01/2007  12 years  Y Y 
24 Ukraine  12/1993  05/2008  14 years 5 months  Y Y 
25 Cape Verde*  07/2000  07/2008  8 years  N N 
26 Montenegro  02/2005 04/2012  7 years 2 months  N N 
27 Samoa*  07/1998  05/2012  13 years 10 
months  Y N 
28 Russian 
Federation  07/1993  08/2012  19 years 1 month  Y Y 
29 Vanuatu*  07/1995  08/2012  17 years 1 month  Y  N 
30 Lao PDR*  02/1998  02/2013  15 years  Y Y 
31 Tajikistan  07/2001 03/2013  11 years 8 months  Y Y 
32 Yemen*  07/2000  06/2014  13 years 11 
months  Y N 
33 Seychelles  07/1995  04/2015  19 years 9 months  Y Y 
34 Kazakhstan  02/1996  11/2015  19 years 9 months  Y Y 
35 Liberia*  12/2007  07/2016  8 years 7 months  Y N 
36 Afghanista n* 12/2004  07/2016  11 years 7 months  Y  N 
    Average: 10 
years 2 months  Total: 28  Total: 18  
Source:  Accession Working Party Reports.  
* LDCs. Since WTO accession, two LDCs graduated from their LDC status - Cape V erde in 2007 and 
Samoa in 2014.  
81. The e xtensive reform measures undertaken by these governments during their accessions 
are reflected in the number of accession commitments which they under took on rules and market 
access.17  On multilateral rules,  the 36 Article XII Members undertook a total of 1'5 47 accession 
specific commitments:  on average, an Article XII Member made 42 commitments covering 54 
areas related to WTO rules.  On market access, their reforms are reflected not only in the 
comprehensiveness of tariff binding coverage and of the coverage  of services sub -sectors , but also 
in the depth and scope of commitments . For instance, on average, the tariff binding coverage of 
Article XII Members is near 100%, while that of original Members is 74%, while the number of 
specific commitments undertaken in services sub -sectors by Article XII Members is 102, which is 
more than double that of original Members.  In terms of the level of final bound rates, the average 
rate of Article XII Members is 13.5%, which is far below the average of 45.5% of original 
Members.  
82. More than 20 years of successfully concluded accessions have established and consolidated 
a template which provides the multilateral framework for recording the results of accession 
negotiations.  This template could also be used to facilitate and i nduce reforms for the structural 
transformation of an economy.  The main elements of the accession template are listed in Box 1.  
                                                
17 See Section VI " 20-Year Landscape of WTO Accessions " of the 2015 Director -General's  Annual Report 
on WTO Accessions (WT/ACC/25) for detailed information on the accession commitments by Article XII 
Members.  WT/A CC/28  
 
- 17 - 
 
  Box 1: Accession t emplate for WTO -consistent domestic structural reforms  
ECONOMIC POLICIES  
- Monetary and fiscal policy  
- Foreign exchange and payments  
- Investment regime  
- State ownership and privatization, state -trading entities  
- Pricing policies  
- Competition policy  
FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES  
- Powers of Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of Govern ment  
- Government entities responsible for making and implementing policies af fecting foreign trade; Right of appeal  
- Division of authority between central and sub -central governments  
POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS  
- Trading rights  
- Trade Facilitation18 
A. IMPORT REGULATIONS  
- Ordinary customs duties  
- Other duties and charges  
- Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions  
- Fees and charges for services rendered  
- Application of internal taxes to imports  
- Quantitative import restrictions, including prohibiti ons, quotas and licensing systems  
- Customs valuation  
- Rules of origin  
- Other customs formalities  
- Pre-shipment inspection  
- Anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard regimes  
B. EXPORT REGULATIONS  
- Customs tariffs, fees and charges for services re ndered, application of internal taxes to exports  
- Export restrictions  
- Export subsidies  
C. INTERNAL POLICIES AFFECTING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS  
- Industrial policy, including subsidies  
- Technical barriers to trade, standards and certification  
- Sanitary a nd phytosanitary measures  
- Trade -related investment measures  
- Free zones, special economic areas  
- Government procurement  
- Transit  
- Agricultural policies  
TRADE -RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME  
- GENERAL  
- Industrial property protection  
- Responsibl e agencies for policy formulation and implementation  
- Participation in international intellectual property agreements  
- Application of national and MFN treatment to foreign nationals  
- Fees and taxes  
- SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS OF PROTECTION, INCLUDING PROCED URES FOR THE ACQUISITION AND 
MAINTENANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS  
- Copyright and related rights  
- Trademarks, including service marks  
- Geographical indications, including appellations of origin  
- Industrial designs  
- Patents  
- TRIPS and public hea lth 
- Plant variety protection  
- Layout designs of integrated circuits  
- Requirements on undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test data  
- ENFORCEMENT  
- Civil judicial procedures and remedies  
- Provisional measures  
- Administrative procedure s and remedies  
- Special border measures  
- Criminal procedures  
POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES  
TRANSPARENCY  
- Publication of information on trade  
- Notifications  
TRADE AGREEMENTS  
                                                
18 The sub -section was added following the adoption on 27 November 2014 of a Protocol of 
Amendment  to insert the Trade Facilitation Agreement into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement (see document 
WT/ACC/22/Rev.1 of 5 April 2016).   WT/ACC/28  
 
- 18 - 
 
   
3. WTO ACCESSIONS: CONT RIBUTIONS TO STRUCTU RAL REFORMS AND ECON OMIC 
DIVERSIFICATION   
83. Table 2  lists Article XII Members  by the characteristics of their economies , based on 
standard definitions used by the international community.  Out of the 36 Article XII Members, 11 
are classified as resource -based, 21 as transition economies, five (5) as small islands developing 
states, ten (10) landlocked economies, and six (6) as post -conflict states, with overlapping 
categories which define s tructural constraints and limitations.  For these economies, WTO 
accession presented an opportunity to institute and lock -in reforms that could foster the structural 
transformation, modernisation and diversification of the economy within a multilateral pol icy 
framework provided by the WTO Agreements .  
Table 2: WTO accession – Type of economy and export diversification  
No Article XII 
Member   
Type of economy  Number of HS 
chapters accounting 
for more than 60% 
of exports  
  
Resource  
based  Tran -
sition  Small 
Island 
Develop -
ing 
State 
(SIDS)  Land -
locked 
Country  
  
