WT/ACC/33  
WT/GC/196  
 
11 December 2018  
(18-7840) Page: 1/53 
    
  
 
WTO ACCESSIONS  
2018  ANNUAL REPORT BY THE  DIRECTOR -GENERAL* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                
* Unless otherwise specified, t his Annual Report takes account of confirmed accession -related 
developments up until 10 December  2018. 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/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  TABLE  OF CONTENTS  
 
I.  OVERVIEW 2018 AND OU TLOOK 2019  ................................ ................................ ..... 4 
II.  2018 DEVELOPMENTS  ................................ ................................ ..............................  7 
1. ACCESSION WORKING PARTI ES: AN OVERVIEW OF A CTIVITIES .............................  7 
2. WORKING PARTY CHAIRP ERSONS  ................................ ................................ ..........  7 
3. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS  ................................ ........................  9 
4.  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  AND OUTREACH  ................................ ...............................  9 
5. ACCESSIONS TRANSPARE NCY TOOLBOX  ................................ ...............................  14 
III.  STATE OF PLAY IN ACC ESSION WORKING PARTI ES ................................ ..............  15 
IV. LEAS T-DEVELOPED COUNTRIE S' ACCESSIONS  ................................ ......................  18 
V. POST -ACCESSION  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 19 
VI. TRADE AND ECONOMIC P ERFORMANCE OF ARTICL E XII MEMBERS  .......................  21 
VII.  REPORT ON RECENT DEV ELOPMENTS IN THE MAN AGEMENT OF ACCESSION  
NEGOTIATIONS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 24 
1. INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 24 
2.  APPLICATION FOR MEMB ERSHIP AND OBERVER S TATUS  ................................ ...... 25 
2.1  Request for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies  ............ 25 
2.2  Request for accession under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement  ...................... 25 
2.3  Rights and obligations linked to observer status  ................................ ................... 26 
2.4 Chairperson of Accession Working Party  ................................ .............................. 26 
2.5 Membership of Working Party  ................................ ................................ ............ 27 
3. THE WORKING PARTY  ................................ ................................ ...........................  28 
3.1 Initial set of documents  ................................ ................................ ..................... 28 
- Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime  ................................ ......................... 28 
- Supporting  information  ................................ ................................ ..................... 29 
- Legislation  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......29 
- WTO accession document series  ................................ ................................ ......... 30 
3.2 Working Party meetings  ................................ ................................ .................... 30 
3.3 The multilateral track (negotiations on rules)  ................................ ....................... 31 
3.4 The plurilateral  track (discussions on agricultural support and other topics)  ............. 32 
3.5 The bilateral track (negotiations on goods and services)  ................................ ........ 33 
3.6 LDCs accessions  ................................ ................................ ............................... 34 
4. COMPLETION OF WORKIN G PARTY MANDATE  ................................ .......................  35 
5. FINAL ACTIONS BEFORE  WTO MEMBERSHIP  ................................ .........................  36 
ANNEX 1 – ACCESSIONS  DIVISION WORK INDIC ATORS FOR CALENDAR Y EAR 2018  ..... 38 
ANNEX 2 – ACCESSIONS  NEGOTIATED PURSUANT  TO ARTI CLE XII  ...............................  39 
ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESS IONS WORKING PARTY C HAIRPERSONS  ................................ ... 40 
ANNEX 4 – LENGTH OF TIME OF COMPLETED AC CESSIONS  ................................ ............  41 
ANNEX 5 – BASIC ECON OMIC PROFILES OF ART ICLE XII MEMBERS AND  ACCEDING 
GOVERNMENTS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  42 WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  ANNEX 6 – DATA ON TR ADE PERFORMANCE  ................................ ................................ ... 45 
ANNEX 7 – ACCESSIONS  MANAGEMENT  ................................ ................................ .........  47 
ANNEX 8 - MEMORANDUM  AND SUPPLEMENTARY F ACTUAL INFORMATION  ...................  49 
ANNEX 9 - A COMPREHE NSIVE LEGISLATIVE AC TION PLAN (LAP)  ................................ . 50 
ANNEX 10 - INITIAL TARIFF OFFER  ................................ ................................ ...............  52 
ANNEX 11 - BILATERAL  MARKET ACCESS AGREE MENTS  ................................ .................  53 
 WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  I.  OVERVIEW 201 8 AND OUTLOOK 201 9 
1. I am pleased to present the Tenth Annual Report on WTO Accessions. As in previous years, 
this Report provides up -to-date information on the state of play of accession negotiations and an 
overview of the activities,  by the WTO Secretariat and Members , aimed at  assist ing acceding 
governments in achieving their accession goals. The Report also reviews the in itiatives undertaken 
by the WTO Secretariat to provide more visibility , and platforms for information exchange and 
transparency, with respect to the ongoing accessions. It also puts a special focus on the management 
of the accession process.  
2. One of the obj ectives of the WTO is to ensure that all countries wishing to do so can use trade 
as an instrument for promoting economic growth and development. This is why WTO accessions 
continue to be a systemic priority. Since 1995, the Organization has dealt with 58 accessions, 36 of 
which have been already concluded successfully with 22 remain ing on the agenda. The continued 
strong interest from governments wishing to join the WTO is a testament to the systemic value of 
the Organization . This sends a powerful signal as the Organization begins its preparations for the 
12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) which will be held in June 2020 in Astana.  
3. There have been good developments to report over the last 12 months. First, at the 11th 
Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, WTO Members responded positively to the request 
for accession by South Sudan - currently the world's newest nation , which gained independence in 
2011 - by agreeing to establish a n accession  Working Party . Another notable accession -related 
outcome from Buenos Aires was the establishment of the g7+ WTO Accessions Group, which was 
launched on the margins of the Ministerial Conference. The objective of this Group is to facilitate the 
integration of post -confli ct and fragile economies into the multilateral trading system through WTO 
accession -related reforms.    
4. Concerning the accessions identified as strategic priorities for 2018 , Bosnia and Herzegovina 
made the most substantial progress. No tably, it co ncluded  all but one of its remaining bilateral 
market access negotiations with WTO Members and worked with Members and the Secretariat to 
bring the text of the draft Report of the Working Party  in close -to-final form. This accession is now 
technically very advanc ed and the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina targets the conclusion of 
the accession process in the first half of 2019 . The accession of the Union of the Comoros did not 
advance as planned in 2018. In particular, p rogress slowed down after a constitutio nal referendum 
held in July. While signif icant work remains on the domestic legislative front, this LDC accession is 
a possible candidate for conclusion and another priority for 2019.  
5. Having registered steady progress in 2017 -2018, the accession of Belaru s is now set to enter 
its advanced stage. Five  bilateral market access agreements were concluded in 2018 and the draft 
Working Party Report continued to evolve. Now in its 25th year, this accession process has begun to 
reach technical maturity, backed by t he political will of the Belarusian  government to conclude 
accession negotiations by MC12. Belarus is the final member of the  Eurasian Economic Union  (EAEU)  
in the WTO accession process , following the accessions of Russian Federation  (2012) and  Kazakhstan  
(2015) and, as such, is address ing complex questions associated with the integration of a regional 
economic and customs union in a rules -based multilateral system . Completing this accession process 
is, therefore, of systemic importance for both the WTO and  the EAEU.   
6. Good progress was also registered in the accession of The Bahamas  after six years of 
inactivity . The Working Party held its first meeting on the basis of a substantial set of technical 
inputs . The Government of The Bahamas  has now instructed its negotiating team to intensify 
domestic work , as well as the  engagement with Members,  with the goal of concluding  the accession 
process before MC12.  It is notable that t his is the last remaining WTO accession in the Western 
Hemisphere.  
7. Following clear i ndications received from the government  of Serbia, I expect this technically 
advanced accession process to make significant progress once its reactivation is confirmed , subject 
to the enactment of outstanding legislati on. I believe that t his accession coul d then move towards  
finalization in the lead -up to MC12.  
8. In addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Union of the Comoros, the Secretariat is ready 
to support th e aspiration s of Belarus,  The Bahamas, and Serbia  by making th eir accession s a priority WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  for the Secretariat  in 2019. As always, progress towards the finalization of negotiations will hinge 
on the willingness of the acceding government to place WTO accession as a top priority on the 
domestic policy agenda. At the same time, Members would need to engage constructively on the 
critical issues which emerge as the negotiations approach the endgame.  
9. In several accessions, 2018 was a year of preparatory work aimed at resuming the Working 
Party processes after periods of inactivity.  The Working Party on the accession of Sudan is expected 
to reconvene in the new year, following the lifting of a number of trade restrictive measures by the 
acceding government. Following clear indications received from the governments of  Ethiopia and 
Uzbekistan , the Secret ariat has carried out technica l work  to update key accession document s with 
a view to reactivating these accession processes . I expect that these Working Parties will formally 
resume their work in the first half of 2019. T he stage is also set for the resum ption of formal work 
in the Working Party on the Accession of Iraq following the submission of an updated Memorandum 
on the Foreign Trade Regime early in 2018.  Furthermore, some of the mature accession dossiers 
(Azerbaijan, Lebanese Republic) may not have registered formal progress in 2018, but can see 
resumed intensive  activity at any time.     
10. The accessions of Somalia, South Sudan and Timor -Leste remain at the initial activation stages 
after the establishment of their respective Working Parties in the las t 24 months. The formal Working 
Party processes, however, could begin in the near future - as soon as the necessary documentary 
base, including the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime and the first round of questions and 
replies,  is provided by the acce ding governments. In addition, Equatorial Guinea, which graduated 
from LDC status in 2017, has recently indicated readiness to submit its Memorandum on the Foreign 
Trade Regime in the near future. This would pave the way for holding the first meeting of th e Working 
Party, some ten years after its establishment.     
11. While acknowledging the progress made this year and the positive prospects for the year 
ahead, it is fair to say that substantial work remains with many governments which are still at  early 
or intermediate stages  in the process of accession.  This is why this year's thematic focus is a "Report 
on Recent Developments  in the Management of Accession Negotiations " (section VII).  The thematic 
section  offers  a historical record  of how accessions work has been  handled through 2018. It covers, 
in particular, the approval of accession applications, rights and obligations linked to observer status, 
the role of Working Party Chairpersons, accession documents and templates, the practical steps 
involved in co nvening and conducting Working Party meetings, and the closing stages of an accession 
process.  
12. The purpose of this year's thematic section is to enhance transparency , which is in line the 
pledge of the WTO Secretariat to provide Members with a clear idea of how the WTO manages its 
functions . It is aimed at assisting delegations in participating more effectively in accessions work . 
This section has no normative content and does not in any  way replace or modify the established 
accession procedures set out in  the WT/ACC/22 WTO document series, which are reviewed on a 
periodic basis in consultation with WTO Members.  It does not forecast procedures that will be in 
effect in future years.  
13. I seize this opportunity to express my appreciation to WTO Members and all the Working Party 
Chairpersons, and to welcome the seven new Chairpersons who were appointed since the publicatio n 
of the last Annual Report on A ccessions. The engagement of Working Party Chairpersons continues 
to be a critical component in the conduct of accession negotiations, as well as in the activation and 
reactivation of dormant processes. The new Chairpersons will have an important role to play in 
steering the work in their respective Working Parties and I invite them to engage closely and 
proactivel y with Members, the acceding governments, and the Secretariat.  
14. Monthly meetings of the Informal Group of Accessions, chaired by the Secretariat, continue 
to serve as the principal platform for information exchange with Members, and when necessary, 
Working  Party Chairpersons.  The Accessions Newsletter provides monthly up -to-date information 
on active accessions to a wider audience, which has continued to grow steadily.  
15. Addressing  Members' standing request to widen the outreach  and support to acceding 
governments, in 2018 the Secretariat offered technical assistance and capacity building activities to 
over 600 participants from acceding governments. In particular, the  Secretariat carried out 
accession -specific national seminars, workshops and technical missions in  the case of  eight acceding WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  governments. Furthermore, since the circulation of the last Annual Report, three accession related 
experience -sharing activities w ere carried out: the Sixth and Seventh China Round Tables on 
Accessions, hosted respectively by Argentina and Kazakhstan, and sponsored by China; and the 
second Regional Dialogue for acceding governments from the Greater Horn of Africa, hosted by 
Djibouti.  In early 2019, the Secretariat will offer a specialized training  on WTO accessions rules 
which will provide an in -depth focus on the WTO legal disciplines at issue in the accession Working 
Party Reports.  
16.  In addition, i n the year under review, significan t efforts were invested in the expansion of 
outreach activities and the establishment of platforms aimed at promoting dialogues and experience -
sharing among acceding governments. A newly established Informal Group of Acceding 
Governments was launched to ad dress a  growing  need for better coordination among acceding 
governments, while a n Informal Dialogue of Acceding LDCs was established to promote cooperation 
among  acceding LDCs. Both of these initiatives are led by acceding governments. In addition, a 
series of new activities, including experience -sharing events, were launched under the "Trade for 
Peace" initiative, coordinated by the Accessions Division.  
17. I welcome these new initiatives as they create  additional support networks that can play an 
important r ole in addressing the challenges associated with the WTO accession process, which 
remains complex, multifaceted and demanding. This is of particular relevance for many of the 
applicants which are  currently in the accession queue – i.e., small and medium -sized economies, 
including a number of conflict -affected and fragile states.   
18. By acceding to the WTO, governments send a message that they are committed to the core 
values of openness, transparency, good governance, and the rule of law. But each accession i s also 
a building block for the multilateral trading system itself. This synergy is particularly relevant today 
as fundamental questions are being raised about the validity of the rules -based approach to 
international trade.  
19. Together with the Secretariat staff, I remain committed to building , in 2019 , on the foundation 
of what was achieved this year , and to use WTO accession s to continue expanding the reach of WTO 
rules and disciplines  while also  provid ing acceding governments with a development tool via 
domestic reform. The prospects for results on accessions in 2019 are positive:  
• Several accessions are at an advanced state of technical maturity. Specifically, the 
accessions of The Bahamas, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Union of Comoros 
should b e of strategic priority for the Secretariat in 2019 and in the lead -up to MC12.  
• Focus will also be sustained on other active accession files, in particular the ones in which  
significant progress is anticipated in the near future, such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Serbia and 
Uzbekistan.  
• As always, t he Secretariat will invest resources and channel energy in particular to LDC 
accessions .  
20. I look forward to working with WTO Members and acceding governments in the year ahead 
with a view to welcoming new Members a nd/or deciding on those that will be ready for  approval at 
the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference.  
 
