WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
17 November 2011 
 (11-5989) 
  
  
 
    
WTO ACCESSIONS 
 
2011 ANNUAL REPORT BY TH E DIRECTOR-GENERAL 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 This document has been prepa red under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members and to 
their rights and obligations under the WTO  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page i 
  
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
  
I.  INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ................................................................................... 1  
II.  2011 DEVELOPMENTS .......................................................................................................... 2  
(a)  Accession Working Parties:  An Overview of Activities........................................................ 2  
(b)  Working Party Chairpersons ................................................................................................... 3 
(c)  Transparency in the Accession Process .................................................................................. 3  
(d)  Technical Assistan ce and Outreach......................................................................................... 4  
(e)  China's LDCs and Acce ssions Programme ............................................................................ 5  
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSI ON WORKING PARTIES ............................................... 6  
IV.  LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES' ACCESSIONS ....................................................... 10  
V.  BEST PRACTICES IN ACCESS ION NEGOTIATIONS .................................................. 11  
VI.  CONCLUSION - OUTLOOK 2012 ...................................................................................... 18  
ANNEX 1 ....................................................................................................................... ....................... 20  
ANNEX 2 ....................................................................................................................... ....................... 21  
ANNEX 3 ....................................................................................................................... ....................... 22  
 
   WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 1 
  
  I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 
1. I am pleased to share with Members my Third Annual Report on WTO Accessions for the 
year 2011 under review.  The focus of my report th is year is on "Results"; and, "Best Practices".   
2. In my Second Annual Report, I summarized the key messages that Me mbers had delivered on 
accessions last year.  Members wanted to see "tangible results" leading to expanded membership, improvements in transparency, reinforced priority in favour of acceding Least-Developed Countries' Accessions, and top quality rules-based policy advi ce, linked to technical assistance and outreach 
from the Secretariat to all acceding governments.   
3. This has been a very good year for WTO Accessi ons.  Strong progress was registered. Several 
accessions were significantly advanced to the thr eshold of completion.  Specifically, the accession 
negotiations for Samoa and Vanuatu (two Least-dev eloped Countries) were concluded. The Accession 
of the Russian Federation, the last major economy,  outside of the rules-based Multilateral Trading 
System, was also concluded. The Report of th e Working Party on the Accession of the Russian 
Federation was adopted ad referendum  by the Working Party on 10 November 2011, and final action 
will be taken by Ministers at the Eighth WTO Minist erial Conference.  Furthermore, the road is now 
open for the conclusion of the accession negotiations  of Montenegro.  The final meeting of the 
Working Party has been scheduled for 2 December .  Many other Accession Working Parties have 
been revamped.   
4. There were concrete improvements on outreach.  On technical assistance, the Government of 
China provided funding for the establishment of th e "China LDCs' and Accessions Programme". The 
ITC programme in support of the private sector in  developing and least developed countries in 
accession has witnessed a high level of activity.   
5. The Organization has made the most progress, when  challenged by events and circumstances.  
The Organizational progress on accessions this year subs tantiates this point.  The collective drive by 
Members supported by the Secretariat has made this progress possible. I would like to pay tribute to 
the Membership and all the Chairpersons of Acce ssion Working Parties for the progress achieved.   
6. While acknowledging the important progress this year , it is fair to say that substantial work 
remains with those governments still in the process of  accession.  This is why the thematic focus of 
my report this year is on "Accession Best Practices".  Although accompanied with significant benefits, the WTO accession process is complex.  There is no easy way to simplify a process 
intertwined with far-reaching domestic economic a nd legislative reforms.  However, since 1995 to 
date, the Secretariat has gathered  considerable intelligence on what works, what does not and a rough 
and ready "To do List".  This is the thematic focu s in Section V of my report this year.  In our 
rules-based system, I offer it to Members and acce ding governments alike, as a contribution to the 
ongoing dialogue on these matters. As with my firs t two Annual Reports, I invite and welcome 
suggestions and advice on the substa nce of this year's report.   
7. The prospects for accessions in 2012 are positive.   Several accession negotiations are in an 
advanced state of technical maturity.  These have been  identified in this report.  As Director-General, 
accession dossiers will continue to be an area of prim e attention for me.  The Secretariat will invest 
resources and channel energy in particular to Least-Developed Countries' Accessions.  At the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference, together with  Members, I look forward to taking note of 
concluded accessions, welcoming those that may ha ve concluded their ratification and acceptance 
procedures by then, and/or deciding on those that will require approval at MC8.   WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 2 
  
  II. 2011 DEVELOPMENTS 
(a) Accession Working Parties:  An Overview of Activities 
8. Currently, 30 acceding governments are in the process of WTO accession
1 (see Annex 1).  
Ten formal Working Party meetings were held in 2011 namely: Bosnia and Herzegovina (two 
meetings); Ethiopia; Lao PDR; Russian Federation; Samoa; Serbia (two meetings); Tajikistan; and, 
Vanuatu. The Working Party on the Accession of Mont enegro has been convened for 2 December.  
Nine informal Working Party cons ultations/meetings were also held .  Seven of these were for the 
Russian Federation; and, one each for Samoa and Vanuatu.   
9. In the period under review, progress was registered as follows:   
 a Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime was submitted by the Government of Liberia;  
 a Factual Summary of Points Raised (hereaf ter "Factual Summary") was prepared by the 
Secretariat for the Working Part y on the Accession of Ethiopia; 
 revised Factual Summaries were prepared by the Secretariat for the Working Parties on the 
Accession of Azerbaijan and Belarus and subm itted to these Governments for review;   
 a revised version of the Elements of a Draft Report was prepared by the Secretariat for the 
Working Party on the Accession of Lao PDR; 
 draft Reports were revised by the S ecretariat for three Working Parties 
(Bosnia and Herzegovina, Samoa, and Serbia), and a first version of the draft Report was 
prepared for Tajikistan by the Secretariat; 
 the updated Accession Package of Vanuatu was adopted, ad referendum,  in the re-convened 
Working Party on 2 May 2011.  This Acce ssion Package was approved by the General 
Council at its meeting on 26 October 2011; 
 the Accession Package of Samoa was adopted ad referendum  by the Working Party on 
28 October 2011;  
 the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation adopted ad referendum  the 
Report of the Working Party by consensus; and,  
                                                      
1 WTO accession negotiations evolve through the seque nced stages of (i) the Memorandum of the 
Foreign Trade Regime; (ii) the Factual Summary of Poin ts Raised; (iii) the Draft Working Party Report; and 
(iv) the draft Accession Package.  Prepared by the acceding government , "the Memorandum of the Foreign 
Trade Regime" is a document, which provides factua l information on the acceding government's foreign trade 
regime.  Once circulated, it triggers th e Working Party process and serves as  a basis for the examination of the 
acceding government's foreign trade regime by Members.  Th e next step in the multilateral process in terms of 
documentation is the preparation by the Secretariat of th e "Factual Summary of Points Raised".  This informal 
document summarizes the discussions that have taken place in the Working Party.   The Factual Summary 
evolves into the "Draft Working Party Report", which incorporates the specific terms of accession negotiated by 
Members and the acceding government.  In some cases, an  "Elements of a Draft Report" is prepared as an 
intermediate step between the Fact ual Summary and the Draft Report.  Bilateral market access negotiations 
follow a separate track.  In practice, these negotiations normally begin after the first meeting of the Working 
Party and are based on the initial market access offers submitted by the acceding gove rnment.  On the basis of 
the results of bilateral negotiations, the WTO Secretaria t prepares Consolidated Dr aft Schedules on Goods and 
Services.  The draft schedules are "ver ified" in a plurilateral/multilateral technical verification exercise, chaired 
by the WTO Secretariat (Director, A ccessions Division).  The Accession Package is comprised of the Draft 
Report of the Working Party, with annexed Draft Schedules on Goods and Services, as well as a Draft Protocol.  It is adopted by the Working Party ad referendum , and forwarded to the General Council for consideration and 
adoption.    WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 3 
  
   the General Council took note of the appointment s of the Chairpersons of three Accession 
Working Parties
2 (The Bahamas3, Lao PDR4 and Samoa5).  
 