Post-
conflict  Year of 
Accession  2015  
(+ 2014)  
1 Ecuador  X     3 3 
2 Bulgaria   X    13 13 
3 Mongolia  X X  X  2 2 
4 Panama       3 5 
5 Kyrgyz Rep.   X  X  6 3 
6 Latvia   X    5 12 
7 Estonia   X    11 11 
8 Jordan       10 7 
9 Georgia   X   X 5 6 
10 Albania  X X    2 4 
11 Oman  X     1 1 
12 Croatia   X    12 14 
13 Lithuania   X    8 15 
14 Moldova   X  X  4 6 
15 China   X    8 8 
16 Chinese Taipei       6 7 
17 Armenia   X  X  4 5 
18 FYROM   X  X  4 5 
19 Nepal*    X X 3 4 
20 Cambodia*   X   X 1 1 
21 Saudi Arabia  X     1 1 
22 Viet Nam  X X    6 7+ 
23 Tonga    X   2 2+ 
24 Ukraine   X    6 5 
25 Cabo Verde*    X   2 2 
26 Montenegro   X    4 6 
27 Samoa*    X   2 3 
28 Russian Fed.  X X    2 3 
29 Vanuatu*    X   4 n.a. 
30 Lao PDR*  X X  X  n.a. n.a. 
31 Tajikistan   X  X X n.a. n.a. 
32 Yemen*  X     2 n.a. 
33 Seychelles    X   2 2 WT/A CC/28  
 
- 19 - 
 
  No Article XII 
Member   
Type of economy  Number of HS 
chapters accounting 
for more than 60% 
of exports  
  
Resource  
based  Tran -
sition  Small 
Island 
Develop -
ing 
State 
(SIDS)  Land -
locked 
Country  
  
Post-
conflict  Year of 
Accession  2015  
(+ 2014)  
34 Kazakhstan  X X  X  1 1 
35 Liberia*  X    X n.a. n.a. 
36 Afghanistan*     X X n.a. n.a. 
 TOTAL  11 21 5 10 6 4++ 6++ 
Source:  WTO Secr etariat based on calculations from UN COMTRADE .  
* LDCs. + 2014.  ++ Indicates the average number for 28 Members (i.e. from Ecuador to the Russian 
Federation).  
 Resource -rich countries, defined by IMF (2012), with the characteristics of either having natur al 
resource revenue or exports at least 20% of total fiscal revenue and exports, respectively, over 
2006-2010.  Transition Economies, according to the IMF/World Bank definition.  SIDS and LLDC, 
according to the UN.  Post -Conflict states, according to UNDP.  
 
84. Empirical evidence has demonstrated that during the last twenty years, 36 Article XII 
Members, which went through rigorous accession -related  reform processes, have generally 
performed better than the rest of the world in terms of economic performance, in cluding GDP 
growth and trade performance.  Figure  1 compares the annual GDP growth rates of Article XII 
Members with those of the rest of the world from 1995 to 2015.  While China's growth 
outperformed the rest of the world during the last two decades, sin ce 2000, Article XII Members as 
a whole have consistently performed better than the rest of the world, except in 2009 during the 
global financial crisis and 2015.  It is also worth noting that since 2007, Article XII LDC Members 
have exhibited a faster ann ual GDP growth rate than the Article XII Members as a whole, except in 
2011.  In terms of trade performance, as seen in Figure 3 in Section VI "Economic Performance of 
Article XII Members" of this Report, overall, Article XII Members have consistently regi stered rapid 
trade growth above the world average.  
Figure  1 - Annual GDP growth rates for Article XII Members (1995 -2015)  
 
Source: WTO Secretariat  
85. While positive trends are generally observed between WTO accession and the economic 
performance of Article X II Members over the last two decades, it is more challenging to assess 
how accession -induced reforms have had an impact on the structural transformation of the 
economies which went through the accession process.  Table 2 examines whether Article XII 
Member s have been able to diversify their exports in the years following WTO accession.  The table 
lists the number of HS Chapters19  accounting for more than 60% of exports for the year of 
                                                
19 The Harmonized System (HS) is an international nomenclature for the classification of products. 
An economy trades in any one of t he 97 Chapters in total. The number of HS Chapters that account for 60% of WT/ACC/28  
 
- 20 - 
 
  accession and 2015 for Article XII Members.  On average, Article XII Memb ers had exports in four 
(4) HS Chapters in the year of accession and six (6) HS Chapters in 2015.  The increase in the 
number of HS Chapters owing, in part, to the manufacture of different products for export, could 
signal export diversification.  Specific ally, it is observed that there has been an increase in the 
number of HS Chapters for exported products , from the year of accession to the latest year20 for 
15 Members21 out of 28 Article XII Members which acceded before 2015, for which data is reported   
86. For example, upon accession, 60% of Lithuania's exports were in 8 HS Chapters (mainly 
petroleum, clothing and accessories, road vehicles, electric machinery, textile yarn, fertilizer, dairy 
products and furniture).  In 2015, 15 HS Chapters (including vegetabl es and fruit, medicines, 
metals manufacturers, telecommunication equipment and plastics) constituted 60% hence showing 
that reliance on the trade of the products under the 8 HS Chapters (including petroleum) was 
reduced by diversifying the mix of merchandi se exports.  
87. For nine (9) Article XII Members, the number of HS Chapters for exported products has  
remained the same from the ir respective  years of accession to 2015.22  Only three  (3) Article XII 
Members witnessed a decrease in the number of HS Chapters for exported products over the same 
period, namely: (i) Kyrgyz Republic - due to an increase in the exports of gold (excluding ores) 
from 38.1 % to 46.1%; (ii) Jordan - owing to a large increase in the exports of clothing and 
accessories from 8.9% to 17.7%; a nd, (iii) Ukraine - due to a significant increase in the exports of 
cereals from 6.1% to 16.5%.  Possible reasons for these increases may include an expansion of 
the economy's productive capacity in the aforementioned goods.   
88. These results may be attribute d, inter alia , to market liberalization, the variety of tailored 
WTO accession -specific commitments and, benefits associated with WTO membership such as  
domestic regulatory reforms; enhanced rule of law and governance; effective transformation to 
market e conomy; and, increased international trade cooperation.  
4. STRUCTURAL REFORM AG ENDA FOR THE REMAINI NG ACCESSIONS  
89. As of December 2016, there are 19 accessions whose processes are still o n-going, as listed 
in Table 3.  These accessions have been  running for 16.5 years, on average, since the application s 
for WTO membership  were received ; this is far longer than the average of 10  years and 4 months 
for the 36 concluded accessions to date.  I t is interesting to observe that there are higher 
proportions of resource -based and post -conflict economies among the 19 on -going accessions, in 
comparison to the 36 concluded accessions, while there remain seven (7) transition economies.  
Out of the nine (9) governments which are classified as resource -based economies, seven (7) are 
hydrocarbon exporters, including some of the world's leading exporters: Algeria, Azerbaijan, 
Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria, while Uzbekistan is one of t he world's lead 
exporters of cotton.  Moreover, the small economies among the remaining accessions are 
dominated by a few sectors, either commodities (such as Comoros and São Tomé and Príncipe )23 
or services (such as The Bahamas and Bhutan).24   
                                                                                                                                                  