Roberto Azevêdo  
 WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  II.  2018 DEVELOPMENTS  
1. ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES : AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES   
21. At the start of the year, 22 acceding government s were in the process of WTO accession1. 
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:  
• Four formal Working Party meetings were held. These were on the accessions of The 
Bahamas ( one2 meeting) , Belarus (one3 meeting) , Bosnia  and Herzegovina (one4 
meeting) , and the Union of Comor os (one5 meeting) . 
• One meeting address ing specific technical issues in the area of agriculture  was held for 
The Bahamas6. This plurilateral meeting w as chaired by the Director of the Accessions 
Division.  
22. In 201 8, progress in the accession Working Parties was documented as follows:  
• An updated Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) was circulated for the 
Working Party on the accession of Iraq.  
• A Factual Summar y of Points Raised  was prepared and circulated by the Secreta riat for 
the Working Party on the accession of The Bahamas . 
• A first version of a draft Report of the Working Party was prepared by the Secretariat for 
the Working Party on the accession of the Union of  Comoros . 
• A draft Report of the Working Party was revised by the Secretariat for the Working Part y 
on the accession of Belarus.   
2. WORKING  PARTY  CHAIRPERSONS   
23. There were a number of  changes in the status  of Acces sion Working Party Chairpersons  since 
the circulat ion of the 2017 Annual Report , in chronological order :  
• H.E. Mr Atanas Paparizov (Bulgaria) was designated as Chairperson of the Working Party 
on the Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 30 November 2017, following the 
departure of H.E. Mr Rajmund  Kiss (Hungary).  
• H.E. Mr José Luís Cancela Gómez (Uruguay) was designated as Chairperson of the Working 
Party on the Accession of Algeria in 8 May 2018, following the departure of H.E.  Mr Gustavo 
Miguel Vanerio Balbela (Uruguay).  
• H.E. Mr Andrew Staines (U nited Kingdom) was designated as Chairperson of the Working 
Party on the Accession of The Bahamas on 8 May 2018, following the departure of H.E.  Mr 
Wayne McCook (Jamaica).  
• H.E. Dr Elisabeth Tichy -Fisslberger (Austria) was designated as Chairperson of the Working 
Party on the Accession of Bhutan on 26 July 2018, following the departure of H.E. Dr 
Thomas Hajnoczi (Austria).  
                                                
1 The Working Party on the Accession of South Sudan was established on 13 December 2017.  
2 The Third Meeting of the Working Party held on 21 September 2018.  
3 The 10th Meeting of the Working Party held on 15 May 2018.  
4 The 13th Meeting of the Working Party held on 7 February 2018.  
5 The Fourth Meeting of the Working Party held on 28 March 2018.  
6 Held on 20 September 2018.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  • H.E. Ms Ji -ah Paik ( Republic of Korea) was designated as Chairperson of the Working Party 
on the Accession of Uzbekistan on 26 July 2018, following the departure of H.E. Mr 
Seokyoung Choi ( Republic of Korea).  
• The position of Chairperson of  the Working Party on the Accession of Ethiopia became  
vacant  following the departure of H.E. Mr Carsten Staur (Denmark).   
• The position of Chairperson  of the Working Party on the Accession of Sudan became vacant  
following the departure of Mr Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan).   
24. As of November 2018 , of the 13 Working  Parties which have a Chairperson, nine Chairpersons 
are Geneva -based.  Three  Chairpersons are women. There are nine vacancies for the position s of 
Chairpersons of Accession Working Parties (see Annex 3). These include vacancies on accessions at 
their initial stages, where no documentary basis for work exists at present . As of the date of writing , 
consultations are ongoing with regards to the Chairmanships of the Accession Working Parties of 
Ethiopia and Sudan.  
25. In 201 8, Working Party Chairpersons remai ned actively engaged . They consulted with 
Members and acceding government s in various formats and configurations , and engaged in outreach 
to improve technical and policy understanding  on WTO accessions . The active engagement of 
Chairpersons advanced the accession s process es, including through country visits. 
26. The Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. 
Mr Atanas Paparizov (Bulgaria), led a mission, accompanied by the Director of the Accessions 
Division and the Secr etary of the Working Party, to Sarajevo from 22 to 23 January 2018, at the 
invitation of the Government  of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The  WTO delegation held high -level 
meetings with the Government, including  with: H.E. Mr Mirko Šarović, Minister of Foreign T rade and 
Economic Relations and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers; and Mr Hamdo Tinjak, Head 
of the WTO Accession  Negotiating Team and his team . The Chairperson also met with Mr 
Mehmedalija Hadžović, Economic Advisor at the Office of the Chairman  of the Council of Ministers; 
Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Chair and 
Members of the Parliamentary Commissions on Trade Policy and Customs from both House of 
Representatives and House of Peoples, and Mr Nem anja Vasić, Vice President of the Foreign Trade 
Chamber. The meetings confirmed all stakeholders' support for a speedy conclusion of the accession 
process. The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with 
Members to f ind solutions on the few remaining multilateral issues and to conclude outstanding 
bilateral market access negotiations with Members  concerned .  
27. The Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Azerbaijan, H.E. Dr Walter Werner 
(Germany), led a mission, accompanied by the Director of the Accessions Division and the Secretary 
of the Working Party, to Baku from 27 to 28 June 2018, at the invitation of the Government of 
Azerbaijan. The WTO delegation held high -level m eetings with: H.E. Mr Shahin Mustafayev, Minister 
of Economy and Chairman of the Inter -Ministerial Commission on Preparation for WTO Accessi on; 
H.E. Mr Rufat Mammadov, Deputy Minister of Economy; H.E. Mr Mahmud Mammad -Guliyev, Deputy 
Minister of Foreign Af fairs and Chief Negotiator for WTO Accession; and Mr Ziyad Samadzadeh, 
Chairman of the Economic Policy Committee of  the Milli Majlis (Parliament). The meetings confirmed 
broad support for Azerbaijan’s future membership in the WTO and clarified Azerbaijan's  policy 
priorities, the domestic dynamics of the accession process, and certain challenges facing the process. 
The WTO delegation also visited the Azerbaijan State University of Economics and met the 
University's Rector, Professor Adalat Muradov. During th e meeting, it was agreed to explore the 
University's interest to establish academic collaboration with the WTO.  
28. The Chairperson of the Working Part y on the Accession of Algeria, H.E. Mr José Luís Cancela 
Gómez (Uruguay) , visited Algiers in November 2018 at the invitation of the Government of Algeria.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  29. In keeping with systemic transparency obligations, the Chairpersons of the Working Parties 
reported to Members on the progress of the work in their respective Working Parties, including the 
results of their vi sits, at the Informal Group on Accessions.7 
3. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS   
30. Ensuring transparency and predictability in the accession process remain key priorities for the 
WTO Director -General and WTO Members.  The transparency measures that have been in place  since 
2010 continued to be implemented and reinforced  in 2018 . 
i. Informal Group on Accessions  (IGA)  
31. As of the time of writing, the IGA has held nine meetings in 201 8. Consultations in the IGA 
focused on:  (i) information exchange on accessions; (ii) Secretariat reports on technical 
developments in accession s processes; (iii) Secretariat reports on technical -assistance and outreach 
activities; (iv) reports by Working Party C hairpersons; (v) planning of accession meetings;  and (vi) 
addressing specific concerns raised by Members.  
ii. WTO Accessions Newsletter  
32. In the period under review  the Secretariat prepared nine WTO Accessions Newsletters . 
The Newsletter ensure s transparency on accession matters, report s on monthly meetings of the IGA , 
and enhance s communication with acceding government s, Chairpersons, Members , and the broader 
global trade policy community.  The number of subscribers to the Newsletter in 2018 was 990, 
excluding the Secretariat . 
iii. 2018 Annual Outreach Dialogue with WTO Regional Groups   
33. As part of its 201 8 annual outreach dialogue with WTO regional groups, a briefing for  
least-developed countries  was provided at the 83rd session of the Sub -Committee on LDCs held on 
14 September  2018. The a nnual outreach dialogue on accessions was also conducted  with the 
ASEAN  Group on 27 November  2018; the Group of Latin American and the Caribbean on 
28 November  2018; and the Informal Group of Acceding Governments  on 30 November  2018.8 
The objective  of the annual outreach dialogue is to strengthen communication channels with 
Members and Acceding Government s, and to provide a platform to exchange region -specific 
information on WTO  access ions. These outreach activities  strengthen the collaboratio n between 
Members and Acceding Government s, and assist in building greater ownership for WTO accessions.  
4.  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OUTREACH   
i. Technical Assistance  
34. The WTO Biennial Technical Assist ance and Training Plan for 201 8–2019 establishes support 
for acceding governments as one of four key results that technical assistance should contribute to 
achieve .9 The Plan grants priority attention to acceding LDCs.  Traditional ly, 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 private 
sector, academia, civil society , and the media . 
35. In 2018, acceding governments were invited to participate in  numerous  technical assistance 
and capacity building  WTO activities , including activities at the global, regional and national  levels 
and e -training courses . Overall, over 600 part icipants from acceding governments took part in WTO 
technical assistance activities. Figure 1, below, shows t he number of participants from a cceding 
governments that completed technical  assistance activities during 201 8. 
                                                
7 The Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Mr Atanas 
Paparizov (Bulgaria), reported to the IGA on 1 February 2018 . The Chairperson of the Working Party on th e 
Accession of Azerbaijan , H.E. Dr  Walter Werner  (Germany ), reported to the IGA on 5 July 2018.  
8 At the time of  writing an outreach dialogue with the African Group  is planned for early 2019.  
9 WT/COMTD/W/2 27/Rev.1 . WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  Figure 1: Participants from Acceding Governments in WTO technical  assistance a ctivities 
(201 8) 
 
*  LDC 
36. In the period under review, the Accessions Division was involved in the delivery of 23 technical  
assistance  activities . These included , inter alia : (i) national and Geneva -based seminars; (ii) 
sessions on accessions in advanced trade policy courses10, and introductory courses for LDCs; (iii) 
workshops; (iv) technical missions; (v ) e-Learning; (vi)  outreach d ialogue with WTO groupings11; 
(vii) presentations to studen ts12; and (viii) participation in conferences.  
37. Specifically, the Accessions Division , sometimes in collaboration with other Secretariat 
Divisions , provided tailor-made technical assistance  to Azerbaijan,  The Bahamas,  Belarus,  Serbia,  
South Sudan , Sudan and Uzbekistan .  
38. At the request of the Government of Azerbaijan, the Secretariat  participated in a conference 
which launched a project supporting Azerbaijan's WTO accession and delivered a presentation on 
WTO accession . The Secretariat also held bilateral meet ings with government officials.   
39. At the request of the Government of the Bahamas, t he Secretariat  undertook a technical 
mission to Nassau  from 19 -24 March 2018. The mission's specific objectives were to: (i)  re-establish 
contacts with the relevant authorit ies; (ii) review the domestic state of play; (ii i) assist the 
negotiating team in updating the negotiating inputs  required for the reactivation of the accession 
process; and (i v) establish a Roadmap for conclu ding the accession process  in 2019.   
40. At the re quest of the Government of Belarus, the Secretariat delivered (i) a national workshop 
on the SPS Agreement (23 -24 January); and (ii) a national workshop on quantitative restrictions 
                                                
10 The Accessions Division participated in the Advanced Trade Policy Course on 29 June.  
11 See, e.g. above paragraph 33.  
12 E.g. the Accessions Division me t with students from Kyunghee University (30 January).  
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  and the I nformation Technology Agreement (8-9 November ). During these missions, the Secretariat 
also provided technical assistance on the update of the relevant chapters of Belarus' draft Working 
Party Report  and met with government officials to discuss the state of play in the accession process.  
41. At the request of the Government of Serbia,  the Secretariat undertook a technical mission to 
Belgrade from 29 to 31 May 2018 . The specific objectives of the mission were to: (i) re -establish 
contact with the Government, following five years of dormancy in t he accession process; (ii) assist 
the negotiating team in updating the negotiating inputs necessary for the resumption of the W orking 
Party process; and (iii) agree on the next steps in the accession  process.   The Accessions Division 
also contributed to th e WTO/PAM High -Level Parliamentary Conference on "Investments and Trade 
Facilitation in the Western Balkans" in Belgrade from 12 to 13 July 2018.   
42. At the request of the Government of South Sudan,  the Secretariat undertook a visit to Juba 
from 18 to 21 Feb ruary 2018  to create  awareness of the accession process  by meeting with members 
of the Government and relevant domestic stakeholders . Another national activity  delivered by the 
Secretariat , aimed at assisting South Sudan in the preparation of its Memorandum on the Foreign 
Trade Regime, took place from 28 to 30 November.  
43. At the request of the Government of Sudan, the Secretariat undertook a mission to Khartoum 
from 29 April to 4 May 2018. Th e objective of the mission was (i) to gather information on the 
introduction of a temporary ban on imported products and the introduction of foreign exchange 
restrictions ; and (ii) to explore specific steps to normalize the Working Party process.  A second 
mission took place in early December.  
44. At the request of the Government of Uzbekistan, the Secretariat  undertook two missions to 
Tashkent. F rom 14 to 18 May 2018 , the Secretariat contributed  to a 3-day workshop on the 
"Resumption of the Accession Process of  Uzbekistan to the WTO", co -organized by the World Bank 
and USAID . The team met with Government  officials  to develop  a Roadmap for the official resumption 
of the Working Party process after over a decade of dormancy .  From 17 to 19 October 2018, the 
Secret ariat delivering a training course on  goods schedules; participated in the Central Asian Trade 
Forum ; and met with Governmental officials to discuss the state of play in the accession process.     
45. Accession -related technical assistance and capacity buildin g activities were also provided by 
other institutions, and often in partnership with WTO Members. This year, the Secretariat continued 
to work in partnership  with the Advisory Centre on WTO Law, the African Development Bank, the 
Asian Development Bank, the  International Monetary Fund,  the Enhanced Integrated Framework,  
the International Trade Centre, the Islamic Development Bank, the United Nations Conference on 
Trade and Development, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, t he UN 
Development Programme, the US Agency for International Development, the World Intellectual 
Property Organization, and the World Bank.  Activities have been coordinated with positive results.   
ii. Outreach  
46. In the year under review, significant efforts were investe d in the expansion of outreach 
activities and the establishment of platforms aimed at promoting dialogues and experience -sharing 
among acceding governments. These  platforms included : (i) the g7+ WTO Accession Group ; (ii) the 
Trade for Peace initiative ; (iii) the Regional Dialogue on WTO Accessions for the Greater Horn of 
Africa; (iv)  the Informal Dialogue of Acceding LDCs;  and (v) the Informal Group of Acceding 
Governments (IGAG ). 
47. The g7+ WTO Accessions Group was launched on 10 December 2017 on the marg ins of the 
11th WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires , Argentina . Established as a subgroup of the larger 
g7+13 it comprises eight LDCs associated with WTO accession, including three Article XII Members 
(Afghanistan, Liberi a, Yemen) and five acceding g overnments (Comoros, Sao Tomé and Principe,  
Somalia, South Sudan  and Timor -Leste ). The Group  aims to facilitate the integration of post -conflict 
                                                
13 The g7+ is an association of 20 fragile and conflict -affected states, established in 2010 in Dili, Timor -
Leste, with the aim of forging pathways out of fragility and conflict and to facilitate transi tion and economic 
development of its members. Its members are: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, 
Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea -Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New 
Guinea, Sao Tomé and Principe, Sierr a Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor -Leste, Togo, and 
Yemen.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  and fragile econom ies into the multilateral trading system through WTO accession -related reforms, 
and to support the WTO accession efforts its members  through information and experience -sharing . 
In the year under review, the Group, coordinated by Afghanistan , held three  formal meeting s, 
including a special session with the representatives of the g7+ Secret ariat, and one outreach event 
which focused on experience -sharing.  
48. In 2018, a series of new activities were launched under the "Trade for Peace " initiative , 
coordinated by the Accessions Division  (www.wto.org/tradeforpeace14). Approximately two thirds of 
acceding governments are considered conflict -afflicted or fragile economies .  The initiative is aimed 
at promoting WTO accession as a pathway towards economic growth,  development and stability, 
there by contributing to peace .  A series of activities under th e theme "Trade for Peace" in the context 
of WTO accession took place in 2018, including a Trade for Peace seminar organized in partnership 
with the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform ( 19 September) ; a joint g7+/WTO/EIF/UNDP high -level 
session entitled "Trade for Peace: Integration of Fragile States into the Global Economy as a Pathway 
towards Peace and Resilience" during the WTO 2018 Public Forum ( 4 October); a panel discussion  
on "Trade for Peace: WTO Membership for Peace and Nation -Building"  during the Geneva Peace 
Week ( 9 November); and a Regional Dialogue on WTO Accession s for the Greater Horn of Africa 
organized under the theme Trade for Peace ( 3-6 December  – see next paragraph ).  The g7+ WTO 
Accessions Group was an active participant in these activ ities.  
49. As follow -up to the first Regional Dialogue held in Nairobi on 28 -30 August 2017, the 
Secretariat  will organize the second Regional Dialogue on WTO Accessions for the Greater Horn of 
Africa in Djibouti on 3-6 December 2018 . The theme  of the Regiona l Dialogue is  Promoting Trade 
for Peace through WTO Accessions.  
50. At the initiative of acceding governments, a n Informal Dialogue of Acceding LDCs  took place 
on 11 December  2017, on the margins of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference  in Buenos Aires, 
Argentina . This dialogue  brought together Ministers and representatives of seven acceding LDCs - 
Bhutan, Comoros, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan15, Sudan an d Timor -Leste - to discuss issues 
pertaining to the accession  of LDCs . A second  Informal Dialogue took place on 2 June 2018 in 
Geneva. At th is meeting, d elegations supported the continuation of the Dialogue for promoting 
cooperation between acceding LDCs.  
51. A newly established Informal Group of Acceding Governments (IGAG) , which comprises all 
acceding governments, met for the first time on 27  March  2018. This group was launched in direct 
response to the need for better coordination among acceding governments in a recent surge of 
accession activities, as highlighted in the DG's 2017 Annual Report on WTO Accessions. The group 
is chaired by Belarus. A second meeting of the IGAG was held on  2 June , followed by a third meeting 
on 30 November . 
iii. China's  LDCs and Accessions Programme  (The China Programme)  
52. The "China's  LDCs and Accessions Programme " (the China  Programme ) was established by 
the Government of China and the WTO on 14  July 2011.  China undertook the sixth renewal and 
extension on 9 December  2017, with a contribution of US$500,000.  
53. The China Programme is aimed at strengthening LDCs' participation in the WTO and at 
assisting acceding  government s in joining the WTO.  The p rogramme supports and finances activities 
under five principal pillars:  
I. WTO Accession s Internship Programme;  
II. Annual China Round Tables on WTO Access ions; 
III. Increasing participation of LDCs i n WTO meetings;  
IV. South -South dialogu e on LDCs and development; and  
                                                