(b) Working Party Chairpersons  
10. Three new Working Party Chairpersons were appointed by the General Council in 2011.  
Background briefings for all three new Chairpersons we re organized by the Secretariat.  At present, 
sixty per cent of the Chairpersons are Geneva -based. There are eight Chairmanship vacancies6.  The 
Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Ethiopia and the Secretariat visited Addis in February 2011.  The purpose of the visit was to cons ult with Senior Officials of the Government of 
Ethiopia to identify steps that needed to be take n to facilitate the WTO accession of Ethiopia.   
Figure 1:  Accession Working Party Chairmanships (Number) in 2011 
 
(c) Transparency in the Accession Process  
11. Ensuring transparency and predictability in th e accession process remain key priorities for the 
Membership and the Secretariat.  In the year under review, transparency measures and initiatives 
introduced over the past two years have continued to be implemented and fu rther strengthened.  The 
Informal Group on Accessions
7 held ten meetings8 in 2011.  Consultations in the Informal Group 
focused on sharing and exchange of information with Members.  These include, briefing Members 
about latest developments in acceding governments, results of country visits by Chairpersons of 
Working Parties, consulting on vacancies in Worki ng Parties, planning accession meetings and related 
activities, based on an evolving calendar proposed by the Secretariat, and on addressing specific Members' and acceding governments' concerns.  To enhance the flow of information, Working Party 
                                                      
2 The practice has emerged to appoint a Working Pa rty Chairperson following the submission of the 
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime and Replies to Questions on the Memorandum.   
3 WT/GC/M/131, paragraph 45 (3 May 2011). 
4 WT/GC/M/132, paragraph 128 (27 July 2011). 
5 WT/GC/M/130, paragraph 63 (22 February 2011). 
6 See Annex 1. 
7 Chaired by the Secretariat. 
8 24 January 2011, 21 February 2011, 22 March 2011, 28 April 2011, 26 May 2011, 30 June 2011, 
19 July 2011, 22 September 2011, 18 October 2011 and 25 November 2011.   Special Vacancy 
(Vanuatu and 
Andorra), 2
Vacancy, 8
Geneva-based, 12Non-Geneva based, 
8
Special Vacancy (Vanuatu and Andorra) Vacancy Geneva-based Non-Geneva basedWT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 4 
  
  Chairpersons (and Secretariat staff) were invited to  report on their visits to acceding governments.  
In 2011, reports of this kind were presented on the visit to Ethiopia by Ambassador Steffen Smidt, the 
Working Party Chairperson, and the visit to Algeri a by Deputy Director-General Alejandro Jara.   
12. In 2011, the Secretariat produced and circulated  nine "Acceding Government Newsletters".  
This service was introduced in 2010 to improve communication with acceding governments.  Specifically, it was designed to enhance the transpar ent exchange of accession-relevant information so 
that acceding governments are fully aware of the fu ll engagement by Members and the imperative for 
improved coordination to, inter alia , achieve an even distribution of scheduling meetings in ways that 
are workable for Members,  acceding governments and the Secretariat.  In the year under review, an 
ever-growing interest in the Newsletters was re gistered.  Acceding governments welcomed this 
service as a useful transparency tool for the pr eparation and planning of meetings and negotiations 
associated with their accessions.
9  
13. To respond to the continued demand from the va st majority of Members for ever-higher 
standards for transparency improvements, work w as significantly advanced on the creation of an 
"Accessions Commitments Database" ("ACDB").  The ACDB would allow Members, acceding governments and the Secretariat, to ra pidly and efficiently retrieve information on 
"commitment language", sorted by "Member" and "accession topics", across all completed accessions 
under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement.  Wo rk on the preliminary version of the ACDB has 
already been completed.  The database is currently  being tested within the Secretariat and will be 
available for public use in 2012.   
14. In 2011, outreach with various WTO Groups was increased and reinforced.  The 22
nd Geneva 
Week, held from 2 to 6 May 2011, provided an oppor tunity for the Secretariat to brief and update 
delegations (including non-residents) on accessions, within the framework of the Sub-Committee on 
Least-Developed Countries (LDCs).10  The Secretariat's briefing focused inter alia  on the three most 
advanced LDCs' Accessions - Samoa, Vanuatu and Ye men.  In the year under review, the Secretariat 
also met with the Arab Group11, the African Group12, the GRULAC13 and the LDCs' Consultative 
Group14.  In these meetings, the Secretariat briefed th e Groups on the state-of-play of accessions in the 
respective region; exchanged views on the res ponsibilities of regional neighbours/groups; discussed 
acceding governments' and Members' concerns a nd issues raised; and discussed the scope for 
enhancing the role and support of the Secretariat in the accession process.  As part of the Secretariat 
objective to enhance transparency, the Secretaria t has also provided detailed information to 
newly-arrived Delegates in Geneva duri ng the 2011 WTO Introduction Day.   
(d) Technical Assistance and Outreach 
15. "Accessions" is one of the technical assistance (T A) priorities in the WTO Biennial Technical 
Assistance and Training Plan for 2010-2011 ("the Plan").15  In the Plan, priority attention is given to 
acceding Least-developed countries (LDCs).  Ac cession-related technical assistance focuses on 
capacity-building for government officials in areas related to accession substance, process and 
procedures.  It also includes awareness-raising activ ities for Parliamentarians, civil society, academia 
                                                      
9 The Newsletter is forwarded from the e-mail address:  Acceding-Governments-Newsletter@wto.org  
10 5 May 2011. 
11 20 July 2011. 
12 13 July 2011. 
13 21 September 2011. 
14 30 June 2011. 
15 See document WT/COMTD/W/170/Rev.1.  Th is Plan combines technical assistance per se  with 
outreach.  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 5 
  
  and the media, as well as dedicated events for the business community, in coordination with the 
International Trade Centre (ITC). 
16. In addition, multilateral instituti ons, in partnership with WTO Members, provide assistance to 
acceding governments in building and maintaining broad support for trade liberalization. The 
Secretariat also participates in outreach throu gh national activities organi zed jointly with other 
agencies, as well as in the context of Working Party Chairpersons' visits.  
17. In 2011, technical assistance and capacity-bu ilding activities included (i) national and 
regional seminars; (ii) workshops; (iii) technical mi ssions; (iv) Working Party Chairpersons' visits; 
(v) briefings; (vi) establishment/upgrade of WTO Refe rence Centres; and (vii) e-Training (a dedicated 
module on accession has been available since 2009).  Accession training modules were also included 
in the WTO Trade Policy Courses (Geneva-based and regional).  Throughout the year, in response to 
individual requests from acceding governments, nati onal activities were conducted on the basis of 
specifically-identified TA needs, prio rity being accorded to acceding LDCs. 
18. In 2011, acceding governments were invited to participate in over 100 WTO TA events.   
Twelve acceding governments acted as hosts for some of these activities - Algeria (June 2011),  
Azerbaijan (February and April 2011), The Bahama s (February 2011), Belarus (June 2011), Ethiopia 
(February 2011), the Islamic Republic of Iran (January and June 2011), Lebanon (April 2011), the 
Russian Federation (March, September and October 2011), Samoa (July 2011), Serbia (March 2011), 
Seychelles (February and September 2011), and Vanua tu (May 2011).  Accessions-related seminars 
also took place in Austria (July 2011), India (February 2011) and Turkey (October 2011). 
19. In July 2011, a seminar dedicat ed to accessions was held for the first time for countries from 
the Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus (CEECAC) region.  This event was 
organized in partnership with the Joint Vienna In stitute and hosted participants from all eleven 
acceding governments from the CEECAC region, as we ll as an Article XII acceded Member.  The 
seminar provided an opportunity to share experience s and to provide examples of, and solutions to, 
accession-related challenges.  In an effort to  promote inter-agency partnership with other 
organizations and specialized agencies providing support to acceding governments, representatives of 
UNCTAD and the IDEAS Centre also pa rticipated in this activity.   
20. In 2011, assistance to acceding LDCs conti nued to be provided under the joint WTO-ITC 
Trade Capacity for Acceding LDCs Programme, launched by the Director-General in 
December 2009.  For the period under review, support under this programme was extended to 
Ethiopia, Lao PDR, Samoa and Vanuatu.  This joint programme is designed to contribute to the implementation of the 2002 Guidelines on LDCs' acc essions by focusing on the private sector's trade-
related technical assistance and capacity-building needs.   The primary beneficiary target groups of the 
programme are the private/business sector and g overnment representatives.  By improving the 
understanding of the business implications of WT O Membership, the programme lays the foundation 
for designing an export-oriented business environment and building private sector capacity for seizing new opportunities in the post-accession phase.  By facilitating a structured public-private dialogue and an inclusive process, it also helps acceding LD C governments secure stakeholder buy-in.  The 
programme continues to welcome additional accedi ng LDCs on the basis of available funding.  
(e) China's LDCs and Accessions Programme 
21. The Government of China and the WTO signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 
14 July 2011, on the basis of which the Government of China established the "China's LDCs and Accessions Programme" (hereinafter "the China Programme").   WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 6 
  