the value of exports can serve as a proxy for concentration (fewer HS Chapters) and diversification (more HS 
Chapters).  
20 Depending on data availability.  
21 These are; Albania, Armen ia, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, FYROM, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, 
Montenegro, Nepal, Panama, Russian Federation, Samoa and Vietnam.  
22 These are: Ecuador, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Oman, China, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Tonga and Cabo 
Verde.  
23 Comoros' expo rts are dominated by cloves, vanilla, and ylang -ylang, and São Tomé and Príncipe 's 
exports are dominated by cocoa.  
24 The Bahamian economy is dependent on tourism and financial services, and the Bhutanese economy 
is dependent on hydropower and tourism serv ices. WT/A CC/28  
 
- 21 - 
 
  Table 3: Go vernments in the process of WTO accession: total time since application and 
types of economies  
 Acceding 
Government  Date of 
Application  Total Time 
of since 
Application  Type of economy  
Resource -
based  Transition   
Small 
Island 
State   
Land -
locked 
Count ry 
  
Post-
conflict  
1 Algeria  06/1987  29 years  X     
2 Belarus  09/1993  23 years   X  X  
3 Sudan*  10/1994  22 years  X    X 
4 Uzbekistan  12/1994  22 years  X X  X  
5 Iran 07/1996  20 years  X X    
6 Azerbaijan  06/1997  19 years  X X  X X 
7 Andorra  07/1997  19 years    X  
8 Lebanese 
Republic  01/1999  17 years      X 
9 Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  05/1999  17 years   X   X 
10 Bhutan*  09/1999  17 years     X  
11 Bahamas  05/2001  15 years    X   
12 Syrian Arab 
Republic  10/2001  15 years  X    X 
13 Ethiopia*  01/2003  13 years   X  X X 
14 Libya 06/2004  12 years  X    X 
15 Iraq 09/2004  12 years  X    X 
16 Serbia  12/2004  12 years   X  X  
17 São Tomé and 
Príncipe *  01/2005  11 years    X   
18 Equatorial 
Guinea*  02/2007  9 years  X     
19 Comoros*  02/2007  9 years    X   
   Average: 
16.5 years  9 7 3 7 8 
Source:  WTO Secretariat.  
* LDCs.   
 Resource -rich countries, defined by IMF (2012), with the characteristics of either having natural 
resource revenue or exports at least 20% of total fiscal revenue and exports, respectively, over 
2006-2010.  Transition Economies, according to the IMF/World Bank definition.  SIDS and LLDC, 
according to the UN.  Post -Conflict states, according to UNDP.  
90. This large number of narrowly -based economies would make the agenda of structural 
reforms, in particular, economic diversification, as one of the critical, if not overriding reasons, for 
the remaining accession negotiations.  Table 4 reviews the conclusions of recent IMF Article IV 
consultations of the remaining accession  candidates , and in all cases, the need  for structural 
reforms was stressed, including for economic diversification, increased competition, private sector 
development, improvements in business environment and governance and/or market -based 
development, within the overall goals of faster growth and job creation.  In five (5) cases, 
including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran, WTO accession or 
membership was mentioned as a driver of such reforms.  
91. The number of post -conflict  states pursuing WTO accession indicates that W TO accession will 
continue to be used as part of the process of building or re -building these economies, as 
demonstrated by the most recently completed accessions of Afghanistan and Liberia.  Moreover, 
more than one -third of the remaining accession candida tes are landlocked -states, indicating that 
trade facilitation will be  a key aspect of  WTO accession s, as the Trade Facilitation Agreement is 
expected to come into force shortly once one -third of the 164 WTO Members ratify the Agreement 
and deposit their in struments of acceptance with the Director -General.25  
92. Table 4 provides real GDP growth rates for 2013 -2015 and projections for 2016 -2017, based 
on the most recently available IMF data.  Nineteen (19) on -going accessions represent a mix of 
                                                
25 As of 2 December, 100 WTO Members had ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 22 - 
 
  high economic perf ormers (Ethiopia and Uzbekistan), and poor economic performers, either due to 
the collapse of oil prices (Azerbaijan and Equatorial Guinea), weak external environments (Belarus 
and The Bahamas) or conflict situations (Libya and Iraq).  Growth projections f or these acceding 
governments also vary widely.  However, for all the acceding governments, structural reform is an 
inevitable path for economic growth, as reflected in the conclusions of IMF Article IV consultations; 
and, as the 36 completed accessions ha ve proved over the past two decades, WTO accession 
provides a valuable instrument for pursu ing their structural reform agenda within the multilateral 
framework.  
Table 4: Real GDP growth, 2013 -2015 and projections for 2016 -17; reference to 
structural reform  in IMF consultations  
 Acceding Government  2013  2014  2015  Projection  Reference to 
structural reform 
in IMF 2016 
Article IV 
consultation  
     2016  2017    
Sub-Saharan Africa   
5.2   
5.1  
3.4  
1.4  
2.9  
1 Comoros*  3.5 2.0 1.0 2.2 3.3 X+ 
2 Equatorial Guinea * –4.1 –0.5 –7.4 –9.9 –5.8 X 
3 Ethiopia*  9.9 10.3 10.2 6.5 7.5 X 
4 São Tomé and Príncipe *  4.0 4.5 4.0 4.0 5.0 X 
5 Sudan*  5.2 1.6 4.9 3.1 3.5 X 
Europe  1.9 1.5 -0.2 1.3 2.1  
6 Belarus  1.0 1.7  -3.9 -3.0 -0.5 X (WTO accession)  
7 Bosnia and Herzegovina  2.5 1.1  3.2 3.0 3.2 X (WTO accession)+ 
8 Serbia  2.6 -1.8  0.7 2.5 2.8 X 
9 Andorra  n.a.  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 
 
Middle East and North Africa   
2.4   
2.7  
2.3  
3.4  
3.4  
10 Algeria  2.8 3.8 3.9 3.6 2.9 X (WTO accession)  
11 Iran –1.9 4.3 0.4 4.5 4.1 X (WTO accession)+ 
12 Iraq 7.6 –0.4 –2.4 10.3 0.5 X+ 
13 Lebanese Republic   2.5 2.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 X+ 
14 Libya –13.6 –24.0 –6.4 –3.3 13.7 n.a. 
15 Syrian Arab Republic  … … … … … n.a. 
 