14 To be launched shortly.  
15 South Sudan became an acceding government on 13 December 2017.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  V. LDCs' Trade Policy Revie w follow -up workshops.  
54. The Accessions Division is responsible for the implementation of Pillar I and Pillar II, as well 
as other accession -specific support.16  
55. With respect to the WTO Accessions Internship Programme,  under which  the WTO Secretariat 
selects candidates,  four interns benefited from this Programme in the year under review.17 Of the 
28 interns that have participated in the Programme since its launch, 13 have been from LDCs and 
15 from non-LDCs.18 There have been nine men and 19 women.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 2: China Programme interns by region ( 2012 -2018)  
 
                                                
16 More background and information on the five pillars can be found here: 
https://www.wt o.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/china_programme_e.htm . 
17 The China WTO Accession Internship participants are from Azerbaijan (non -LDC acceding government), 
India (non -LDC developing WTO Member), Iran (non -LDC acceding government), Serbia (non -LDC acceding 
government), Somalia (acceding LDC government), Timor -Leste (acceding LDC government), Uganda (LDC WTO 
Member) and Zambia (LDC WTO Member).  
18 An overview of former and current participants, including alumni stories, can be found here: 
https://www.wto.org/e nglish/thewto_e/acc_e/pillar1_e.htm . 
The WTO Accessions Internship Programme  
The WTO Accessions Internship Programme, initiated in 2012, aims to help 
recent graduates and young professionals from least developed countries and 
developing countries increase their understanding of the WTO and of trade 
law, international economics and international relations in general.  Under the 
programme, sponsored by the Government of C hina, five intern positions are 
available in the Accessions Division on an annual basis.  The maximum 
duration of the internship is 10 months. To qualify for the programme, interns 
must be: 1) nationals of LDCs or developing countries that are already WTO 
Members; or 2) nationals of countries or customs territories engaged in the 
WTO accession process. Also, eligible candidates must have completed 
undergraduate studies in a relevant discipline (e.g. economics, law, political 
science, international relations  or in other subjects relevant to the WTO); 
completed at least 1 year of postgraduate (Masters) studies; and be less than 
30 years old. The breakdown of interns per region is represented in Figure 2.  
 WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 14 - 
 
  56. The Sixth China Round Table took place in Buenos Aires on 9 December 2017, back to back 
with MC11. The focus of this Round Table, attended by over 200 participants, was twofold: (i) to 
reconfirm the importance of WTO accessions, and in particu lar, their systemic contributions to the 
multilateral trading system; and (ii) to launch a Network of WTO Accession Negotiators.  Over 80 
former negotiators, former Working Party Chairpersons and other accession experts became 
members of this Network. Chin a pledged a total of USD 1.5 million to the China Programme and the 
TFA Facility Trust Fund.  
57. The Seventh China Round Table on WTO Accessions took place on 26 -27 September 2018 in 
Astana, Kazakhstan, under the theme "Eurasian perspectives on the Future of the Multilateral 
Trading System: Accessions and the evolution of WTO rules".  The Astana Round Table was attended 
by representatives of 6 acceding governments and 12 Article XII Members, including former and 
current Chief Negotiators on WTO accessions. Representatives of several other WTO Members, 
current and former accession Working Party Chairpersons, and partner institutions also participated.  
The Round Table provided a platform for an exchange of views on the future of trade and the WTO 
through the p erspective of WTO accessions and their systemic contributions.   The main elements of 
the discussions are outlined in the Chair's Report on the Outcome of the Astana Round Table.19 
5. ACCESSION S TRANSPARENCY TOOLBO X  
i. WTO Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP)  
58. The Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP), launched in 2016, forms an integral part of the 
WTO's  initiative  to enhance transparency on WTO accession negotiations.  The AIP is available at:  
https://www.wto.org/accessions.  
59. The Accessions Intelligence Portal provides access to documentation and data on the 
WTO accessions process es, including 36 completed accessions and 2 2 ongoing accessions . 
Key features of the AIP include:  
• all documentation submitted to accession Working Parties since 1995;  
• access to all notified legislation to accession Working Parties since 1995;  
• a Legislative Action Plan Register for all WTO Members that have joined since 1995;  
• an interactive tracker, which provides compre hensive information on the status of ongoing 
accessions; and  
• an interactive WTO accessions map with a feature  allowing users to see the evolution of 
WTO membership since 1995.  
60. The Portal is regularly updated based on the documentation received from the acc eding 
governments and produced by the Secretariat with respect to ongoing accessions.  
61. While the Accessions Intelligence Portal is open to the public, some parts of the website, 
including access to documents of ongoing accession negotiations, remain passwor d-protected and 
only accessible to Members and acceding government s. 
ii. Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)  
62. The Accession Commitments Database (ACDB) provides access to all accession -specific 
commitments  and related information contained in Accession  Workin g Party Reports of 
36 Article  XII Members.  The ACDB is available in the three official languages of the WTO at: 
http://acdb.wto.org.   
63. In 2018, the Accessions Division updated the Database to include  the Accession Protocols of 
all Article XII  Members .  
                                                
19 The Chair's Report was circulated in document WT/ACC/32/Rev.1.  More information on this and 
previous round tables can be found at https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/pillar2_e.htm . WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  iii. Secretariat Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements  
64. The Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements contains basic information regarding 
signed Bilateral  Market Access Agreements on Goods and Services that have been deposited with 
the Secretariat.  The specific information includes: the sector of the agreement (goods; services; or 
both, as applicable) , and the dates of signature and deposit.  
65. Reports generated by this Register are available only to WTO  Members via a password -
protected access:  https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/xacc_e/register_e.htm . 
In accordance with long -standing practice, the substantive content of Bilateral Market Access 
Agreements remains confid ential to the parties that signed the Agreement, as well as the Secreta riat 
with who m the Agreements are deposited.  
III.  STATE  OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES   
66. WTO accession negotiations advance on the basis of three interdependent tracks — with 
multilateral,  bilateral, and in many cases, plurilateral processes running in parallel.  Separately, there 
are domestic processes in the acceding government s to establish national negotiating positions a nd 
to decide on inputs.  In 201 8, there was mixed pr ogress in the 2 2 ongoing 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; politi cal choices to delay for more impact analysis; re -ordered 
priorities; and/or post -conflict situations.  This Section provides the state of play on the ongoing 
accessions, as of November 201 8. More details of the state of play are provide d and regularly 
updated in the monthly Accessions Newsletter, which can be found on the WTO accession website.  
Table 1: Current a ccessions by general s tatus , as of November 201 8 
General Status  Accessions  
Strategic focus  The Bahamas, Belarus,  Bosnia and Herzegovina , 
Serbia, Union of the Comoros*  
Work in p rogress  Azerbaijan , Sudan*  
Reactivation  Ethiopia *, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Lebanese 
Republic , Serbia , Uzbekistan  
Activation  Somalia* , South Sudan *, Timor -Leste*  
Inactive  Andorra , Algeria , Bhutan* , Iran, Libya , Sao Tom é 
and Principe*, Syrian Arab R epublic   
Notes: * LDCs.  
 
"Strategic focus" indicates accessions which could be concluded in 2019 or by MC12 , based on the level of 
technical advancement of the dossiers . 
"Work in progress " indicates technical advanc ement and regular exchang e of information with WTO Members 
and the Secretariat.  
"Reactivation" indicates exchang e of information with the Secretariat and/or WTO Members with the objective of 
early resumption of activities at the level of th e Working Party after a period of dormancy/inactivity.  
"Activation" indicates exchang e of information with the Secretariat with the objective to begin the Working Party 
process .  
"Inactive" indicates no activities at the level of  the Working Party for at l east three years.  
67. Algeria : Algeria submitted a reque st for 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 draft Working Party Report was circulated in 
February  2014.  Seven bilateral market access agreements have been signed and deposited with the 
Secretariat.  The latest market access offers were circulated to the Working Party in October  2013 
(services ) and in  November 2013 (goods).  The next meeting of the Working Party will be convened 
once Algeria submits required negotiating inputs , including  inputs for the  update of the draft Working 
Party Report.  
68. Andorra : Andorra applied for WTO accession in July 1997. Th e Working Party on the Accession 
of Andorra  was established in October 1997.  The Working Party held its first and only meeting in WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 16 - 
 
  October 1999.  This accession process is inactive , and there are no indications of any intention to re -
start the process.   
69. Azerbaijan : Azerbaijan applied for WTO accession in June 1997.  The Working Party on the 
Accession of Azerbaijan was established in July 1997.  The 14th meeting of the Working Party was 
held in July  2017. Multilateral negotiations ar e underway on the basis o f the draft Working Party 
Report, whose third revision was circulated in May 2017 . To date, f our bilateral market access 
agreements ha ve been signed and deposited with the Secretariat.  Bilateral market access 
negotiations are ongoing with interested Members on the basis of revised market access offers 
circulated on a bilateral basis.  Required inputs for the next  meeting of the Working Party have not 
yet been submitted by Azerbaijan .  
70. 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 third meeting of the  Working Party  
was held in September  2018 following six years of inactivity . Multilateral discussions are ongoing on 
the basis of a  Factual Summary of Points Raised circulated in June 2018 . Bilateral negotiations are 
ongoing on the basis of market access offers on goods and services  with interested Members .  
The fourth meeting of the Working Party is envisaged for the first quarter of  2019.   
71. Belarus : Belarus submitted a request for accession in September 1993.  The Working Party on 
the Accession of Belarus was established in October 1993.  The Working Party process resumed in 
2017,  following 1 2 years  of no formal activity . In 2018, t he Working Party held its tenth meeting in 
May. Five bilateral market access agreements were concluded  in this period . Bilateral negotiations 
are currently ongoing with seven int erested Members  on the basis of  revised market access offers 
circulated on a bilateral basis . Multilateral negotiations are underway on the basis of a revised draft 
Working Party Report  circulated in March 2018. The eleventh meeting of the Working Party is 
envisaged for the first quarte r of 2019.      
72. Bhutan : Bhutan applied for WTO accession in September 1999.  The Working Party on the 
Accession of Bhutan was established in October 1999.  The fourth  meeting of the Working Party was 
held in January 2008.  The first version of the draft Worki ng Party Report was circulated in December 
2007.  The most recent market access offers on goods and services were circulated in November 
2007.  There has been no activity in the Working Party since the fourth  meeting.  
73. 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 13th meeting of the Working Party was held in February 2018 . Three bilateral agreements were 
signed in 2018, b ringing the total number of concluded agreements to 16. Only one b ilateral market 
access agreement  remains to be finalized . Multilateral negotiations are underway on the basis of a 
revised draft Working Party Report circulated in October 2017 . The 14th meeting of the Working 
Party will be convened  after the conclusion of the remaining bilateral negotiation.   
74. 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 W orking Party  held its fourth meeting in March 2018 . Multilateral negotiations 
are ongoing  on the basis of a draft Working Party Report circulated in February 2018 . Three  bilateral  
market access agreements have been  signed and deposited with the Secretariat.  Bilateral 
negotiations are currently ongoing with three  interested Members.  The fifth meeting of the Working 
Party will be convened  subject to progress on Comoros' legislative action plan and the submission 
of required negotiating inputs . 
75. Equatorial Guinea : Equatorial Guinea applied for WTO accession in March 2007. The Working  
Party on the Accession of Equatorial Guinea was established in February 2008. No  Working Party 
meeting has been held to date.  Equatorial Guinea has not submitted any inputs to i nitiate the 
accession process . Work has reportedly begun on the preparation of a  Memorandum on the Foreign 
Trade Regime .  
76. Ethiopia : Ethiopia applied 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.  The Factual Summary of Points Raised was circulated in March 2012.  An initial 
market access offer on goods was circulated in February 2012.  The fourth meeting of the Working WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  Party will be convened once Ethiopia submits negotiating inputs , including its market access offer s 
on goods (revised) and services  (initial) . 
77. 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 MFTR was circulated 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.  
78. Iraq: Iraq applied for WTO accession in September 2004. The Working Party on the Accession 
of Iraq was established in December 2004. An informal meeting of the  Working Party was held in 
November 2017. An updated MFTR was circulated in February 2018. The third meeting of the 
Working Party will  be scheduled when Iraq submits negotiating inputs, including its initial market 
access offers on goods and services , and replies to questions raised by Members on the updated 
MFTR . 
79. Lebanese Republic : The Lebanese Republic applied for WTO accession in January 1999.  
The Working Party on the Accession of the Lebanese Republic was established in April 1999.  
The Lebanese Republic circulated updated negotiating inputs to the Working Party  in 2017 . The most 
recent version of the draft Working Party Report was circulated in April 2017.  The eighth meeting of 
the Working Party will be scheduled after the resumption of bilateral market access negotiations 
with interested Members, based on revised offers on goods and services.   
80. Libya : Libya applied for WTO accession in June 2004.  The Working Party on the Accession of 
Libya was established in September 2004.  The Working Pa rty has never met.  Libya has not submitted 
any negotiating inputs to initiate the process of accession negotiations . Libya is subject to Category 
III administrative measures.20 
81. Sao Tom é and Principe : Sao Tom é and Principe  applied for WTO accession in February  2005. 
The Working Party on the Accession of Sao Tom é and Principe  was established in June 2005. 
Sao Tome and Principe  has not submitted any inputs to initiate the process of accession negotiations. 
Sao Tom é and Princip e is subject to Category III administrative measures.21  
82. 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 Working Party Report was circulated in 
October  2012.  Thirteen  bilateral  market access agreements have been signed and deposited with 
the Secretariat.  Bilateral market access negotiations remain with only a limited number of Members.  
The 14th meeting of the Working  Party will be convened subject to outstanding domestic legislative 
action and the submission of required negotiating inputs, including inputs needed for the revision of  
the draft Working Party Report . 
83. Somalia : Somal ia applied for WTO accession in December 2015. The Working Party on the 
Accession of Somalia was  established in December 2016. Somalia has not yet submitted any inputs 
to initiate the process of accession negotiations . Work has reportedly begun on the prep aration of a 
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime.  Somalia  is subject to Category I  administrative 
measures .22 
84. South Sudan : South Sudan applied for WTO accession in December 2017.  The Working Party 
on the Accession of South Sudan  was also established in December 2017 . South Sudan  has not yet 
submitted any negotiating inputs to initiate the process of accession negotiations.  No Working Party 
meeting has been held to date.  
85. Sudan : Sudan applied for WTO accession in October 1994.  The Working Party on the Acce ssion 
of Sudan was also established in October 1994.  The second  meeting of the Working Party was held 
in March 2004.  After years of dormancy, the Working Party resumed its activities in 2017 . The fourth 
meeting of the Working Party was held in July 2017. Multilateral discussions are conducted  on the 
                                                