  22. The China Programme is aimed at strengtheni ng LDCs' participation in the WTO and at 
assisting acceding LDCs in joining the WTO.  As part of the China Programme, the WTO Accession 
Internship Initiative  was established.  This initiative is in tended to promote the capacity of young 
professionals from LDCs and developing Members to master the WTO rules-based system, so as to 
build their capacity  in the fields of trade law, international economics and international relations.  
The WTO Accession Internship Initiative  will become operational by the end of 2011.   
23. In addition, China undertook to fund a WTO Ac cession Round Table Meeting and to provide 
special funding for the participation of delegates from acceding LDCs in selected WTO meetings that 
are of priority for them.  With these initiatives, the Government of Chin a seeks to assist acceding 
LDCs in their accession negotiations by sharing China's own WTO accession experience. 
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES
16 
24. Multilateral negotiations in the accession process advance on the basis of a draft Working 
Party Report; and, Bilateralmarket access negotia tions on the basis of Goods and Services offers.17  In 
the period under review, several accessions have progressed considerably, with some reaching the 
final stages of the accession process.  Others have not advanced as expected due to various factors, 
including domestic challenges, political choices,  immediate post-conflict situations and natural 
disasters, amongst others.   
25. Afghanistan:  The First Working Party meeting wa s held in January 2011.   Afghanistan has 
submitted background documents for the next Working Party meeting,  which will be convened after 
the circulation of a Factual Summary of Points Raised  - to be prepared by the Secretariat - on the basis 
of the inputs provided by Afghanistan.  Bilateral market access negotiations will begin as soon as 
Afghanistan submits initial market a ccess offers on goods and services. 
26. Algeria:  The Ninth Working Party meeting was held in October 2005.  The latest revision of 
the draft Working Party Report was circulated in  June 2006.  The Secretariat has updated the 2006 
draft Report on the basis of inputs provided by Algeria and has sent the text to Algeria for comments.  
The next Working Party meeting w ill be convened after the circulati on of the revised draft Report.  
Bilateral negotiations are ongoing with interested Me mbers.  No signed bilateral agreements have 
been deposited with the Secretariat.   
27. Andorra:  The Working Party held its first and only meeting in October 1999.  This accession 
process is inactive. 
28. Azerbaijan:  The Eighth Working Party meeti ng was held in October 2010.  Multilateral 
discussions are proceeding on the basis of a revised Factual Summary.  The latest revision of the 
Factual Summary was circulated in November 2011.  Bilateral market access negotiations with 
interested Members are ongoing on the basis of re vised market access offers  circulated in 2011.  
Three bilateral agreements have been signed and deposited with the Secretariat (Oman, United Arab 
Emirates and Turkey).  The next Working Part y meeting will be convened in early 2012.   
29. The Bahamas:  Following the circulation of replies to Members' questions on the 
Memorandum in April 2010, the First Working Part y Meeting was convened in September 2010.  On 
                                                      
16 See document WT/ACC/11/Rev.10 (forthcoming) - Technical Note on the Accession Process – Note 
by the Secretariat:  State of Play and Information on Current Accessions.   
17 The only reference to concluded bilateral market access negotiations in this Report are those signed 
and deposited in the WTO Secretariat.  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 7 
  
  the margins of the meeting, bilate ral market access contacts were initia ted with interested Members.  
These bilateral contacts were aimed to assist The Baha mas in the preparation of their initial offers.  
The next Working Party meeting would be held  after the necessary inputs are submitted by 
The Bahamas, i.e., a revised Legislative Action Plan, checklists/information on agriculture and 
SPS/TBT, and initial market access offers. 
30. Belarus:  The Working Party has held seven meetings.  The last formal Working Party 
meeting was held in May 2005.  An informal consu ltation took place in June 2009.  The Secretariat is 
in the process of preparing an updated Factual Summar y on the basis of inputs submitted by Belarus.  
One bilateral agreement has been deposited with the Secretariat (Cuba).  Bilateral Market Access 
Negotiations with other interested Members are ongoi ng.  An informal consultation will be held after 
the circulation of the revised Factual Summary. 
31. Bhutan:  The Working Party has held four Work ing Party meetings - the most recent was in 
January 2008.  No bilateral agreement has been signed so far.  The latest version of the draft Working 
Party Report was circulated in December 2007.  Th e Secretariat prepared a revision of the draft 
Report in 2008, but Bhutan is yet to submit comments on the revised draft.   
32. Bosnia and Herzegovina:  The Ninth Working Party meeting was held in September 2011.  
Multilateral discussions are proceeding on the basi s of a revised draft Working Party Report, 
circulated in June 2011.  Bilateral market access negotiations with interested Members are ongoing.  
Three bilateral agreements have been concluded and deposited with the Secretariat (Canada, Japan 
and Norway).  The next Working Party meeting w ill be convened after the Secretariat prepares a 
revision of the draft Working Party Report on the basis of inputs submitted by Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, i.e., replies to Members' questions , a revised Legislative Action Plan, copies of 
legislation, and revised agri culture domestic support tables. 
33. Ethiopia:  The Working Party has held two meetings.  Following the appointment of a new 
Working Party Chairperson in 2010, the Second Working Party meeting was held in May 2011.  The 
WTO Secretariat has prepared a Factual Summary of  Points Raised which has been sent to Ethiopia 
for comments.  The next meeting would be scheduled  as soon as the Factual Summary is circulated on 
the basis of the comments provided by Ethiopia and af ter the submission of all outstanding inputs, i.e., 
initial market access offers on goods and services, rep lies to Members' questions, a revised Legislative 
Action Plan and copies of legislation.   
34. The Islamic Republic of Iran:  The Memo randum on the Foreign Trade Regime was 
circulated in November 2009.  Questions from Members on the MFTR were forwarded to the 
Government of the I.R. of Iran in February 2010.   Replies from the acceding government to Members' 
questions were deposited in the Secretariat on 14 November 2011.  These are being processed for 
circulation to WTO Members. Consultations woul d need to be initiated for the designation of a 
Chairperson of the Working Party by the Chai rman of the General Council; following which a 
meeting of the Working Party will be convened.   
35. Iraq:  The Working Party has held two meetings, the most recent in April 2008.  Iraq has 
provided a number of documentary inputs requested by the Working Party.  The next Working Party 
meeting would be convened after the submissi on of initial market access offers by Iraq. 
36. Kazakhstan:  The Working Party has held ten meetings, the most recent in July 2008.  
Multilateral work has proceeded on the basis of a dr aft Working Party Report since 2005.  The latest 
revision of this draft Report was circulated in  June 2008.  Kazakhstan h as concluded and deposited 
with the Secretariat 25 bilateral agreements (Aus tralia, Brazil, Bulgaria , Canada, China, Cuba, WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 8 
  
  Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ge orgia, Honduras, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, 
Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States).  The next meeting of the Work ing Party would be conve ned after Kazakhstan has 
provided inputs for the revision of the draft Report.   
37. Lao PDR:  The Seventh Working Party meeting w as held in June 2011.  Multilateral work has 
proceeded on the basis of an "Elements of a Dr aft Working Party Report", which was revised in 
May 2011.  Bilateral market access negotiations with Members are ongoing.  Bilateral agreements 
have been concluded with five Me mbers and deposited with the Secret ariat (Australia, Canada, China, 
Japan and the Republic of Korea).  The next Working Party meeting would be convened when 
Lao PDR submits the necessary inputs, i.e., repli es to Members' questions, a revised Legislative 
Action Plan and copies of legislation.  These inputs would serve as the basis for the preparation of the first version of the draft Working Party Report. 
38. Liberia:  The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime was circulated in April 2011.  The 
First Working Party meeting would be convened afte r Liberia responds to Members' questions on the 
Memorandum and a Working Party Chairperson is appointed.   
39. The Lebanese Republic:  The Seventh Working Pa rty meeting was held in October 2009.  The 
latest revision of the draft Working Party Repo rt was circulated in October 2009.  Bilateral 
negotiations with interested Members are ongoing.   No bilateral agreement has been concluded so 
far.   The next Working Party meeting would be  convened after the Lebanese Republic submits the 
necessary inputs, i.e. the replies to Members' quest ions, a revised Legislative Action Plan, copies of 
legislation and revised market access offers on goods and services. 
40. Montenegro:  The Working Party held sev en meetings.  The most recent was in 
November 2008.  The Draft Working Party Report on  the Accession of Montenegro, circulated in 
January 2009; and, the draft Goods and Services  Schedules initially circulated in December 2008, 
have been revised and updated for circulation to WTO Members in November 2011.  Montenegro 
concluded and signed 11 bilateral ag reements (Brazil, Canada, China, El Salvador, the European 
Union, Honduras, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Ukrain e, and the United States).  The final Working 
Party meeting has been convened for 2 December 2011.   The purpose would be to adopt the Report of 
the Working Party on the Accession of Montenegro  and for the Working Party to forward its 
recommendations to MC8 for final action by Ministers.   
41. The Russian Federation:  Over an 18-year peri od, the Working Party on the Accession of the 
Russian Federation held thirty-one formal meetings  and twenty-five Informal Consultations by the 
Chairperson.  At the 31st Meeting of the Working Party on 10 November 2011, Members of the 
Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Fede ration approved the Report of the Working Party 
ad referendum , agreed to transmit its recommendation to MC8 for final action by Ministers and, 
therefore, concluded the mandate of the Working Party.     
42. Samoa:  Samoa's draft Accession Package: containing the revised draft Working Party 
Report; the consolidated draft Goods Schedule; and,  the draft Services Schedule, was circulated to 
Members in September 2011.  The Working Pa rty adopted Samoa's draft Accession Package, ad 
referendum , at its second and final formal meeting, held on 28 October 2011.  The Accession Package 
has been forwarded to MC8 for final action by Ministers.   
43. Serbia:  The Eleventh Working Party meeti ng was held in September 2011.  Bilateral 
agreements have been signed with seven Members and deposited with the Secretariat (Ecuador, the 
European Union, Honduras, Japan, Korea (Republic  of) and Switzerland).  Bilateral market access  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 9 
  