Caucasus and Central Asia   
6.6   
5.3  
3.2  
1.3  
2.6  
16 Azerbaijan  5.8 2.8 1.1 –2.4 1.4 X (WTO accession)  
17 Uzbekistan  8.0 8.1 8.0 6.0 6.0 X+ 
 
Asia  
5.8   
5.6  
5.4  
5.4  
5.3  
18 Bhutan*  3.6  3.8 5.2 6.0 6.4 X 
 
Latin America and Caribbean   
2.9  
1.0  
0.0  
–0.6  
1.6  
19 Bahamas  0.0  –0.5 –1.7 0.3 1.0 X 
  
World average   
3.3   
3.4  
3.2  
3.1  
3.4 Total: 16  
(Reference to WTO 
accession: 5)  
Source:  IMF. Various Regional Economic Outlooks, October 2016; various Article IV Consultations in 2015 
and 2016.  
* LDCs.  Italics indicates hydro -carbon exporters. +.2014 
 The figures for Eur ope is Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe  
VI. WTO POST -ACCESSION SUPPORT  
93. Building on the framework of post -accession implementation support which was developed 
in the 2014 and 2015 Annual Reports  on WTO Ac cessions , the Secretariat further refined its 
approach to post -accession  support , developed new tools and delivered the first specialised post -
accession training  activities  of their kind.  In 2016, the Secretariat implemented post -accession 
support  for Liberia and Afghanistan, in a structured and integrated manner, to achieve specific 
targets within defined timelines, in preparation for the ir membership  in July.  The refined and 
upgraded post-accession implementation framework consists of five main elements :    WT/A CC/28  
 
- 23 - 
 
  i. Country -Specific Post -Accession Implementation Strategy ;  
ii. Specialized training on WTO post -accession ; 
iii. Secretariat Note on "Best Practices on WTO Post -Accession" ( document WT/ACC/27) ; 
iv. Dedicated  web-page on "Post -accession — what next?"  in the WTO Accession Website ; 
v. Internal Secretariat Note on Post -Accession Implementation and Monitoring . 
94. First, Liberia and Afghanistan developed individual Post -Accession Implementation 
Strategies, based on their accession -commitments contained in the Accession Packages, during the 
final phase of their accession negotiations in late 2015.  The main objective s of the Strategy are 
to: (i) implement accession commitments, including notification obligations, and, (ii) identify and 
sequence specific post -accession needs for trade -related technical assistance and capacity building 
and infrastructural support for implementation.  The two acceding LDCs presented their respective 
Post-Accession Implementation Strategies to the international community at Round Tab les held on 
the margins of the WTO Tenth Ministerial Conference where Ministers took formal action on their 
Accession Packages.  
95. Second,  two tailor -made activities geared towards post -accession capacity -building were 
delivered for Liberia on 27 -29 June in M onrovia and for Afghanistan on 11 -15 July in Bangkok.  
The activities, sponsored under the China's LDCs and Accessions Programme (or the "China 
Program me"), were organised shortly after the deposit of the instrument of acceptance of the 
Accession Protocol by the two acceding governments , with the objective of prepar ing for their WTO 
membership.   More specifically, these activities focused on : (i) the preparation of notifications and 
internal coordination to implement accession commitments from day 1 of WTO membership; (ii) 
the development of a medium -term action plan to operationalise the Post -Accession 
Implementation Strategy; and, (i ii) the exchange of post -accession experiences and best practices 
with other recently acceded LDCs . 
96. Third, the Secretariat is sued a Note "Best Practices  on WTO Post -Accession", contained in 
document WT/ACC/27.  Building on the first dialogue on post -accession at the  Dushanbe China 
Round Table held in May 2015, this Note compiled experience s and lessons learned in the 
transition from accession to membership  from over 30 accessions concluded to date .  The best 
practices are comprised of  seven areas: (i) a policy framework for WTO membership; 
(ii) institutional and coordination structures; (iii) a legislative framework for implement ation; 
(iv) transparency; (v) technical assistance and capacity building; (vi)  outreach; and, 
(vii) participation in the work of the WTO.   
97. Fourth, a dedicated webpage on post -accession was developed : 
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/post_acc_e.htm .  This webpage, which is part of the 
WTO Accessions website, contains all background information, training materials and post -
accession activities, to guide new members for the  immediate post -accession stage.   
98. Fifth, o n the date of membership, the Accessions Division circulates an internal hand -over 
note on the completed accession dossier to Divisions with relevant responsibilities.  Aimed at 
improving internal coordination, this n ote lists accession -specific commitments undertaken by the 
acceding government so that the implementation of commitments is monitored and post -accession 
support is provided for new Article XII Members.  With the circulation of th is internal note, the 
Acces sions Division officially ceases its primary responsibility for accession -related engagement 
with acceding government s.  
99. The results of the implementation of the above -mentioned  integrated approach to post -
accession implementation support have been positiv e and concrete.  First, Liberia and Afghanistan 
ratified the Accession Protocol and deposited the instrument of acceptance with the Director -
General, within the timeframe defined in the respective Protocols.26  Second, the two LDCs 
submitted their initial n otifications during the first month of membership.  Third, the post -
accession strategy and training helped the two LDCs identify priority areas and specific trade -
related needs for their participation in the WTO.  In the case of Afghanistan, this was refle cted in 
                                                
26 The periods for acceptance were set by the Accession Protocols, as adopted by WTO ministers at 
MC10, as 15 June for Liberia and 30 June for Afghanistan.  The Access ion Protocols were ratified by respective 
parliaments, on 14  June in Liberia and on 18 June  in Afghanistan.  The instruments of acceptance were 
deposited with the Director -General on 14 June by Liberia and 29 June by Afghanistan, respectively. Their WTO 
memberships came into effect thirty days after the deposit, on 14 July and 29 July, respectively.   WT/ACC/28  
 
- 24 - 
 
  the ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement that was completed by the date of its 
membership.  Fourth, the two LDCs were able to secure substantial amount of post -accession 
support, including pledges, from bilateral and multilateral pa rtners.   
VII. TRADE AND ECONOMIC P ERFORMANCE OF ARTICL E XII MEMBERS27 
100.  In 2015, world trade registered a positive growth, albeit at a modest rate.  While the volume 
of global trade gre w by 2.8%, in contrast, its nominal value fell sharply when compared to 2014. 
The dollar value of world merchandise trade in 2015 fell 13% from 2014, and world trade in 
commercial services declined by 6%.  
101.  The trade growth discrepancy was mostly attributed to strong fluctuations in commodity 
prices and exchange rates.  Also, structural factors have been suggested to explain the global 
slowdown of trade growth. These include the lack of coordination between monetary policies of 
leading economies, geopolitical  tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, falling demand in 
emerging economies.  Against this background, individual situations reflect diversity.   
102.  Figure 2  provides three snapshots which illustrate the evolution of market shares  by 
membership statu s.  On the one hand, original Members' share of world trade decreased from 
91% in 1995 , 86% in 2005 , to 81% in 2015.  On the other hand, the share of world trade of 
Article XII Members' increased from 8% in 1995 , 12% in 2005 , to 18% in 2015, thus expanding  
the reach of the multilateral trading system to cover approximately 98.4% of world trade in 2015 , 
an increase of 0.4% from the previous year .   
Figure 2 - Share of world trade by membership status : 1995, 2005 and 2015  
 