20 As of November  2018. 
21 As of November  2018. 
22 As of November  2018. WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  basis of a revised  Factual Summary of Point s Raised circulated in December  2017. Three  bilateral 
market access agreements have been signed and de posited with the Secretariat.  Bilateral ma rket 
access negotiations are on going with several interested Members.  The fifth meeting of the Working 
Party is envisaged for the first quarter of 2019 . 
86. Syrian Arab Republic : The Syrian Arab Republic applied for WT O accession in October  2001.  
The Working Party on the Accession of the Syrian Arab Republic was established in May 2010.  
The Syrian Arab Republic has not submitted any negotiating inputs to initiate the process of its 
accession negotiations . No Working Party meeting has been held to date.  
87. Timor -Leste : Timor -Leste applied for WTO accession in November 2016.  The Working Party 
on the Accession of Timor -Leste was established in December 2016.  The MFTR was circulated in 
June 2017. The  first meeting of the Wor king Party will be scheduled  subject to the circulation of 
required inputs, including replies to questions on the MFTR . 
88. Uzbekistan : Uzbekistan applied for WTO accession in December 1994.  The Working Party on 
the Accession of Uzbekistan was also esta blished  in December 1994.  The third meeting of the 
Working Party took place in October 2005.  Following years of dormancy, th e resumption of the 
Working Party is expected  in 2019 subject to the submission of required negotiati on inputs , including 
an updated MFTR a nd revised market access offers on goods and services . 
IV. LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES' ACCESSIONS   
89. Since the establishment of the WTO, nine Members have acceded as LDCs pursuant to Article 
XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the  WTO.23 Currently, eight LDCs are in the process of 
WTO accession, including South Sudan whose Working Party was established in December 2017 at 
the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires. T he Secretariat provide s regular briefings on 
the state of play on the accessions of LDCs to the Sub -Committee on LDCs.24 
90. While positive developments were registered in the accessions of the Union of the Comoros 
and Sudan, overall progress has been slow in 2018. The accession of the Union of the Comoros  
carried over the momentum from the previous year into  the first half of 2018 , with a Working Party 
meeting held in March . Progress slowed down thereafter , as a constitutional  referendum was held in 
July. The new interim government has retained WTO accession as a priority dossier and is seeking 
to register progress in the near term . While two bilateral market access agreements were signed in 
April, Sudan 's accession process slowed down after the introduction of trade restrictive measures in 
early 2018 . These measures were subsequently lifted in October, which paves the way for resuming 
Working Party activity in the near future . 
91. Somalia,  South Sudan and Timor -Leste are still at the initial stages of their accession 
processes. Timor -Leste submitted its MFTR  in July 2017 and now needs to provide replies to 
Members' questions on the MFTR and a legislative action plan.  Somalia is in the process of finalizing 
its MFTR . South Sudan has begun the MFTR drafting process .  
92. Ethiopia  has begun updating accession documents, with a view to reactivating its accession 
process in the near term. Bhutan  has sustained contact with the Secretariat . Sao To mé and Principe 
is currently subject to Category III Administrative Measures , but has expressed readiness to address 
the financial arrears issue and resume its accession process  in the near future . 
93. The g7+ WTO Accessions Group , comprising  of eight LDCs ass ociated with WTO accession, 
was officially launched on 10 December 2017 on the margins of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference 
in Buenos Aires.  One of the group's objectives is  to support the accession efforts of acceding LDCs , 
namely Comoros, Sao Tomé and Principe, Somalia, South Sudan and Timor -Leste, through 
information and experience -sharing.  An Informal Dialogue of Acceding LDCs took place on the 
margins of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A second meeting und er 
the Informal Dialogue took place on 2 June 2018 in Geneva. This dialogue brought together 
                                                
23 Article XII Members that acceded to the WTO as LDCs were: Afghanistan (2016) , Cabo Verde  (2008) , 
Cambodia (2004) , Lao People's Democratic Republic  (2013) , Liberia (2016) , Nepal (2004) , Samoa (2012) , 
Vanuatu (2012) , and Yemen (2014) . 
24 In 2018, the Accessions Division provided a presentation on the state of play on LDC accessions at 
the 82nd session of the Sub -Committee on LDCs held on 16 September .  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 19 - 
 
  representatives of seven acceding LDCs - Bhutan, Comoros, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan25, 
Sudan and Timor -Leste - to discuss issues pertaining to the accession of  LDCs (see "Technical 
Assistance and Outreach" above) .  
94. The Secretariat continued to provide a combination of generalized start -up technical 
assistance activities with tailored accession -specific activities to acceding LDCs at all stages of their 
accession  processes. This year, as in previous years, technical assistance to acceding LDCs' 
delegations in Geneva was combined with assistance to capital -based officials, including  to South 
Sudan and Sudan.  
95. Members have also continued to provide technical support  for LDC accessions , including China, 
the European Union (with  dedicated programmes from its individual member States), Japan, Oman, 
New Zealand and the United States. Some members provide technical assistance via national 
institutions and programmes, whil e others use platforms such as the Enhanced Integrated 
Framework (EIF). The "China's  LDCs and Accessions Programme (the China Programme)"  also offers 
a capacity building platform for acceding LDCs  (see "Technical Assistance and Outreach" above) .  
So far, 13 of the 28 interns that have been trained under the WTO Accessions Internship Programme  
were from LDCs, including three from acceding LDCs26 and three  from Article  XII LDCs.27 
96. In 2012, the General Council adopted an Addendum to  document  WT/L/508 to strength en, 
streamline and operationalize the 2002 LDC Accession  Guidelines.28 Member s are mindful of these 
Guidelines in on going active LDC accessions.  The Director -General has underscored the vital 
importance of Members to be cognizant of these Guidelines in facilitating negotiations with LDCs.  
V. POST-ACCESSION  
1. Post-accession support  
97. The post-accession implementation  support framework , which had been developed in 
2014-2016, consists of the following five pillars :  
i. Country -Specific Post -Accession Implementation Strategy;  
ii. Specialized training on WTO post -accession;  
iii. Secretariat Note on "Best Practices on WTO Post -Accession";  
iv. Dedicated  web-page on "Post -accession — what next?" in the WTO Accession Website;  
v. Internal Secretariat Note on Post -Accession Implementation and Monitoring.  
2. Participation of Article XII Members  
98. The Secretariat regularly monitors the participation of Article XII Members in the work of the 
WTO.  Overall, Article XII Members are active, often more active than the original WTO Members, in 
several WTO bodies . Such active participation is reflected in a generally higher average annual 
number of WTO notifications , with the exception of 2017-2018 (see Figure 3 , below ).  
                                                
25 South Sudan became an acceding government on 13 December 2017.  
26 Ethiopia, Somalia and Timor -Leste.  
27 Afghanistan, Liberia and Yemen.  
28 WT/L/508/Add.1 .  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  Figure 3: Average noti fications made annually   
 
* This includes Original Members and Article XII Members.  
Source:   WTO Central Registry of Notifications database  
99. Active participation is also evident in the  Article XII Member s' participation in the plurilateral 
agreements . 
100.  At present, out of 47 Members that have acceded to the Government Procurement Agreement 
(GPA), ten are Article XII Members (which also acceded to the revised GPA which entered into force 
on 6 April 2014), namely: Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Est onia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, 
Montenegro, Chinese Taipei , and Ukraine.  Currently, 15 out of the 31 GPA observers are Article XII 
Members29, and nine of them are in the process of acceding to the GPA , accounting for 90% of the 
ongoing  GPA accession negotiations.  These nine Article XII Members  are: Albania, China, Georgia, 
Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Oman, Russian Federation, Tajikistan,  and the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia .30  
101.  23 Article XII Members ( Afghanistan, Albania, Bulgaria , China, Croatia,  Estonia,  Georgia, 
Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova , Montenegro, Oman, Panama, 
Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Viet  Nam) 
participate in the Inform ation T echnology Agreement . 
102.  As of November 2018 , 29 Article  XII Members ratified th e Trade Facilitation Agreement , which 
entered into force on 22 February 2017.31  
103.  Article XII Members have also been active in the Joint Initiatives in Trade launched by groups 
of WTO Members at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference i n Buenos Aires in December 2017  
(see Table 2).  
 
                                                
29 In addition, on 27 June 2018, Belarus was granted observer status in the Government Procurement 
Committee. This is the first acceding government to become an observe r to the revised GPA while still in the 
process of WTO accession.  
30 Five other Article XII Members have undertaken commitments t o initiate accession to the GPA  in future. 
They are: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, and Seychelles.  
31 Afghanis tan, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Jordan, 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Lao PDR, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, 
Oman, Panama, Russian Federation, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelle s, Chinese Taipei, The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, Viet Nam.  
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  Table 2: Participation of Article XII Members in Joint Initiatives  
No. Member  Total MSMEs  Investment 
Facilitation for 
Development  Electronic 
Commerce  
1.  Afghanistan  1 ✓   
2.  Albania  2 ✓  ✓ 
3.  Bulgaria (EU)  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
4.  Croatia (EU)  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
5.  Cambodia  2  ✓ ✓ 
6.  China  2 ✓ ✓  
7.  Ecuador  1 ✓   
8.  Estonia (EU)  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
9.  Kazakhstan  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
10.  Kyrgyz Republic  2 ✓ ✓  
11.  Latvia (EU)  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
12.  Lao PDR 3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
13.  Liberia  1  ✓  
14.  Lithuania (EU)  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
15.  former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia  2 ✓  ✓ 
16.  Moldova  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
17.  Montenegro  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
18.  Panama  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
19.  Russian Federation  3 ✓ ✓ ✓ 
20.  Chinese Taipei  2 ✓  ✓ 
21.  Tajikistan  1  ✓  
22.  Viet Nam  1 ✓   
23.  Ukraine  1   ✓ 
Total number of Article XII Members  19 16 16 
Total number of Article XII Members (EU counted as one)  15 12 12 
Total number of Joint Initiative participants  88 Members  70 Members  72 Members  
Note:  23 Article XII Members participate in the Joint Initiatives. Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and 
Lithuania participate as part of the EU.  11 Article XII Me mbers participate in all three Joint 
Initiatives.   
VI. TRADE AND ECONOMIC  PERFORMANCE OF ARTICLE XII MEMBERS32  
104.  According to the World Trade Statistical Review 2018, global trade witnessed its highest 
growth rate in six years – the annual increase in merchandise trade volume registered in 2017 stood 
at 4.7 % which is notably ab ove the pos t financial crisis average of 3.0 %. Moreover, world trade in  
commercial services increased by 7 .0% on average . Overall, trade volume registered increased 
growth in 2017 due to robust global  GDP growth. Despite rising trad e tensions and pressure s on the 
multilateral trading system, this positive development can be credited to rising consumption rates, 
notably  in Asia, and increased investment spending in the United States . 
105.  Figure 4 provides three snapshots that illustrate the evolution of marke t shares of wo rld trade 
by WTO M embership status. The share of world trade of original Members has decreased from 91% 
in 1995, to 86 % in 2005, and further down to approximately 81 % in 2017 . Conversely, t he share of 
world trade of the 36 Article XII Members has  increased from about 8% in 1995, to 12 % in 2005, 
and then to 17 % in 201 7, reflecting the positive effect that WTO Membership has had on trade 
growth .  
                                                
32 See Annex es 5 and 6 to this Report.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  Figure 4: Share of world trade by membership status  (1995, 2005 and 201 7) 
   
 
Source:   WTO Statistics  Database  
106.  Figure 5 graphically depicts the nominal change in the value of world trade in goods and 
commercial services since the establishment of the WTO. Between 1995 and 2017, world trade in 
goods and commercial services has increased by 260 %, or at an a verage annual rate of 6.0%. Over 
the same period, the 36 Article XII Members have seen their trade grow  by 686%, or at an average 
annual rate of close to 10 %. Even excluding the largest Article XII Member by trade value (China), 
over the same period, the o ther A rticle XII Members' nominal value of trade has increa sed by 359 %, 
or at an av erage annual rate of 7.2 %, i.e. significantly  faster than the rate of growth of  world trade . 
WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  Figure 5: Evolution of world trade in nominal value by membership status  (1995–2017) 
(Index, 1995=100. Logarithmic scale)  
 
Source:   WTO Statistics Database  
107.  Overall, Article XII Members have consistently registered rapid trade growth above the world 
average. Figures 6 and 7 show that, in the period from 1995 to 2017, the nominal valu e of trade in 
merchandise goods and commercial services of Article  XII Members  has increased by 686 % and 
687%, respectively. This is faster than the increase in the nominal value of global trade in goods 
and services, which in comparison has increased by 2 42% and 337 %, respectively . Even if China, a 
major contributor to world trade, is excluded from the calculations, th is trend persists.   
Figure 6: Value of merchandise trade of Article XII M embers ( 1995–2017) 
(Index, 1995=100)  
 
Source:   WTO Statistics Database  
WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  Figure 7: Value of trade in commercial service s of Article XII Members  (1995–2017) 
(Index, 1995=100)  
 
Source:   WTO Statistics Database   
 
VII.  REPORT ON RECENT DEV ELOPMENTS  IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ACCESS ION 
NEGOTIATIONS  
1. INTRODUCTION  
108.  Since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, 58 accession negotiations have been pursued 
pursuant to Article XII of the Marrak esh Agreement establishing the WTO. To date, 36 of these have 
been successfully concluded  and 22 are ongoing .  
109.  This thematic section  provides a historical record of the way in which recent accessions have 
been handled through 2018. It is not normative. The following narrative is factual and is neither 
intended to establish nor does it have the effect of establishing any rule or decision  of the Members. 
Facts are recorded here in the interest of transparency, which is in line with the pledge of the WTO 
Secretariat to provide  Members with a clear idea of how the WTO manages its functions. 
By enhancing transparency , this thematic section ai ms at assisting delegations in participating more 
effectively in accessions work . 
110.  The factual narrative below is presented without prejudice to future practice and rules of the 
WTO.  The procedural framework of  accession negotiation s is outlined  in WTO docu ment series 
WT/ACC/ 22 entitled “Accession to the World Trade Organization  – Procedures for Negotiations under 
Article XII” .33 This thematic section does not in any way replace or modify the procedures set out in 
the WT/ACC/22 document series, which are revi ewed on a periodic basis in consultation with 
Members and may be subject to further revision.34 
                                                
33 References in this thematic section of the Annual Report are based on document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1 of 
5 April 2016.  The WT/ACC/22 - series replaces  an earlier document,  WT/ACC/1, which had been drawn up by 
the Secretariat in 1995 shortly after the establishment of the WTO. 
34 Issues pertaining to the management of accession negotiations will be further explored in the second 
edition of the Han dbook on Accession to the WTO, which will be published in 2019.  
WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  2.  APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP AND OBERV ER STATUS  
111.  Governments wishing to explore a closer relation ship with the WTO have had to  consider two 
options:  
(i) a request for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies; or  
(ii) a request for accession under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement.  
2.1  Request for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies  
112.  Requests for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies have been  made 
in accordance with the Guidelines for Observer Status for Governments in the WTO, contained in 
Annex 2 of the Rules of Procedure for Sessions of the Ministerial Conference and Meetings of the 
General Council35. Interested governments have had to expre ss an intent to initiate negotiations for 
WTO accession within five years and to provide a description of their economic and trade policies, 
including intended future reforms. Request s for an extension of the observer status  have been made  
in writing , accompanied by an updated description of current economic and trade policies, as well 
as an indication of future plans to initiate accession negotiations. Ten governments have been 
granted observer status under these procedures.36 
113.  When  government s have decided to apply for observer status in the General Council, they 
have submit ted a letter to the Director -General. There has been  no standard language used, but the 
basic elements are contained in the following text:  
"I have the honour to submit the application of  […] for Observer Status in the General Council 
of the World Trade Organization and its subsidiary bodies. It is the intention of the Government 
of […] to apply for accession to the WTO Agreement in the future.  A memorandum on the 
economy and foreign trad e regime of […] is enclosed herewith."  
114.  In accordance with t he Guidelines for Observer Status for Governments in the WTO , some  
governments have also sought (ad hoc) observer status in the WTO Ministerial Conference.  Such 
requests have been  examined on a ca se-by-case basis by the Ministerial Conference. Governments 
accorded observer status at sessions of the Ministerial Conference have not automatically receive d 
that status for meetings of the General Council or its subsidiary bodies.  
2.2  Request for accession under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement  
115.  When  government s have decided to apply for WTO membership, they have submit ted a letter 
to the Director -General. There has been  no standard language used, but all recent communication s 
have included the following basic elements:  
"I have the honour to inform you of the wish of […] to accede to the Agreement Establishing 
the World Trade Organization and to the Multilatera l Trade Agreements annexed thereto, in 
accordance with Article XII of the said Agreement."  
116.  Some letters  have added further language, for example a request that the application be 
circulated to all WTO Members and included for consideration on the agenda of  an early future 
meeting of the General Council. Some recent requests  have also included a short description of the 
applicant's current economic and trade policies as well as any intended future reforms of these 
policies.37 
                                                