  negotiations with other interested Members are ongoing.  In advance of the next Working Party 
meeting the Secretariat would need to prepare a revision of the draft Working Party Report on the 
basis inputs provided by Serbia.  
44. Seychelles:  The Working Party held its first meeting in 1997.  To re-launch its accession 
process, Seychelles submitted an updated Memorand um on the Foreign Trade Regime in May 2009.  
The Working Party process was re-s tarted with the Second Working Party meeting, which took place 
in November 2010.  Prior to the next Working Pa rty meeting the Secretariat has been mandated to 
prepare a Factual Summary of Points Raised, on the basis of inputs provided by Seychelles in 2011.  
One signed bilateral agreement (with Oman) h as been deposited with the Secretariat.   
45. Sudan:  The Working Party has held two mee tings.  The most recent meeting was held in 
March 2004.  A Factual Summary of Points Raised was circulated informally in September 2004.  
Two signed bilateral market access agreements have  been deposited with the Secretariat (with Brazil 
and China).  No date has been fixed for the next Working Party meeting.  
46. Tajikistan:  The Working Party has held si x meetings, most recently in July 2011.  
Multilateral work is proceeding on the basis of a draf t Working Party Report circulated in June 2011.  
One bilateral market access agreement (with Ch ina) has been signed and deposited with the 
Secretariat.  Bilateral market access negotiations with other interested Members are ongoing.  The 
next meeting of the Working Party would be scheduled as soon as the Secretariat prepares and 
circulates a revised draft Report on the basis of the inputs provided by Tajikis tan in November 2011.   
47. Uzbekistan:  The Working Party has held thr ee meetings.  The last Working Party meeting 
took place in October 2005, a month after Uzbekistan  submitted initial market access offers on goods 
and services.  Uzbekistan needs to provide update d documentary technical inputs before the next 
Working Party meeting can be convened.  A ne w Working Party Chairperson will need to be 
appointed as soon as an updated documentary basis emerges for a meeting.   
48. Vanuatu:  Following a 2008 request to the Director-General, the 2001 Accession Package of 
Vanuatu was technically updated by the Secretaria t and circulated to Members in the re-convened 
Working Party.  The updated Package was adopted on 2 May 2011, ad referendum,  by the 
re-convened Working Party, chaired by WTO DDG Alejandro Jara, on the authority of the Chairman of the General Council granted ex officio  in 2009.  The Accession Package was approved by the 
General Council at its meeting on 26 October 2011.  
49. Yemen:  The Working Party has held eight meetings.  The most recent was in 
September 2010.  Multilateral work is proceeding on the basis of a revised draft Working Party 
Report.  Yemen has concluded an d deposited with the Secretaria t nine bilateral market access 
agreements (Australia, Canada, China, the Eu ropean Union, El Salvador, Honduras, Japan, 
the Republic of Korea and the United States).  Bi lateral market access negotiations are ongoing with 
one Member.  This LDC accession is at an advanced state of maturity and had been an accession 
prospect for 2011.  However, it registered little  progress this year due to domestic political 
developments.  
50. Five acceding governments: the Union of the Co moros, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Sao Tomé 
and Principe, and the Syrian Arab Republic are in the initial stages of their accession processes.  Their 
respective Working Parties were established by the General Council between July 2004 and 
May 2010.  They have not yet submitted their resp ective Memoranda on their Foreign Trade Regime.   WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 10 
  
  IV. LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES' ACCESSIONS 
51. At the beginning of 2011, Least-developed countries (LDCs) accounted for 12
18 of the 
30 acceding governments.  Samoa and Vanuatu have now completed their accession processes, 
reducing the number of acceding LDCs to ten.  These LDCs' accessions reinforce the development 
dimension of the trading system.  The strong part nership that emerged in 2011 between Members and 
acceding LDCs' governments will need to be further strengthened to continue with the process of 
facilitating LDCs' accession, a process that was enhanced in 2011.   
52. Yemen is a technically advanced accession on th e threshold of completion.  It had been a 
credible accession prospect for 2011, but there was a failure to finalize this accession this year due to 
domestic political developments.  In 2011, LDCs at initial stages of the accession process continued to 
receive priority attention.  Liberia launched the substantive part of its accession process by submitting 
its Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime.  Afte r replying to the initial set of questions and 
comments raised by Members, Liberia would be set to hold the First meeting of the Working Party in 
2012.  Regular contact has also been maintained w ith those LDCs that are yet to table a Memorandum 
on the Foreign Trade Regime - i.e., the Union of the Comoros, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tomé and 
Principe.  As soon as these acceding governments provide the necessary documentary basis for 
launching the substantive part of the negotiations, Members and the Secretariat would be in a position 
to engage more effectively, by providing  focused and tailored technical support.  
53. The year 2011 has been active for a number of LDCs that have already moved beyond the 
initial stages of the accession process.  Afghanistan held  its First meeting of the Working Party at the 
beginning of the year and has been working to provide inputs for the preparation of a Factual Summary of Points Raised (submitted to the Secr etariat in November 2011).  Ethiopia's accession 
process was reinvigorated with the Second Meeting of  the Working Party.  Following this meeting, 
the Secretariat has prepared an initial draft of th e Factual Summary (forwarded to Addis for comments 
in September 2011).  A visit of the Chairperson of the Working Party to Ethiopia underscored the 
continued engagement of the Ethiopi an Government at the highest political level.  On its part, Lao 
PDR continued to register steady progress in its  accession, as evidenced by the conclusion of 
three bilateral market access agreements in 2011 and the results of the Seventh meeting of the 
Working Party.  At this meeting, Members mandated the Secretariat to prepare the first version of the 
draft Working Party Report for Lao PDR.  There ha ve been no new accession-re lated developments to 
report for Bhutan and Sudan.   
54. Accession to the WTO is a challenging process fo r LDCs and Members that provide support.  
LDCs are challenged by limited technical and human capacity to address the intricacies of WTO accession. This was why in December 2002 the Ge neral Council adopted its Decision on "The 
Accession of Least-Developed Countries" (the Guidel ines - WT/L/508), to facilitate LDCs accessions, 
through streamlined procedures. In the context of preparations for the Eight WTO Ministerial 
Conference, the WTO LDCs' Consultativ e Group submitted a proposal on accessions 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/52).  The Chairman of the Sub-Committee on LDCs is consulting on this 
proposal, of which the purpose is to further simplif y accession procedures for LDCs.  I would urge all 
Members to continue the dialogue over this issue in a positive spirit.   
                                                      
18 Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Union of the Comoros, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Lao PDR, Liberia, 
Samoa, Sao Tomé and Principe, Sudan, Vanuatu, and Yemen.  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 11 
  