 
Source :  WTO Statistics Database  
                                                
27 See Annex 6 to  this Report.  WT/A CC/28  
 
- 25 - 
 
  103.  Figure 3  shows that since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, the nominal value of world 
trade in goods and commercial services grew by 232% , or at an average annual growth rate of 
6.2%. Over the same period, that of Article XII Members increased by 650 %, or at an average 
annual growth rate of 10.6%.  And, even excluding the largest Article XII Member by trade value 
(China), over the same period, the other Article XII Members' nominal value of trade increased  by 
318% , or at an average annual growth rate of 7.4% i.e. approximately 20% faster than global 
trade growth rate.    
Figure 3  – Evolution of world trade in nominal value by membership status : 1995 -2015  
 
104.  Overall, Article XII Members have consistently register ed rapid trade growth  above the world 
avera ge.  Figures 4 and 5 show that, in the period 1995 to 2015, the nominal value of trade in 
goods and services of Article  XII Members increased by 639% and 709%, respectively.  This was 
faster than the increase of the nominal value of global trade in goods a nd services, which 
increased respectively, by 218% and 295%.  Even if China, a major trader, is excluded from the 
calculations, the trend remains.  In  other words, the trade growth of Article XII Members is faster 
than that of the rest of the world.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 26 - 
 
  Figur e 4 - Value of merchandise trade of Article XII Members:  1995 -2015 
(Index, 1995=100)  
 
Source :  WTO Statistics Database  
 
Figure 5 - Value of trade in commercial services of Article XII Members:  1995 -2015 
(Index, 1995=100)  
 
Source :  WTO Statistics Databa se WT/A CC/28  
 
- 27 - 
 
  105.  Article XII Members have also registered strong trade performance in terms of their 
expanded share of world merchandise trade.  As shown in Figure 6, from 1995 to 2015, the share 
of world merchandise trade of Article XII Members increased significantly from 7.9% to 17.8%.  
Figure 6 - Share of world merchandise trade of Article XII Members : 1995 and 2015  
 
  
Source : WTO Statistics Database  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 28 - 
 
   
VIII. CONCLUSIONS - OUTLOOK 201 7 
106.  As WTO Director -General, since Septe mber 2013, I have witnessed the enlargement of the 
membership of the Organization by five Members – Yemen, Seychelles, Kazakhstan, Liberia and 
Afghanistan – three of them LDCs.  The conclusions of accessions have been one of the best 
moments to appreciate the ability of the Organization to deliver for big and small, on development 
and other complex issues, through dynamic multilateral negotiations.  Not only have WTO 
accessions expanded and strengthened the multilateral trading system, but they have also in jected 
impetus for growth and development through the structural reforms undertaken by Members that 
have gone through the Article XII process.  Our future work will continue to be guided by the 
strategic goal of universality for the WTO that promotes inclu siveness, interdependence and 
shared values in times of increasing uncertainty and vulnerability in the global economy.  
107.  Building on the inspiration drawn from Liberia and Afghanistan becoming WTO Members this 
year, the accession of LDCs will remain a prior ity for WTO Members and for me as Director -
General in 2017.  Looking ahead, the accessions of Comoros and Sudan will be a strategic focus in 
support of the goals set by their respective acceding governments for a conclusion in 2017.  
The negotiating teams have been engaged on technical substance, with support from the 
Secretariat.  In both cases, high -level political commitment has been manifested in mobilising 
support from various government branches to advance the accession negotiations.  The acceding 
governments have received support from a wide range of WTO Members, in addition to the strong 
support by the respective Chairpersons.  I also look forward to the start of the accession processes 
of Somalia and Timor -Leste.  
108.   Technical assistance and capacity b uilding have been an integral part of every LDC 
accession.  In the year ahead, the Secretariat will make further efforts to coordinate and 
collaborate with its partners to leverage various types of assistance provided during accession and 
for post -accessio n.  In particular, I appreciate the support provided to LDCs under the China 
Programme in meeting their accession -specific and post -accession needs.  The year 2017 will mark 
the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Guidelines on the Accession of LDCs by  the General 
Council.28  Cambodia, one of the first LDCs to join the Organization following the implementation 
of the Guidelines, will host the next China Round Table which will focus on sharing and fostering 
best practices for LDC accessions, based on the experience of the nine concluded LDC accessions 
to date.  The China Internship Programme will continue to provide on -the-ground training for 
young professionals from LDCs and acceding governments to jump start their careers in the field 
of international tr ade.  
109.    Apart from the accessions of LDCs, I expect a busy year ahead on WTO accessions that will 
build on the re -activation of technical work done this year.  The accession of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina will be ready to cross the finish line as soon as the ac ceding government's negotiators 
receive a mandate to tackle the handful of remaining negotiation challenges on the market access 
front.  Substantive technical progress can be achieved on the accessions of Belarus and Lebanon 
with the active engagement of M embers.  Depending on the availability of new negotiating inputs, 
work is also expected to continue, through formal and informal channels, on the accessions of 
Algeria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Ethiopia, Iran and Serbia.  
110.  I am confident that Members stand r eady, with Secretariat support, to engage with acceding 
governments willing to pursue WTO -consistent domestic reforms and to make the policy choices 
required for advancing their accession negotiations.  The evidence suggests that, as time passes, 
accession  negotiations tend to get more complex, not easier.  Yet, I believe that the future 
prospects for concluding accession negotiations are good, including in 2017. After all, in addition to 
reinforcing the foundation of the rules -based multilateral trading sy stem, every accession can also 
be a valuable instrument for growth and development via the adoption of accession -related 
domestic reforms.  
111.  I seize this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Working Party Chairpersons who 
bring direction and dynamis m to the accession processes.  I also welcome the good collaboration 
between Members and the Secretariat; this partnership is essential for creating a solid framework 
for managing the WTO accession process.  As Director -General, I will also continue to att ach high 
                                                
