World Trade
Organization WT/L/872
11 December 2012 (12-6784)

ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN
Decision of 10 December 2012
The General Council,
Having regard to paragraph 2 of Article XII and paragraph 1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (the "WTO Agreement"), and the DecisionMaking Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed by the General Council (WT/L/93),

Conducting the functions of the Ministerial Conference in the interval between meetings pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article IV of the WTO Agreement,

Taking note of the application of the Republic of Tajikistan for accession to the WTO Agreement dated 29 May 2001,

Noting the results of the negotiations directed toward the establishment of the terms of accession of the Republic of Tajikistan to the WTO Agreement and having prepared a Protocol on the Accession of the Republic of Tajikistan,
Except as otherwise provided for in paragraph 351 of the Working Party Report, those obligations in the Multilateral Trade Agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement that are to be implemented over a period of time starting with the entry into force of that Agreement shall be implemented by the Republic of Tajikistan as if it had accepted that Agreement on the date of its entry into force.
French and Spanish languages, each text being authentic, except that a Schedule annexed hereto may specify that it is authentic in only one of these languages, and the Working Party Report is authentic in English only.
2)

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WT/L/872
Page 2

WT/L/872  Page 3

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/19
3 December 2012 (12-6681)


WTO ACCESSIONS

2012 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE DIRECTORGENERAL











TABLE OF CONTENTS


I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 1
II. 2012 DEVELOPMENTS 2
(a) Accession Working Parties 2
(b) Transparency in the Accession Process 4
(c) Technical Assistance and Outreach 5
(d) China LDCs and Accessions Programme 5
(e) Accessions Tools 6
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES 7
IV. LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES' ACCESSIONS 10
(a) Developments in Accession Working Parties 10
(b) General Council Decision on Accession of Least-developed Countries (WT/L/508/Add.1) 11
V. ACCESSIONS AND DOMESTIC REFORMS 12
(a) Accession-related Domestic Reforms 12
(b) Results and Effects of Domestic Reforms in Article XII Members 15
(c) Economic Performance of Article XII Members 16
VI. CONCLUSION - OUTLOOK 2013 19
ANNEX 1 21
ANNEX 2 23
ANNEX 3 24
ANNEX 4 25
ANNEX 5 27




INTRODUCTION AND O

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/18
5 September 2012 (12-4789)







LIST OF WTO ACCESSIONS WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS



WTO ACCESSIONS WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS*



No. Government Date Working Party established WP Chairperson

1. Afghanistan 13 December 2004 H.E. Mr. Roderick van Schreven (Netherlands)

2. Algeria 17 June 1987 H.E. Mr. Pedro D'Alotto (Argentina)

3. Andorra 22 October 1997 Pending

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 Pending

10. Equatorial Guinea 5 February 2008 Pending

11. Ethiopia 10 February 2002
H.E. Dr. Steffen Smidt (Denmark)

12. Iran 26 May 2005 Pending

13. Iraq 13 December 200

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/17
5 September 2012 (12-4790)







LIST OF CURRENT ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES



ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES


Government Request Circulated in Document Date Working Party Established Afghanistan* WT/ACC/AFG/1-2 13 December 2004 Algeria WT/L/23 17 June 1987 Andorra WT/ACC/AND/1 22 October 1997 Azerbaijan WT/ACC/AZE/1 16 July 1997 Bahamas WT/ACC/BHS/1 18 July 2001 Belarus L/7297 and WT/L/40 27 October 1993 Bhutan* WT/ACC/BTN/1/Rev.1 6 October 1999 Bosnia Herzegovina WT/ACC/BIH/1 15 July 1999 Comoros, Union of the* WT/ACC/COM/1 9 October 2007 Equatorial Guinea* WT/ACC/GNQ/1 5 February 2008 Ethiopia* WT/ACC/ETH/1 10 February 2002 Iran, The Islamic Republic of WT/ACC/IRN/1 26 May 2005 Iraq WT/ACC/IRQ/1 13 December 2004 Kazakhstan WT/ACC/KAZ/1 6 February 1996 Lao People's Democratic Republic* WT/ACC/LAO/1 19 February 1998 Lebanese Republic WT/ACC/LBN/1 14 April 1999 Liberia* WT/ACC/LBR/1 18 D