  55. The provision of targeted technical assistance by  the WTO Secretariat has been a priority at 
all stages of the accession process through interactions with delegations in Geneva or in capitals.  In 
2011, Members, the Director-General and staff of th e Secretariat intensified their outreach efforts.  
The Secretariat has continued to provide regular briefings to the LDCs' Consultative Group and the 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries
19.  
V. BEST PRACTICES IN ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS 
56. This section provides an overview of selected b est practices in the WTO accession process.  It 
is intended to be of practical use to government s seeking accession to the WTO.  Accession Working 
Parties are established by the General Council.  As  a consequence, they use and apply the rules of 
procedure and practices of the General Council mutatis mutandis .  WTO accessions have always 
involved an infrangible grounding on systemic rules, complemented by practice and adapted to specific circumstances.  For example, after the establishment of the WTO in 1995, procedures were 
outlined in document WT/ACC/1:  "Accession to  the WTO.  Procedures for Negotiations under 
Article XII."  This document was a Secretariat Note.  As stated in the Note:  "It has been prepared by 
the Secretariat as a practical guide for delegations of both WTO Members and acceding States or separate customs territories and is not a gene ral policy statement on accession negotiations".  
Naturally, over time and with the accession of 25 Me mbers since 1995, pursuant to Article XII of the 
Marrakesh Agreement, procedures and practices ha ve been improved, refi ned and have evolved 
mutatis mutandis .  The rules, agreed and negotiated by Members, remain unchanged.   
57. This section of the Annual Report attempts to re cord the evolution in practice by identifying 
"a pattern of best practices that has emerged in  accession negotiations", from the perspective of the 
Secretariat.  The sole purpose is to assist and facilitate acceding governments in their WTO accession 
engagement.  A sample "roadmap for accession  to the WTO", outlining the main steps and 
recommended actions, at each stage of the accession process, has been designed, and is provided in 
Annex 3 to this Report.  
A. BEFORE
 SUBMISSION  OF THE  MEMORANDUM   ON THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  REGIME 
IMPACT STUDIES  
58. Domestic economic and institutional reform is  at the heart of each WTO accession process.  
At the core of these reforms are the benefits fro m the WTO accession process.  To achieve balanced 
terms of accession, consistent with individual trade, financial and development needs, acceding 
governments should devise negotiati ng strategies on the basis of detailed analyses of the potential 
impact of WTO accession.  Potential benefits, as well as defensive interests, should be identified at an 
early stage so as to crystalize negotiating objectives and secure long-term political and legislative commitment to WTO Membership.   
59. Acceding governments have relied on analytical st udies to effectively incorporate trade into 
domestic policy reforms, economic growth and poverty reduction strategies.  For most, analysis of the 
potential impact of WTO Membership has provided the starting point for identifying key domestic industries and establishing suitable institutional and le gislative frameworks to facilitate their future 
growth, including through access to new global market s.  Ultimately, careful preparation allows for 
the seamless incorporation of unilateral domestic tr ade and economic policy reforms into successful 
accession negotiating strategies and final "Terms of WTO Membership".  
                                                      
19 See document WT/COMTD/LDC/M/59. WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 12 
  
  60. Impact assessment is typically conducted by research institutions or think tanks.  Some 
governments have found it useful to set-up trad e policy research institutes to support the accession 
process and provide inputs to the govern ment for the decision-making process.  
N
ATIONAL COORDINATION  
61. Accession negotiations require the establishm ent of structures responsible for their 
management and progress.  Government machiner y, efficiently supporting the negotiations, should 
have the adequate authority to coordinate the various governmental agencies involved in the process 
and to communicate effectively with the legislatur e, as well as economic actors, the academia, and 
civil society.  This is essential for formulating comprehensive and consolid ated negotiating positions 
during the accession process. Because significant and far-reaching reforms are involved, it is useful 
that "an authority" with a position in the Cabinet/Exe cutive, presides over this coordinating structure.   
62. In principle, a variety of institutional arrangements supporting the accession negotiations 
could be envisaged.  However, a pattern of core structures can be identified in most, if not all, 
acceding governments.   
 A "Steering Committee/Task Force", comprised of high-level representatives of all 
relevant line ministries and government agenci es, is responsible for coordinating work 
and providing policy direction and strategy.  This Steering Committee is typically chaired by the Minister / Chief Negotiator, and reports  directly to the Council of Ministers and/or 
the office of the Prime Minister.  The Chief Negotiator plays a vital role as a coordinator 
that should remain pro-active and maintain re gular engagement with all stakeholders.  
The Chief Negotiator should be given suffici ent authority to interact with all key 
ministries and agencies involved in the accession process.  
 A "Technical Committee", comprised of technical experts drawn from relevant 
government institutions, and possibly representatives of the private sector, provides technical advice to the Steering Committee.   
 A core negotiating team is responsible for the day-to-day running of the accession 
negotiations, including the drafting of accessi on documents, such as the Memorandum on 
the Foreign Trade Regime.  The establishment of  various other supporting structures, such 
as government think tanks and advisory groups could also be envisaged.   
63. Effective communication and cooperation between  the executive and legislative branches of 
government are essential.  After all, legislative reform lies at the core of WTO accession.  The 
involvement of lawmakers also lends legitimacy to the actions of the negotiating team, ensures 
sustainability of reforms, and reinforces the inte rnal transparency of the accession process.  Many 
acceding governments have found it useful to inv ite representatives of national parliaments to 
meetings of the Working Party in Geneva to enable  them to get first hand ex posure to the negotiations 
and to familiarize themselves with the WTO.  On  request, the WTO Secretariat has also organized 
dedicated briefing sessions for Members of Parliament.   
64. Adequate and real time information flow be tween the various government bodies engaged in 
the accession process is indispensable to avoid a ba cklash later on, as has been observed in some 
completed accessions.  It is recommended to establish a website for sharing relevant information on 
the WTO and the accession negotiations, with all stakeholders, in real time.    WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 13 
  
  A 
CHECKLIST /ROADMAP  OF LEGISLATIVE  WORK  
65. Beyond the analysis of the economic effe cts of WTO Membership, acceding governments 
need to begin assessing the WTO conformity of domes tic trade-related legisl ation and practices as 
early as possible.  This work provides the basi s for the elaboration of the Memorandum on the 
Foreign Trade Regime.    
66. In addition, having identified the gaps in domestic legislation, acceding governments are 
well-placed to begin elaborating a Legislative Action Plan (LAP).   This document provides the roadmap for WTO-related domestic legislative work.  LAPs now tend to be submitted earlier in the 
accession process than in the past.  The reason for this is that negotiators have recognized their value 
in setting the direction for future work.  While the presentation of a LAP prior to the first meeting of 
the Working Party is not a prerequisite, its submission has high utility.   
T
HE ENHANCED INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK PROCESS (LDC S) (TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY 
BUILDING )  
67. The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) is  a multi-agency technical assistance programme 
for LDCs that provides a mechanism for integratin g trade into national economic development plans 
and poverty reduction strategies.  Pa rticipation in the EIF process helps beneficiaries ensure that trade 
policy and trade-related capacity-building remain  coherent with economic development goals and 
priorities.  EIF beneficiaries have linked the EIF framework to their accession -related needs.  The EIF 
framework has also been used for dialogue and c oordination of accession-related technical assistance.   
ESTABLISHMENT OF A WTO  REFERENCE CENTRE  
68. The WTO Reference Centres provide a dedicated physical location where all information 
relevant to the WTO can be accessed.  These Ce ntres are useful because of the knowledge they 
contain and transmit.  They are platforms for disseminating informati on and facilitating domestic 
capacity-building.  Ideally, the Reference Centr es are training centres, where candidates for WTO 
Trade Policy Courses prepare.  The completion of WTO e-Training courses, which is a pre-condition 
for further and more advanced WTO training, is a case in point.  Reference Centres can be established 
at the level of the government (e.g. the Ministry re sponsible for trade), universities, or at the level of 
organized business (e.g. Chambers of Commerce).  Trad itionally, the main beneficiaries have been the 
LDC and non-resident delegations.  To benefit fro m this programme, acceding governments need to 
address a letter to the Director of the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation. 
IDENTIFYING "A MODEL ACCESSION " 
69. Although there are common threads and prevalen t practices, there is also uniqueness to 
individual accessions.  The common experiences and practic es to all accessions can be reflected in a 
"To do List"; those items on a checklist that must be done, to initiate an accession process, advance it, 
and bring it to closure.  Acceding governments are also well served to "model" their accession on that 
of other Members that have acceded, pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement.   
MEMORANDUM ON THE FOREIGN TRADE REGIME :  SUPPORT BY THE WTO  SECRETARIAT  
70. The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime provides a full summary of the applicant's 
foreign trade regime.  It should be presented fo llowing the outline format attached to document 
WT/ACC/1.  The Memorandum is the foundation on wh ich the Working Party eventually constructs 
its Report.  Therefore, the presentation of a comp rehensive and accurate document is important as it 
facilitates future work and sets a positive tone  for the rest of the accession process.   WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 14 
  