28 Document WT/L/508, adopted on 10 December 2002.  WT/A CC/28  
 
- 29 - 
 
  priority to the transparency aspects of accession negotiations which are Member -driven.  Timely 
transmission of information and signals plays a key role in the alignment of expectations and 
corresponding actions by Members and the acceding governm ents.  Finally, together with the 
Secretariat staff, I remain committed to providing a platform for assisting and facilitating the work 
of governments that have taken on the accession challenge and are committed to pursuing WTO 
Membership.  
_______________   
  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 30 - ANNEX 1 - ACCESSIONS DIVISION WORK INDICATORS  FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2016  
Year Formal WP 
Meetings  Informal WP 
Meetings/  
Consultations  Technical  
Verification 
Meetings  
 Plurilateral 
Meetings  IGA Technic al 
Assistance, 
Capacity -
Building & 
China Round 
Table 
Process  Article XII 
Accessions  
 Newsletters  DG's Annual  
Report on 
Accessions  Accessions 
Annual 
Outreach 
Cycle  
 
2016 
 2 
Azerbaijan (1)  
Comoros (1)  
 0 0 1 
Azerbaijan (1)  
 10 24 2 
Liberia1 
Afghanistan2 10 1 
(WT/ACC/ 28) 5 
African Group;   
Sub-Committee 
on LDCs;  
GRULAC ; Arab 
Group ; 
IGDC  
Source:  Accessions Division internal data.  
 
                                                
1 14 July 2016.  
2 29 July 2016.   
  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 31 - ANNEX 2 - ACCESSIONS NEGOTIATE D PURSUANT TO ARTICL E XII   
Government*  Membership 
Date  Working Party Report  Goods Schedule  Services 
Schedule  Protocol of Accession  General Council Decision  
1. Ecuador  21/01/1996  WT/L/77 & Corr.1  Add.1 & Corr.1, 2  Add.2  WT/ACC/ECU/6  WT/ACC/ECU/5  
2. Bulgaria  01/12/1996  WT/ACC/BGR/5 & Corr. 1 Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/BGR/7  WT/ACC/BGR/6  
3. Mongolia  29/01/1997  WT/ACC/MNG/9 & Corr.1  Add.1 & Corr.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/MNG/11  WT/ACC/MNG/10  
4. Panama  06/09/1997  WT/ACC/PAN/19 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/PAN/21  WT/ACC/PAN/20  
5. Kyrgyz Republic  20/12/1998  WT/ACC/KGZ/26  & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/KGZ/29  WT/ACC/KGZ/28  
6. Latvia  10/02/1999  WT/ACC/LVA/32  Add.1 & Corr.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/LVA/35  WT/ACC/LVA/34  
7. Estonia  13/11/1999  WT/ACC/EST/28  Add.1  Add.2 & Corr.1  WT/ACC/EST/30  WT/ACC/EST/29  
8. Jordan  11/04/2000  WT/ACC/JOR/33 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/JOR/35  WT/ACC/JOR/34  
9. Georgia  14/06/2000  WT/ACC/GEO/31  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/GEO/33  WT/ACC/GEO/32  
10. Albania  08/09/2000  WT/ACC/ALB/51 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2 & Corr.1, 2  WT/ACC/ALB/53 & Corr.1  WT/ACC/ALB/52 & Corr.1  
11. Oman  09/11/2000  WT/ACC/OMN/ 26 Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/OMN/28  WT/ACC/OMN/27  
12. Croatia  30/11/2000  WT/ACC/HRV/59  Add.1  Add.2 & Corr.1, 2  WT/ACC/HRV/61  WT/ACC/HRV/60  
13. Lithuania  31/05/2001  WT/ACC/LTU/52  Add.1 & Corr.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/LTU/54  WT/ACC/LTU/53  
14. Moldova, Republic of  26/07/2001  WT/ACC/M OL/37 & Corr.1 -4 Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/MOL/40  WT/ACC/MOL/39  
15. China  11/12/2001  WT/ACC/CHN/49 & Corr.1  
WT/MIN(01)/3  Add.1  
Add.1  Add.2  
Add.2  WT/L/432  WT/L/432  
16. Chinese Taipei  01/01/2002  WT/ACC/TPKM/18  
WT/MIN(01)/4  Add.1  
Add.1  Add.2  
Add.2  WT/L/433  WT/L/433  
17. Armen ia 05/02/2003  WT/ACC/ARM/23 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/506  WT/L/506  
18. The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia  04/04/2003  WT/ACC/807/27  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/494  WT/L/494  
19. Nepal  23/04/2004  WT/ACC/NPL/16  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(03)/19  WT/MIN(03)/19  
20. Cambodia  13/10/200 4 WT/ACC/KHM/21  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(03)/18  WT/MIN(03)/18  
21. Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of  11/12/2005  WT/ACC/SAU/61  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/627  WT/L/627  
22. Viet Nam  11/01/2007  WT/ACC/VNM/48  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/662  WT/L/662  
23. Tonga  27/07/2007  WT/ACC/TON/17  
WT/MIN(05)/4  Add.1  Add.2 WT/L/644  WT/L/644  
24. Ukraine  16/05/2008  WT/ACC/UKR/152  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/718  WT/L/718  
25. Cabo Verde  23/07/2008  WT/ACC/CPV/30  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/715  WT/L/715  
26. Montenegro  29/04/2012  WT/ACC/CGR/38  
WT/MIN(11)/7  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/841  WT/MIN(11)/28  
WT/L/841  
27. Samoa  10/05/2012  WT/ACC/SAM/30  
WT/MIN(11)/1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/840  WT/MIN(11)/27  
WT/L/840  
28. Russian Federation  22/08/2012  WT/ACC/RUS/70  
WT/MIN(11)/2  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/839  WT/MIN(11)/24  
WT/L/839  
29. Vanuatu  24/08/2012  WT/ACC/VUT/17  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/862  WT/L/823  
30. Lao Peopl e's Democratic 
Republic  02/02/2013  WT/ACC/LAO/45  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/865  WT/L/865  
31. Tajikistan  02/03/2013  WT/ACC/TJK/30  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/872  WT/L/872  
32. Yemen  26/06/2014  WT/ACC/YEM/42  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(13)/24  
WT/L/905  WT/MIN(13)/24  
WT/L/905  
33. Seychelles, Republi c of 26/04/2015  WT/ACC/SYC/64  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/944  WT/L/944  
34. Kazakhstan  30/11/2015  WT/ACC/KAZ/93  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/957    WT/L/957    
35. Liberia  14/07/2016  WT/ACC/LBR/23  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(15)/38  
WT/L/973  WT/MIN(15)/38  
WT/L/973  
36. Afghanistan  29/07/2016  WT/ACC/ AFG/36  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(15)/39  
WT/L/974  WT/MIN(15)/39  
WT/L/974  
*  Sorted by date of Membership . WT/ACC/28  
 
