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N° 72 - April 2017

Accessions Strategic Objectives

Domestic reform instrument

Systemic update

Market access expansion

International cooperation for trade

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FOURTH INFORMAL GROUP ON ACCESSIONS Tuesday, 2 May 2017

Agenda:

Strategic Focus for 2017: Accession of Sudan: Report by Mr

Ryosuke Kuwana, Working Party Chairperson

Accession of the Union of the Comoros Accession of Lebanon

Accession Working Parties State of Play: Belarus and Azerbaijan

Accession Re-engagement: Ethiopia

Technical Assistance and Outreach: Regional

Dialogue on WTO Accession for the Greater Horn of Africa

Accession Anniversaries in May: Samoa,

Ukraine, and Lithuania

Divisional Staff Movements

Accession of Sudan: Diary from Khartoum 2

Chaired by the WTO Secretariat (Maika Oshikawa, Officer-in-Charge of the Accessions Division).

Strategic Focus for 2017

Mr Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan), Chairperson of the Working Party, reported to the Informal Group on Accessions (IGA) on his recent visit to Khartoum on 10-11 April, as well as the results of the Secretariat's technical mission.

During his visit, the Chairperson held high-level meetings with the Government of Sudan, including H.E. General Bakhri Hassan Saleh, Prime Minister; H.E. Mr. Hassabo Mohammed Abdel Rahman, Vice President and Chairman of the Higher Committee on Sudan's Accession to the WTO; H.E. Mr. Osman Ahmed Fadul Wash, Minister of International Co-operation; H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Aziz Ghandour, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and H.E. Mr. Salah Mohamed Al-Hassan, Minister of Trade. H.E Ambassador Mustapha Osman Ismail Elamin, Permanent Representative of Sudan in Geneva and Dr. Hassan Taha, Chief Negotiator for WTO Accession, accompanied the Chairperson to all meetings.

At these meetings, the Chairperson sensed the strong commitment and determination of the Government of Sudan to accelerate the accession process towards finalisation by the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017, in line with the Roadmap endorsed by the Higher Committee. The Government clearly viewed the WTO accession process as a catalyst for its efforts to deepen economic reforms and improve trade relationships with its regional and international partners.

The Chairperson also toured the Sudan National Assembly and met with H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, Speaker and interacted with Dr. Mohamed El Mustafa Eldaw Ahmed, Chairman and Members of the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Committee of the Assembly. These meetings confirmed the legislature's full support for WTO accession and in particular, its readiness to enact WTO-related legislation upon accession.

One of the highlights of the Chairperson's visit was a roundtable with the Sudanese Business Association led by its President Mrs. Widda Yagoub. The private sector representatives from various sectors expressed their full support for the Government's efforts, as they viewed WTO accession as an opportunity to improve the business environment and for their business to adopt international norms and practices.

From 3 to 11 April, prior to and in parallel with the Chair's visit, the Secretariat worked with Sudan's technical team, led by the Chief Negotiator, to assist in the preparation of Sudan's revised services offer and accession documentation [See page 4 for Diary from Khartoum 2].

Starting on 12 April, the following documentation has been circulated to the Working Party: (i) the revised Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR); (ii) additional replies to Members’ questions; (iii) the Legislative Action Plan; (iv) agriculture supporting tables; (v) the checklist on customs valuation; (vi) the questionnaire on state trading; (vii) the questionnaire on import licensing; (viii) a consultation document; (ix) a legislation notice; and (x) a revised services offer. The Secretariat is preparing the base for a Factual Summary of Points Raised, on the basis of the inputs submitted by Sudan.

Regarding next steps, the Chairperson would schedule the next Working Party meeting, following consultations with Members and Sudan. He stressed the importance of the next meeting in consolidating the progress made since the resumption of Sudan's accession process in 2016 and advancing its negotiations, in particular, on its bilateral front.