  71. According to the procedures outlined in docum ent WT/ACC/1, "the Secretariat would assist 
any Applicant that may so request in the technical  preparation of its Memorandum and of subsequent 
documentation".  Upon request, the Secretariat ca n organize national workshops/seminars to assist 
national experts in the preparation of the Memo randum.  A framework for a Technical Workshop to 
assist acceding governments prepare a Memorandum of Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) was designed in 2010.  Secretariat experts can also provide targ eted technical advice from Geneva.  The focal point 
for this request is the Accessions Division.  Th e Secretariat can check the consistency of the 
Memorandum with the outline format laid do wn in document WT/ACC/1.  Many acceding 
governments have availed themselves of this opportunity.   
M
EMORANDUM ON THE FOREIGN TRADE REGIME :  USE OF CONSULTANTS  
72. Some acceding governments have relied on the us e of external consultants to prepare the 
Memorandum.  While expert advice of this type is invaluable and should be harnessed, to the extent 
possible, it is also important to avoid over-relian ce on outside help.  Ultimately, negotiating capacity 
should be built within the government and this pr ocess should begin with the preparation of the 
Memorandum.  Assuming ownership of the process, a nd in particular the Memorandum, is of critical 
importance for the subsequent st ages of the accession negotiations. 
TRANSLATION OF LEGISLATION  
73. The examination of legislation is core ac cession business.  Acceding governments are invited 
to present copies of relevant legislation at the sa me time as the Memorandum.  Laws and regulations 
should be provided in one of the official WTO la nguages.  This is a time-consuming process, which 
should begin at an early stage.  
74. Many acceding governments have also found it useful to translate key WTO texts and 
provisions into their national languages.  This may fa cilitate the work of local experts who may not be 
fluent in any of the WTO official languages. 
B. AFTER  SUBMISSION  OF THE  MEMORANDUM  ON THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  REGIME 
SELECTION OF A WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSON  
75. Consultations on the selection of a Working Part y Chairperson begin as soon as all documents 
necessary for holding the first meeting of the Working Party are in circulation (i.e., at a minimum, the 
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime, accompanying  legislation, and the replies to Members' 
questions on the Memorandum).  The Chairperson of the Working Party is designated by the 
Chairperson of the General Council, in consultati on with Members and the acceding government. The 
long-standing practice is for the Secretariat to assist  the Chairperson of the General Council in his/her 
consultations.  The Chairperson is normally an Ambassador/Permanent Representative, or a Deputy 
Permanent Representative, resident in Geneva.  The Chairmanship is confirmed when an 
announcement is made at the General Counc il under "Other business".  Although acceding 
governments are consulted during the process, the appointment/designation of a Chairperson of a 
Working Party is a decision by Members in the General Council.  
ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT MISSION / OFFICE IN GENEVA  
76. As the accession process moves to the phase of  Geneva-based negotiations, the establishment 
of a Permanent Mission in Geneva becomes an essen tial consideration for non-resident delegations.  
Typically, the Mission is the first point of contact for Member delegations and the WTO Secretariat.  
It provides an effective channel for managing the negotiations and briefing capital-based officials on 
the latest developments at the WTO and in th e accession process.  Representatives of the acceding  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 15 
  
  government are well-placed to gain first-hand knowledge of the workings of the WTO and to build 
and maintain a "business network" with WTO Members and the Secretariat.  Geneva-based government representatives can offer pertinent guida nce to their delegations and assist them during 
their visits to Geneva for meetings of the Worki ng Party and bilateral market access negotiations.  In 
addition, the Geneva Mission continues to play a key role post-accession, as it allows new Members 
to participate fully in the day-to-day work of the WTO.  
P
REPARATION OF INITIAL MARKET ACCESS OFFERS  
77. Acceding governments may wish to share prelim inary drafts of their initial market access 
offers on goods and services with the Secretariat for technical comments.  While the Secretariat is not 
in a position to offer advice on the substance of these offers or on negotiating strategies, it is 
nevertheless well-placed to provide assistance on the technical aspects in the preparation of these 
negotiating documents.  Adherence to WTO formats and best practices in this area, from an early 
stage, ensures that bilateral ma rket access negotiations are conduc ted on a solid basis and that 
potential problems are avoided at a later stage.     
78. Typically, Members request the acceding governme nt to provide initial market access offers 
after the first meeting of the Working Party. 
C. AT  ALL  STAGES  OF THE  ACCESSION  PROCESS 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY -BUILDING  
79. The training of national trade policy experts should begin at the earliest possible stage.  
Training should be offered to a broad spectrum of pub lic officials.  However, identifying a core group 
of experts that would drive the accession process, an d building capacity within this group, are key to 
successful accession negotiations.   
80. Detailed knowledge of the WTO Agreements is  essential for effective negotiations with 
WTO Members.  Continuity of the negotiating team and preserving institutional memory are 
necessary.  At the same time, because accession process es last for long periods, frequently, there is a 
necessity to "re-fresh, upgrade and re-energize", partic ularly when complacency and fatigue set-in.    
81. The WTO Secretariat provides technical assistance (TA) at all stages of the accession process.  
Assistance offered by the Accessions Division focuses on the preparation of accession-related documents (e.g. Memorandum, questions and repli es, various questionnaires and checklists) and 
responses to queries concerning WTO rules and accessi on procedures.  TA is primarily provided from 
Geneva and is supplemented by visits to the acce ding government.  Assistance is also available 
through the regular WTO programme for trade-rela ted technical assistance (including e-Training, 
national, regional and Geneva-based  trade policy courses).  Other multilateral organizations, bilateral 
donors (i.e. WTO Members) and a number of NGOs al so offer accession-related TA.  To fully benefit 
from all available technical assistance, acceding gove rnments should articulate their needs clearly and 
prepare a detailed TA roadmap. 
82. WTO trade-related technical assistance is demand-driven.  Requests from acceding 
governments should be based on needs assessments th at reflect overall priorities, rather than on 
ad hoc  requests from different government agencies .  Having assessed their needs and assigned 
priorities, acceding governments should send their c onsolidated requests to the Director of the 
Institute for Training and Technical Co-operation and the Director of the Accessions Division. WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 16 
  
  OUTREACH  
83. Upfront, raising public awareness of the prospect of WTO Membership and involving 
non-State actors in a discussion of its costs and benef its is important.  This process should begin at an 
early stage and should continue throughout the acce ssion negotiations.  Experience has shown that the 
implementation of a national trade policy strategy is  difficult and problematic, with risk of domestic 
"blockage", unless it has received the support of ke y domestic stakeholders - private businesses and 
civil society.   
84. Private sector inputs may play a significant role in articulating negotiating interests.  In 
addition, efforts to comply with WTO obligations  hinge on the activities of private operators.  The 
dissemination of general information is not likely to  attract the attention of the business community.  
Instead, the aim should be to motivate the private sector by providing it with information that is 
directly relevant to its business interests.  Some acceding governments have set up formal consultative 
mechanisms, allowing representatives of the business community to enter into regular dialogue with 
government officials on the WTO accession process.   
 For example, to assist such a process, the WTO, ITC and EIF established the: Joint WTO-
ITC-EIF Programme on Trade Capacity for Acceding LDCs .  The programme is aimed at 
improving the understanding of the business implications of WTO Membership and for building private sector capacity in acceding LDCs.  
85. Engagement with civil society groups is necess ary.  Awareness campaigns can take the form 
of international conferences, seminars and specia lized university lectures.  Maintaining an open 
dialogue with civil society from the early stages of the accession process can en sure that ill-informed 
and untimely public debates can be avoided later on.   
86. The involvement of national academia is also  necessary for creating awareness of the WTO 
and for raising the relevance, in national public de bate, of trade policy as an indispensable component 
of any long-term strategy for growth and develo pment.  The WTO Academic Programme assists 
academic institutions in developing and consolidatin g their capacity to design and deliver academic 
courses and training programmes on trade policy, a nd to conduct research on WTO-related matters.  
The overall goal of this Programme is to enhanc e the contribution of these institutions to the 
formulation and implementation of trade policy.   
T
ECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION ON THE WTO ACCESSION PROCESS  
87. The WTO Secretariat has issued a number of technical documents and publications aimed at 
assisting acceding governments during the accession process.  These documents provide a valuable 
source of information of practical use to  those involved in the negotiations.   
 First, reference has already been made to the 1995 document WT/ACC/1.20   
 Second, the Handbook on Accession to the WT O contains detailed information on the 
process of accession, as well as comprehensive analysis of all accession negotiations up to 
2008.   
 Third, to reflect more recent developments  in the process, and take account of newly 
completed negotiations, the Secretariat end eavours to update its "Technical Note on the 
                                                      