35 WTO document WT/L/161.  
36 The Bahamas in 2000, WTO documents WT/L/349 and WT/GC/ M/57; Bhutan  in 1998 , WTO 
document s WT/L/262 and WT/GC/ M/28; Ca bo Verde  in 1998, WTO documents WT/L/ 258 and WT /GC/M/26;  
Equatorial Guinea  in 2002 , WTO document s WT/L/448 and WT/GC/ M/74; Ethiopia  in 1997 , WTO document s 
WT/L/229 and WT/GC/ M/23; Georgia  in 1996 , WTO document s WT/L/152 and WT/GC/ M/12; Iraq in 2004 , 
WTO document s WT/L/560 and WT/GC/ M/85; Oman  in 1995 , WTO document s WT/L/33 and  WT/GC/M/3;  Sao 
Tomé and Principe  in 2001 , WTO document s WT/L/389 and WT/GC/M/6 3; and Yemen  in 1999 , WTO document s 
WT/L/296 and WT/GC/ M/40.  
37 For instance  Somalia, WTO document WT/ACC/SOM/1, and Timor -Leste, WTO document 
WT/ACC/TLS/1.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  117.  Over time , the Secretariat h as begun  check ing if the requests would enjoy consensus among 
WTO Members  before they are placed on the agenda of the General Council .38 When this has been  
the case, requests for accession have been  placed on the agenda of the next or an early future 
meeting of the General Council/Ministerial Conference39. Request s have been  circulated to all 
Members as the first in the series of formal documents relating to each accession.40  
118.  When requests for accession from separate customs territories have been considered, th e 
territories in question have provided information describing how they possess "full autonomy in the 
conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in [the WTO] 
Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements".41 
119.  When th e General Council/Ministerial Conference has consider ed request s for accession  
acceptable, it has established  a Working Party to examine the application. Since 1995 , accession 
Working Parties have been established by consensus.  
120.  Acceding governments have been granted observer status in the General Council and other 
WTO bodies, as appropriate, for the duration of  the accession process. As a first step, new a pplicants 
have consult ed with the Accessions Division of the Secretariat as to the further procedures , in 
particular regarding the basic documentation to be prepared for the Working Party's consideration.  
2.3  Rights and obligations linked to observer status  
121.  The o bservers ' financial contr ibution for the services provided to them has been set at  0.015% 
of the total WTO budget, which is the same as the minimum annual contribution made by the 
smallest WTO Members.42 This amounted to about CHF29,300 for the year 2018 (about US$29,200; 
€24,700).   
122.  In accordance with the WTO Guidelines for Observers, most Observer governments have made 
use of their right to observe formal meetings of the General Council and its subsidiary bodies, 
including accession Working Parties (with the exception of the Commit tee on Budget, Finance and 
Administration). However, informal meetings of accession Working Parties have been held without 
observers in attendance. Representatives of governments accorded observer status have been given 
the floor , but only after Members have spoken.43 Observers have also had access to the main WTO 
document series.  
123.  Observers have had access to technical assistance provided by the Secretariat in relation to 
the operation of the WTO system in general, or in relation to the spec ifics of accession negotiations. 
In particular, observers have benefit ed from the regular WTO programme of Trade -related Technical 
Assistance organized by the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC). R equests 
have been channelled throug h the Director of the ITTC  by completing an online request form, 
accompanied by a letter from the Geneva -based mission.44    
124.  It should be noted that observers in financial arrears have become subject to administrative 
measures, which include the suspension of access to training and technical assistance (Category II 
administrative measures).  
2.4 Chairperson of Accession Working Party  
125.  The procedures  currently in document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1  suggest that  "consultations on the 
selection of a Working Party Chairperson normally begin as soon as all documents necessary for 
                                                
38 Consultations have usually been undertaken by the Chairperson of the General Council.  
39 While applications have typically been  considered by the General Council, i n one case the application 
was considered by the Ministerial Conference (South Sudan, WTO document WT/MIN(17)/SR/6 ). 
40 For the most recent request for accession, see WTO document WT/ACC/SSD/1.  
41 Montenegro, WTO document WT/GC/M/92, paras 27 –29; Serbia, WTO document  WT/GC/M/92, paras 
34–36. See also document WT/ACC/SCG/3 and Add.1.  
42 WTO document WT/L/161, Annex 2, para 11.  
43 In accordance with WTO document WT/L/161, Annex 2, para 10 , the right to speak does not include 
the right to make proposals, unless a governmen t is specifically invited to do so, nor to  participate in decision -
making . 
44 https://wto.formstack.com/forms/national_ta_requests . WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  holding the first Working Party meeting are in circulation . The Working Party Chairperson then has 
been designated by the Chairperson of the General Council, in consultation with Members and the 
acceding government . […] An accession Working Party Chairperson has normally  been an 
Ambassador/Permanent Representative, or a Deputy Permanent Representative, resident in 
Geneva. "45  
126.  Since 20 09, the Dep uty Director -General responsible for accessions has carried out these 
consultations on behalf of the General Council Chairperson.  
127.  Working Party Chairperson s have been  confirmed by an announcement at the General Council 
under "Other  business"46. Working Par ty Chairperson s have also be en confirmed between meetings 
of the Council  by written procedure via communication by the Chairperson of the General Council.47      
128.  The Chairpersons ' main duty has been  to direct the discussions in their Working Parties in an 
impartial and objective manner . However, their duties  have not been laid down in writing . They have 
sometimes use d the authority conferred on them by their office to make suggestions aimed at 
facilitating these discussions.48 
129.  The Chairperson s, usually accom panied by the Secretariat, have paid visits to acceding 
capitals at critical stages in the process49. These visits have sometimes played an important role in 
activating or accelerating accession processes. Such visits have involved contacts at the highest 
policy levels in government and parliament, as well as meetings with representatives of the public 
and private sectors and the media. The practice has emerged for Chairpersons to provide a report 
on their visits to acceding governments to WTO Members throug h the Informal Group on Accessions 
(see the section "Working Party Chairpersons" above). The Chairperson s have assume d the financial 
cost of such visits.  
130.  Working Party Chairperson s have typically relinquish ed their position when  their posting in 
Geneva has ended and have done so by  inform ing the Deputy Director -General responsible for 
accessions .50 However, consideration has been given for Chairperson s to continue to serve the 
Working Party after their posting in Geneva  has ended .51 
2.5 Membership of Worki ng Party  
131.  Under current procedures, Membership of accession Working Parties has been  open to all 
interested WTO Members and their size has varied considerably from one accession to another. 
In completed accession s, the largest Working Party has had 65 members (counting the European 
Union and its member States as one) and the smallest 15.52  
132.  WTO Members have joined at any stage before the completion of the Working Party mandate. 
Information on the membership of accession  Working Parties could be found in the WTO document 
which contains the terms of reference for each Working Party. This document  has typically been  
updated by the Secretariat when there has been  a change in the Working Party membership or when 
a new Chairperson has been  appointed.    
                                                
45 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, para 6.  
46 "Guidelines for the Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodies" of 31 January 1995, WTO document 
WT/L/31.  
47 E.g. the Chairmanship of the Working Party on the Accession of Azerbaijan was announced through 
written procedure on 7 March 2016 by the General Council Chairperson.  
48 For a documented example of a Chairperson -led facilitation, see WTO document 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/54.  
49 The visits of Working Party Chairpersons in 2018 are described in paras 26 -28 above.  
50 See the section "Working Party Chairpersons" above  for examples of Chairs relinquishing their 
positions in 2018.  
51 As provided for in WTO d ocument WT/L/31 - "Guidelines for the Appointment of Officers to WTO 
Bodies" of 31 January 1995 . See Annex 3 of this Report for a list of Working Party Chairpersons. In November 
2018, four Working Party Chairpersons were not resident in Geneva.  
52 Russian F ederation, WTO document WT/ACC/RUS/1/Rev.30, and Vanuatu, WTO document 
WT/ACC/VUT/3/Rev.5.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  3. THE WORKING PARTY   
133.  The Working Party process has been conducted along three main tracks:  
- multilateral negotiations in the Working Party on rules and specific accession commi tments. 
The main documents that accompany this track of the process  have been  the Memorandum 
on the Foreign Trade Regime, a Factual Summary of Points Raised and a draft Report of the 
Working Party;  
- plurilateral discussions and negotiations among interested parties on agricultural domestic 
support and export subsidies ( plurilateral discussions have sometimes dealt with other areas, 
such as SPS, TBT and TRIMs); and  
- bilateral negotiations with interested Members on tariff concessions on goods and on specific  
commitments on services, which have taken place on the basis of market access offers and 
requests.  
134.  Bilateral meetings, plurilateral meetings and the multilateral meetings of the Working Party 
have proceed ed in parallel , sometimes  forming a "cycle of Working Party meetings" whereby bilateral 
and plurilateral meetings have taken place on the margins of a meeting of the Working Party.53      
135.  All agreements reached at the bilateral and plurilateral levels have been multilateralized before 
the conclusion of  accession negotiations . Working Part ies have then  concur red on their inclusion in 
the accession package (see "Completion of Working Party Mandate" below).  
136.  Figure 8  provides a schematic presentation of the current WTO accession process.  
Figur e 8 
  
3.1 Initial set of documents  
- Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime  
137.  Document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1 suggests that the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime 
(MFTR ) - presented  following the establishment of a Worki ng Party  - "provide s a comprehensive  
                                                
53 E.g. the 9th cycle o f Working Party meetings in the accession of Belarus took place from 11 to 
15 September 2017 and included a plurilateral meeting on agriculture  as well as a number of bilateral 
meetings.  
WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  summary of the acceding government's foreign trade regime "54 set out according to an outline 
format.  
138.  While many acceding governments have taken a number of years to prepare and submit a n 
MFTR, some a cceding governments have submit ted the Memorandum soon after the establishment 
of the Working Party.55 The Secretariat has check ed the consistency of the MFTR with the outline 
format56 in WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1 and has provide d comments to the acceding 
government.  The Mem orandum  has been  the foundation on which the Working Part ies have begun 
the examination of the applicant's foreign trade regime.  
139.  In some cases where the memoranda presented have not been fully consistent with the outline 
format, applicants have been asked  to substantiate their memoranda with additional factual 
information before the Working Party examination could begin.57 In some cases, the acceding 
government has been invited to submit an updated version of the Memorandum after a long period 
of inactivity  in the accession process.58  
140.  Following the circulation of the MFTR, Working Party members have been  invited to submit 
questions  in writing. The first meeting of the Working Party has been scheduled once Members have 
been satisfied that the Memorandum, and the written questions and replies, provide an adequate 
factual basis to begin the examination of the applicant's trade regime. "Depending on the adequacy 
of the information provided, more than one round of 'questions and  replies ' may be organized before 
the first Working Party meeting ."59  
- Supporting  information  
141.  In addition, a number of documents have been developed over time requesting applicants to 
supply factual information in preset  formats (e.g. checklists). These documents have been grouped 
together as Addenda to t he WT/ACC/22 -series (see Annex 8 ). While the submission of this  
supplementary information as early as possible in the accession process  has been welcome d as it 
provides f or a more comprehensive review of the applicant's trade regime early on the accession 
process, t his has not been a prerequisite  for convening the first Working Party meeting.60  
- Legislation  
142.  Document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1 suggest s that "acceding governments are invited to present 
copies of relevant legislation at the same time as the MFTR. Laws and regulations should be provided 
in one of the three official WTO languages.  […] Acceding governments are also invited to present 
legislation for review in draft form. "61 
143.  Acceding governments have been elaborat ing comprehensive Legislative Action Plan s which 
contain "a full inventory of enacted WTO -related legislation and provides the roadmap for WTO -
related domestic legislative work. "62 As the  accession process advances, g overnments have been  
requested to revise and update these plans .63 Legislative action plans dealing with specific subjects 
                                                
54 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev. 1, para 10.  
55 E.g. Timor -Leste: establishment of Working Party in November 2016; submission of the MFTR in 
June 2017.  
56 The Memorandum is arranged under the following eight main head ings: (i) Introduction; (ii) 
Economy, Economic Policies and Foreign Trade; (iii) Framework for Making and Enforcing Policies Affecting 
Foreign Trade in Goods and Services; (iv) Policies Affecting Trade in Goods; (v) TRIPS Regime; (vi) Trade -
Related Service s Regime; (vii) Transparency; and (viii) Trade Agreements.  The annexes to the MFTR also 
provide for the submission of specific factual information in several areas of WTO rules  (see Annex 8) . 
57 For example, Viet Nam, WTO documents WT/ACC/VNM/3 and Corr. 1, Add. 1 and 2; Saudi Arabia, 
WTO documents WT/ACC/SAU/4 and Add. 1 and WT/ACC/SAU/5.  
58 Seychelles, WTO document WT/ACC/SYC/9; Algeria, WTO document WT/ACC/DZA/14/Add.1;  Sudan, 
WTO document WT/ ACC/SDN/24; Iraq, WTO document WT/ACC/IRQ/10.  
59 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev. 1, para 12 . 
60 E.g. Iraq, first Working Party meeting held in May 2007 on the basis of an MFTR and replies to 
questions.  
61 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, paras 15 and 17.  
62 WTO docum ent WT/ACC/22/Rev. 1, para 16.  
63 E.g. Liberia updated its legislative action plan three times during its accession process, see WTO 
document WT/ACC/LBR/13 and Rev.1, 2 and 3.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
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  have also be en requested .64 The format developed by the Secretariat for a comprehen sive LAP is 
provided in Annex 9 .  
- WTO accession  document series  
144.  Generally, formal accession documents have been  issued in two main series:  
- WTO document series WT/ACC -65 for Working Party documents containing factual 
information;  
- WTO document series WT/ACC/SPEC -66 for Working Party documents relating t o the 
negotiations on rules (e.g., draft Working Party Reports), negotiations on market access 
for goods and services (e.g., market access offers), and the negotiations and 
discussions on agricultural support and export subsidies (e.g., agriculture Support ing 
Tables).  
145.  In addition, informal documents or non -papers (e.g. Factual Summary of Points Raised) and 
documents which relate to the activities of an accession Working Party, but have not been requested 
by the Working Party (e.g. statements, Chairpersons' reports), have been  issued in the JOB/ACC - 
series.67  
146.  In recent practice, each applicant has been  given a three -letter identification code in all 
document series.68 
147.  All WTO documents have had to  be submitted in one of the WTO official languages: English, 
French and Spanish. Once circulated, these have been  translated into the two other official languages 
of the WTO.  
148.  WTO Members and acceding governments have been able to  consult documents via the 
Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP) on the WTO website.69 Legislation submitted by the acceding 
governments is also available directly through the AIP.  
149.  Accession documents have become derestricted and accessible to the public only upon 
completion of an accession process.70 
3.2 Working Party meetings  
150.  In accordance with WTO practice, formal meetings of WTO bodies, such as accession Working 
Parties, have been  convened by the Director -Genera l. The convening notice s (or "airgram s") of 
accession Working Party meetings, issued in t he WTO/AIR/ACC - series, have specifie d the purpose 
of the meeting and the documentation that w ould be considered at the meeting. Typically, airgram s 
have been  circulated a minimum of 10 working days in advance of Working Party meeting s. 
                                                
64 E.g. SPS action plans in the areas of SPS, TBT and intellectual property (see WT O documents 
WT/ACC/KAZ/59 to 61 for Kazakhstan).  
65 Series distributed to all WTO Members and observers.  
66 Series only distributed to members of the Working Party, including the acceding government in 
question.  
67 Series only distributed to members of the Wo rking Party, including the acceding government in 
question.  
68 E.g., documents relating to the accession of Azerbaijan are in the WT/ACC/AZE - series, The Bahamas' 
in the WT/ACC/BHS - series, etc.  
69 Accessions Intelligence Portal, https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/acc_e.htm or Documents 
Online, http://docsonline.wto.org. Acceding governments only  have access to their own documents in the  
WTO/ACC/SPEC - and JOB/ACC/ - series . 
70 Paragraphs 1 and  2(e) of the Ministerial Council Decision WT/L/4 52 of 14 May 2002 provide that 
"documents relating to working parties on accession shall be restricted and shall be automatically de -restricted 
upon the adoption of the report of the working party"  by the Min isterial Conference/General Council.  The time 
of completion of the de -restriction process depends on the amount and complexity of the documents involved.  
Prior to 2002, the de -restriction of accession -related documents was governed by a different set of rules (i.e. 
General Council Decision WT/L/160/Rev.1 of 26 July 1996), which only affect documents circulated prior to 
2002.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 31 - 
 