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/16
5 September 2012 (12-4788)







LIST OF COMPLETED ACCESSIONS NEGOTIATED UNDER ARTICLE XII OF THE MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE WTO










COMPLETED ACCESSIONS NEGOTIATED UNDER ARTICLE XII OF THE WTO AGREEMENT*

Government Membership Date Working Party Report Goods Schedule Services Schedule Protocol of Accession General Council Decision Ecuador 21/01/1996 WT/L/77 & Corr.1 Add.1 & Corr.1, 2 Add.2 WT/ACC/ECU/6 WT/ACC/ECU/5 Bulgaria 01/12/1996 WT/ACC/BGR/5 & Corr.1 Add.1 Add.2 WT/ACC/BGR/7 WT/ACC/BGR/6 Mongolia 29/01/1997 WT/ACC/MNG/9 & Corr.1 Add.1 & Corr.1 Add.2 WT/ACC/MNG/11 WT/ACC/MNG/10 Panama 06/09/1997 WT/ACC/PAN/19 & Corr.1 Add.1 Add.2 WT/ACC/PAN/21 WT/ACC/PAN/20 Kyrgyz Republic 20/12/1998 WT/ACC/KGZ/26 & Corr.1 Add.1 Add.2 WT/ACC/KGZ/29 WT/ACC/KGZ/28 Latvia 10/02/1999 WT/ACC/LVA/32 Add.1 & Corr.1 Add.2 WT/ACC/LVA/35 WT/ACC/LVA/34 Estonia 13/11/1999 WT/ACC/EST/28 Add.1 Add.2 & Corr.1 WT/

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/11/Rev.10
28 February 2012 (12-1162)


TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS

Note by the Secretariat: State of Play and Information on Current Accessions

Revision


_______________


This paper contains summary information on the state of current applications for accession and accession Working Parties. Summary information on completed accessions can be found in the latest revision of document WT/ACC/10.


_______________



















TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1
SUMMARY TABLE OF ONGOING ACCESSIONS 2
STATUS OF ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES 4
AFGHANISTAN 4
ALGERIA 5
ANDORRA 7
AZERBAIJAN 8
THE BAHAMAS 10
BELARUS 11
BHUTAN 13
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 15
UNION OF THE COMOROS 17
EQUATORIAL GUINEA 18
ETHIOPIA 19
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN 20
IRAQ 21
KAZAKHSTAN 22
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 24
LEBANESE REPUBLIC 26
LIBERIA 28
LIBYA 29
MONTENEGRO 30

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/15
WT/GC/135
WT/MIN(11)/3
17 November 2011 (11-5989)






WTO ACCESSIONS

2011 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL









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 Assistance and Outreach 4
(e) China's LDCs and Accessions Programme 5
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES 6
IV. LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES' ACCESSIONS 10
V. BEST PRACTICES IN ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS 11
VI. CONCLUSION - OUTLOOK 2012 18
ANNEX 1 20
ANNEX 2 21
ANNEX 3 22



INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
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 this year is on "Results"; and, "Best Practices".
In my Second Annual Report, I summarized the key messages tha

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/11/Rev.9
20 December 2010 (10-6828)


TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS

Note by the Secretariat: State of Play and Information on Current Accessions

Revision


_______________


This paper contains summary information on the state of current applications for accession and accession Working Parties. Summary information on completed accessions can be found in the latest revision of document WT/ACC/10.


_______________



















TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1
SUMMARY TABLE OF ONGOING ACCESSIONS 2
STATUS OF ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES 4
AFGHANISTAN 4
ALGERIA 5
ANDORRA 7
AZERBAIJAN 8
THE BAHAMAS 10
BELARUS 11
BHUTAN 13
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 15
UNION OF THE COMOROS 17
EQUATORIAL GUINEA 18
ETHIOPIA 19
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN 20
IRAQ 21
KAZAKHSTAN 22
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 24
LEBANESE REPUBLIC 26
LIBERIA 28
LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA 29

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/14
8 December 2010 (10-6650)