Meeting with H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Aziz Ghandour, Minister of Foreign Affairs (above) and

Meeting with H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, Speaker of the National Assembly

Accession of Sudan: Report by Mr Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan), Working Party Chairperson

Meeting with H.E. Mr. Hassabo Mohammed Abdel Rahman, Vice President and Chairman of the Higher

Committee on Sudan's Accession to the WTO

Meeting with H.E. General Bakhri Hassan Saleh, Prime Minister

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Strategic Focus for 2017 (cont’d)

Belarus: Belarus' bilateral market access negotiations are progressing. Belarus signed bilateral agreements with Korea on 10 April and Japan on 27 April. On the multilateral front, Belarus is working on its replies to questions by Members and on updates of various documents requested by the Working Party at its last meeting held in January.

Azerbaijan: The Secretariat is currently updating the draft Report of the Working Party, based on Azerbaijan's replies to questions by Members submitted in March. Shortly, Azerbaijan intends to submit its updated agriculture supporting tables and the accompanying replies to questions by Members. It also intends to share its revised market access offers with Members, on a bilateral basis.

Accession Working Parties State of Play

N° 72 - April 2017

Ethiopia: On 12 April, the Accessions Officer-in-Charge visited Addis Ababa at the request of the Government of Ethiopia. The objective of the visit was to exchange views on the state of play in the accession of Ethiopia with a view to a resumption of the Working Party during 2017.

Meetings were held with H.E. Dr. Bekele Bulado, Minister of Trade; Mr. Ato Mekonnen Manyazewal, Chief Negotiator for WTO Accession; Mr. Lisanework Gorfu Wubachew, Director-General of the Trade Relation and Negotiation Directorate; and Mr. Mussie Mindaye, Director of the Multilateral Trade Relation and Negotiation Directorate, and his team.

These meetings reaffirmed the Government's strong commitment to WTO accession, in line with Ethiopia's Growth and Transformation Plan 2016-2020. Technical work on the documentation was under way, including on the replies to Members’ questions from the last Working Party held in March 2012, issue-specific checklists and questionnaires, a revised goods market access offer, and an initial services market access offer.

As for next steps, the Chief Negotiator indicated Ethiopia's readiness to formally resume its accession process in the second half of 2017, following the submission of the documentation to the Working Party after the summer break.

Accession Re-engagement

Meeting with Mr. Ato Mekonnen Manyazewal, Chief Negotiator for Ethiopia's Accession to the WTO—

Addis Ababa — 12 April 2017

Signing ceremony of the protocol between Belarus and Korea — 10 April 2017

Signing ceremony of the protocol between Belarus and Japan — 27 April 2017

Comoros: On 26-28 April, the following documentation was circulated to the Working Party: (i) replies to Members’ questions; (ii) a revised Legislative Action Plan; (iii) a revised questionnaire on import licensing; (iv) a revised TRIPS checklist; (v) translated copies of legislation; and (vi) revised offers on goods and services.

Also circulated was the Factual Summary of Points Raised which details the technical exchanges between Working Party Members and the Acceding Government on Comoros' foreign trade regime, prepared by the Secretariat based on the inputs provided by Moroni.

On 27 April, Ambassador Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia (Peru), Working Party Chairperson, held a video conference with H.E. Mr. Djaffar Ahmed Said Hassani, Vice President of Comoros, who is also the Chief Negotiator, to discuss next steps. The Vice President reiterated Comoros' commitment to accelerate its accession negotiations towards the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference.

The next Working Party meeting is scheduled for 1 June. On the fringes of the Working Party meeting, Comoros will be available to conduct bilateral market access negotiations with interested Members, with a view to concluding some of them. Lebanon: As part of the resumption of the accession process, since 10 April, the following documentation has been circulated to the Working Party: (i) revised draft Working Party Report; (ii) an aide memoire, (iii) the Legislative Action Plan; (iv) the checklists on TRIPS, SPS and TBT; (v) the questionnaires on state trading and import licensing; and (vi) a legislation notice. Shortly expected for circulation are the Information on Implementation and Administration of the Agreement on Customs Valuation and agriculture supporting tables (AGSTs).