20 WT/ACC/1 will be updated in the near future to take account of evolution of Working Party 
procedures and practices since 1995.    WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 17 
  
  Accession Process".  This is circulated as document WT/ACC/10.  It provides summary 
information on all completed accessions.   
 Fourth, information on ongoing accessions is  contained in document WT/ACC/11.   
 Fifth, in 2010, the Secretariat initiated an d designed an Accession Commitments Database 
("ACDB").  This database lists all commitments undertaken by Members that have 
acceded under Article XII.  It is being tested within the Secretariat and is being reviewed 
by several Divisions.  The database will be launched in 2012 when it will become available for public use.   
 Finally, in 2010, a database was developed:  "the Register of B ilateral Market Access 
Agreements".  This Database provides a registry of signed bilateral market access 
agreements deposited with the Secretariat.  This database is internal to the WTO 
Secretariat.  This database was developed to  respond to the frequent  and repeated requests 
by individual Members and individual acceding governments to "review" - have a look at - their concluded and signed bilateral market  access agreements.  This database improves 
efficiency and record-keeping and faster retrieval.   
P
RESENTATION OF DRAFT LEGISLATION  
88. Interested Members may invite acceding governments to present legislation for review in 
draft form.  While governments sometimes prefer to  present legislation only once it has been enacted, 
it has been recognized that the presentation of dr aft legislation ensures that acceding governments 
avoid asking their parliaments to pass and later am end WTO-inconsistent legislation.  It has now 
become common for draft legislation to be pr esented, sometimes informally, for comments by 
Members to ensure that it is compliant with WTO rules prior to its adoption. 
GET TO KNOW THE WTO  
89. As Observers to the WTO, ac ceding governments have the right to participate in formal 
meetings of the General Council and its subsidia ry bodies, including accession Working Parties.  
They also have access to the ma in WTO document series.  Attendance at meetings of WTO bodies 
allows acceding governments to acquaint themsel ves with the WTO and its activities and follow 
developments in other ongoing accession Working Pa rties.  "Making friends" and learning from the 
experience of others is useful for understa nding the dynamics of accession negotiations and the 
rules-based multilateral trading system.  
USE OF GENEVA WEEK  
90. Geneva Week brings representatives of dele gations, without permanent representation in 
Geneva, to the WTO, for briefings on recent deve lopments in the WTO.  For non-resident acceding 
governments, Geneva Week represents an opport unity to advance their accession negotiations by 
conducting bilateral meetings with Members and holding meetings of the Working Party.  This event 
also provides an opportunity to interact with expert s from various Divisions of the Secretariat, and to 
touch base with the Chairperson of the Working Party and the Accessions Division.   
INTERACTION WITH THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE WORKING PARTY  
91. Chairpersons direct discussions in their Work ing Parties and steer the accession negotiations.  
For their part, acceding governments should keep Chai rpersons informed about the state of play in 
their accession processes and about the evolving dynami cs of their negotiations with Members.  On WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 18 
  
  occasion, Chairpersons may use the authority conferre d on them by their office to make suggestions 
aimed at facilitating discussions in the Working Party.   
V
ISITS BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE WORKING PARTY  
92. Chairpersons and the Secretariat visit accedi ng governments, on invitation.  Such visits 
involve contacts at the high political levels in govern ment and parliament.  They are the occasions for 
raising public awareness of the WTO through meetings  with representatives of the private sector, civil 
society, academia, and the media.  Typically, these visits are aimed at (re)activating or accelerating accession processes, or designing an "e nd-game" in an accession process.   
S
ETTLE ARREARS IN REGULAR ANNUAL INSTALMENTS  
93. Before an accession packag e can be adopted by the General Council, the acceding 
government needs to fully redeem its financial obligations to the WTO.  To avoid accumulating 
financial arrears, acceding governments should make  their annual contributions on a regular basis 
during the accession process. 
MAINTAIN REGULAR CONTACT WITH THE WTO  SECRETARIAT  
94. The Accessions Division of the WTO Secret ariat is the focal point for all accession 
negotiations.  Acceding governments are invited to remain in regular contact with the Division 
throughout the accession process.  Secretaries and Co-Secretaries of Working Parties are listed in 
Annex 2.  The Accessions Division can be contacted by email at accessions@wto.org.   
95. Acceding governments can also request to be added to the Acceding Government Newsletter 
by sending an email to Acceding-G overnment-Newsletter@wto.org.   
96. In addition to the support provided by the Ac cessions Division, acceding governments are 
invited to draw on the expertise that is available within the WTO Secretariat across all areas of trade 
policy.  
THE ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
97. The Director-General is Head of the Secretar iat and traditionally regarded as the guardian of 
the system.  The good offices of the Director-Gener al are available to acceding governments at all 
stages of the accession process.     
VI. CONCLUSION - OUTLOOK 2012 
98. In 2011, concrete results were achieved in WTO accessions.  The accession negotiations for 
Samoa and Vanuatu were concluded.  The Ge neral Council approved the Accession Package of 
Vanuatu at its October session.  The Working Pa rty on the Accession of Samoa concluded its work 
and adopted the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of Samoa ad referendum  in 
accordance with practice.  WTO Ministers will take final action on the Repor t of the Working Party 
on the Accession of Samoa at the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference.  The 31st Working Party on 
the Accession of the Russian Federation concl uded its mandate by a dopting its Report on 10 
November.  It forwarded its recommendations to the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference for final 
action by Ministers.  On current planning and pace of negotiations, the Working Party on the Accession of Montenegro will convene in its fi nal session on 2 December to adopt its Report and 
forward its recommendations also for final action by  Ministers at MC8.  Significant progress was 
made in 2011.  This progress was due, in large part, to the unified purpose of WTO Members to  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 19 
  
  deliver, the leadership of Working Party Ch airpersons and a professionally dedicated WTO 
Secretariat in support of its Membership.  
 
99. In addition to results, good progress was made in  other areas such as improvements to support 
the technical preparations of acceding governments.   Transparency and outreach were enhanced 
through the Secretariat dialogue with different WTO groupings in the course of the year, to explain and clarify.  The Secretariat improved on the qualit y and stabilized the quantum of Accession-related 
technical assistance.  The China LDCs' and Accessions Programme was important at a time of uncertain resource levels for technical assistance.   
100. However, there is yet scope for further work  having regard to over 15 Governments still 
actively engaged in the accession process.  Thematically, Section V of this Report focuses on "Accession Best Practices".  It codifies the kn owledge from practice, gathered by the WTO 
Secretariat, over a sixteen year period.  This Section on "Accession Best Practices" elaborates on such central aspects as negotiating strategies and structur es; national coordination; technical imperatives; 
engagement of critical stakeholders ab initio ; building knowledge; and, using the accession process as 
an instrument to foster international co-opera tion and to support domestic  reforms, growth and 
development. 
101. In 2012, the Secretariat will engage more intensively at a technical level with acceding 
governments, more so with LDCs.  The key to faster  accessions is sustained intensive technical work.   
102. The prospects for results on accessions in 2012 ar e positive.  Several accessions are in an 
advanced state of technical maturity.  These incl ude but are not limited to several LDCs namely, 
Lao PDR, Yemen (depending on domestic developmen ts), Ethiopia; and, non-LDCs' accessions such 
as Serbia and Kazakhstan.  There are other bright prosp ects that will be evaluated as the year evolves.   
103. I seize this opportunity to express my persona l appreciation to Members and all the Working 
Party Chairpersons.  Together with Secretariat st aff, I remain committed to building in 2012 on the 
foundation of what was achieved this year and to use the accession process to continue reinforce the 
rules-based Multilateral Trading System and provide  acceding governments with a development tool 
via domestic reform.   
 