  151.  The agenda for a Wo rking Party meeting  has commonly include d the following items: (i) review 
of the state of play in the bilateral market access negotiations (after the submission of initial market 
access offers);  (ii) examination of the applicant's foreign trade regime  / draft Report ; (iii) review of 
legislative developments on the basis of a legislative action plan; and (iv) next steps in the work of 
the Working Party.71  
152.  Document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1 suggest s that "[a]dequate  lead-time should be allowed before 
meetings of the Working Party are convened to enable both the acceding government and Working 
Party members to better prepare themselves. "72 This "adequate lead -time" has been at least four 
weeks .73 
153.  Document WT/ACC/22/Rev. 1 suggests that,  once the relevant documentation has been 
circulated, dates of meetings are set in informal consultations.74 
154.  In addition to formal Working Party meetings, various informal formats  have also been used 
in accession negotiations, including informal Working Party meetings and Chairpersons' 
Consultations.75   
155.  Working Party meetings have typically begun with a short introductory statement by the 
acceding government , followed by  introductory statements  by Members . In their opening 
statements, Members have typically provide d a report on the status of bilateral negotiations. 
Members have often made some of their specific expectations known.  
156.  During the technical part of Working Party meeting s, in particular during th e review of the 
acceding government's trade policy regime and legislation, discussions have been  based on 
questions from interested WTO Members. Acceding government s have provide d oral answers to 
these questions to the extent  they have been  able to do so. Typically, the head of the delegation 
has provide d the answers, but other members of the delegation, such as technical experts in a 
particular area under discussion, have also intervened .  
157.  At the end of each meeting of the Working Party, the Chairperson "generally outlines  the state 
of play and the next steps required for the preparation of future meetings. "76 The specific next steps 
have been  formulated through informal consultations with the applicant, members of the Working 
Party and the Secretariat.  
158.  Typically, as part of the next steps, the Chairperson has invite d the members of the Working 
Party to submit their questions in writing. It has also become standard for the Chairperson to invite 
the delegation of the acceding government to update the Legislati ve Action Plan.  
3.3 The multilateral track  (negotiations on rules)  
159.  The multilateral discussions on rules have invariably started with the factual examination of 
the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime . In the majority of cases, one meeting of the Working 
Party has been sufficient to review the Memorandum .77  
160.  Following each meeting of the Working Party, interested WTO Members have typically been  
invited to submit questions in writing , usually within a period of four weeks .  
161.  The questions have been  consolidated by the Secretariat and arranged by topic before 
transmission to the acceding government. Depending on the volume of questio ns, this technical 
work may take a few days following the last submission received from Members.  
                                                
71 For a recent example, see WT O/AIR/ACC/17 . 
72 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, para 9.  
73 In some accession processes characterized by a large volume of documentation, more than four 
weeks have been necessary to provide delegations with sufficient time to prepare for Working Party meetings.  
74 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, para 9.  
75 E.g. an inf ormal Working Party meeting was held for Iraq on 17 November 2017.  
76 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, para 13.  
77 See, for example, the airgrams convening the second Working Party meetings of Comoros  (2017) and 
Liberia (2015) in documents WTO/AIR/ACC/11 and WTO/AIR/ACC/2.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 32 - 
 
  162.  Applicants have been  required to prepare written replies to all questions and to forward them 
to the Secretariat. This process can take a few weeks to several months, depending on the volume 
of questions and the pace of the accession process. A "Questions and Replies" document has been 
circulated by the Secretariat as soon as the replies to questions are submitted by the acceding 
government.  
163.  The main documentar y basis for holding a meeting of the Working Party has typically consist ed 
of the "q uestions and replies" and, as the accession process advances, either (i) a Factual Summary 
of Points Raised; or (ii) a draft Report of the Working Party.  
164.  The Factual Summa ry of Points Raised - an informal document  - has been issued in the 
JOB/ACC series . It distils the written exchanges contained in the "questions and replies " and other 
relevant supporting documents.78 The subjects covered in the Factual Summary have been  broadly 
the same as in the Memorandum. The purpose of the Factual Summary has been to facilitate the 
work of the Working Party by identifying the points that are established and those that require 
further clarification, as well as to make the process more transparent. The Secretariat has put 
together the Factual Summar ies at the request of the Working Party.  
165.  As soon as an adequate factual basis has been  established, and negotiations on specific 
multilateral commitments on rules have begun, the Factual Summ ary of Points Raised evolves into 
a draft Report of the Working Party. This document contains not only factual information, but also 
the agreed specific commitments  that the acceding government would undertake as a WTO 
Member79. The draft Report is issued i n the WT/ACC/SPEC series. When the Secretariat has been  
asked to prepare the text of a draft Report , the Working Party has considered that the fact -finding 
stage is sufficiently advanced to move to the negotiating stage of the process80.  It is often a memb er 
of the Working Party that has initiate d the negotiations on commitments by putting forward proposed 
texts for inclusion in the draft Report. Applicants have also propose d texts. Concerns on particular 
issues could sometimes be settled bilaterally and have been brought to the Working Party for 
consideration in the shape of agreed texts. During this process, further revisions of the draft Report 
have been  prepared and circulated to Working Party members, as necessary.81  
166.  The number of questions raised in the Working Part ies has varied . Over the last ten years, in 
one completed accession the Working Party raised 264 questions82 whereas in another case Members 
submitted 3,810 questions83. The number of commitment paragraphs has also varied – from as few 
as 2684 to 16385.   
3.4 The p lurilateral track  (discussions on agricul tural support and other topics)  
167.  The tables containing information on domestic support and export su bsidies have been  dealt 
with in plurilateral meetings with interested WTO Members as this information is of general systemic 
interest. These meetings have been  called when the applicant has submitted the necessary tables 
and members of the Working Party ha ve demonstrated an interest in pursuing the matter. 
These  meetings have often been held on the fringes of Working Party meetings (usually before a 
Working Party meeting), when delegations come together to focus on the accession in question.86 
168.  The discussions on agricultural commitments have been  based on the factual data supplied by 
the applicant in the format of WTO document WT/ACC/22/Add.1. The "supporting tables" have been  
revised during the accession negotiations, taking into account commen ts formulated by Members. 
                                                
78 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, para 14.  
79 ibid. 
80 In some cases, the Secretariat has been asked to prepare an "Elements" of a draft Report - a 
document which contains a very limited  number of draft commitment paragraphs. See, f or example WTO 
documents WT/ACC/SPEC/ COM/4 and WT/ACC/SPEC/ BLR/10.   
81 E.g. the draft Working Party Report of Kazakhstan had 15 revisions (see WTO document 
WT/ACC/SPEC/KAZ/15 and its Revisions), while the draft Working Party Report of Afghanistan was revised 
three times (see WTO document WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3 and its Revisions).  
82 Liberia (2016).  
83 Ukraine (2008).  
84 Cabo Verde (2008).  
85 Russian Federation (2012).  
86 For a recent example, see the 9th cycle o f Working Party meetings in the accession of Belarus, which 
took place from 11 to 15  September 2017 and included a plurilateral meeting on agriculture.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 33 - 
 
  The supporting tables have been  made available to all Working Party members as a WT/ACC/SPEC - 
WTO document.87 
169.  All plurilateral discussions on agricultural support have led to the circulat ion of  a set of final 
tables which has formed the basis for the future commitment levels in relation to the Total Aggregate 
Measurement of Support (Total AMS) and Export Subsidies in Agriculture recorded in Part IV of the 
Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods. The relevant supporting tabl es have also been 
incorporated by reference in Part  IV of the Schedule.  
170.  Plurilateral meetings have also be en convened in other areas such as SPS, TBT or TRIMs.88 
Discussions at these meetings have typically produced agreed texts for inclusion in the draft R eport 
of the Working Party.   
3.5 The bilateral track  (negotiations on goods and services)  
171.  Bilateral market access negotiations between the applicant and interested WTO Members  
cover  both goods  and services.  Overtime, the number of bilateral market access negotiations has 
increased, partly due to the increase in the number of WTO Members.  
172.  Negotiations on tariff concessions  have focused on import duties, but have also cover ed export 
duties. The negotiations  have been  conducted bilaterally on the basis of offers and requests. While 
negotiations may be initiated either by the applicant or by the Members, in practice, Members  have 
tended to wait for the acceding government to submit an ini tial offer of proposed bound rates before 
requesting bilateral negotiations and submitting requests.89 Submission of the  offers in electronic 
form has become a necessity . The currently applied rates of duty have also had to be supplied, 
particularly as some  WTO Members expect these to provide a reference point for the negotiations. 
The offers have been  sent to the Secretariat which has circulate d a notice to members of the Working 
Party, indicating that an offer is available.90 Bilateral meetings  have not been attended by the 
Secretariat as the process is confidential.  The usual format for the initial tariff offer, including notes 
on the way in which the format for scheduling has been used, is outlined in Annex 10. 
173.  The n egotiations on services  have proceed ed in a similar  way to those for the negotiations on 
tariffs, being based on offers and requests. Some Members have negotiate d only on goods or only 
on services. Initial services offers have tended to be tabled at about the same time as the initial 
tariff offers, but some times this has not been the case .91 Initial offers on services  have follow ed the 
same format as all Schedules to the GATS.92 The basic reference document that WTO Members and 
governments in accession have used to draft their commitments is th e "Guidelines for the Scheduling 
of Specific Commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)".93  
174.  Typically, initial offers have been  tabled after the first meeting of the Working Party,94 but 
sometimes as early as with the submission on the MFTR  or as part of documentation presented in 
advance of the first meeting.95 The tabling of  offers on goods and services at the same time  has 
allowed the negotiations on these two subjects to move forwa rd in parallel . Offers have been  made 
available to all Working Party members through the WT/ACC/SPEC - series WTO documents (see 
"WTO accession document series" above).  
175.  Members wishing to engage in negotiations have contact ed the applicant, typically direct ly 
through the Geneva mission, to arrange bilateral meetings, which have often been held on the 
                                                
87 E.g. see WTO document WT/ACC/SPEC/SDN/1 and its revisions.  
88 For instance, in the case of the accessions of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, plurilateral 
meetings were held on TBT, SPS and TRIMs.   
89 For a recent example, see document WT/ACC/SPEC/COM/1.  
90 ibid. 
91 E.g. in the case of Afghanistan the goods offer was submitted five months after the services offer  (see 
WTO documents WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/1 and 4).  
92 General Agreement on Trade in Services, Article XX, Schedules of Specific Commitments.  
93 Document S/L/92, adopted by the Council for Trade in Services on 23 March 2001. In addition, 
governments should consult  the latest version of the United Nations Central Product Classification (UN CPC 
1991).  
94 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev. 1, para 21.  
95 For a recent example of initial offers submitted in advance of the first Working Party meeting, see 
document WTO/AIR/ACC/8 convening the first meeting of Comoros' accession Working Party.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 34 - 
 
  margins of Working Party meetings, but have also take n place between meetings.96 Delegations 
have either arrange d these meetings themselves or have request ed the Secretariat to do so. In most 
cases, bilateral meetings have taken place in Geneva, but sometime these meetings have been  held 
in capitals.  
176.  While bilateral negotiations on goods and services have been open throughout the accession 
process, the majority of  interested Members have tended to  enter negotiations , or indicate their 
intention to request bilateral negotiations , as soon as offers are tabled before the Working Party.      
177.  As the negotiations advance, in some cases the acceding government has agree d with 
interested Members to provide revised offers on a bilateral basis and not through the Secretariat.  
178.  Once signed, b ilateral agreements recording the agreed tariff concessions and/or specific 
commitments on services have been  transmitted to the Secretar iat.97 Three signed originals98 - two 
original copies for the applicant and the Member and one for the Secretariat - have been  necessary. 
In addition, the Secretariat has requested electronic cop ies of signed agreements, including the 
annexes, to be provided  by email. The bilateral agreements have had to be concluded in one of the 
official WTO languages , with each page initia lled by both parties to the agreement. The bilateral 
agreements submitted to the Secretariat have remain ed confidential. An indicative f ormat for 
concluded bilateral agreements is at Annex 11. 
179.  After bilateral agreements have been completed with all interested WTO Members, the 
Secretariat 's role has been to  consolidate the results in the draft Schedule of Concessions and 
Commitments on Good s (Goods Schedule) and the draft Schedule of Specific Commitments on 
Services (Services Schedule)99 in accordance with the most -favoured -nation (MFN) principle.100 
In recent accessions , the final sentence of the Protocol of Accession, as well as the cover pag es of 
the Goods and Services Schedules, have explicitly identif ied the authentic language(s)  of the 
Schedules (English, French or Spanish) . 
180.  The cover page of each Goods Schedule indicates the Schedule number. Each new Member 
has been allocated the next available Schedule number, expressed in Latin numerals on the cover 
page.101  
181.  When completed, the draft Schedules have been  circulated to all signatories for review and 
verification, enabling Members to confirm that the results of their bilateral negotiation s with the 
acceding government  have been reflected in the concessions and specific commitments contained 
in the draft Schedules . This has also present ed an opportunity to ensure that the contents are in 
accordance with the relevant WTO provisions. The prac tice has been to  convene a technical 
verification meeting for signatories, chaired by the Secretariat. The verified draft Schedules have 
then been reviewed  multilaterally by the Working Party. At this point, typically no further requests for 
new bilateral negotiations on market access have been made.  
3.6 LDCs accessions  
182.  The Secretariat and Working Party members have worked together with applicants to 
streamline some procedural aspects of LDCs accessions, as provided in the General Council 
                                                
96 E.g. in 2018, the delegations of Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina  and Azerbaijan have held bilateral 
meetings with Members between meetings of their Working Parties.   
97 Deposited bilateral agreements have been  registered in the Register of Bilateral Market Access 
Agreements, which is accessible to WTO Members only, via  a password -protected website: 
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/xacc_e/register_e.htm.  
98 The Secretariat  recommend s the use of blue ink.  
99 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev. 1, para 22.  
100 As regards  tariffs, the MFN Principle (GATT 1994, Article I.1) provides that any tariff binding granted 
by any Member to any product originating in any other country shall be accorded immediately and 
unconditionally to the like product originating in the territories  of all other Members. Likewise, in the area of 
services, if commitments have been made in a given sector to two or more Members, the Secretariat will take 
the least restrictive of these into the draft Schedule, as a commitment to one Member must be accord ed to all 
Members under the MFN clause.  
101 For instance, Liberia, one of the recently acceded WTO Members, has Schedule CLXXIV, the Latin 
equivalent of 174. There are more Schedule numbers than there are WTO Members because some Members of 
the GATT 1947 wit hdrew from that Agreement.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 35 - 
 
  Guidelines on the Accession of LDCs contained in WTO document WT/L/508 and its addendum .  
The steps taken include drafting a Factual Summary at an early stage of the proceedings; moving 
to the draft Report of the Working Party as quickly as  possible; keeping the number of Working Party 
meetings at a minimum by ensuring that maximum progress is made between meetings without the 
acceding governments having to visit Geneva; and organizing bilateral market access negotiations 
on goods and servic es through the Secretariat or in the acceding government’s capital to the extent 
possible.  
183.  Moreover, to facilitate participation of LDC applicants at Working Party meetings, the 
Secretariat began  to use video -conference technology. Recently, three Working  Party meetings were 
broadcast live to capital -based representatives.102 
4. COMPLETION OF WOR KING PARTY MANDATE  
184.  To conclude their mandate s, accession Working Parties during their last formal meeting have 
adopted ad referendum103 a draft accession package. The accession package has consist ed of (i) the 
Report of the Working Party; (ii) a draft Decision and a draft Protocol of Accession appended to the 
Report; and (iii) the Goods and Services Schedules presented  in Addenda 1 and 2 to the Report.104  
185.  In each specific rules area, where commitments have been negotiated and accepted by the 
applicant, the Working Party Reports have included specific commitments usually found in the final 
paragraphs of a section which  begin with the words "The representative of [X] confirmed that…" and 
conclude by stating "The Working Party took note of this/these commitment(s)." To date, e ach 
Report has ended with a "Conclusions" section, which lists the paragraph numbers of all specific  
commitments that have been negotiated and agreed. An appendix to the Report has contain ed a 
draft Protocol of Accession and a draft General Council/Ministerial Conference Decision inviting the 
applicant to accede to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing th e World Trade Organization on the 
terms and conditions set out in the draft Protocol.  
186.  The Protocol of Accession contains the terms of accession negotiated and agreed by the 
acceding government and members of the Working Party. All accession commitment par agraphs 
listed in the conclusions of the Report s of the Working Party have been  referenced in the Protocol s 
of Accession. The draft Schedules on Goods and Services are reproduced in the annex to the draft 
Protocol of Accession. Most Protocols of new Member s have been similar although the standard text 
was amended in January 2001 and then again in 2012. The basic provisions have remained the 
same. The common core provisions state that, upon its entry into force, the applicant accedes to the 
WTO Agreement pur suant to Article XII and thereby becomes a Member of the WTO. The new 
Member is bound to observe the rules contained in the Agreement establishing the WTO, as rectified, 
amended or otherwise modified as of the date that its Protocol enters into force.  
187.  The texts of the Decis ions have been identical . 
188.  In addition, annexes to the Protocol contain the new Member's Schedule of Concessions and 
Commitments on Goods and its Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services. The Protocol 
provides that these shall become Schedules of GATT 1994 and GATS, respectively.  
189.  All new Members have accept ed obligations to abide by rules that have either been spelled 
out in the Protocol itself or in the Working Party  Report 's commitment paragraphs, which have been  
incorporated by refe rence into the Protocol. As integral parts of the Protocol , these commitments  
have had the same status and legal effect as the commitments in the Protocol itself.  
190.  All accession Protocols have st ipulated  that the obligations of the applicant are an integra l part 
of the WTO Agreement to which the applicant accedes. It has been accepted that the obligations 
contained in the Protocols of Accession are enforceable through the WTO's Understanding on Rules 
and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.105 
                                                