On the bilateral front, Beirut has reinitiated its contacts with concerned Members, based on updated market access offers on goods and services.

On 2 May, Mr. Jean-Paul Thuillier (France), Chairperson of the Working Party, held a telephone conference with H.E. Mr. Raed Khoury, Minister of Economy and Trade and the Chief Negotiator for WTO accession of Lebanon, to discuss next steps. Minister Khoury expressed Lebanon's strong desire to resume its accession negotiations as soon as possible. The next Working Party meeting could be scheduled for July subject to timely

submission of the remaining inputs.

Accession of the Union of the Comoros — Video-conference with H.E. Mr. Djaffar Ahmed Said Hassani,

Vice President of Comoros — 27 April 2017

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Technical Assistance and Outreach Activities

N° 72 - April 2017

Regional Dialogue on WTO Accession for the Greater Horn of Africa - Nairobi, Kenya - 3-5 July 2017

In partnership with the Government of Kenya, the Accessions Division will organize a first Regional Dialogue on WTO Accession for the Greater Horn of Africa in Nairobi on 3-5 July. Four acceding Governments — Comoros, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia — are expected to participate. This dialogue will offer a platform to: (i) exchange their experiences on on-going accession negotiations; (ii) reflect on

how the WTO membership can strengthen regional integration; and (iii) mobilize support for African accessions, including through partnerships and capacity-building.

In addition to the regional dialogue, on 6-7 July, the first training on WTO accession will be conducted for trade officials from Somalia, one of the new acceding governments whose Working Party was

established in December 2016. 4th Informal Group on Accessions Meeting —

Geneva, 2 May 2017

The Accessions Division wishes a very Happy WTO Accession Anniversary to:

Divisional Staff Movements

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MAY

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MAY

Samoa is the 27th economy that joined the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement and became the 155th Member of the WTO on 10 May 2012.

Ukraine is the 24th economy that joined the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement and became the 152nd Member of the WTO on 16 May 2008.

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MAY Lithuania is the 13th economy that joined the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement and became the 141st Member of the WTO on 31 May 2001.

The newest members of the Accessions Division are Mr. Geoffrey Carlson and Mr. Stefan Almehagen Sandstad.

Geoffrey previously worked in the WTO Rules Division, which he joined in 2012, as a Dispute Settlement Lawyer. Before joining the WTO, he worked for the Office of the General Counsel in the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington D.C. He also served as a judicial law clerk for a U.S. federal district court judge, and worked in private practice.

Stefan joined the WTO in February 2017. Stefan was previously with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo, Norway and has also worked at the EFTA Secretariat in Geneva.

The Accessions Division would like to extend a warm welcome to Geoffrey and Stefan!

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N° 72 - April 2017

Accession of Sudan — Diary from Khartoum 2

Day 4 — Thursday, 6 April 2017 Seven services sectors - construction, distribution, education, health related and social services, environmental services, tourism and travel related services and transportation – were covered in break-out sessions. Thanks to the representation from sector stakeholders, specific questions were raised and individual concerns could be registered. For example, over 10 tour operators discussed the challenges facing Sudan's tourism industry and how to address them within the context of WTO accession. The Sudanese Business Association was one of the most active participants in today's discussion .

Day 2 — Tuesday, 4 April 2017 There were many familiar faces from last October - a very good signal for continuity and coordination. As requested by Sudan, the session started with detailed review of the current offer, starting from the horizontal commitments. The presence of high-level representatives from relevant Ministries and agencies made it possible to develop a clear understanding of various generally applicable regulations governing the investment and labour regimes. Moving to the sector specific commitments, business and professional services were covered.

Day 1 — Monday, 3 April 2017 Landed in Khartoum at midnight with Dale and Markus, colleagues from the Services and Investment Division. During a preparatory meeting, the National Secretariat informed us that 40 participants from different Ministries and business associations would participate in the working sessions and three experts - two of them ex-Trade Ministers – would lead and coordinate the discussion. Sudan provided copies of several laws relevant for this week's discussion and updating the Legislative Action Plan (LAP) .