  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 20 
  
  ANNEX 1 
Accession Working Parties 
No. Government Date Working Party Established WP Chairpersons 
1. Afghanistan 13 December 2004 H.E. Mr. Boudewijn J. van Eenennaam 
(Netherlands) 
2. Algeria 17 June 1987 Vacant 
3. Andorra 22 October 1997 H.E. Mr. Benedikt Jónsson 
(Iceland) 
4. Azerbaijan 16 July 1997 H.E. Mr. Walter Lewalter 
(Germany) 
5. The Bahamas 18 July 2001 H.E. Mr. Wayne McCook  
 (Jamaica) 
6. Belarus 27 October 1993 H.E. Mr. Bozkurt Aran 
(Turkey) 
7. Bhutan 6 October 1999 H.E. Dr. Wolfgang Petritsch 
(Austria) 
8. Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 July 1999 H.E. Dr. István Major 
(Hungary) 
9. Comoros, Union of the 9 October 2007 Vacant 
10. Equatorial Guinea 5 February 2008 Vacant 
11. Ethiopia 10 February 2002 H.E. Dr. Steffen Smidt  
(Denmark) 
12. Iran 26 May 2005 Vacant 
13. Iraq 13 December 2004 H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale 
(Morocco) 
14. Kazakhstan 6 February 1996 H.E. Mr. Hannu Himanen 
(Finland) 
15. Lao People's Democratic 
Republic 19 February 1998 H.E. Mr. Yi Xiaozhun 
(China) 
16. Lebanese Republic 14 April 1999 H.E. Mrs Laurence Dubois-Destrizais 
(France) 
17. Liberia 18 December 2007 Vacant 
18. Libya 27 July 2004 Mr. Victor Echevarría Ugarte 
(Spain) 
19. Montenegro 15 February 2005 H.E. Mr. Andrej Logar 
(Slovenia) 
20. Russian Federation* 16 June 1993 H.E. Mr. Stefán Jóhannesson 
(Iceland) 
21. Samoa* 15 July 1998 Mr. Atsuyuki Oike  
 (Japan) 
22. Sao Tomé and Principe 26 May 2005 Vacant 
23. Serbia 15 February 2005 H.E. Mrs. Marie-Claire Swärd Capra 
(Sweden) 
24. Seychelles 11 July 1995 Ms. Hilda Ali Al-Hinai 
(Oman) 
25. Sudan 25 October 1994 Vacant 
26. Syrian Arab Republic 4 May 2010 Vacant 
27. Tajikistan 18 July 2001 H.E. Mr. Clyde Kull 
(Estonia) 
28. Uzbekistan 21 December 1994 H.E. Mr. Sung-Joo Lee 
(Republic of Korea) 
29. Vanuatu* 11 July 1995 - 
30. Yemen 17 July 2000 H.E. Mr. Hartmut Röben 
(Germany) 
* Working Party completed its mandate in 2011.  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 21 
  
   
ANNEX 2   
 
Accession Working Parties - WTO Secretariat Management 
 
 
Chiedu OSAKWE 
Director  
 
Accession Working Party Symbol Secretary Co-Secretary Admin. support 
1. Afghanistan* AFG Bratanov   Melogno 
2. Algeria DZA Bratanov  Pardo de Leon  Ferdi 
3. Andorra AND accessions@wto.org  
4. Azerbaijan AZE Pardo de Leon Bratanov Giraud 
5. Bahamas BHS Beslac  Pardo de Leon  Ferdi 
6. Belarus BLR Bratanov Beslac Giraud 
7. Bhutan* BTN Yu Pardo de Leon Ferdi 
8. Bosnia Herzegovina BIH Bratanov   Beslac Ferdi 
9. Comoros, Union of the* COM Pardo de Leon   Melogno 
10. Equatorial Guinea* GNQ Yu Pardo de Leon  Melogno 
11. Ethiopia* ETH Wielgus  Pardo de Leon Giraud/Ferdi 
12. Iran, the Islamic Republic of IRN Wielgus Bratanov Giraud 
13. Iraq IRQ Bratanov Yu Ferdi 
14. Kazakhstan KAZ Yu Bratanov Giraud/Tremblet/Ferdi 
15. Lao PDR* LAO Yu Beslac Ferdi/Tremblet 
16. Lebanese Republic LBN Pardo de Leon Bratanov   Ferdi 
17. Liberia* LBR Bratanov Pardo de Leon Ferdi 
18. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya LBY Beslac  Ferdi 
19. Montenegro  CGR Wielgus Beslac Ferdi 
20. Russian Federation 
RUS Director Accessions 
Division;  Pardo de Leon; and,  
Beslac  Giraud/Tremblet/Ferdi 
21. Samoa* SAM Yu Beslac Tremblet 
22. Sao Tome et Principe* STP Beslac  Pardo de Leon  Giraud 
23. Serbia  SRB Wielgus Beslac Giraud/Tremblet 
24. Seychelles SYC Bratanov Beslac Giraud/Tremblet 
25. Sudan* SDN Wielgus Pardo de Leon  Giraud 
26. Syria SYR Bratanov Beslac Ferdi 
27. Tajikistan TJK Bratanov  Pard o de Leon Tremblet 
28. Uzbekistan UZB Pardo de Leon  Bratanov  Tremblet 
29. Vanuatu* VUT Wielgus Yu Ferdi 
30. Yemen* YEM Yu  Bratanov Ferdi 
*LDC (12) 
 
 
  
 Alejandro JARA 
 Deputy Director-General  WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 WT/MIN(11)/3 
Page 22 
  
  ANNEX 3  
Sample Roadmap for Accession to the WTO
 
Action Before 
submission of 
Memorandum After 
submission of 
Memorandum Final stages  
of accession 
I.  Internal Coordination 
• Appoint Chief Negotiator and Negotiating Team A   
• Appoint Mirror Team at Geneva Mission A   
• Inter-ministerial coordination A A  
• Engage sub-federal governments A A  
• Engage Parliament A A  
• Consult with private sector A A  
II.  Legislative Review, Adjustment and Enactment 
• Review WTO compatibility of existing legislation A   
• Identify needs for amendments A   
• Identify needs for new legislation A A  
• Draft/Update Legislative Action Plan A A  
• Enact amendments & new WTO-compatible 
legislation A A A 
• Submit WTO-related legislation to Secretariat in one 
of the official WTO languages A A  
III.  Bilateral Work 
• Policy engagement with Members A A  
• Ministerial engagement with counterparts A A A 
• Heads of Government engagement   A 
a)  Market Access for Goods 
• Consult with private sector A A A 
• Submit initial offer  A  
• Engage in bilateral negotiations  A M  
• Submit revised offer  A  
• Sign and deposit bilaterals with Secretariat  A A 
• Consolidation of draft Goods Schedule   S 
b)  Market Access for Services 
• Consult  with private sector A A A 
• Submit Initial Offer  A  
• Engage in bilateral negotiations  A M  
• Submit revised offer  A  
• Sign and deposit bilaterals with Secretariat  A A 
• Consolidation of draft Services Schedule   S 
IV.  Multilateral Work 
• Prepare Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime A   
• Questions on the Memorandum  M  
• Replies to questions on the Memorandum  A  
• Appointment of Chairperson of the Working Party  M  
• Hold the First Working Party meeting  A M  
• Additional questions by Members  M  
• Respond to additional questions by Members  A  
• Submit updated Legislative Action Plan (LAP)  A  
• Submit Questionnaire on  Import Licensing (see 
WT/ACC/1)  A   WT/ACC/15 
WT/GC/135 
WT/MIN(11)/3 
 Page 23 
  
  Action Before 
submission of 
Memorandum After 
submission of 
Memorandum Final stages  
of accession 
• Submit Questionnaire on Customs Valuation (see 
WT/ACC/1)  A  
• Submit Questionnaire on TBT (see WT/ACC/1)  A  
• Submit Questionnaire on State-Trading (see 
WT/ACC/1)  A  
• Submit Agriculture Domestic Support Tables 
(WT/ACC/4)  A  
• Submit Questionnaire on  Trade in Services 
(WT/ACC/5) (if necessary)  A  
• Submit TBT Checklist (WT/ACC/8)  A  
• Submit SPS Checklist (WT/ACC/8)  A  
• Submit TRIPS Checklist (WT/ACC/9)  A  
• Prepare Factual Summary  S   
• Hold additional Working Party meetings  A M  
• Questions & replies process  A M  
• Prepare revisions of Factual Summary/draft WP Report  
S  
• (Q&R process and updating of the Factual Summary 
/draft WP Report continue)  A M S A M S 
V.  The draft Accession Package  
• Prepare final revision of draft Report   S 
• Prepare consolidated dr aft Goods Schedule   S 
• Prepare consolidated draf t Services Schedule   S 
• Plan for the endgame - WP Chairman    A M S 
VI. Technical Assistance, Capa city Building and Outreach 
• Identify/assess needs A A A 
• Coordinate with bilateral donors, international and 
regional Organizations A A A 
WTO Activities: 
   • Briefing for Trade Minister and capital-based 
officials S S S 
   • Workshop for Parliamentarians S S S 
   • National activities S S S 
   • Participate in regional and Geneva-based activities S S S 
   • ITC/WTO private sector support in acceding LDCs S S S 
   • Working Party Chairperson visits  S S 
 
A Acceding Government 
   
M Members 
   
S Secretariat 
   
 
__________