- 32 - 
 
  ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESSIONS WORKI NG PARTY (WP) CHAIRP ERSONS  
No. Government  Date WP establ ished  WP Chairperson*  Geneva
-based  
(Y/N)  
1.  Algeria  17 June 1987 H.E. Mr. Gustavo Miguel Vanerio Balbela   
(Uruguay)   
Y 
2.  Andorra  22 October  1997 Vacant  
3.  Azerbaijan  16 July 1997 H.E. Mr. Walter Werner  (Germany)  Y 
4.  The Bahamas  18 July 2001 H.E. Mr. Wayne McCook  (Jamaica)  Y 
5.  Belarus  27 October  1993 Vacant  
6.  Bhutan  6 October  1999 H.E. Dr. Thomas Hajnoczi  (Austria)  Y 
7.  Bosnia and Herzegovina  15 July 1999 H.E. Dr. Rajmund Kiss (Hungary)  Y 
8.  Comoros, Union of the  9 October  2007 H.E. Mr. Luis Enrique Chávez Basa goitia  
(Peru)  Y 
9.  Equatorial Guinea  5 February  2008 Vacant  
10.  Ethiopia  10 February  2002 H.E. Dr. Steffen Smidt  (Denmark)  N 
11.  Iran 26 May 2005 Vacant  
12.  Iraq 13 December  2004 H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale  (Morocco)  N 
13.  Lebanese Republic  14 April 1999 Mr. Jean-Paul Thuillier (France)  Y 
14.  Libya 27 July 2004 Mr. Victor Echevarría Ugarte  (Spain)  N 
15.  São Tomé and Principe  26 May 2005 Vacant  
16.  Serbia  15 February  2005 H.E. Mrs. Marie -Claire Swärd Capra  
(Sweden)  N 
17.  Sudan  25 October  1994 Mr. Ryosuke Kuwana  (Japan)  Y 
18.  Syrian A rab Republic  4 May 2010 Vacant  
19.  Uzbekistan  21 December  1994 H.E. Mr. Seokyoung Choi (Korea)  N 
*  As of 2 December  2016.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 33 - 
 
  ANNEX 4 – LENGTH OF TIME OF CO MPLETED ACCESSIONS  
No. Article XII Member  Date of  
WP 
Establishment  Date of 
Membership  Total Time of 
Accession 
Process  
1 Afghanistan*  12/2004  07/2016  11 years 7 months  
2 Albania  12/1992  09/2000  7 years 9 months  
3 Armenia  12/1993  02/2003  9 years 2 months  
4 Bulgaria  11/1986  12/1996  10 years 1 m onth 
5 Cabo Verde*  07/2000  07/2008  8 years  
6 Cambodia*  12/1994  10/2004  9 years 10 months  
7 China  03/1987  12/2001  14 years 9 months  
8 Croatia  10/1993  11/2000  7 years 1 month  
9 Ecuador  09/1992  01/1996  3 years 4 months  
10 Estonia  03/1994  11/1999  5 years  8 months  
11 Georgia  07/1996  06/2000  3 years 11 months  
12 Jordan  01/1994  04/2000  6 years 3 months  
13 Kazakhstan  02/1996  11/2015  19 years 9 months  
14 Kyrgyz Republic  04/1996  12/1998  2 years 8 months  
15 Lao PDR*  02/1998  02/2013  15 years  
16 Latvia  12/1993 02/1999  5 years 2 months  
17 Liberia*  12/2007  07/2016  8 years 7 months  
18 Lithuania  02/1994  05/2001  7 years 3 months  
19 Moldova, Republic of  12/1993  07/2001  7 years 7 months  
20 Mongolia  10/1991  01/1997  5 years 3 months  
21 Montenegro  02/2005  04/2012  7 years 2 months  
22 Nepal*  06/1989  04/2004  14 years 10 months  
23 Oman  06/1996  11/2000  4 years 5 months  
24 Panama  10/1991  09/1997  5 years 11 months  
25 Russian Federation  07/1993  08/2012  19 years 1 month  
26 Samoa*  07/1998  05/2012  13 years 10 months  
27 Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of  07/1993  12/2005  12 years 5 months  
28 Seychelles  07/1995  04/2015  19 years 9 months  
29 Chinese Taipei  09/1992  01/2002  9 years 4 months  
30 Tajikistan  07/2001  03/2013  11 years 8 months  
31 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia  12/1994  04/2003  8 years 4 months  
32 Tonga  11/1995  07/2007  11 years 8 months  
33 Ukraine  12/1993  05/2008  14 years 5 months  
34 Vanuatu*  07/1995  08/2012  17 years 1 month  
35 Viet Nam  01/1995  01/2007  12 years  
36 Yemen*  07/2000  06/2014  13 years 11 months  
 
Overall Average  10 years 2 months  
LDCs Accessions  12 years 6 months  
Non-LDCs Accessions  9 years 4 months  
 
*  Least -developed country (LDC). Cabo Verde and Samoa acceded to the WTO as LDCs.  
They graduated from LDC  status in 2007 and in 2014, respectively . 
  
  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 34 -  
ANNEX 5 - SECTION VI I-DATA ON ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE  
Table 1 - Value of Merchandise Trade and Year -on-Year Percentage Change:  1995 -2015  
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  
Article XII 
Members  
  Value   857   911   975   899   941   1,208   1,194   1,360   1,746   2,307   2,845   3,469   4,217   5,122   3,998   5,278   6,577   6,926   7,280   7,335   6,334  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   6.2%  7.1%  -7.8%  4.6%  28.4%  -1.1%  13.9%  28.4%  32.1%  23.3%  21.9%  21.5%  21.5%  -21.9%  32.0%  24.6%  5.3%  5.1%  0.8%  -13.6%  
World  
  Value  10,453  10,953  11,331  11,186  11,645  13,183  12,679  13,242  15,459   18,797  21,379  24,592  28,353  32,732  25,337  30,812  36,841  37,201  37,959  38,099  33,207  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   4.8%  3.5%  -1.3%  4.1%  13.2%  -3.8%  4.4%  16.7%  21.6%  13.7%  15.0%  15.3%  15.4%  -22.6%  21.6%  19.6%  1.0%  2.0%  0.4%  -12.8%  
Source:  WTO Statistics Database.  
 