Day 3 — Wednesday, 5 April 2017 Financial services (insurance and banking) and communication services (postal and courier, telecommunication and audio -visual) were fully covered in today's session. While discussing these services sectors, the participants often needed to revisit yesterday's discussion on horizontal modes 3 and 4. At the end of the day, the participants and the resource persons felt that considerable progress was registered in many areas, although some areas would need further internal discussion.

Background

In response to the positive feedback received on the "Diary from Khartoum" in the October 2016 Newsletter, the Accessions Division continued its diary from its recent mission to Khartoum, 3-11 April 2017. The objective of the mission was the preparation of a revised services offer and accession documentation for the next Working Party.

Day 8 — Monday, 10 April 2017

At 8am over breakfast, we briefed the Chairperson on his new program and also provided our assessment of the domestic situation surrounding WTO accession. Until 2:30pm, we accompanied the Chairperson for his meetings. After his meeting with the Sudanese Business Association, we were back at Dr. Taha's office and worked with Major General Khalil from the Customs Authority to finalize the customs valuation questionnaire which is now ready for circulation. Dr. Taha’s team also made progress on the LAP, and AGSTs (thanks to our colleague Diwakar in the Agriculture and Commodities Division for real time feedback from Geneva). Also, Eric from the Market Access Intelligence Unit just sent in his "very" technical comments on Sudan's goods offer. In the evening, the WTO delegation was invited to the residence of Ambassador Ito of Japan, who has been instrumental in Japan's support for the accession of Sudan.

Day 6 — Saturday, 8 April 2017 Today's session started with somewhat different faces from the services sessions, but as always, Dr. Taha, the Chief Negotiator, Dr. Mohamed (the former Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan) and Dr. Babiker were in the meeting room before everyone, together with the National Secretariat. Following a short presentation on "tips" on how to craft responses to Members' questions, the WTO technical committee reviewed, one -by-one, Sudan's "revised" responses to 123 questions received from Members. Particular attention was paid to the harmonization of legal references with the LAP and other documentation. At 8 pm, the Working Party Chairperson called from Istanbul to say that his flight to Khartoum was cancelled due to a sandstorm which shut down the airport. Now, the Government has to re -arrange his program of meetings .

Day 5 — Friday, 7 April 2017 It was a non-working day, but the session after Friday prayers and ended at 8pm. A working document that reflected any possible changes to Sudan’s services offer that emerged from the discussions from the last four days was presented. A more detailed Aide Memoire was also produced to assist the Sudanese team to further consult and take policy decisions before the official submission of a revised offer to the Secretariat. Over the last four days, over 100 sub -sectors were covered; according to one participant, it was the first time that all services operators and regulators were brought together in one room! Endless thanks to Dale and Markus for their technical contributions to the revision exercise!

Day 7 — Sunday, 9 April 2017 Due to Chairperson’s late arrival, our program was adjusted to work with Dr. Taha and his team to finalize the remaining documentation as requested by the Working Party i.e. LAP, the questionnaire on import licensing procedures and state trading, the checklist on customs valuation, agriculture supporting tables (AGSTs) and a revised Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR). Dr. Taha's office is located in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, equipped with a conference table and a screen. By the end of the day, the state trading questionnaire was finalized and sent to Geneva for formatting and circulation. At midnight, the Chairperson finally arrived in Khartoum .

Day 9 — Tuesday, 11 April 2017 After the Chair’s official meetings, we were back again to Dr. Taha's office with the aim of getting the final versions of the outstanding documentation. The team worked intensively on the revised MFTR, in particular on the services chapter, but by the end of the day, it was clear that more time was needed. At a wrap-up meeting with Dr. Taha, we identified the outstanding work, including the revised MFTR, the import licensing questionnaire, LAP and AGST, but he and his team promised to follow up and submit them shortly. At 11pm, the WTO delegation headed to the Khartoum airport, after a fascinating visit to Zadna, an agricultural Research and Development zone.