WTO ACCESSIONS

2010 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL











TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 1
II. 2010 DEVELOPMENTS 2
(i) Accession Working Parties: An Overview of Activities 2
(ii) Working Party Chairpersons 3
(iii) Engagement by Members 3
(iv) Transparency of the Accession Process 4
(v) Technical Assistance and Outreach 5
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES 7
IV. LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES' ACCESSIONS 12
V. TRADE PERFORMANCE OF RECENTLY ACCEDED MEMBERS (RAMS) 14
VI. CONCLUSION - OUTLOOK 2011 20
ANNEX 1 – Accession Working Parties 21
ANNEX 2 – Value of Merchandise Trade and Year-on-Year Percentage Change: 1995-2009 22
ANNEX 3 - Value of Trade in Commercial Services and Year-on-Year Percentage Change: 1995-2009 23
ANNEX 4 – Growth of Value of Merchandise Export of RAMs: 1995-2009 24
ANNEX 5 – Growth of Value of Merchandise Import

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/10/Rev.4/Add.1/Corr.1*
28 June 2010
(10-3506)


TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS

Note by the Secretariat

Corrigendum


Page 10, second paragraph entitled "Tonga", should be replaced with the following text:

The representative of Tonga confirmed that, from the date of accession, his Government would ensure that the authority in Tonga's laws to apply measures for balance of payments purposes would be applied in a manner consistent with the requirements of the understanding on balance-of-payments provisions of the GATT 1994, as well as Article XII of the GATT 1994. The Working Party took note of these commitments (paragraph 14).
Page 242, the section on "Foreign Exchange and Payments" should be deleted;
Page 245, "Application of Internal Taxes on Imports" paragraph entitled "Cape Verde" should be deleted; and
Page 249, "Rules of Origin" paragraph entitled "Cape Verde" should be deleted.

__________
* In Engli

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/10/Rev.4/Add.1
25 May 2010 (10-2892)



TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS

Note by the Secretariat

Addendum








This is the Addendum with the updated Annexes to document WT/ACC/10/Rev.4 and has been prepared by the Secretariat to reflect completed accessions.

Information on the state of current applications for accession and accession Working Parties is contained in document WT/ACC/11 and its subsequent revisions.

_______________



















TABLE OF CONTENTS

ANNEX 1 – List of Documents Dealing with Accession to the WTO 1
ANNEX 2 – General Council Decisions and Protocols of Accession 2
ANNEX 3 – Commitments on Rules 7
- ECONOMIC POLICIES 8
- Non-discrimination (including national treatment) 8
- Foreign Exchange and Payments 9
- Balance-of-payments Measures 10
- Investment Regime 11
- State Ownership and Privatization 11
- Pricing Policies 17
- FRAMEWORK FOR M

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/10/Rev.4
11 January 2010 (10-0086)




TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS

Note by the Secretariat

Revision

The present paper has been updated by the Secretariat to reflect recent accessions. This paper was originally produced in response to a request by the General Council for a Technical Note on the Accession Process (WT/GC/M/32).
This paper contains information on completed accessions. Information on current accessions applications and Working Parties is contained in document WT/ACC/11 and subsequent revisions.
_______________



















TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. OVERVIEW 1
II. RELEVANT WTO PROVISIONS 3
III. THE ACCESSION PROCESS 4
1. General 4
(a) Procedures 4
(b) Status of Accession Working Parties 5
2. Establishment of Working Party 9
3. Collection of Factual Information 10
(a) Memorandum 10
(b) Copies of legislation 10
(c) Data on applied duty rates 11
(d) Data on agricu

World Trade
Organization WT/ACC/11/Rev.8
24 December 2009 (09-6710)


TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE ACCESSION PROCESS

Note by the Secretariat: State of Play and Information on Current Accessions

Revision


_______________



This paper contains summary information on the state of current applications for accession and accession Working Parties. Summary information on completed accessions can be found in the latest revision of document WT/ACC/10.

_______________




















TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1
SUMMARY TABLE OF ONGOING ACCESSIONS 3
STATUS OF ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES 5




INTRODUCTION
This document contains information on the status of ongoing WTO accessions, including a brief description of the current state of play for each accession. A comprehensive technical note on the accession process, containing information on completed accessions, is presented in the latest revision of document WT/ACC/10.