RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/M/41
31 May 1999
(99-2186)
General Council
21 May 1999
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held in the Centre William Rappard
on 21 May 1999
Chairman:  Mr. Ali Mchumo (Tanzania)
1. Accession of Estonia
(a) Report of the Working Party  (WT/ACC/ EST/28 and Add.1, Add.2 and Add.2/Corr.1)
The Chairman recalled that in March 1994, the GATT Council had established a Working
Party to examine the request by Estonia for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Subsequently, in pursuance of the decision adopted by the WTO General Council on 31 January 1995,
the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been transformed into a WTO Accession Working
Party.  The report of that Working Party was now before the General Council in the documentWT/ACC/EST/28 and Add.1, Add.2 and Add.2/Corr.1.
Mr. Raby (Australia), on behalf of Mr. Kenyon (Australia), Chairman of the Working Party,
introduced its report.  He recalled that in March 1994, Estonia had requested accession to the GATT
1947.  In accordance with the guidelines and the procedures established under the WTO, the Working
Party had held several meetings during the period 1995-1999 to carry out an examination of the
foreign trade regime of Estonia.  Throughout this process, Members had been impressed withEstonia's broad-ranging and dynamic liberalization and reform process aimed at achieving conformity
with WTO rules and disciplines.  Interested WTO Members had also conducted with Estonia intensive
and detailed bilateral market access negotiations in goods, including agriculture, and services.  The
results of these negotiations constituted the complete accession package of Estonia to the WTO, and
were contained in the following documents:  report of the Working Party (WT/ACC/EST/28), theschedule on concessions and commitments on goods (WT/ACC/EST/28/Add.1), and  the schedule of
specific commitments on services (WT/ACC/EST/28/Add.2).  The Working Party adopted these
documents at its meeting on 7 April 1999 on an ad referendum basis, thus completing its mandate.
Members of the Working Party noted with appreciation the efforts made by Estonia in putting into
place the legislation necessary to implement the WTO Agreements by the date of accession to theWTO.  This would ensure that Estonia would beco me an effective participant in the organization
immediately upon entry into force of the Protoc ol of Accession.  The Appendix to the report
reproduced the draft decision and the draft Protocol of Accession of Estonia to the Agreement
Establishing the WTO.  In accordance with usual WTO practice, the Protocol of Accession
incorporated the specific commitments undertaken by  Estonia in relation to matters negotiated in the
Working Party, including, for example the following:  (i)  the submission of information concerning
progress in the privatization programme as long as it was in existence, and annual reports on other
issues related to Estonia's economic reforms until 31 December 2003;  (ii)  the binding of duties and
charges;  (iii) the application of internal taxes on imports;  (iv) the application of quantitative
restrictions;  (v) the customs valuation regime;  (vi)  export regulations;  (vii) the subsidies regime;WT/GC/M/41
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(viii) technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures;  (ix) trading activities of
state owned enterprises;  (x) membership in the Agreements on Government Procurement and Trade
in Civil Aircraft;  and (xi) transit operations.  Estonia would be the second Baltic state to become a
WTO Member pursuant to Article XII of the Agreemen t Establishing the WTO.  He paid tribute to the
continuous efforts, good will and spirit of compromise that had enabled the Working Party toovercome the many difficulties encountered in this accession process. The traditional spirit of
pragmatism of the GATT/WTO had prevailed and had allowed the work to be concluded.
The representative of Estonia said that the eco nomic liberty and rule of law in international
trade that the WTO represented were values highly respected in his country.  Estonia had been an
observer to the WTO since 1994 and a participant in the Information Technology Agreement since
1997.  After five years of intensive negotiations, Estonia now had the opportunity to fulfil theresponsibilities as well as to enjoy the benefits of a full-fledged WTO Member.  The rules of world
trade, and their application and implementation had been a guideline for Estonia to restructure its
economy.  Moreover, the process of negotiations had taught it to share and to be committed to the
principles valued by the 134 Members of the WT O.  These rules would now apply in one more
country, thus contributing to the further development of international trade relations.  Economic, andespecially trade, ties connected Estonia with most of the countries represented in the WTO.  As trade
was in the forefront of globalization, it was often the most intensive form of a small country's
international relations.  Estonia was proud of the role trade played in its economy and dynamic
development.  As a future Member of the WTO, it looked forward to participating actively in the
work of the organization by supporting the cause of fair and free trade.  He expressed his country'sgratitude to all Members, and especially to thos e who had been directly involved in the accession
process.
All of the representatives who spoke welcomed the accession of Estonia, looked forward to
working with Estonia in regular WTO work and in the preparations for the Seattle MinisterialConference, and supported adoption of the draft decision on Estonia's accession.
The representative of  the European Communities said that the successful conclusion of
Estonia's accession negotiations was a just recognition of the substantial efforts made to transform the
economy and to establish a liberal trade regime.  The Communities particularly welcomed Estonia's
efforts to adopt a wide range of legislative and institutional reforms necessary to bring it into
conformity with the WTO agreements  by the date of accession, and  its commitment to a liberal opentrading regime through the adoption of commercially sound market access commitments.  The
Community fully supported the integration of Estonia into the world trading system which would
reinforce its special relationship with Estonia at the regional level.  He recalled that the Community
had been pressing for a thorough yet flexible process of accession  negotiations for smaller and
developing countries, and his delegation was encouraged to see that this approach was gainingground.