3 – 7 April 2017: Technical Working Sessions on Revised Services Offer

8 – 11 April 2017: Technical Working Sessions on Accession Documentation

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Evolving Calendar of Accessions Meetings (ECAM)

Accession Working Parties Evolving Calendar of Accession Meetings (ECAM)

WTO Director-General's Annual Reports on Accessions

Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)

Handbook on Accessions to the WTO WTO Accessions Internship - "China Programme"

Accession-Related Technical Assistance Activities Accession processes of Article XII Members, click here

Accession Portal on the WTO Website (En, Fr, Es) WTO Accessions Newsletters

Accessions Toolbox

DATE WORKING PARTY MEETING STATUS ROOM

Tuesday, 2 May 2017 IGA 4th 2017 Informal Group on Accessions

(9:00-10:00) Convening fax dated

25/04/2017 refers S2

[Wednesday, 10 — Thursday, 11 May] General Council

[Thursday, 1 June] Comoros 2nd Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of the Union of the Comoros Convening Notice pending D

[June] Sudan 4th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Sudan Convening Notice pending TBC

[June/July] Azerbaijan 14th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Azerbaijan Convening Notice pending TBC

[July] Lebanon 8th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of the Lebanese Republic Convening Notice pending TBC

[July] Belarus 9th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Belarus Convening Notice pending TBC

[Wednesday, 26 - Thursday, 27 July] General Council

[TBC] Bosnia and Herzegovina 13th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AM) Convening Notice pending TBC

[TBC] Timor-Leste 1st Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Timor-Leste Convening Notice pending TBC

[TBC] Ethiopia 4th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Ethiopia Convening Notice pending TBC

11-14 December 2017 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11), Buenos Aires, Argentina

Date Event

[Week of 3 July 2017] [Regional Dialogue on WTO Accessions for the Greater Horn of Africa in Nairobi, Kenya]

[September 2017] [Trade Policy Forum on Central Asia and the Multilateral Trading System, Astana, Kazakhstan]

Other Accession Events

N° 72 - April 2017

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N° 72 - April 2017

List of WTO Accessions Working Party Chairpersons

Government Date Working Party established Working Party Chairperson

1. Algeria 17 June 1987 H.E. Mr Gustavo Miguel Vanerio Balbela (Uruguay)

2. Andorra 22 October 1997 Pending

3. Azerbaijan 16 July 1997 H.E. Dr. Walter Werner (Germany)

4. The Bahamas 18 July 2001 H.E. Mr Wayne McCook (Jamaica)

5. Belarus 27 October 1993 H.E. Mr Kemal Madenoğlu (Turkey)

6. Bhutan* 6 October 1999 H.E. Mr Thomas Hajnoczi (Austria)

7. Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 July 1999 H.E. Dr Rajmund Kiss (Hungary)

8. Comoros, Union of the* 9 October 2007 H.E. Mr Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia (Peru)

9. Equatorial Guinea* 5 February 2008 Pending

10. Ethiopia* 10 February 2003 H.E. Dr Steffen Smidt (Denmark)

11. Iran 26 May 2005 Pending

12. Iraq 13 December 2004 H.E. Mr Omar Hilale (Morocco)

13. Lebanese Republic 14 April 1999 Mr Jean-Paul Thuillier (France)

14. Libya 27 July 2004 Mr Victor Echevarría Ugarte (Spain)

15. Sao Tomé and Principe* 26 May 2005 Pending

16. Serbia 15 February 2005 H.E. Mrs Marie-Claire Swärd Capra (Sweden)

17. Somalia* 7 December 2016 Pending

18. Sudan* 25 October 1994 Mr Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan)

19. Syrian Arab Republic 4 May 2010 Pending

20. Timor-Leste* 7 December 2016 Pending

21. Uzbekistan 21 December 1994 H.E. Mr Seokyoung Choi (Korea)

* Least-Developed Country (LDC)