Table 2 - Value of Trade in Commercial Services* and Year -on-Year Percentage Change:  1995 -2015  
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014 2015  
Article XII 
Members  
  Value   155   168   189   177   179   200   210   237   274   349   412   490   640   749   650   771   948   1,014   1,114   1,315   1,255  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   8.6%  12.5%  -6.3%  0.7%  12.1%  4.7%  12.9%  15.8%  27.2%  18.0%  19.0%  30.6%  17.0%  -13.2%  18.6%  23.0%  7.0%  9.9%  18.1%  -4.6%  
World  
  Value   2,369   2,536   2,629   2,653   2,784   2,955   2,975   3,159   3,644   4,396   5,107   5,752   6,852   7,770   6,909   7,535   8,512   8,787   9,329   9,977   9,366  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   7.1%  3.7%  0.9%  4.9%  6.1%  0.7%  6.2%  15.4%  20.6%  16.2%  12.6%  19.1%  13.4%  -11.1%  9.0%  13.0%  3.2%  6.2%  7.0%  -6.1%  
 
*  From 2005 onwards, the commercial services values are compiled using a new services classification in the balance of payments (BPM 6). Thus, figures are not directly 
comparable to those from earlier years.  
Source:   WTO Statistics Database.  
 
 WT/ACC/28  
 
- 35 - 
 
  ANNEX 6 - ACCESSIONS MANAGEMEN T 
Table 1 - Accession Working Party Management  
Acce ssion Working Party  Code  Secretary  Co-Secretary  Administrative 
Manager/Support  
Maika Oshikawa, Officer in Charge, during SLWOP of Chiedu Osakwe, Director (until 30 June 2017)   
1. Algeria  
 DZA Sekkate  Beslać  
Soumare  Tandara -Stenier  
2. Andorra  
 AND accessions@wto.org  - No Activity   
3. Azerbaijan  
 AZE Bratanov  
 Varyanik  
Aslani  Letsko  
4. Bahamas  
 BHS Lee Varyanik  Tandara -Stenier  
5. Belarus  BLR Bratanov  
 Sekkate  
Varyanik  
Aslani  Letsko  
6. Bhutan*  
 BTN Lee  
 Malavolon eque Tandara -Stenier  
7. Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  BIH Beslać  Soumare  Tandara -Stenier  
8. Comoros*  
 COM Sekkate  Beslać  
Soumare  Tandara -Stenier  
9. Equatorial Guinea*  
 GNQ Beslać  Malavoloneque  Letsko  
10. Ethiopia*  ETH Chemutai  
 Malavoloneque  Letsko  
11. Iran 
  IRN Varyan ik Bratanov  
Aslani  Tandara -Stenier  
 
12. Iraq 
 IRQ Varyanik  Lee Letsko  
13. Lebanese Republic  LBN Varyanik  
 Chemutai  
Aslani  Letsko  
14. Libya  
 LBY Sekkate  Malavoloneque  Letsko  
15. São Tome and  
Principe*  STP Bratanov  
 Malavoloneque  Letsko  
16. Serbia  
  SRB Beslać  Varyanik  Tandara -Stenier  
17. Sudan*  
 SDN Lee Chemutai  
Malavoloneque  Tandara -Stenier  
18. Syrian Arab Republic  SYR Beslać  
 Soumare  Letsko  
19. Uzbekistan  UZB Lee  
 Aslani  Letsko  
 
Expressions of Interest / Watching Briefs  
Country  Code  Focal Point  Co-Focal Point  Administrative 
Manager/Support  
1. Curaçao  CUW Beslać  Soumare  Tandara -Stenier  
2. Kosovo  KOS Beslać  Soumare  Tandara -Stenier  
3. Palestine  PSE Lee Soumare  Tandara -Stenier  
4. Somalia*1 SOM Sekkate  Malavoloneque  Tandara -Stenier  
5. South Sudan*2 SSD Chemutai  Malavoloneque  Letsko  
6. Timor -Leste*3 TLS Varyanik  Malavoloneque  Letsko  
7. Turkmenistan  TKM Beslać  Aslani  Letsko  
 
*  Least -developed countries (LDCs).  
1  Application received on 12 December 2015, waiting for a statement on the Foreign Trade Regime.  
2  Application circulated (WT/L/852), bu t not yet considered by the General Council.  
3  Application received on 9 April 2015, waiting for a statement on the Foreign Trade Regime.  WT/ACC/28  
 
- 36 - 
 
  Table 2 - Non-Working Party Workload Distribution  
Responsibility  Focal Point  Co-Focal Point  Administrative 
Manager/  
Support  
Acting in the absence of the Director  
 Oshikawa   Tandara -Stenier  
DG' Annual Report on WTO 
Accessions  Varyanik  
(2016 lead)  Chemutai  Tandara -Stenier  
Informal Group on Accessions (IGA)  
 Bratanov  
(Secretary of IGA)  Chemutai  
 Tandara -Stenier  
Acce ssions Newsletter  
 Chemutai  Bratanov   
 Tandara -Stenier  
Annual Outreach  
 Sekkate  Lee Letsko  
TA Focal Point  
 Lee Sekkate  Tandara -Stenier  
Post-Accession Support  
 Lee/Varyanik  
 Soumare  
 Letsko  
China Programme /  
Accessions Interns (Pillar I)  Beslać  Lee Tandara -Stenier  
China Programme /  
China Round Table (Pillar II)  Chemutai  - Tandara -Stenier  
 
WTO -China Project  
Reduction of Trade costs  Chemutai  Malavoloneque  
 Letsko  
LDC Focal Point  
 Sekkate  Soumare  Letsko  
Central Asia Focal Point  
 Lee Aslani  
 Letsko  
Databases:  
    
 Accessions Commitments 
Database (ACDB)  Sekkate  Soumare  
 Letsko  
 Market Access Register  
 Sekkate  Varyanik  Letsko  
 Accessions Intelligence Portal 
(AIP)  Beslać   
 Soumare  Letsko  
 Trade performance of Article 
XII Members  Sekkate   
 Chemutai  Tandara -Stenier  
Accessions Website Update  
 WP Secretaries  WP Co -Secretaries  Tandara -Stenier  
Letsko  
Knowledge and Information 
Management  Beslać   Soumare  Letsko  
Acce ssions Division Follow -up 
Tracker  Tandara -Stenier   Letsko  Tandara -Stenier   
Accessions Annual Output Plan  
 Sekkate  Beslać  Tandara -Stenier  
Accessions Retreat  Beslać  Soumare  
 Tandara -Stenier   
Accessions Book Project  
 Beslać  Chemutai  
 Tandara -Stenier   
 
ACCESSIONS STAFF DISPOSITION:  
- Director;  
- 6 Professionals;  
- 2 Administrative Managers; and,  
- 4 rotating China's LDCs and Accessions Programme interns.  
 
__________