102 The Second and Third meetings of the Working Party on the accession of the Union of the Comoros 
and the Fourth meeting of the Working Party on the accession of Sudan.    
103 Subject to final approval by the Ministerial Conference  / General Council.  
104 WTO document WT/ACC/22/Rev. 1, para 23.  
105 See for instance China -Rare Earths  WT/DS431,432,433/AB/R.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 36 - 
 
  191.  The applicant’s terms of entry form a single package agreed by the WTO membership and 
accepted by the applicant as a whole. After the adoption of the accession package, the Working 
Party has forward ed the Report s to the General Council or, if this is to meet soon, the Ministerial 
Conference, for formal action.106  A reasonable period of time - at least four weeks following the 
conclusion of the mandate of the accession Working Party  - has been  set aside before  formal action 
by the General Council or Ministerial Conference. In only one case has an applicant requested that 
an adopted Working Party Report not be forwarded to the General Council for the time being.107 
5. FINAL ACTIONS BEF ORE WTO MEMBERSHIP  
192.  Before a Wo rking Party Report is brought to the General Council/Ministerial Conference, the 
Secretariat has check ed that the acceding government has paid its contribution to the WTO budget 
as an observer. The acceding government needs to fully redeem its financial ob ligations to the WTO.  
To avoid accumulating financial arrears, acceding governments have been  advised to make their 
annual contributions on a regular basis during the accession process.108  
193.  In adopting the Decision, WTO Members have offered terms of accession to the applicant. 
The representative of the acceding government and the WTO Director -General ex officio  sign the 
Protocol of Accession. The Secretariat (Legal Affairs Division) prepares the Decision and the Protocol 
of Accession for cir culation in the WT/L - document series.  
194.  Depending on the constitutional law of the applicant, acceptance of the Protocol may be 
effective through signature or through subsequent ratification. The Protocol specifies the date until 
which it is open for accep tance by the applicant. While a period of three to six months is usual, in 
practice it is the applicant who proposes the length of time needed to complete its internal 
procedures and accept the terms.  
195.  A few acceding governments have requested an extension of the deadline for acceptance, 
explaining their reasons for doing so.109 In all of these cases, the General Council/Ministerial 
Conference has agreed to the extension with very little discussion.  
196.  As per paragraph 9 of the Protocol, as the depository of the Protocol of Accession, the WTO 
Director -General ex officio  has issued a Notification of Acceptance to inform the WTO Membership 
of the new Membership terms, specifying the date of accession. All Protocol s have  provide d that 
applicants become WTO Members 30  days after accepting the Protocol of Accession. As the acceding 
government may accept the Protocol through either signature or subsequent ratification, the 30 -day 
countdown period could start  from either (i) the day of signature; or (ii) in the case of ra tification, 
from the date of notifying the WTO of the domestic acceptance of the Protocol through deposit of an 
"instrument of acceptance". The 30-day period has given WTO Members time to take any action 
necessary to apply the WTO Agreement to the new Memb er.  
197.  A new Member's contribution to the WTO’s annual operating budget has been  based on its 
share of the total international trade of all Members (imports plus exports).110 According to the 
budget for 2018, a Member  accounting for 1% of the trade of all Members is assessed about CHF 
                                                
106 Eleven  accession packages were considered by the WTO Ministerial Conference: China (decision 
WT/L/432 adopted 10 November 2001); Chinese Taipei (decision WT/L/433 adopted 11 November 2001); 
Cambodia (decision WT/MIN(03)/18 adopted 11 September 2003); Nepal (decision WT/MIN(03)/19 adopted 
11 September 2003);  Tonga (decision WT/L/644 adopted 15 December 2005); Russian Federation (dec ision 
WT/MIN(11)/24 adopted 16 December 2011); Montenegro (decision WT/MIN(11)/28 adopted 17 December 
2011); Samoa (decision WT/MIN(11)/27 adopted 17 December 2011); Yemen (decision WT/MIN/(13)/24 
adopted 4 December 2013); Liberia (decision WT/MIN/(15)/38 adopted 16 December 2015); and Afghanistan 
(decision WT/MIN(15)/39 adopted 17 December 2015).   
107 Vanuatu. The Working Party concluded its mandate in 2001. Subsequently the Vanuatu authorities 
informed the WTO Secretariat that they would need more time to c onsider the accession package before it 
could be forwarded to the General Council. An updated accession package was adopted on 2 May 2011 by the 
reconvened Working Party and was approved by the General Council on 26 October 2011.  
108 WTO document WT/ACC/22/R ev.1, para 24.  
109 E.g. Cambodia , WTO document WT/L/561 and Tonga , WTO document WT/L/651 . 
110 The statistics used refer to trade in goods and commercial services, including intellectual property 
rights payments, derived from the balance of payments statistics of the IMF. See Financial Regulations of the 
WTO, WTO document WT/L/156/Rev.3, 27 February 2015.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 37 - 
 
  1.9 million (about $1.9 million, €1.6 million).111 New Members have also pa id a one -time advance 
to the Working Capital Fund in accordance with the scale of contributions applicable to the budget 
for the year of their accession. In 2018, a new Member with 1% of world trade would advance about 
CHF108,000 (about $107,600; €90,800).  
198.  The Secretariat provides technical support to new Members during the post -accession phase 
(see Part V "Post Accession" of this Report).  
_______________  
                                                
111 The minimum annual contribution , applicable to the smallest WTO Members, is equivalent to  0.015 % 
of the total WTO budget . This amounted to about CHF29,300 for 2018 (about US$29,200; €24,700) .  
  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 38 - ANNEX 1 – ACCESSIONS DIVISION WORK INDICATORS  FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2018  
 
Year Formal WP 
Meetings  Informal WP 
Meetings/  
Consultations  Technical  
Verification 
Meetings  
 Plurilateral 
Meetings  IGA Technical 
Assistance, 
Capacity -
Building & 
China Round 
Table 
Process  Article XII 
Accessions  
 Newsletters  DG's Annual  
Report on 
Accessions  Accessions 
Annual 
Outreach 
Cycle  
 
2018 
 4 
Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (1)  
Comoros (1)  
Belarus  (1) 
The Bahamas  (1) 0 0 1 
The Bahamas 
(1) 9 23 0 9 1 
(WT/ACC/33 , 
WT/GC/ 196) 4 
Sub-Committee 
on LDCs; 
ASEAN Group; 
GRULAC; and 
Informal Group 
of Acceding 
Governments 
(IGAG)  
 
Source:  Accessions Division internal data.  
  
*  At the time of  writing, the annual outreach with the African  Group is scheduled for early 2019 .  
  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 39 - ANNEX 2 – ACCESSIONS NEGOTIAT ED PURSUANT TO ARTIC LE 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/MOL/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. Armenia  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  13/10/2004  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 People'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, Republic 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/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 40 - 
 
  ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESS IONS WORKING PARTY C HAIRPERSONS  
 
No. Government  Date Working 
Party established  WP Chairperson*  Geneva
-based  
(Y/N)  
1.  Algeria  17 June 1987 H.E. Mr. José Luís CANCELA GÓMEZ 
(Uruguay)  Y 
2.  Andorra  22 October  1997 Pending  
3.  Azerbaijan  16 July 1997 H.E. Dr Walter WERNER  (Germany)  Y 
4.  The Bahamas  18 July 2001 H.E. Mr H.E. Mr. Andrew STAINES (United 
Kingdom)  Y 
5.  Belarus  27 October  1993 H.E. Mr Kemal MADENOĞLU (Turkey)  Y 
6.  Bhutan  6 October  1999 H.E. Dr Elisabeth TICHY -FISSLBERGER 
(Austria )  Y 
7.  Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  15 July 1999 H.E. Mr. Atanas PAPARIZOV (Bulgaria)   Y 
8.  Comoros, Union of 
the 9 October  2007 H.E. Mr Luis Enrique CHÁVEZ BASAGOITIA 
(Peru)  N 
9.  Equatorial Guinea  5 February  2008 Pending  
10.  Ethiopia  10 February  2003 Pending   
11.  Iran 26 May 2005 Pending  
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.  Sao Tomé  and 
Principe  26 May 2005 Pending  
16.  Serbia  15 February  2005 H.E. Mrs. Marie -Claire SWÄRD CAPRA 
(Sweden)  N 
17.  Somalia  7 December 2016  Pending  
18.  South Sudan  13 December 2017  Pending  
19.  Sudan  25 October  1994 Pending   
20.  Syrian Arab 
Republic  4 May 2010 Pending  
21.  Timor -Leste  7 December 2016  H.E. Mr Pedro Nuno BÁRTOLO (Portugal)  Y 
22.  Uzbekistan  21 December  1994 H.E. Ms Ji -ah PAIK  (Korea)  Y 
*  As of November 201 8. 
 WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 41 - 
 
  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.  Ecuador  09/1992  01/1996  3 years 4 months  
2.  Bulgaria  11/1986  12/1996  10 years 1 month  
3.  Mongolia  10/1991  01/1997  5 years 3 months  
4.  Panama  10/1991  09/1997  5 years 11 months  
5.  Kyrgyz Republic  04/1996  12/1998  2 years 8 months  
6.  Latvia  12/1993  02/1999  5 years 2 months  
7.  Estonia  03/1994  11/1999  5 years 8 months  
8.  Jordan  01/1994  04/2000  6 years 3 months  
9.  Georgia  07/1996  06/2000  3 years 11 months  
10.  Albania  12/1992  09/2000  7 years 9 months  
11.  Oman  06/1996  11/2000  4 years 5 months  
12.  Croatia  10/1993  11/2000  7 years 1 month  
13.  Lithuania  02/1994  05/2001  7 years 3 months  
14.  Moldova, Republic of  12/1993  07/2001  7 years 7 months  
15.  China  03/1987  12/2001  14 years 9 months  
16.  Chinese Taipei  09/1992  01/2002  9 years 4 months  
17.  Armenia  12/1993  02/2003  9 years 2 months  
18.  The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia  12/1994  04/2003  8 years 4 months  
19.  Nepal*  06/1989  04/2004  14 years 10 months  
20.  Cambodia*  12/1994  10/2004  9 years 10 months  
21.  Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of  07/1993  12/2005  12 years 5 months  
22.  Viet Nam  01/1995  01/2007  12 years  
23.  Tonga  11/1995  07/2007  11 years 8 months  
24.  Ukraine  12/1993  05/2008  14 years 5 months  
25.  Cabo Verde*  07/2000  07/2008  8 years  
26.  Montenegro  02/2005  04/2012  7 years 2 months  
27.  Samoa*  07/1998  05/2012  13 years 10 months  
28.  Russian Federation  07/1993  08/2012  19 years 1 month  
29.  Vanuatu*  07/1995  08/2012  17 years 1 month  
30.  Lao PDR*  02/1998  02/2013  15 years  
31.  Tajikistan  07/2001  03/2013  11 years 8 months  
32.  Yemen*  07/2000  06/2014  13 years 11 months  
33.  Seychelles  07/1995  04/2015  19 years 9 months  
34.  Kazakhstan  02/1996  11/2015  19 years 9 months  
35.  Liberia*  12/2007  07/2016  8 years 7 months  
36.  Afghanistan*  12/2004  07/2016  11 years 7 months  
 
Overall Average  10 years 2 months  
LDCs Accessions  12 years 6 months  
Non-LDCs Accessions  9 years 4 months  
*  LDC. Cabo Verde and Samoa acceded to the WTO as LDCs.  They graduated from LDC  status in 2007 
and in 2014, respectively.  
 
   
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 42 - ANNEX 5 – BASIC ECON OMIC PROFILES OF ART ICLE XII MEMBERS AND  ACCEDING GOVERNMENT S 
Table 5-1: Acceding Governments  
 
Acceding 
Government  Population1 
(thousands)  GDP2 
(millions 
USD)  GDP per 
Capita3 
(USD)  Trade per 
capita3 
(USD)  Trade as % 
GDP3 Merchandise 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Merchandise 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  
Algeria  41,318.14   178 287  4 116  1 181  28.7 34 925  46 129  2 985  11 082  
Andorra  76.97  No data available  
Azerbaijan  9,862.43  40 670  4 441  1 875  42.2 15 800  8 600  4 661  8 004  
Bahamas  395.36  11 639  30 925  10 526  34.0 605 2 890  2 835  1 880  
Belarus  9,507.88  54 436  5 574  3 486  62.5 29 222  34 218  7 798  4 824  
Bhutan  807.61  2 334  2 733  1 201  44.0 590 1 000  158 203 
Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  3,507.02  18 058  4 848  2 190  45.2 6 300  10 300  1 848  552 
Comoros, Union of 
the* 813.91  652 769 2695 31.8 31 238 806 826 
Equatorial Guinea  1,267.69  10 725  13 425  8 6617 47.4 7 5 200  2 000  2818 1 4158 
Ethiopia*  104,957.44  80 874  799 140 19.5 3 170  16 289  2 7558 5 1628 
Iran 81,162.79  431 920  5 021  1 105  22.0 92 000  47 000  9 865 15 876  
Iraq 38,274.62  197 699 4 8327 1 378  26.1 45 525  41 222  4 5628 9 9508 
Lebanese Republic  6,082.36  51 457  11 232  5 595 49.83 4 026  20 109  16 027  13 823  
Libya  6,374.62  31 331  3 501  2 8097 88.87 15 600  11 700  868 2 3778 
Sao Tome and 
Principe*  204.33  379 1 679  656 39.1 14 149 72 59 
                                                
 
1 For the year 2017 . Source: World Bank, Population: All Countries and Economies, available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL . 
2 For 2017 unless otherwise indicated.  
3 For 2015 –2017 unless otherwise i ndicated.  
4 For 2017 unless otherwise indicated.  
5 For 2013 –2015.  
6 For 2015.  
7 For 2014 -2016.  
8 For 2016.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 43 - Acceding 
Government  Population1 
(thousands)  GDP2 
(millions 
USD)  GDP per 
Capita3 
(USD)  Trade per 
capita3 
(USD)  Trade as % 
GDP3 Merchandise 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Merchandise 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  
Serbia  7,022.27  41 471  5 520  2 991  54.2 16 941  22 128  5 950  4 853  
Somalia*  14 318.00  No data available  
South Sudan*  12,575.71  No data available  
Sudan*  40,533.33  58 239  1 514  182 12.0 3 024  6 117  1 491  1 429  
Syrian Arab 
Republic  18,269.87  60 0439 2 64210 86710 32.810 1 800  4 500  2 43411 2 81811 
Timor -Leste*  1,296.31  2 610 2 264 451 19.9 35 780 77 316 
Uzbekistan  32,387.20  47 883  1 901  397 20.9 10 500  12 000  3 506  978 
 
Table 5-2: Article XII Members  
Article XII Member  Population1 
(thousands)  GDP2 
(millions 
USD)  GDP per 
Capita3 
(USD)  Trade per 
capita3 
(USD)  Trade as % 
GDP3 Merchandise 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Merchandise 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  
Afghanistan*  35,530.08  20 889  591 133 22.5 780 7 700  324 1 516  
Albania  2,873.46  13 181  4 215  1 563  37.1 2 301  5 294  3 193  1 898  
Armenia  2,930.45  11 548  3 642  1 420  39.0 2 243  4 183  1 854  1 929  
Bulgaria  7,075.99  56 943  7 523  4 778  63.5 30 024  34 086  8 727  5 207  
Cabo  Verde  546.39  1 741  3 123  1 650  52.8 65 740 634 362 
Cambodia*  16,005.37  22 252  1 279  911 71.2 11 950  13 980  4 487  2 246  
China  1,386,395.00  12 014 610  8 309  1 586  19.1 2 263 329  1 841 889  226 389  464 133  
Croatia  4,125.70  54 516  12 400  6 058  48.8 16 005  24 731  15 016  4 552  
Ecuador  16,624.86  102 311  6 055  1 288  21.3 19 122  20 010  2 177  3 200  
Estonia  1,315.48  25 973  18 276  13 943  76.3 14 472  16 638  6 789  4 644  
Georgia  3,717.10  15 139  3 910  2 071  53.0 2 728  7 981  3 945  1 893  
Jordan  9,702.35  40 487  5 579  2 566  46.0 7 458  20 055  6 371  4 582  
Kazakhstan  18,037.65  160 839  8 903  2 587  29.1 48 342  29 305  6 199  10 716  
Kyrgyz Republic  6,201.50  7 163  1 107  597 54.0 1 791  4 481  841 863 
                                                