The representative of Canada said that Estonia's accession began a new stage in  the
partnership between Estonia and the rest of  the world, and certainly between Estonia and Canada.
The representative of Hungary, on behalf of the CEFTA countries , said that these countries
could understand and appreciate the deep-rooted political, social and economic changes Estonia had
gone through.  They were convinced that the participation of Estonia in the WTO would be beneficial
not only to Estonia but also to the WTO, since Esto nia was a  reliable partner devoted to a rules-based
multilateral trade system.
The representative of the United States said that the hard work, diligence and professionalism
of the Estonian delegation in completing the accession negotiations were commendable, as were the
breadth and quality of the commitments and concessions undertaken by Estonia.  Estonia's openWT/GC/M/41
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market had been a key component of its rapid integration in the world trading system in recent years,
and the WTO accession process had codified and confirmed this fact.  WTO accession on the terms
contained in document WT/ACC/EST/28 and the attached market access schedules demonstrated
Estonia's commitment to the WTO system and would elevate Estonia to the status of  an equal partner
in the ongoing work of the institution.
The representative of Australia said that through its membership, Estonia would not only
benefit from concessions made by all WTO Members but would also be able to make a valuable
contribution to the multilateral trading system.
The representative of  Turkey recalled that the Estonia-Turkey Free-Trade Agreement had
entered into force on 1 July 1998, and was confident that this relationship would prosper in the future.
The representative of Iceland recalled that his country had been among the first countries to
recognize the independence of Estonia in 1991, as well as the independence of the other Baltic states.
Those countries had always been considered by Iceland as part of the Nordic family, although they
had remained under hostile economic and political rule for half a century.
The representative of  Norway, said that her country had been impressed by the rapid
transition Estonia had made to a viable market economy.  Norway trusted that the working party on
accession of the third Baltic state would be able to conclude its work in the near future.
The representative of  New  Zealand  said that his delegation appreciated the efforts made by
Estonia to comply with WTO obligations and commitments and the constructive manner in which
Estonia had pursued its accession negotiations.
The representative of Mexico said that his country had taken an active part in Estonia's
accession process and hoped that its good relationships with Estonia would continue in future.
The representative of Switzerland  said that the accession of Estonia to the WTO marked the
beginning of  new period of trade cooperation.
The representative of Latvia said that Estonia was a liberal and reliable trade partner who
would bring a valuable contribution to the WTO.  Her delegation hoped that Lithuania's accession
would soon follow.
The representative of Jamaica said that Estonia's accession was an important step and his
delegation looked forward to speedy accession by other countries.  He said that document
WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/4 was not mentioned in the report of the Working Party, and said that Membersshould be aware of the full breadth of accession processes so as to be informed of the contributions of
countries seeking accession.  He noted that matters had been negotiated in the Working Party that
went beyond the scope of the WTO Agreements, such  as Estonia's privatization and economic reform
programmes.  Paragraph 141 of the Working Party's report made specific references to commitments
and to the shortening or exclusion of transitional periods.  He understood that even though thesecommitments had not been included in the Protocol of Accession, the conclusions of the Working
Party were part of the commitments of Estonia.  The schedule of commitments on goods
(WT/ACC/EST/28/Add.1) indicated that there were a number of countries who had initial negotiating
rights (INRs).  For example, the United States had INRs on curry, and Canada, Poland and the United
States had INRs on rum.  He hoped that were there any attempt to remove the high rate of 40 per centon rum, Jamaica would be informed.  The point was that INRs became a systemic aspect of future
negotiations where there were formula approaches.  The experience of individual negotiations could
be brought forward in a broader context so that Members could understand the importance of
retaining, or not, INRs in future accessions and in future negotiations.WT/GC/M/41
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The representative of Japan said that his dele gation looked forward to working with Estonia.
The representative of India said that Estonia's accession was a step towards universal
membership in the WTO.  His delegation hoped that Estonia would make a valuable contribution to
the functioning of the multilateral trading system in a fair and equitable manner and to the efficientfunctioning of the WTO.
The representative of Pakistan said that his delegation hoped that the entire membership
would benefit from Estonia's participation in the world trading system under the WTO.
The representative of Cuba said associated his delegation with Jamaica's statement to the
effect that one of the difficulties in the accession process for countries in transition and for developing
countries was that efforts were made to include regimes and commitments that fell outside the current
WTO agreements.  This complicated and lengthened the accession process of many countries.
The representative of Thailand, on behalf of the ASEAN Members , said that the participation
of Estonia would further contribute to the multilateral trading system and that Members would benefit
from its participation.
The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic said that Estonia was an important trade partner
for his country.
The Chairman proposed that the General Council approve  the text of the draft Protocol of
Accession and the text of the draft Decision on the Accession of Estonia and, in accordance with the
Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November
1995 (WT/L/93), adopt the draft Decision on the Accession of Estonia.  He also proposed that the
General Council adopt the report of the Work ing Party (WT/ACC/EST/28 and Add.1, Add.2 and
Add.2/Corr.1) and take note of the statements and expressions of support.
The General Council so agreed.
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