PRESS RELEASE 
 
PRESS/420 
11 November 2005 
 
(05-5306) 
ACCESSIONS 
WTO General Council successfully ad opts Saudi Arabia’s terms of 
Accession  
WTO General Council formally concluded today (11 November 2005) negotiations with Saudi 
Arabia on the terms of the country’s membership to the WTO. 
 
The General Council Chair, Ambassador Amina Mohamed of Kenya, congratulated Members for approving the accession of Saudi Arabia. “It is a great honour for me to witness the constructive 
spirit in which these negotiations have been completed. Members have taken not only a major 
step towards better international economic cooperation but they have also allowed the World Trade Organization to become more universal,” said Ambassador Mohamed.  
 
The conclusion of those negotiations was also welcomed by Director-General Pascal Lamy. “Today’s decision is a historic event for the WTO. Saudi Arabia is on its way to becoming the 
WTO 149
th Member, paving the way for a stronger multilateral trading system. I look forward with 
great optimism to the Kingdom’s participation in the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting,” said Mr. Lamy. 
 
Saudi Arabia has been negotiating its membership since July 1993. It has completed its package of documents presenting the Kingdom’s terms of accession at the Working Party meeting on 
28 October 2005. The legal texts, which run to some 600 pages, were formally accepted by the 
148 Member Governments of the WTO at today’s special session of the General Council. Dr. Hashim A. Yamani, Minister of Industry and Commerce, signed the Protocol of Accession with 
full powers, thus accepting the Protocol on behalf  of the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia will become the 
149
th Member of the WTO thirty days later, on 11 December 2005.  
 
As a result of the negotiations, Saudi Arabia has agreed to undertake a series of important 
commitments to further liberalize its trade regime and accelerate its integration in the world economy, while offering a transparent and predictable environment for trade and foreign 
investment in accordance with WTO rules. 
 Among the commitments undertaken by Saudi Arabia are the following: 
 
• The WTO Agreement will be applied uniformly throughout Saudi Arabia’s customs territory.  
 
• Saudi Arabia agreed to review a fee charged for the authentication of trade documents and 
to bring it into conformity with WTO rules within two years of accession.  
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• Saudi Arabia will eliminate any non-tariff measures that cannot be justified under WTO 
rules while maintaining the right to restrict the importation and exportation of a certain 
number of goods and services in order to protec t public morals, the life and health of the 
population, national security interests, etc. In  addition, Saudi Arabia has agreed to review 
the list of banned imports at least once a year and to remove items the importation of 
which would not compromise the legitimate objectives of the Kingdom. 
 
• Saudi Arabia will not maintain any export subsidies on agricultural products. 
 • Saudi Arabia will ensure that its producers and distributors of natural gas liquids (NGLs) 
will operate on the basis of normal commercial considerations, based on the full recovery 
of costs and a reasonable profit.  
 
• In areas such as the protection of intellectual property rights, the application of technical 
regulations and standards, as well as the protection of food safety and human, animal and plant life and health, Saudi Arabia will implement the relevant WTO Agreements in full 
from the date of accession (i.e. the Agreem ent on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights, the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures). 
 
GOODS  
With the conclusion of market access negotiations on goods, Saudi Arabia committed to gradually 
lowering trade barriers and expanding market access  for foreign goods. Saudi Arabia has bound all 
tariffs levied on imports. At the end of the ten year implementation period, average bound tariff 
levels will decrease to 12.4 and 10.5 per cent for agricultural and non-agricultural products 
respectively. The individual tariff rates for agricultural products will range from 5 to 200 per cent, with the highest rates being applied to tobacco products and dates. Some 11 per cent of non-
agricultural products will be imported duty-free wh ereas the highest tariff rate will affect wood, as 
well as iron and steel products. Mo st tariffs (92.6 per cent) will be set at their final bound rates at 
the date of accession. The remainder will mostly  be implemented in 2008 and 2010, but in no case 
later than 2015. 
 SERVICES  
 
Insurance Foreign insurance companies will be permitted to open and operate direct branches in Saudi 
Arabia.  Commercial presence will also be permitted for insurers that establish a locally 
incorporated cooperative insurance joint-stock company, in which foreign participation is limited at 60 per cent. A three year transition period will be given to existing foreign insurance providers to 
convert to either a Saudi cooperative insurance company or to a direct branch of a foreign 
insurance company. During this transition period, existing foreign insurance providers will be able to continue existing business operations, as well  as offer new products and service new clients. 
 
Banking Commercial presence of banks will be permitted in the form of a locally incorporated joint-stock 
company or as a branch of an international bank. Upon Saudi Arabia’s accession, the foreign 
equity cap for joint ventures in banking will be increased to 60 per cent. While financial services can only be provided by commercial banks, asset management and advisory services may also be 
provided by non-commercial banking financial institutions. 
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Telecoms 
Within three years from accession, Saudi Arabia’s commitments will allow up to 70 per cent foreign 
equity ownership in the telecommunications sector. These commitments apply to both basic telecommunication services and value-added telecoms services. Public telecommunications 
services will have to be provid ed by a joint stock company.  
 Distribution 
While Saudi Arabia will maintain some restrictions on the distribution of goods inside the country, 
these restrictions will be phased out over a three-year transition period.  
 
END