9 For 2010.  
10 For 2008 –2010.  
11 For 2011.  
 
 
 
 
 
  
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 44 - Article XII Member  Population1 
(thousands)  GDP2 
(millions 
USD)  GDP per 
Capita3 
(USD)  Trade per 
capita3 
(USD)  Trade as % 
GDP3 Merchandise 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Merchandise 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
exports4 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
imports4 
(millions 
USD)  
Lao PDR*  6,858.16  16 984  2 392  6997 31.27 3 950  5 100  8308 6198 
Latvia  1,940.74  30 319  14 376  8 684  60.4 13 823  16 800  5 486  2 976  
Liberia*  4,731.91  3 285  738 248 45.4 389 1 111  61 290 
Lithuania  2,827.72  47 263  15 304  11 740  76.7 29 857  32 493  9 436  5 903  
Moldova  3,549.75  8 085  2 005  1 047  52.2 2 425  4 832  1 224  910 
Mongolia  3,075.65  11 135  3 751  1 933  51.5 6 201  4 336  1 003  2 177  
Montenegro  622.47  4 764 7 064 3 689 52.2 421 2 612 1 569  583 
Nepal*  29,305.00  24 472  770 202 26.3 750 10 500  1 383  1 591  
Oman  4,636.26  74 274  17 618  10 1197 53.77 29 441  27 157  3 6048 9 9468 
Panama  4,098.59  61 838  14 366  6 688  46.6 11 450  20 300  13 176  4 603  
Russian Federation  144,495.04  1 527 469  9 673  2 320  24.0 353 116  237 788  56 946  87 222  
Samoa  196.44  840 4 133  1 647  39.8 44 356 248 89 
Saudi Arabia  32,938.21  683 827  20 844  6 420  30.8 218 174  130 825  17 336  53 508  
Seychelles  95.84  1 482  15 260  15 641  102.5  568 1 070  982 548 
Chinese Taipei  12 579 302  23 165  14 516  62.7 317 381  259 499  44 721  52 771  
Tajikistan  8,921.34  7 279  851 231 27.2 1 200  2 700  247 533 
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of 
Macedonia  2 081.21  11 366  5 175  3 041  58.8 5 671  7 720  1 655  1 183  
Tonga  108.02  437 4 032  1 997  49.5 30 200 90 86 
Ukraine  44,831.16  109 321  2 305  1 213  52.6 43 199  49 421  13 780  12 408  
Vanuatu*  276.24  870 2 960  1 467  49.6 48 390 344 128 
Viet Nam  95,540.80  220 408  2 205  2 082  94.4 214 323  211 518  12 986  16 793  
Yemen*  28,250.42  16 511  824 3435 23.95 800 7 100  5626 1 2466 
  LDC 
Source:  WTO Statistics Database, unless otherwise indicated. For dates of establishment of Working Parties for Acceding Governments, and dates of Membership for Article XII 
Members, see Annex 4.  
 
 
 
 
                                                
12 Data unavailable.   
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 45 - ANNEX 6 – DATA ON TR ADE PERFORMANCE  
Table 6-1: Value of merchandise trade and year -on-year percentage change (1995 –2017) 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  
Article XII 
Members  Value  857 911 975 899 941 1,208  1,194  1,360  1,747  2,307  2,846  3,469  4,217  5,122  3,999  
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%  21.6%  21.4%  -21.9%  
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  
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%  
Source:   WTO Statistics  Database.  
 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  
Article XII 
Members  Value  5,279  6,578  6,926  7,277  7,330  6,341  5,923  6,739  
 
Year-on-year 
percentage change  32.0%  24.6%  5.3%  5.1%  0.7%  -13.5%  -6.6%  13.8%  
World  Value  30,812  36,841  37,201  37,970  38,106  33,232  32,180  35,754  
 
Year-on-year 
percentage change  21.6%  19.6%  1.0%  2.1%  0.4%  -12.8%  -3.2%  11.1%  
 
   
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 46 - Table 6-2: Value of trade in commercial services* and year -on-year percentage change (1995 –2017) 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  
Article 
XII 
Members  Value   155   168   189   177   179   200   210   237   274   349   412   490   629   736   639  
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%  18.9%  28.4%  17.0%  -13.2%  
World  Value   2,369   2,536   2,629   2,653   2,784   2,955   2,975   3,159   3,644   4,396   5,126   5,763   6,866   7,759   6,898  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   7.1%  3.7%  0.9%  4.9%  6.1%  0.7%  6.2%  15.4%  20.6%  16.6%  12.4%  19.1%  13.0%  -11.1%  
*  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.  
 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  
Article XII 
Members  Value   789   929   1,004   1,105   1,225   1,156  1,154  1,220  
 
Year-on-year 
percentage change  23.4%  17.8%  8.1%  10.0%  10.9%  -5.6%  -0.2%  5.7%  
World  Value  7,546   8,486   8,773   9,330  10,017   9,432  9,502  10,354  
 
Year-on-year 
percentage change  9.4%  12.4%  3.4%  6.3%  7.4%  -5.8%  0.7%  8.9%  
Source:   WTO Statistics Database  
 WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 47 - 
 
  ANNEX 7 – ACCESSIONS MANAGEME NT  
Accession Working Party Management  
Accession Working Party  Code  Secretary  Co-Secretary  Administrative 
Manager/Support  
Maika Oshikawa, Director   
1. Algeria  
 DZA Bratanov  
 Soumaré   Tandara -Stenier  
2. Andorra  
 AND accessions@wto.org  - No Activity   
3. Azerbaijan  
 AZE Popescu   Bunyatova  Lazorenko  
4. Bahamas  
 BHS Lee     Suse 
Bunyatova  
(AG) Tandara -Stenier  
5. Belarus  BLR Bratanov  
 Varyanik  
Nabiyeva  
Bunyatova  Lazorenko  
6. Bhutan*  
 BTN Lee  
 Mandela  
 Tandara -Stenier  
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina  BIH Varyanik  
 Nabiyeva  
 Tandara -Stenier  
8. Comoros*  
 COM Bratanov  
 Soumaré   Tandara -Stenier  
9. Equatorial Guinea  
 GNQ Perez -Esteve  Soumaré  Lazorenko  
10. Ethiopia*  ETH Soumaré  
 Galma  
Mandela  Lazorenko  
11. Iran 
  IRN Varyanik  Todić Tandara -Stenier  
 
12. Iraq 
 IRQ Suse Bunyatova  Lazorenko  
13. Lebanese Republic  LBN Suse Varyanik   Tandara -Stenier  
 
14. Libya  
 LBY Bratanov  Soumaré   Lazorenko  
15. Sao Tome et Principe*  
 STP Perez -Esteve  
 Soumaré  
 Lazorenko  
16. Serbia  
  SRB Varyanik  Todić Tandara -Stenier  
17. Somalia*  
 SOM Perez -Esteve   
 Soumaré  
Galma  Lazorenko  
18. South Sudan*  
 SSD Perez -Esteve  Soumaré   
Mandela  Lazorenko  
19. Sudan*  
 SDN Lee Soumaré  
 Tandara -Stenier  
20. Syrian Arab Republic  
 SYR Perez -Esteve  Suse Lazorenko  
21. Timor -Leste*  TLS Varyanik  
 Todić Lazorenko  
22. Uzbekistan  UZB Popescu   
 Nabiyeva  Lazorenko  
 
Expressions of Interest / Watching Briefs  
Country  Code  Focal Point  Co-Focal Point  Administrative 
Manager/Support  
1. Curaçao  CUW Suse Bunyatova  Tandara -Stenier  
2. Kosovo  KOS Varyanik  Todić   Tandara -Stenier  
3. Palestine  PSE Perez -Esteve  Suse Tandara -Stenier  
4. Turkmenistan  TKM Nabiyeva   Popescu   Lazorenko  
*  Least -developed countries (LDCs)  WT/ACC/33  • WT/GC/196   
 
- 48 - 
 
  Non-Working Party Workload Distribution  
Responsibility  Focal Point  Co-Focal Point  Administrative 
Manager/ 
Support  
2018 Director -General's Annual 
Report  
 Bratanov   Tandara -Stenier  
Informal Group on Accessions (IGA)  
 Bratanov  
(Secretary of 
IGA) Nabiyeva  Tandara -Stenier  
Informal Group of Acceding 
Governments (IGAG)  Bratanov  Popescu  Tandara -Stenier  
Accessions Newsletter  
 Suse Soumaré  Tandara -Stenier  
Annual Outreach  
 Perez -Esteve  Soumaré   Tandara -Stenier  
TA Focal Point  
 Lee Soumaré  Lazorenko  
 Regional Dialogue for Greater 
Horn of Africa, Summer  Lee 
 Soumaré  
Galma  Lazorenko  
 Training on Accession Rules,  
Q4, 2018  Bratanov  
 Suse 
Bunyatova  Lazorenko  
Post-Accession Support  
 Varyanik  
 Nabiyeva  Lazorenko  
China Programme /  
Accessions Interns (Pillar I)  Perez -Esteve  Lee Tandara -Stenier  
China Programme /  
China Round Table (Pillar II)  Varyanik  Bratanov  
Nabiyeva  Tandara -Stenier  
LDC Focal Point  
 Soumaré   Galma  
Mandela  Lazorenko  
Trade for Peace  Lee  Perez -Esteve  
Galma  
Todić Tandara -Stenier  
The g7+ WTO Accessions  
 Varyanik  Todić   
Mandela  Lazorenko  
Databases:  
    
 Accessions Commitments 
Database (ACDB)  Suse Bunyatova   Lazorenko  
 Market Access Register  
 Suse   Bunyatova  Lazorenko  
 Trade performance of Article 
XII Members  Popescu  Galma  Tandara -Stenier  
Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP) 
Update  Popescu   Bunyatova  Tandara -Stenier  
Knowledge and Information 
Management  Bratanov  
 Bunyatova   Lazorenko  
Accessions Division Follow -up Tracker  
 Tandara -Stenier   Lazorenko  Tandara -Stenier  
Accessions Annual Output Plan  
 Popescu   Mandela  Lazorenko  
Accessions Retreat  
 Perez -Esteve  Galma  Tandara -Stenier  
Eurasian Book Project  Varyanik  Nabiyeva  
Bunyatova  
Todić Lazorenko  
Update of Accessions Handbook  
  Bratanov  Suse 
Bunyatova   Lazorenko  
ACCESSIONS STAFF DIS POSITION 2018 
 Director ; 
 Six Professionals;  
 Two Administrative Managers; and  
 Four rotating  interns  under the  WTO Accessions Internship Programme . 
 
   
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 49 - ANNEX 8  - MEMORANDUM AND SUPPL EMENTARY FACTUAL  INFORMATION  
MEMORANDUM AND ITS AN NEXES  
Type of information  Information required  WTO Document reference  
General  Memorandum  
Statistics and Publications  
List of Laws and Legal Acts  WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex I  
WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex II  
WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex III  
Trade in Goods  Import Licensing Procedures Questionnaire  WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex IV  
Customs Valuation Checklist  WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex V  
TBT Questionnaire  WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex VI  
State -Trading Questionnaire  WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex VII  
Trade in Services  Services Sectoral Classification List  WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex VIII  
Foreign Trade Agreements  List of Foreign Trade Agreements  WT/ACC/22/Rev.1, Annex IX  
SUPPLEMENTARY FACTUAL  INFORMATION  
Type of information  Information required  WTO Document reference  
Trade in Goods  
 TBT and SPS Checklists  WT/ACC/22/Add.2  
Domestic Support and Export Subsidies in Agriculture  WT/ACC/22/Add.1  
Draft subsidies notification  WT/ACC/22/Add.2  
TRIPS  TRIPS Checklist  WT/ACC/22/Add.2  
  
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 50 - ANNEX 9  - A COMPREHENSIVE LEGI SLATIVE ACTION PLAN (LAP)  
PART I – Pending Bills/Drafts/Regulations  
Subject  Legislation/Regulation  Competent 
Authority  Expected date of 
adoption/enactment  Status*  Expected date of 
implementation  Translation/ Copy 
submitted to 
Working Party  
Economic Policies  
Monetary and 
fiscal policy  
  
     WT/ACC/…/…  
      
Policies Affecting Trade in Goods  
Registration 
requirements        
      
…       
 
PART II – Completed Legislation/ Regulations  
Subject  Legislation/Regulation  Competent 
Authority  Date of 
adoption/enactment  Status**  Date of 
implementation  Translation/Copy 
submitted to 
Working Party  
Economic Policies  
Monetary and 
fiscal policy   
     WT/ACC/…/…  
       
   WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196  
 
- 51 - Subject  Legislation/Regulation  Competent 
Authority  Date of 
adoption/enactment  Status**  Date of 
implementation  Translation/Copy 
submitted to 
Working Party  
Policies Affecting Trade in Goods  
Registration 
requirements        
      
      
…       
*  Entry of relevant information on the status of the draft bill/regulation, as of the date of submission of the LAP, such as: ( i) in draft procedure; (ii) under review by 
Government/Cabinet; (iii) under review by Attorney General's Office/Ministry of Justice; (iv) submitted to Parliament/National Assembly; (v) adoption/e nactment 
expected by [date]; and/or (vi) any additional information, as may be provided by the Acceding Government, or requested by  Members of the Working Party.  
**  Entry of relevant information on the implementation status of the legislation, as of the date of submission of the LAP, such as: implementation expected by [date]).  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 52 - 
 
  ANNEX 1 0 - INITIAL TARIFF OFFER  
The format for initial offers on tariffs is a simplified version of the Schedule containing the results of 
the negotiations. It has not been formally standardized but experience shows that at a minimum 
initial offers should contain the information indicate d in the Table below.  
As negotiations proceed, implementation periods for the reduction of tariff bindings can be 
negotiated and additional columns "final bound rate" and "implementation period" can be added 
(after column 4) as part of revised offer(s).  
Format for Tariff Offers  
HS Number 
(National  
Nomenclature 
of the 
Applicant) (1)  Description of 
Each Product (2)  Currently Applied  
Rate∗ (3) Proposed Bound 
Rate at 
Accession (4)  Other Duties 
and Charges 
(ODC) (5)  
∗ While these will not appear in the final Schedule, the currently applied rates of duty need to be 
supplied, particularly as some WTO Members expect these to provide a reference point for the 
negotiations. This can be done either in a column in the initial  offer as indicated above or in a 
separate communication.  
Although preferential tariffs and non -tariff measures may also be bound, as a rule, initial offers only 
contain offers of MFN tariff concessions.  
Items in the offer are arranged by the headings of t he Harmonized System nomenclature. Initial 
offers should normally be prepared in the version of the nomenclature applied by the acceding 
government at the time the document is prepared.  
As noted above, rates of other duties and charges also need to be inse rted in Column 5 and an offer 
made on these (‘zero’ if no ODCs are applied). Members generally expect these to be bound at zero.  WT/ACC/33 • WT/GC/196   
 
- 53 - 
 
  ANNEX 11  - BILATERAL MARKET ACC ESS AGREEMENTS  
Protocol of agreemen t between [applicant] and [WTO Member]  
Concluding bilateral negotiations for the accession of [applicant] to the World Trade 
Organization  
[Applicant] and […], a Member of the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as "the 
WTO"), hereby agree to  the conclusion of their bilateral negotiations for market access in the context 
of the accession of [applicant] to the WTO.  
They accordingly attach hereto the list of tariff concessions which  [applicant]  grants to  […] 
(Attachment 1).  
[The specific commitm ents on services that  [applicant] will grant to  […] will be those contained in 
Attachment 2 hereto.]  
For [applicant]  For [WTO Member]  
Name of representative  Name of representative  
Done in Geneva,  date 
In 3 exemplars  
Attachment 1  
HS Number  Description  Bound Rate 
at Date of  
Accession  Final Bound  
Rate Implementation 
Period  INR ODCs  
 
 
__________